On This Day

[AkalPurakhDiFauj]

November 1st

1916 Punjabi Americans and the Ghadar Party established a Punjabi newspaper "Ghadar." It advocated armed revolutionary struggle for India's freedom.

==> GHADAR PARTY, a revolutionary group, founded in United States of America (USA) for the independence of India. Its members were Indian residents, primarily Sikhs, settled in USA. Their prime objective was to actively cause rebellion among members of the British forces, thereby forcing the fall of the British empire and hasten their departure from India.

Ghadar Organization and Hindu Leaders

Some revealing insights taken from the book "THE SIKH STRUGGLE - origin, evolution and present phase" by Ram Narayan kumar and George Sieberer

Sikhs in Canada and the USA took lead in organizing Hindustani Workers of Pacific Coast. The organization started bringing out a weekly tabloid called GHADR meaning rebellion in Urdu. The paper became popular and was a catalyst of revolutionary activities. Sikh members of the organization volunteered to return to Punjab to initiate terroist activities with the objective to drive the British out of the country. Control of the paper and the funds of the organization slipped into the hands of Hindus who stayed back. Roughly 1000 Sikhs came back to India. They had been promised arms on their arrival in India. Contacts had been established with the GERMAN government which promised support. But no arms arrived mainly because of the ineptitude and lack of the integrity among the leader of the organization. MONEY PROVIDED BY THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT WENT INTO THE POCKETS OF LEADERS LIKE RAM CHANDRA AND HARAMBA LAL GUPTA. They could not keep their secrets from the British agents. The ship Henry S. loaded with five thousand revolvers was caught by the British navy. Another ship Annie captured by the United State army. In the meanwhile one DR. CHANDRA KANT CHAKRAVARTY, A BENGALI LIVING IN BERLIN, CAME TO THE USA WITH THE POCKETS BULGING WITH MONEY PROVIDED BY THE GERMANS TO THE RUN THE GHADR ORGANIZATION EFFICIENTLY. HE NEVER SPENT A PENNY ON THE ORGANIZATION. THE GERMANS FINALLY DECIDED TO FORGET THE CORRUPT INDIANS.

Ram Chandra was later shot dead by Ram Singh in court. Ram Singh who owned hundereds of acres of land in Canada had sold it all to finance the revolution. Ram Chandra, a Bengali Hindu, had taken the money and used it to enhance his personal financial interests.

1921 Gurdwara Hothian was foribly captured and brought under SGPC's control. As the movement of non-cooperation gained momentum among Sikhs, the Akali leaders began their tour of the provinces urging the Sikhs to join the Akali Dal and rise as one man to liberate their Gurdwaras. On this day a large number of Akalis suddenly appeared at Gurudwara Hothian and captured it.

1921 Karam Singh of Daulatpur leads a jatha of 50 Akalis at the call of SGPC to capture the Gurudwara of Hothian.

1925 The Punjab Gurudwara Act established on July 8, 1925 was enacted. Speaking on the occasion, Tara Singh said that during the Gurudwara reform movement, Akalis suffered 30,000 men and women behind bars, 400 dead and 20,000 injured, besides dismissals from services, withdrawal of jagirs and pensions, confisication of properties and imposition of fines, etc. These numbers were never refuted. Giani Nahar Singh, a contemporary, put the figures at 40,000 behind bars and 500 dead. With the enactment of Gurudwara Act, came to fruition, teh Sikh efforts to assert its identity. However, this came only after a bitter struggle and a great deal of sacrifices.

-Source "The Sikhs in History," by Sangat Singh, 1995

1966 Punjab Suba came into existence.

[AkalPurakhDiFauj]

November 2nd

1708 Gur Gadhi, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

==> SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB: No institutionalized religion is safe from erosion till its tenets and doctrines have been enshrined in some tangible, though, permanent form. Great religions of the world, therefore, have taken care to prepare or compile one volume which is sovereign and supreme in its authority. Assuredly, it will employ the medium of poetry to reach out to infinity. Such a volume then, is the Guru Granth, the sacred book of the Sikhs - a volume that takes its place alongside the world's greatest scriptures, the Vedas, the Zind-Avesta, the Bible and the Koran. Its power is the power of the puissant and winged word, and no exegesis or commentary or translation can ever convey the full beauty of its thought and poetry. In all mystic literature the appeal of the numinous and the ineffable is inexplicable, if not incommunicable. And yet the great Sikh scripture is not a knot of metaphysical riddles and abstract theorizings. On the contrary, since for the most part it employs the idiom of the common people, and draws its imagery, metaphors and symbols from the home, the street and the market-place, its poetry has a rare kind of immediacy, concreteness and urgency. To see a Sikh congregation intoning the sacred hymns in unison is to see massed spiritual energy take shape before your eyes. That's how the ordinary word changes into the logos and becomes oracular. The Sikhs indeed regard the Granth as a complete, inviolable and final embodiment of the message of the Guru. There is to be no word beyond the Word. And that's how Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Guru, spoke to the congregation shortly before his ascension.

