Unmindful of the threats that he has received from the Shiv Sena, Hari Singh, 44, of Bijnor district, Uttar Pradesh, is going forward with his mission to make the low castes an integral part of the Khalsa. A former low caste, Hari Singh embraced Sikhism in 1976 and has brought over 600 former low caste people into the Sikh fold.

As the SGPC and Sikh religious leaders gather at the Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib for Amrit Baptisms, Hari Singh is celebrating this historic occasion in his own way. At Gurdwara Patalpuri, where he is responsible for the accommodation of the pilgrims, he is teaching two lower caste Hindus from UP the Sikh Nitnem prayers. All three, Parvan Singh, 20, Narinder Singh, 12 and Rajinder Singh, 11 are former lower caste people from the Bijnor district. After they had taken Amrit and become Sikhs, Hari has brought them here to teach them the Sikh Maryada. The next time he returns to his village he will bring even more persons like them to this place.

Having lived in caste ridded UP, Hari Singh believes only after embracing Sikhism can they live with any respect. This is the view he expresses to all those lower castes who come to listen to him. Hari Singh, who at the present moment is a paid employee of the SGPC, remembers the time when he first had a desire to become a Sikh. He was listening to a Sikh missionary of the Singh Sabha gurdwara in the Nagina tehsil of Bijnor who spoke about the caste free society that Sikhism has tried to create.

Hari Singh himself had lived the life of a low caste in his native village of Himpur. Inspired by the lecture he made up his mind straight away to become a Sikh.

"The only way to live with respect within the caste ridden society was to become a Sikh, In our village well the higher caste would refuse to allow us to draw water".

To become a Sikh was easy but to stay a Sikh was difficult. His own family members were against his becoming a Sikh. After one year, in 1977 he left his job and enrolled on a missionary course at the Nanakmata Gurdwara. At that time the present Jathedar of Kesgarh Sahib, Professor Manjit Singh, was the principal. After completing his two-year course he was appointed the Granthi of the Gurdwara at Begheshwar in Almora district. He then became a missionary at the SGPC center at Hapur.

After introducing Sikhi to a large number of lower castes he became the center of controversy. In January 1989, his efforts led to 210 lower caste people embracing Sikhism, which earned him the enmity of the Shiv Sena.

"They called me a Sikh terrorist, and even officers of the CID (Central Intelligence Department) came to interrogate me".

After this his house was attacked by a group of 20-25 Shiv Sena activists wearing police uniforms. They looted his house as well as injuring his relatives. He showed me the poster printed by the Shiv Sena at that time which warned the lower castes against coming under the influence of Sikh missionaries.

Despite such opposition, Hari Singh refused to tone down his missionary activities. His biggest success was when about 350 lower castes as well as 92 Jats and Gujjars embraced Sikhism. By his own admission, due to no follow up by the SGPC, about 50 of these later reverted to Hinduism. He told me with some pride that those relatives who were initially against his becoming a Sikh are now all Amritdharis themselves. Amongst them are his wife, Bimal Kaur and his six children who now reside in Anandpur Sahib.

When asked whether his decision to become a Sikh was brought about by any monetary consideration. He stated he became a Sikh through conviction, otherwise why would he have left his government job? He was critical of the recent Khalsa Tercentenary that had not brought about any great impetus in missionary activity by Sikhs.

According to Hari Singh, large numbers of lower castes in UP would like to become Sikhs.