ABSTRACT
Brief histories of the Sikh sants and babas and their respective establishments show sharp divergences in beliefs and practices, codes of conduct, dress codes and eating taboos. These divergences were promoted by their religious individualism which either confronted or complemented the collectivism of the Panthic institutions. The sants, babas, gurus and satgurus of Nirankari, Namdhari, Neeldhari and Nanaksar sects revived the tradition of divine mission of the Sikh Gurus and inviolability of the Adi Granth. Sikhs religious and cultural pluralism is being supplanted by the Khalsa traditions and the concept of Sabad-Guru. The Nirmala scholarships on the Sikh studies have declined considerably partly due to the loss of state patronage and partly due to the impact of the Singh Sabha and Akali movements. The state universities and the Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University in Punjab offer far better trained faculty, infrastructure and facilities for religious studies than that of any sectarian establishments.