"O Beloved Khalsa, let him who desireth to behold the Guru or Spiritual teacher,

obey the Granth Sahib. It is the visible body of the Guru."

The Guru Granth was first compiled by the Fifth Sikh Guru, Arjan Dev, in A.D. I 604 in the city of Amritsar. Its second and last version was the handiwork of Guru Gobind Singh, and it was finalized at Damdama in the year 1705. He included the hymns of his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, in the new text. Since then, the authorized version has been transcribed and printed a number of times, and it abides. Its adoration or veneration is an article of faith with the Sikhs.

One of the greatest glories of the Guru Granth is its catholic character. It is a scripture completely free from bias, animus and controversy. Indeed, the uniqueness of the Granth in this respect is all the more astonishing when we think of the obscurantism, factionalism and fanaticism of the period in which it was composed. Perhaps, it is the only scripture of its kind which contains within its sacred covers the songs and utterances of a wide variety of saints, savants and bards. For it's instructive to note that a fairly substantial part of the volume carries the compositions of Hindu bhaktas, Muslim divines and Sufi poets and God-intoxicated souls in quest of Truth and Love. Of course, their hymns and couplets rendered in their own language and idiom are so dovetailed as to find a complete correspondence with themes or motifs in the compositions of the Sikh Gurus. Obviously, the idea of Guru Arjan Dev was to establish the fundamental unity of all religions and mystic experiences. It was, so to speak, an integral congress of minds and souls, operating on the same spiritual beam. To have thus elevated the songs of the bhaktas, the sufis and the bhatts to the condition of the logos was to salute the power of the Word whatever form it might take to reveal the glory of God. For it may be noticed that the Guru Granth contains the compositions and utterances of the high-born Brahmins and the proud Kashatriyas, as also of the lowly Shudras and the unlettered Jats. This was done at a time when the caste-system in India had almost paralysed the conscience of man. The revolutionary egalitarianism which such a step symbolized was thereafter to become the creed of the Sikhs. Above all, a poetic and mystic collage bespeaks the essential humility of the Sikh mind, for humility has been given a place of pride in the table of virtues drawn up by the Gurus. The Guru Granth, then, is a sui generis scripture. It is indeed a magnificent compendium of the religious, mystic and metaphysical poetry written or uttered between the I2th and 17th centuries in different parts of India. It is also at the same time a mirror of the sociological, economic and political conditions of the day. The satire on the reactionary rulers, the obscurantist clergy, the fake fakirs and the like is open, uncompromising and telling. In showing the path to spiritual salvation, the Guru Granth does not ignore the secular and creature life of man.

The poetry of the Granth is in itself a subject worthy of the highest consideration. The language principally employed is the language of the saints, evolved during the medieval period-a language which, allowing for variations, still enjoyed wide currency in Northern India. Its appeal lay in its directness, energy and resilience. Based upon the local dialects, it was leavened with expressions from Sanskrit, Prakrit, Persian, Arabic and Marathi etc.

