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Summary of Question:	Guru Granth Sahib Ji Altered By British?
Category:	Gurbani
Date Posted:	Saturday, 7/13/2002 12:29 PM MDT

Was Guru Granth Sahib ji or any of the sikh practices, altered by the britishers ?

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REPLY
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Sat Siri Akaal.
Siri Guru Granth Sahib was NOT altered by the British during their rule of India. Nor did they alter the rehit. Thank God.

However, I understand that the British were impatient with our daily reading of Nitnaym because of the time it took Sikhs to say it, and so managed to get our practice around Nitnaym changed. For example, Rehiras was shortened considerably. In some Nitnayms, you will find a version of Rehiras that is considerably longer than that advocated by today's SGPC. Another example of this is Anand Sahib, which is shortened to 6 pauris within Rehiras; thus many Sikhs do not know the full bani, only the first 5 pauris and the 40th.

As for other Sikh practices, I cannot say. Perhaps a search of the web for good history books/articles concerning Sikhs under British rule would further answer your question.
Guru rakha,
-DKK