Ramanand Dass died from the attack, Niranjan Dass survived his injuries, while over a dozen attendees at the temple were also injured. A new Ravidassia religion was launched following an assassination attack on their visiting living Guru Niranjan Dass and his deputy Ramanand Dass in 2009 in Vienna by Sikh militants. Further, Ravidassias Sikhs accept living sants of Ravidass Deras as Guru. Ravidassias Sikhs believe that Ravidas is their Guru (saint) whereas the Khalsa Sikhs have traditionally considered him one of many bhagats (holy person), a lower position to Guru in Sikhism. Estimates range between two and five million for the total number of Ravidassias.
The Ravidassia tradition began to take on more cohesion following 1947, and the establishment of successful Ravidassia tradition in the diaspora. Historically, Ravidassia represented a range of beliefs in the Indian subcontinent, with some devotees of Ravidass counting themselves as Ravidassia, but first formed in the early 20th-century in colonial British India. However, some Ravidassias continue to maintain Sikh religious pratices, including the reverence of the Guru Granth Sahib as their focal religious text, wearing Sikh articles of faith (5Ks), and appending Singh or Kaur to their names. It was considered a sect within Sikhism until 2009. Ravidassia or the Ravidas Panth is a religion based on the teachings of Guru Ravidas.
