Sikhs on the Silk Road
Merchants, Udasi missionaries and the transmission of Sikhism from St. Petersburg to China.
Introduction
The Silk Road was a vast network of trade routes that transported lucrative goods across Southern Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and China. The Mongol Empire’s fracture into various rump states and the advent of colonialism, utilising new trade routes to destinations like Persia, India and China through the Cape of Good Hope later led the Silk Road to a decline.1
The transmission of religion across the Silk Road is well documented. Buddhism spread to Central Asia and China through Buddhist monks travelling on merchant caravans. Nestorian Christianity also spread through Christian missionaries from Persia travelling to India and Central Asia. Alongside the maritime Silk Road that operated in the Indian Ocean, Muslim merchants managed to spread Islam to modern-day Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula.2
In a similar manner, the Udasi missionaries had travelled India and further to the Silk Road to propagate Sikhism. Bhai Gurdas’ Vaaran makes mention of two disciples of Guru who reside in Kabul.3 Alongside this, British gazettes make further reference to an Udasi who travelled to St. Petersburg and allegedly constructed a gurudwara there.4 Later on, Akali Kaur Singh would conduct amrit sanchars among Khatris in Afghanistan, which were often targets for Sikh proselytism due to their prevalence on the Silk Road.5
Sikh merchants on the Silk Road were comprised of two different groups: Khatris of Multan, Shikarpur or other parts of Punjab and the Lohanas of Sindh. The former were more likely to partake in amrit sanchars and become Khalsa Sikhs whereas the latter practised a more heterodox form of Sikhism yet both would interact in gurudwaras on the Silk Road.
Russia
St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg was a city established on a small Swedish town by Peter the Great, who attempted to create a port city that operated as Russia’s window to the West.6 This city had a few Khatri traders, who had worked up the Volga river, from the southern cities of Astrakhan and Kazan.7 According to Piara Singh Padam, there was a gurudwara that was established in St. Petersburg by an Udasi, Bawa Ramdas.
ਇਹ ਇਕ ਇਤਿਹਾਸਕ ਹਕੀਕਤ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਇਹਨਾਂ ਉਦਾਸੀ ਮਹਾਤਮਾਵਾਂ ਚਿਰੰਕਾਲ ਤਕ ਦੂਰ ਦੂਰ ਜਾ ਕੇ ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕਮਤ ਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਚਾਰ ਕੀਤਾ, ਭਾਰਤ ਵਿਚ ਹੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਬਾਹਰ ਵੀ । ਜੈਸਾ ਕਿ ਊਨ੍ਹੀਵੀ ਸਦੀ ਵਿਚ ਬਾਵਾ ਰਾਮਦਾਸ ਨੇ ਰੂਸ ਦੀ ਰਾਜਧਾਨੀ ਪੀਟਰਜ਼ਬਰਗ (ਲੈਨਿਨ ਗ੍ਰਾਡ) ਵਿਚ ਧਰਮਖ਼ਾਲਾ ਸਥਾਪਨ ਕੀਤੀ ।
It is a historical truth that these Udasi priests propagated the message of Guru Nanak far and wide, not only in India but also abroad. For example, in the nineteenth century, Bawa Ramdas established a gurudwara in the capital of Russia, St. Petersburg (Leningrad).8
The same Udasi, Bawa Ramdas of Jhang, is mentioned in a story on his way to meet his friend, an Indian noble. He journeyed from Amritsar to St. Petersburg. Whilst at Tbilisi and Astrakhan, he was robbed but with the help of a Russian officer, he was able to reach St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, the Indian noble died a few months before Bawa Ramdas arrived in St. Petersburg. Accordingly, the Tsar Alexander II pitied the Udasi and summoned him to his royal court, allowing Bawa Ramdas to prove his connection to the Indian noble and allowing him to inherit a crore that previously belonged to the noble.9
Astrakhan
