Introduction

• Kabir was a key figure in the Bhakti movement, which started around the 8th century in India.
• The Bhakti movement was syncretic, emphasizing love and devotion to God and had a broader impact on society beyond religion.
• Followers of the Bhakti movement protested against regressive social practices and are seen as challenging the divisions and unfairness of the existing social order through devotion and love.
• The Bhakti movement transcended religions, castes, and had universal appeal, with followers from different faiths and regions.
• Sufism, an Islamic syncretic sect, is considered part of the larger Bhakti movement, as it focused on love and devotion to God with a universal message.
• Key figures of the Bhakti movement include Ramanuja, a 12th-century saint (1016-1137 CE).
• The movement spread across India and drew followers from different social strata due to its use of local languages, rather than Sanskrit, to convey its ideas.
• Kabir is believed to have used an older version of Hindi, making his teachings more accessible to the common people.
• Bhakti leaders simplified theological concepts and made them relatable to the people, using songs, poems, and parables.
• A key feature of the Bhakti movement was its focus on progressive social reform, questioning practices like the caste system, class divisions, and religious antagonisms.
• The movement promoted a syncretic God of love, aiming to unite Indian society divided by religious, caste, regional, and class differences.
• The Bhakti movement left a lasting impact on the social, cultural, political, and religious life of India and influenced modern leaders like Mahatma Gandhi.
• Kabir lived in the 15th century, though the exact dates of his birth and death remain uncertain. He is believed to have been born around 1398 CE and died in 1518 CE, though some scholars place his birth around 1440 CE.
• Kabir was a contemporary of Ramananda and Saint Ravidas, both influential figures in the Bhakti movement.
• Kabir is believed to have been born near Banaras (present-day Varanasi) to a family of Muslim weavers but there are alternative versions of his birth, including one where he was miraculously born to a Brahmin woman and raised by a Muslim weaver.
• Banaras played a key role in Kabir’s life, influencing his ideas with its social, cultural, political, and economic ethos.
• Kabir’s works, Kabirvanis, include dohas (couplets) and sabdas or padas (short songs). These were collected decades after his death.
• Kabir did not write down his ideas himself, and many versions of his works exist, leading to variations in linguistic and other aspects.
• The authenticity of many of Kabir’s writings has been questioned, and scholars use textual analysis to authenticate the Kabirvanis.
• Key sources to explore Kabir’s ideas include the Adi Granth, Bijak, Panchvani, Sarvangi, and Granthavali.
• Kabir’s legacy is claimed by followers of different faiths, with some viewing him as a Sufi Muslim, others as a Vaishnavite, and his teachings also being referenced in Sikh holy books.
• Kabir was critical of traditional religions, both Islam and Hinduism, advocating for a direct relationship with God through love and devotion.
• Kabir’s influence was significant in promoting unity between Muslims and Hindus.
• A popular myth about Kabir’s death suggests that his body turned into flower petals, which were shared by Hindus and Muslims, symbolizing his universal appeal.
• Kabir’s ideas were also embraced by Sikhism, with the Adi Granth containing over 500 sayings of Kabir, further highlighting the inclusive nature of his philosophy.

Background

• This paper focuses on Kabir’s political ideas, particularly his critique of the state, judicial and revenue administration, and his vision of an alternative society.
• Kabir’s utopia of Begumpura presents an ideal village polity without private property, taxation, and injustice.
• His secularism, grounded in monotheism and syncretism, lacks a critique of patriarchy and his views on gender equality need further explanation.
• Kabir’s praxis (theory and action) in both private and public domains was fused, rather than separate, and must be analyzed in the context of his ideas.
• His ideas and praxis were revolutionary and represented the avant-garde of subalternity in his time.
• Kabir, a 15th-century figure, was a contemporary of Sikander Lodi (1489–1517) and resided in Banaras.
• Kabir was a radical intellectual, second only to Basavanna (12th century, Karnataka), and remains influential in social, academic, and folk traditions.
• His works are compiled in Adi Granth, Panchvani, Sarvangi, Bijak, and Granthavali.
• Kabir’s ideas still imprint social discourse, folk traditions, and radical praxis.
• He was one of Ambedkar’s gurus, though the disciple wrote little about him.
• Kabir’s works have been compiled continuously for centuries by different scholars in various regions of India, resulting in variations in content and language.
• For instance, the language of Saakhi is influenced by Punjab and Rajasthan, while Padavali reflects Bhojpuriinfluences.
• The critique of the social order in Bijak is more severe compared to other works.
• Words, their frequency, and the number of doba, pad, and saakhi vary across different sources.
• Kabir’s works were compiled 75 years after his death, raising questions about the authenticity of many of his baanis.
• Experts have filtered authentic works from spurious ones, though the process is still ongoing.
• Methodology for studying Kabir requires critical analysis of texts and folk traditions.
• Many works have been written about Kabir, including by literateurs, theologians, and historians with varying disciplinary perspectives.
• Scholars include Kshiti Mohan Sen, Rabindranath Tagore, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Raj Kishore, Purushottam Aggarwal, Irfan Habib, David Lorenzen, Charlotte Vaudville, Ali Sardar Zafri, Ramvilas Sharma, R.P. Bahuguna, Namwar Singh, Manager Pandey, Saral Jhingran, Mamta Sagar, Linda Hess, Vidya Mishra Niwas, Gail Ombedt, among others.
• However, these studies generally do not focus on Kabir’s political ideas, his political utopia, or his critique of the state.
• There is a lack of focused study on Kabir’s political ideas.