Namdhari

The Namdharis, also known as Kuka, are a Sikh order that differs from mainstream Sikhs primarily in believing that the line of Sikh Gurus did not end with Guru Gobind Singh in 1708, recognizing Satguru Balak Singh as an eleventh Guru and continuing the succession to the present day. Its founder, Satguru Ram Singh, who lived from 1816 to 1885, moved the order's center to Sri Bhaini Sahib in Ludhiana, Punjab in April 1857 and is regarded as the first Indian to employ non-cooperation and non-violent boycotts against British imperial rule; members, who claim between 500,000 and one million adherents, practice strict lacto-vegetarianism, abstain from alcohol and tobacco, reject idol worship and rituals beyond reciting God's name, and wear distinctive white homespun turbans and white woolen cord rosaries.