The city of Astrakhan is found on the northern coast of the Caspian Sea and was a key trade outpost along the northern areas of the Silk Road. It had a large concentration of Khatri traders, both Hindu and Sikh. ‘The Calcutta Review’ mentions how Sikhs had a shrine in Astrakhan which was viewed in a similar manner to Jerusalem, Mecca and Medina:
The Seikhs have a shrine at Astrakhan, and another in some obscure place on the shores of the Red Sea, which the Khalsas view with the same veneration that the Christians of the middle ages viewed Jerusalem, and the Moslems of all ages have viewed Mecca and Medina.10
From this quote, it is evident that Astrakhan was considered an important town for Sikh traders, viewing it as a local pilgrimage. Sikh traders along nearby parts of the Silk Road may have congregated here for special occasions. This sanctity given to Astrakhan was not exclusively Sikh; local Hindu Brahmins also began to use the Volga river in a similar vein to the Ganga river by performing cremations and other water-based rituals.11
Karam Singh Historian also mentions a historical gurudwara in Astrakhan from his conversation with Bhai Gurmukh Singh of Lahore Singh Sabha.12 Astrakhan, alongside Bukhara, was also briefly home to the merchant Kripal Dass of Multan and Sikkar, who brought many Sikh manuscripts across the Silk Road.13
Orsk
The city of Orsk is strategically located on the southern tips of the Ural Mountains, located on the present day Russia-Kazakhstan border, in the region of Siberia. The 1952-1956 number of ‘Epigraphica Vostoka’ published in St. Petersburg had revealed excavations undergone in Orsk and created a sketch of the unknown vessel and its inscription. In this city of Orsk, a bronze vessel with the one line inscription of ‘Bhola Singh Pandit’ in Gurmukhi was found.14 This helps us identify how spread Sikhs were on the Silk Road, even being located in the smaller trading cities of Russia.
Central Asia
Afghanistan
Afghanistan has long been a frontier region for Sikh history but one of the main reasons for its previously large Sikh population is due to the large Khatri population alongside continual work by Sikh missionaries. As a result of this proselytism, it has also harboured many otherwise heterodox sects.
Read more on the heterodox sects of Afghanistan here:
Among the first preachers in Afghanistan was Baba Khuda Singh, an ex-police officer who became a missionary, who had converted many Hindu Khatris to Sikhism. He had previously an affiliate of Baba Bir Singh of Naurangabad and then migrated upwards to Potohar, Kabul and Kandahar.
The book ‘Jiwan Baba Khuda Singh Ji’ by Giani Partap Singh, records Baba Khuda Singh’s missionary efforts, with his first convert being a local soldier, Bhai Gulab Singh:
ਭਾਈ ਗੁਲਾਬ ਸਿੰਘ ਕੁਝ ਚਿਰ ਬਾਹਦ ਨਾਮ ਅਭਿਆਸ ਕਰਕੇ ਬੜੀ ਉਚੀ ਸੁਰਤ ਤੇਂ ਪ੍ਰਪੱਕ ਅਵਸਥਾ ਵਾਲਾ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ । ਉਸ ਨੇ ਅਮੀਰ ਕਾਬਲ ਦੀ ਨੌਕਰੀ ਛਡ ਦਿਤੀ । ਸਾਧੁ ਬਣ ਕੇ ਬਾਬਾਂ ਜੀ ਨਾਲ ਅਫ਼ਗ਼ਾਨਿਸਤਾਨ ਵਿਚ ਵਿਚਰਨ ਲਗ ਪਿਆਂ।
After meditation upon naam, Bhai Gulab Singh had spiritually matured. He left the Amir of Kabul’s job. After becoming a sadhu, he travelled throughout Afghanistan with Baba Khuda Singh.15
These sorts of continual interactions between Punjabis and Khatris in Afghanistan allowed for effective parchar there. Although, it should be said that Afghanistan has had a relation with Sikhs since the times of the Gurus, with Bhai Nand Lal being born in Ghazni.16 Bhai Gurdas’ Vaaran, a contemporary of several Gurus, also references two disciples of the Gurus living in Kabul, Bhana Malhan and Rekh Rao.17
However, the Sikh population only became large, towards the start of the 20th century, when Akali Kaur Singh and other Singh Sabha affiliates arranged a number of Amrit Sanchars amongst the mostly Sehajdhari population; allowing for the Afghan Sikh population to grow into the large population that exists today.18
