 In the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, 20 of the 140 seats are reserved for low-caste Sikhs.The Sikh literature from the Islamic rule and British colonial era mention "Varna" as "Varan", and "Jati" as "Zat" or "Zat-biradari".Eleanor Nesbitt, a professor of Religion and author of books on Sikhism, states that the "Varan" is described as a class system, while "Zat" has some caste system features in Sikh literature.