RAM RAIYA

member of a group of dissenters within Sikhism, a religion of India. The Ram Raiyas are descendants of Ram Rai, the eldest son of Guru Har Rai (163061), who was sent by his father as an emissary to the Mughal capital at Delhi. There he won the confidence of the emperor Aurangzeb but the displeasure of his own father, who when choosing the next Sikh Guru passed over Ram Rai in favour of his younger brother Hari Krishen. A few Ram Raiya gurdwaras (Sikh houses of worship) are maintained in Dehra Dun (Uttar Pradesh state) on land given Ram Rai by Aurangzeb.