ABSTRACT
The image of Hinduism as a boa constrictor crushing in its fold the reformed Sikh religion was conjured up in the early 20th century by the British historian Arthur Macauliffe; it powerfully captures the British Orientalist vision of the relations between Hinduism and Sikhism. The Arya Samaj was founded in Gujarat in 1875 by Swami Dayanand to promote a new form of Hinduism based on the infallibility of the Vedas and the condemnation of idolatry, ritual practices, Brahmin domination and child marriage. The mass violence of partition which mostly opposed Sikhs and Hindus on the one side and Muslims on the other and the resulting exchange of population is interpreted in Hindu nationalist discourse as a proof written in blood that Sikhs are Hindus, at least during confrontation with Muslims. Arya–Sikh controversies and embittered conflicts accelerated the process of identity demarcation among Sikhs, and heightened the Singh Sabha’s concern to demonstrate that contrary to Arya’s claim, Sikhs were not Hindus.
