Ahmadiyyah Movement and Reform Movements — RPSC PYQ 2024

Ahmadiyyah Movement — Directly Tested RPSC Mains 2024

Founded by: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Place of founding: Qadian, Punjab (now in Pakistan)
Year: 1889 CE

Core beliefs:

• Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed to be the Mahdi, the Promised Messiah, and the second coming of Jesus — all claims controversial among mainstream Muslims
• Ahmadis accept the Quran and Prophet Muhammad but reject the finality of prophethood (khatm-e-nabuwwat), which places them outside mainstream Sunni and Shia Islam
• Emphasised rational interpretation of Islam; rejected jihad as armed warfare; focused on spiritual reform

Controversies:

• Declared non-Muslims by Pakistani Parliament through the Second Amendment to Pakistan's Constitution (1974)
• Persecuted in Pakistan under Ordinance XX (1984) which prohibits Ahmadis from calling themselves Muslim or performing Islamic rites in public
• In India: A minority; headquarters at Qadian (Gurdaspur, Punjab) remains their world centre

Two branches:

1. Qadiani (Lahore sub-sect): Based in Qadian; Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a prophet
2. Lahori (Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement): Based in Lahore; Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a reformer, not prophet

Universal Priesthood — RPSC PYQ 2023

Universal Priesthood is a concept primarily associated with Protestant Christianity (especially Lutheran-Calvinist tradition), though it has parallels in Indian reform movements.

• Protestant context: Martin Luther's doctrine (1520 CE) that every baptised Christian has direct access to God through faith and scripture, without requiring priestly intermediation
• Indian parallels: The Sant/Bhakti tradition's rejection of Brahmin priesthood parallels the spirit of universal priesthood — Kabir's insistence that no one is inherently master over another, along with Dadu Dayal's teaching that every person is equally close to the formless divine
• RPSC context: The question likely tests whether students understand this as a concept from religious reform history — both Western (Protestant Reformation, 1517 onward) and Indian (Nirguna Bhakti, 14th–17th centuries CE) traditions independently developed the idea that spiritual authority belongs to the individual, not a priestly class

6th Century BCE Religious Movements — RPSC PYQ 2024 (10-mark)

The question "underline the similarities between the 6th century B.C. religious movements and Nirgun Bhakti Movement" requires comparing two different historical epochs:

6th century BCE movements: Buddhism (Gautama Buddha, c. 563–483 BCE) and Jainism (Mahavira, 599–527 BCE) — the two major heterodox movements of the period

Nirguna Bhakti (c. 14th–17th centuries CE): Kabir, Dadu Dayal, Raidas, Nanak

Similarities:

Dimension	6th Century BCE Movements	Nirguna Bhakti Movement
Anti-caste	Both Buddhism and Jainism rejected varna hierarchy; accepted disciples from all castes	Kabir (weaver), Raidas (cobbler), Dadu (cotton-carder); all rejected jati distinctions
Anti-ritual	Rejected Vedic animal sacrifice and priestly ritual (yajna) as means of liberation	Rejected idol worship, pilgrimage, ritual purity, and priestly intermediation
Vernacular language	Pali (Buddhism) and Ardha-Magadhi (Jainism) — local languages, not Sanskrit	Braj Bhasha, Awadhi, Rajasthani — vernacular languages, not Sanskrit
Individual path	Personal effort (sila-samadhi-prajna; right conduct-right knowledge) central; no god required for Buddhism	Personal bhakti (devotion); direct relationship with the formless divine, without priest
Social accessibility	Open monastic orders; women accepted (Buddhist nuns — Bhikkhunis); merchants, artisans welcomed	Saints from weaver (Kabir), cobbler (Raidas), cotton-carder (Dadu), woman (Meera) communities
Non-violence	Both Buddhism and Jainism emphasised ahimsa	Sant tradition emphasised non-violence, vegetarianism
Against Brahmin monopoly	Challenged Brahmin control over ritual and religious authority	Challenged Brahmin monopoly on spiritual knowledge

Key difference: 6th century BCE movements rejected Vedic authority entirely (nastika); Nirguna Bhakti saints like Kabir and Dadu Dayal operated within a broadly Hindu framework, occasionally citing Vedantic concepts, though rejecting formal ritual — they were not systematically nastika.

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