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan contains the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, which were key cities in the Silk Road; both being immensely important to control as key trade hubs. As mentioned before, Kripal Dass of Multan and Sikkar briefly stayed in Bukhara, as a merchant. His manuscripts were acquired by the Institute of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg and reported by a Soviet scholar in 1973. These contain Gurbilas, Heer Ranjha, Hanuman Natak, Bhagwad Gita, various other Janamsakhis and even apocryphal compositions like Nasihatnama.19 20
Pandit Arjun Muni’s ‘Gurdwara Darpan’ also recorded a number of gurudwaras built by Multani and Sindhi Nanakpanthis in Central Asia. These were found throughout Central Asia with notable ones in Andijan, Karmana, Samarkand and Bukhara.21 Bukhara was home to the biggest gurudwara out of these, owing to its large Khatri trader population. After the Russian Revolution, almost if not all of the Khatri traders moved back to India.22
Iran and the Caucasus
Baku
Baku is a strategic trade hub located on the western coast of the Caspian Sea. This is home to the Ateshgah of Baku, a Zoroastrian fire temple, later used by Hindus and Sikhs as a place of worship too, containing Farsi, Devanagari and Gurmukhi inscriptions. It is thought the inscriptions were built by Khatri merchants.23
The inscription, following the Mool Mantar, of the Ateshgah of Baku is written below:
ਬਾਬਾ ਜਾਟੂ ਸਾਹ ਥਾ ਜਿਸ ਕਾ ਚੇਲਾ ਬਾਵਾ ਭਾਗੂ ਸਾਹ ਜਿਸ ਕਾ ਚੇਲਾ ਬਾਵਾ ਬੰਕੇ ਸਾਹ ਜਿਸ ਕਾ ਚੇਲਾ ਊਹੋ ਸਾਹ ਧਰਮ ਕੀ ਜਗਾ ਬਨ ਈ
There was Baba Jatoo Shah whose disciple was Bawa Bhagoo Shah whose disciple was Bawa Banke Shah whose disciple was Uho Shah (who constructed) this religious place.24
The later inscriptions also mention a Karta Ram Udasi who constructed this sacred religious place, further exemplifying the Udasi influence on missionary networks targeted towards traders on the Silk Road.25
Zahedan
The city of Zahedan is located in Iranian Balochistan, on the current-day Iranian-Pakistan border. Local folklore posits that the city of Zahedan gets its name from a visit by the Shah of Iran, who had confused the local Sikh population for zaheds (Sufi ascetics) and so duly had renamed the town to Zahedan.26 Sikh migration to this city began in the early 20th century, with Sindhis and Khatris both setting up many businesses there. The Hinduja Group, a Sindhi conglomerate, was first established in Iran, alongside the Hind-Iran bank.27
Little is known about Sikh traders in Iran before British rule in India but there are a few references. Mountstuart Elphinstone’s ‘An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, and Its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India’ mentions how an intelligent Sikh goldsmith believed that Iranians were among the least hospitable to non-Muslims, in comparison to Afghans:
One Sik Goldsmith in particular (who was a very intelligent man, and had travelled over great part of Afghaunistaun, Persia, Khorassan, and Tartary), always spoke of the kindness and hospitality he received in the former country, which he contrasted with the contempt with which he was treated by the Persians, who would not allow him to draw water, for fear of polluting the well, or to walk in the streets during rain, lest he should splash some Mahomedan, and thus render him impure.28
Bandar Abbas
Bandar Abbas acted as a key node on the Persian Gulf, consistently changing hands between the Dutch, the Omanis and the Persians. A Hindu temple was built there in 1892, with an wrestling gym which contained Sikh iconography.29 This insinuates that either Sikh soldiers under the British Empire were situated there and may have been constructed as a result of Hindu-Sikh syncretism among merchants, either Shikarpuri Sindhis or Punjabi Khatris.