Another outstanding feature of the Guru Granth is the precision and beauty of its prosody. Whilst a great deal of it is cast in traditional verse forms (shlokas and paudis), and could best be understood in the context of the well-known classical ragas, several hymns and songs make use of popular folklore and metres (alahanis, ghoris, chands, etc.). The inner and integral relationship between music and verse has been maintained with scholarly rectitude and concern. This complete musicalisation of thought in a scientific and studied manner makes for the unusually vigorous yet supple discipline of the Granth's metrics and notations. The entire Bani whose printed version in its current form comes to 1430 pages, is divided into 33 sections. Whilst the first section comprises the soulful and inspiring song of Guru Nanak called the Japujia, also a few selected paudis or couplets, the final section is a collection of assorted verses including the shlokas and the swayyas of the bhatts. The remaining 31 sections are named after the well-known classical ragas such as Sri, Majh, Gauri, Gujri, Devgandhari, Dhanasari, Bilawal, Kedara, Malhar, Kalyan, etc. The division, thus, is strictly based on musicology. Further more, each psalm or song is preceded by a number (mohalla) which denotes the name of the composer-Guru from Guru Nanak onwards. It may be noted that the apostolic succession extends from the First to the Tenth Guru, and the Gurus are often referred to reverentially by their place in the order. What's more, each Guru speaks in the name of the Founder Guru whose spirit informs his nine successors. The House of Nanak is indeed a spiritual decagon, based upon a geometry of vision. The major hymns - Japuji (Guru Nanak), Anand (Guru Amar Das) Sukhmani or the Psalm of Peace (Guru Arjan Dev), Rehras (Guru Nanak, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan Dev) are widely recited solo and in congregation by the faithful as morning and evening prayers. Their soothing and ambrosial airs have brought solace and cheer to millions of people all over the world. The Sikh philosophy as embodied in the Guru Granth is chiefly a philosophy of action and deed and consequence. Though in its essentials, it is completely in tune with the ancient Indian thought regarding the genesis of the world and the ultimate nature of reality, it moves away from quietism, passivity and abstractions. The emphasis is on shared communal experience, on purposive and idealistic involvement. The extinction of the ego or self is the corner-stone of Sikhism. A person finds fulfillment or vindiction by immersion in the sea of life. Thus the paths of renunciation, abdication, aloofness flagellation etc., are abjured. A Sikh is enjoined upon to be an insider, not an outsider. Obviously then, the Sikh philosophy is that of "the Everlasting Yea". Which is not to deny the importance or value of contemplation, stillness, inwardness etc. The ideal Sikh cultivates these qualities in the midst of business and engagement. He too regards the world as ultimately maya or illusion and the life of man as a tableau of light and shade, but the Divine goal may not be achieved except through an acceptance of the reality of this unreality, and a proper disposition of the allotted role in the phantasmagoria of life. To that extent, the relative concreteness or solidity of the world is to be endorsed as a measure of understanding. So long as man has a role to play, the artifact of the stage or the theatre has to be taken for granted. For it has thus pleased the Creator to effect the world and people it with multiples of His Self. And the whole creation moves according to a predestined plan. Many a time has the grand show on earth been mounted and dismantled. It's not given to creature man to fully comprehend the essence of reality. God, according to the Adi Granth, is Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient. He is the Initiator, and the End. He is Self-Creator and Self- Propeller. The soul too in its essence symbolizes this trinity. It has lost its state of bliss as a result of the ego and the id. Caught in the meshes of power and self, it has lost its native and true moorings, and is being tossed about by the whirligig of time. A soul thus alienated from the Lord keeps spinning through aeons and aeons of suffering. The road to heaven lies through His Grace.

The idea of the soul as the Lord's consort is repeated in the Guru Granth. The mystique of the marriage is invoked time and again to emphasize the indissoluble and ineluctable nature of the union. Man is ordained wife and commanded to live in the Will of the Lord. Any Infidelity or transgression is inconceivable. The nuptial and spousal imagery of the hymns is sensuously rich, apposite and striking. It will thus be seen that the Guru Granth offers a perfect set of values and a practical code of conduct.

-Ref. "Guru Granth Ratnavali," (pp. 28) by Dr. D.S. Mani, Sardar Bakhshish Singh, and Dr. Gurdit Singh

1780 Shaerae-Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was born.

==> Maharaja RANJIT SINGH, was born on Nov. 2, 1780, to Jathaedar Sardar Maha Singh of Sukarchakia misl and mother Raj Kaur (daughter of Raja Gajpate Singh Jindpate). At a very early age, he lost his left eye to smallpox which also left numerous marks on his face. Upon his fathers death, Ranjit Singh assumed throne at the tender age of 10. During his tender, his advisor Sardar Dal Singh and Diwan LakhpatRai managed the state affairs under the guidance of his mother Raj Kaur. Bhai Pheru Singh of Gujrawallae and his government Dharamsala was selected for Guru Granth education. However, Ranjit Singh showed increasing interest in weaponry and horse-riding and quickly acquired these skills.

Ranjit Singh captured Lahore in 1799 and called a darbar, in sunmat 1858, to assumed the title of "Maharaja". He preferred to addressed as Maharaja Ranjit Singh "SinghSahib". He quickly expanded his rule from Satluj to Peshawar and from the boundaries of Tibet to Sindh. He established four subha; namely, Lahore, Peshawar, Kashmir, and Sultan. He continually expressed desire to reassert the strength of Sikh Panth and bring it under a united fold.

