Daswandh is a system in Sikhism of donating money for charity purposes. The word ‘daswandh’ literally means ‘one tenth’ and refers to the fraction that a Sikh person must contribute from his/her income.
The Daswandh system originated during the time of Guru Arjan Dev (1581-1606), one of the Sikh gurus. He collected funds through a missionary order called Masand, which was established to spread Sikhism. He implemented the Daswandh system for the maintenance of Sikh
Gurdwaras.
The Daswandh system continues in modern times, where a Sikh person considers it his duty to contribute for the well-being of the society. There is however no compulsion for this kind of donation. Whatever one contributes is out of one’s own free will and devotion.
