ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>BH&#256&#298</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="BH*"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279BH&#256&#298, of Indo-&#256ryan origin (Sanskrit <i>bhr&#257t&#7771</i>, P&#257l&#299 <i>bh&#257y&#257</i>), means brother in its literal sense and is employed as an honorific as well as in the dominant familial sense and as a title of affection between equals. It has been used in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib in the latter sense and there are several apostrophic examples none of which seems to imply any special rank or status. However, by the middle of the seventeenth century, it was being used as a title implying distinction : the earliest example is the <i>B&#257l&#257 Janam S&#257kh&#299</i> (AD 1658) which refers to its putative author as <i>Bh&#257&#299</i> B&#257l&#257. The naturalness of its use in this particular context suggests that it must have developed the honorific connotation even earlier though it does not necessarily follow that these connotations were clearly apprehended in earlier usage. Mard&#257n&#257 and Gurd&#257s may have received the title from their contemporaries without any deliberate intention to set them apart from ordinary Sikhs. It seems likely that the term, originally used in an egalitarian sense, progressively absorbed connotations of spiritual eminence from the reputations of those to whom it was characteristically attached. During the time of the later Gur&#363s and into the eighteenth century, the title came to be used for those in the community who occupied positions of leadership.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Generically, the term has naturalized among Sahajdh&#257r&#299 Sikhs (q. v.). Since the days of <i>Bh&#257&#299</i> Nand L&#257l, of holy memory, who was a contemporary of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh, the term has been appropriated by them as a whole. Among modern exemplars may be cited the names of <i>Bh&#257&#299</i> R&#257m L&#257l R&#257h&#299 who presided the Sahajdh&#257r&#299 Conference in the 1960's, and <i>Bh&#257&#299</i> Harba&#7749s L&#257l, a U. S. pharmacologist.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Bh&#257&#299</i> was in common use especially for the more devout of the Sikhs and <i>sa&#7749gat</i> leaders such as Bh&#257&#299 L&#257lo, Bh&#257&#299 Bhagat&#363 and Bh&#257&#299 Bidh&#299 Chand. It remained in active use until the time of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh. Pañj Pi&#257re whom he initiated at the time of the inauguration of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 are to this day remembered in the daily ard&#257s by the title of <i>Bh&#257&#299. Bh&#257&#299</i> gave way to more picturesque <i>sard&#257r</i> (chief) as Sikhs started occupying territory. Under Nirank&#257r&#299, N&#257mdh&#257r&#299 and Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 reform <i>Bh&#257&#299</i> went through a revival, men like Jodh Si&#7749gh deliberatively choosing it in preference to other prevalent titles.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Modern usage, however, differs in two major respects : first, it applies the title much more rarely in its honorific sense, thereby enhancing its status when used and this process of contraction has tended to eliminate those whose authority is essentially administrative, restricting the title to the few who earn substantial reputations for piety or religious learning. V&#299r Si&#7749gh, K&#257hn Si&#7749gh N&#257bh&#257, and Ra&#7751dh&#299r Si&#7749gh are notable twentieth century recipients. No formal investiture is involved in such cases. It is conferred simply through repeated usage and thus reflects a general opinion rather than any conscious decision.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The term has meanwhile developed a different sense, one which denotes a range of vocational roles. Any person employed as manager, musician, or instructor in a <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> is today commonly designated <i>Bh&#257&#299</i>. The development is easily traced to and represents an entirely natural process. Distinguished disciples Mard&#257n&#257 and Man&#299 Si&#7749gh were associated respectively with religious music and <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> superintendence, and it is scarcely surprising that their modern successors should inherit their title without necessarily sharing their distinction. The result has been the emergence of a dual meaning in the case of 'Bh&#257&#299', with the divergence between the two continuing to grow wider. As the honorific title becomes increasingly rare, the vocational usage has gained popular currency today.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;More recently, especially since the mid-eighties of the twentieth century, the term, <i>Bh&#257&#299</i> has been avidly embraced by activist Sikh youth and, besides recovering the old comradely connotation, it has acquired a decided political edge. Among those who set the vogue was <i>Bh&#257&#299</i> Amrik Si&#7749gh, president of the Sikh Students Federation, who fell a martyr during the Army attack on the Golden Temple premises in 1984.</p> </ol><p class="CONT">W. H. McLeod<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>