Hi, I’m Sukhraj Singh from SikhArchive and welcome to the 44th episode of our Podcast series of conversations with historians, authors, academics, researchers, and activists on topics related to their areas of expertise on Sikh or Panjabi history. In this episode, we are joined by Mark Juergensmeyer, who is a professor of global studies, sociology and also religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has a plethora of literature relating to the study of South Asian religion and politics, and the one that is being discussed today is called, Religious Rebels in the Punjab, which is about the Ad Dharam movement in the early 20th century which subsequently led to the formation of the Ravidassia community. His scholarly work related to the Ad Dharam movement and Ravidassia religious formation is certainly unique since his fieldwork includes being in contact with many of the key members including Mangu Ram. Thus, I could think of no better person to have a conversation with about the religious reform movement concerning the scheduled castes which ran parallel to the Singh Sabha Lehar, Arya Samaj and others.