1. Origin of the sect.
Satnāmi Sect[1] (A worshipper of the true name of God).—A dissenting sect founded by a Chamār reformer in the Chhattīsgarh country of the Central Provinces. It is practically confined to members of the Chamār caste, about half of whom belong to it. In 1901 nearly 400,000 persons returned themselves as adherents of the Satnāmi sect, of whom all but 2000 were Chamārs. The Satnāmi sect of the Central Provinces, which is here described, is practically confined to the Chhattīsgarh plain, and the handful of persons who returned themselves as Satnāmis from the northern Districts are believed to be adherents of the older persuasion of the same name in Northern India. The Satnāmi movement in Chhattīsgarh was originated by one Ghāsi Dās, a native of the Bilāspur District, between A.D. 1820 and 1830. But it is probable that Ghāsi Dās, as suggested by Mr. Hīra Lāl, got his inspiration from a follower of the older Satnāmi sect of northern India. This was inaugurated by a Rājpūt, Jagjīwan Dās of the Bara Banki District, who died in 1761. He preached the worship of the True Name of the one God, the cause and creator of all things, void of sensible qualities and without beginning or end. He prohibited the use of meat, lentils (on account of their red colour suggesting blood) of the brinjal or eggplant, which was considered, probably on account of its shape, to resemble flesh, and of intoxicating liquors. The creed of Ghāsi Dās enunciated subsequently was nearly identical with that of Jagjīwan Dās, and was no doubt derived from it, though Ghāsi Dās never acknowledged the source of his inspiration.