Criticism of Sikhism

Sikhism has often been criticised by non-Sikhs regarding its texts, practices, and societal norms, but Sikhs and other scholars argue that these criticisms are flawed and are based on a biased and poor understanding of the texts, especially of the multiple languages used in the Sikh scriptures. They also argue that most Western scholars who attempted to interpret Eastern religious texts were missionaries and could not overcome the bias they carried with them, irrespective of whether they were translating the Quran, Vedas, Puranas or the Guru Granth Sahib.

Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak rejected ritualistic worship and encouraged belief in one God: Waheguru. The veneration and bowing to the Guru Granth Sahib, has often been interpreted by Western scholars as akin to idolatry, as observed by the Hindu faith, which defeats the ideology of Guru Nanak. Other scholars dismiss Sikhism as, either consciously (according to John Hardon) or spontaneously (according to John B. Noss), a syncretism of the Hindu Bhakti and Islamic Sufi movements.

Ernest Trumpp

Ernest Trumpp, a colonial-era Christian missionary sponsored by the Ecclesiastical Mission Society, was sent to Sindh and later to Punjab, to study the languages of the Indian subcontinent. In 1869, he was asked by the Secretary of State for India on behalf of the British government to translate the Adi Granth and Dasam Granth. He began studying and translating them, but opined that they were not worth translating in full, because "the same few ideas, were being endlessly repeated." Mandair argues that though Trumpp was a linguist, his lack of comprehension of the multiple languages used to compose the Granth and his interaction, which was limited to granthis of the Nirmala sect, led to a flawed interpretation. The Nirmala Sikhs were Sanskrit scholars, who interpreted Sikh scripture from a Brahminical framework. He further adds that the Nirmalas and Udasis rose to prominence at the expense of the mainstream Khalsa in the 18th century, which had been experiencing increased Mughal persecution in the 1700s that forced it to cede control of Sikh shrines to sects without external identifying articles, and subsequently focused on political sovereignty.