According to British history, Maharaja's title is "Sher-e-Punjab", the Lion of Punjab. His court was always filled with able generals. He built an extremely loyal and powerful force. He was a humble person. When the Granthis of Delhi Gurudwara visited his court in Lahore, he used his beard to wipe their feet. Further when he was declared Tankhaia by Akali Phulla Singh, he prompted presented his bare back for the declared punishment.,/P>

More than his own popularity, Maharaja Ranjit Singh worked for the propagation of Vaaheguru's name. He constructed the fort GobindGadh in Amritsar, named after Guru Gobind Singh Patshah. He established a beautiful garden named after Satguru Ram Dass Ji Patshah.

Ranjit Singh never forgot to humor the democratic feeling, or rather, the theocratic feeling of the Sikhs. He professed to rule "by the grace of God". He issued coins in the name of Guru Nanak with the encryptions :-

"Akal Purakh Ji Sahayae

Daego Taego Fateh Nusrat Baedrang

Yahaftaj Nanak Guru Gobind".

On April 25, 1809, a friendship treaty was signed with the British. This treaty set Satluj as the boundary between the British and Sikh empires. Maharaja Ranjit Singh maintained his friendship with the British throughout his reign.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was gifted with the ability of immediate assessment of strengths and weakness of a person on first sight. He personally knew all people working for him and received their daily reports. He did not waste even a minute of his and continually kept himself busy. He was well versed with the feelings of his subjects.

Maharaja Ranjit was also popular for his charity. From the information gathered by Col. Lawrence from his counsellors, Maharaja Ranjit Singh spent 12,00,000 rupees annually on charity apart from his generous distribution of gifts and jagirs.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh died on June 27, 1839 as a result of illness. At the time of his death, Maharaja's forces were made of 92,000 foot soldiers, 31,800 horseback soldiers and 784 big guns. In addition to brave generals like Sardar Sham Singh Attari, Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa, Sardar GossKhan, Phulla Singh Akali, and Diwan MohakamChand, there were several American, British, European, French, Italian, and Russian officers. The total annual revenue of the kingdom was 32475000 rupees.

Maharaja Ranjit's other sons, Tara Singh, Sultan Singh, Kashmir Singh and Peshaura Singh were never popular.

-Ref. Mahan Kosh (pp. 1019-1020)

For conventional biographies refer to :-

Lepel H. Griffin, Ranjit Singh (1892);

N.K. Sinha, Ranjit Singh (1933); and

Khushwant Singh, Ranjit Singh, Maharajah of the Punjab (1962).

For an eyewitness account of the personality and court of Ranjit Singh, see :-

Emily Eden, Up the Country: Letters Written to Her Sister from the Upper Provinces of India, 2 vol. (1866, reissued 1978);

W.G. Osborne, The Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing (1840, reprinted 1973).

For further details interested readers are refered to :-

Anil C. Banerjee (1985), "Khalsa Raj," AbhinaV Publications, Delhi, 277p

Bhagat Singh (1990), "Maharaja Ranjit Singh And His Times," ISBN 81-85477-01-9, Sehgal Publishers, Delhi, 491p.

Bikram Jit Hasrat (1977), "Life and Times Of Maharaja Ranjit Singh: A Saga Of Benevolent Ruler," V.V. Research Inst. India, 466p

Dolly Sahiar (1981), "Maharaja Ranjit Singh as Patron Of The Arts," Marg Publications, Delhi, 138 pages

Fakir S. Wahee-du-din (1984), "Ranjit Singh Asali Roop," Punjabi University Patiala, 159 pages (Punjabi)

Fakir S. Wahee-du-din (1981), "Real Ranjit Singh." Punjabi University Patiala, 212 pages

Fauja Singh (1984), "Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Politics Society and Economy," Punjabi University Patiala, 384 pages

G. Khurana (1985), "British Historiography on the Sikh Power in Punjab," Allied Publishers, New Delhi, 174 pages

Hari Ram Gupta (1991), "History of the Sikhs Vol. 5: The Sikh Lion of Lahore," 81-215-0515-X, Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 630 pages

Hari Ram Gupta (1975), "Panjab on Eve of First Sikh War," Panjab University, Chandigrh, 555 pages

Jagmohan Mahajan (1990), "Annexation of Punjab," ISBN 81-85215-06-5, Spantech Publisher, Delhi, 133 pages

Kartar S. Duggal (1989), "Ranjit Singh a Secular Sovereign," ISBN 81-7017-244-6, Abhinav Publications, Delhi, 143 pages

Khushwant Singh (1971), "Fall of the Kingdom of the Punjab," Orient Longman Press, Delhi, 165 pages

