Then there is the 47-point code of conduct. It includes exhortations to social reform — Rule 21 prohibits dowry, Rule 41 advocates widow remarriage — and more quotidian instructions. Rule 46 advises the follower to drink a glass of water and take a 5-minute pause for reflection whenever he or she gets angry.

A spot poll inside the Salabatpura Dera suggests that while the larger part of the following may well be rural, lower caste and lower class Sikh, the Dera also draws in big numbers from other castes and classes and communities. A similar spot poll at the prayer hall near Patiala turned up a mix of college-going youth alongwith small businessmen, government employees, landed Jat farmers and SC daily wage labour.