Anand Karaj - History of Anand Karaj

History of Anand Karaj

The history of Anand marriage ceremony is traced back to the time of GURU Amar Das (1479–1574), who composed the long 40-stanza hymn Anand, in the Ramkali measure, suitable to be sung or recited on all occasions of religious importance. His successor, Guru Ram Das, composed a four-stanza hymn, Lavan, which is recited and sung to solemnize nuptials. During the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his successors, however, this ceremony fell into partial disuse under renewed Brahmanical influence at court as well as in society.

The Namdhari reform movement of the mid 19th century made the practice of Anand ceremony a vital plank in its programme as did the later, more widely influential Singh Sabha. But there was opposition from the Arya Samajis and Brahman priestly classes, the former anxious to prove that the Sikhs were but a sect of the Hindus and hence subject to Hindu Law, and the latter apprehensive of a reduction in their clientele and income. The Sikh form of wedding ceremonial eventually received legal sanction through the Anand Marriage Act which was adopted in 1909.

The core of the AnandKaraj(the 'Blissful ceremony') is the 'Lavan', wherein shabads are sung with the bride and groom circumambulating the Guru Granth Sahib. The ceremony serves to provide the foundational principles towards a successful marriage and also places the marriage within the context of unity with God. Guru Ram Das Ji, composed the four stanzas, Lavan to be sung and recited as the core of the Anand Karaj. In 1579, the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji and Mata Ganga were the first couple to be married through the Anand Karaj ceremony

The ceremony is now universally observed by the Sikhs.

Pakistan passed the Anand Karaj act in 2007. The government and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) issue appropriate marriage certificates. The gurdwaras including Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Lahore, Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Chunna Mandi, Lahore, Janam Asthan, Nanaka Sahib, Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hassan Abdal, Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh, Peshawar, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, Narowal had been accredited to issue marriage certificates. This act allows not only the Sikhs in Pakistan, but also Sikhs living in anywhere in the world to register in Pakistan with the Sikh marriage act.

The constitution of India and hence the parliament of India which first revoked the Anand Marriage Act (1909) has of late failed to even consider the amendment into the constitution which was adopted in 1950 according to which Sikhs are deemed Hindus and hence are subjec to all Hindu laws. However, recently both houses of the Indian Parliament cleared the Anand Marriage Amendment Bill 2012. The bill paved the way for the validation of Sikh traditional marriages, amending the Anand Marriage Act of 1909, thus providing for compulsory registration of "Anand Karaj" marriages.§