China
Xinjiang
Unlike Russia and Central Asia, here isn’t much written about the Khatri traders of China; the majority of Sikh history in China comes from after British occupation. However, there were a few Khatris that resided in Xinjiang, the most notable cities being Hotan, Urumqi and Kashgar. Robert Shaw, the British explorer to Central Asia and Xinjiang mentions a tired Sikh trader in his memoirs, ‘Visits to High Tartary, Yarkand, and Kashgar’:
I shall never forget that night's bivouac on the snow. As soon as the horse carrying the brush-wood fuel came up (it was past 12 o'clock at night), we two Englishmen made shift to light a fire against a rock, clearing away the snow for the purpose. Attracted by this, a Sikh merchant who was crossing the pass the same day, came and sat down with us. His long black beard and moustache were covered with pendant icicles which dragged down the hair by their weight. His face was haggard, and his only thought seemed to be of the fire. I presently found a bottle of rum, and was proceeding to uncork it, when he looked round, laid his hand on my shoulder, and said earnestly : “I am partner in that." I laughed, and gave him some, and it seemed to revive him, for he began to bewail his fate.30
The Sikh merchant, Tara Singh, would accompany Robert Shaw through most of Yarkand and the Bara Lacha Pass in 1867. Many of the traders that stayed in caravanserais across Xinjiang would eventually intermarry within the local populace and some were even unable to converse in their mother tongues anymore. After the CCP gained power in Xinjiang, the last Sikh traders were forced to leave and left for either India or Afghanistan.31
Conclusion
The role that Khatri traders played on the Silk Road allowed for the geographical transmission of Sikhism beyond India. Similar to how Christianity, Buddhism and Islam had flourished across the Silk Road, Sikhism was also able to do the same albeit to a smaller extent. Afghanistan’s Sikh minority is a result of this transmission with the Silk Road, alongside a healthy relationship with Punjab.
The decline of Udasis as the de facto missionaries of Sikhism led to less Sikh missionary work outside of Punjab and adjacent North Indian regions.32 Alongside this, with the emergence of the nation state, many of these minority Sikh communities found themselves migrating back to India or in more gruesome circumstances, killed by ideological rebels. In Russia and Central Asia, the last Khatris left due to a brewing class conflict between themselves and local communists whereas in Afghanistan, it was due to religious fundamentalists.3334
It is unfortunate that although Sikh heritage might remain in these trade hubs but not many Sikhs exist across the once bustling Silk Road but such is the fate of many similar trading communities e.g. Sindhis, Armenians.
Routledge Handbook of the Belt and Road. 2019. Page 61.
The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. 2014. Page 823.
Bhai Gurdas, Vaaran Bhai Gurdas. Panna 11, Pauree 26.
The Calcutta Review, Volume 31. 1858. Page 252-253.
B.A. Singh, Jiwan Birtant Akali Kaur Singh Nihang. Page 28.
D. Kassis. Deconstructions of the Russian Empire in Western Travel Literature. 2020. Page 36.
S.C. Levi, Caravans: Punjabi Khatri Merchants on the Silk Road. 2015. Page 150.
P.S Padam, Sikh Sampradavali. 2000. Page 23.
The Calcutta Review, Volume 31. 1858. Page 252-253.
The Calcutta Review, Volume 31. 1858. Page 251.
The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics. 2015. Page 79.
K.S. Historian, Katak Ke Vaisakh. 1912. Page 61.
R. P. Srivastava, Punjab Painting. 1983. Page 20.
Contemporary Indian Literature: Volume 2. 1962. Page 13.
P. Singh, Jiwan Baba Khuda Singh Ji. Page 47.
K.S. Nabha, Mahan Kosh. 1930. Page 2614.
Bhai Gurdas. Vaaran Bhai Gurdas. Panna 11, Pauree 26.
B.A. Singh, Jiwan Birtant Akali Kaur Singh Nihang. Page 28.
Contemporary Indian Literature: Volume 2. 1962. Page 13.
G.A Zograf, Opisanie Rukopisej Hindi i Padžabi Instituta Vostokovedenija. 1960. Page 130.
I. Singh, Afghan Hindus and Sikhs. 2019. Page 111.
G. Chohan, Guru Nanak’s Travel: An Appraisal of Baku Visit. 2015. Page 3.
F. Okati, The Sikh’s Society in Zahedan and Their Multilingualism. 2015. Page 8.
S.C. Levi, Caravans: Punjabi Khatri Merchants on the Silk Road. 2015. Page 166.
M.S. Elphinstone, An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, and Its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India. 1842. Page 319.
A. Keshavarzian, Making Space for the Gulf: Histories of Regionalism and the Middle East. 2024. Page 33
R. Shaw, Visits to High Tartary, Yarkand, and Kashgar. 1871. Page 14.
J. Singh, Religious Pluralism in Punjab: A Contemporary Account of Sikh Sants, Babas, Gurus and Satgurus. 2017. Page 132.
S.C. Levi, Caravans: Punjabi Khatri Merchants on the Silk Road. 2015. Page 156