Prem S. Hoti, "Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh," Lahore Book Shop, Ludhiana, 208 pages

S.R. Bakshi (1991), "History of the Punjab: Maharaja Ranjit Singh," ISBN 81-7041-540-6, Anmol Publications, Delhi, 315p

Sohan S. Seetal (1982), "Sikh Empire and Maharaja Ranjit Singh," Lahore Book Shop, Ludhiana, 187p

Sohan S. Seetal (1986), "Sikh Raj Te Sher-e-Punjab," Seetal Pustak Bhandaar, 203p

1879 Singh Sabha Lahore was established. The Singh Sabha, Amritsar, became a movement with Bhai Gurmukh Singh, Professor of Mathematics and Punjabi, Oriental College, Lahore, as its moving spirit. He did a remarkable job in propagating the Singh Sabha ideals and establishing Singh Sabha, Amritsar. Later, he helped in forming the Singh Sabha, Lahore, with Diwan Buta Singh as its President and himself as its Secretary. Its leading Its leading lights were Bhai Jawahar Singh, Bhai Dit Singh and Bhai Maiya Singh. This Singh Sabha fought on two fronts, it raised its voice against the conservative Sikh leaders on the one hand and on the other hand, it countered the activties of the Christian Missionaries as well as the onslaught of the Arya Samajists. In its two fold program, it gave a crushing blow to the gurudom and caste system as well. The number of sabhas rose to 120 by 1899. The rapid increase, in the number of Singh Sabhas led to the founding of the General Sabha at Amritsar in 1880 which developed into Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar on April 11, 1883.

The Lahore Singh Sabha, as opposed to that in Amritsar, was more democratic in character. It had members from all sections of the Sikh Society. The Lt. Governor of Punjab, Sir Robert Egerton, agreed to become its patron and the Viceroy, Lord Lansdowne, lent his support to the Sabha.

==> SINGH SABHA, a reform group of Amritdhari GurSikhs who objectively sought the eradication of the wrong practices in re-establishing the true traditions of GurSikhism. Their initial efforts for religious propagation and education resulted in the establishment of "Sri Guru Singh Sabha", Amritsar, in 1872. Sardar Thakur Singh Sandawalaia was the first chief, while the temporary offices and gathering facilities were organized at Guru Ka Bagh. The objectives of Singh Sabha, Amritsar, were to inculcate the principles of SIkh religion as preached by the Sikh Gurus among the Sikhs with a view to restoring Sikhism to its pristine purity, preach the principles of Sikh religion by word of mouth, by publication of historical and religious books, and through magazines and newspapers, encourage propagation of Punjabi, reclaim apostates and attract the sympathies of those highly placed in public adminsitration to the educational progress of the Sikhs. The Singh Sabha was to shun politics.

Next in 1879, another Singh Sabha was established at the Prakash place of Guru Ram Das Patshah, in Lahore. Diwan Buta Singh and Bhai Gurmukh Singh were the chiefs of this organization. The successful efforts of these Singh Sabhas resulted in several Singh Sabhas springing around the country. Singh Sabha had a clear perception of Sikhism as enunciated by the Sikh Gurus, and was determined to restore it to its original shape, without any compromise with Hindusim. A number of Singh Sabhas were established and affiliated to the Singh Sabha, Lahore. Amrit Prachar (administration of baptism) to all, including Muslims and lower classes, was an effective movement which, however, brought about conflict with certain Pujaris of the Sikh shrines. Gradually, the Singh Sabhas constructed their own gurudwaras with granthis, ragis, and updeshaks, and they became centres of new rivivalism.

The warming up of the Singh Sabha activity was discernible by a decision to establish Khalsa Diwan at Amritsar. This came into being in 1883 to oversee the functioning of over three dozen Singh Sabhas. There were, however, differences over the provisions of the conmstitution of the Khalsa Diwan. THese resulted in a break, with Lahore Singh Sabha spearheading a Khalsa Diwan at Lahore with a membership of all except three of the Singh Sabha affiliated to it. Suffices to say that the Singh Sabha Lahore, became the focal point of the Sikh reform movement.

The Singh Sabha movement played its historic role by exposing the evils which had crept into the social and religious life of the Sikhs. It reclaimed Sikhism from "a state of utter ossification and inertia and articulated the inner urge of Sikhism for reform and gave it a decisive direction." It not only checked the relapse of the Sikhs into Hinduism but also retaliated by carrying prosewlytsing activities into the Hindu camp. A large number of Hindus were baptised and the Sikh population which was 17,06,165 in 1881 rose to 21,02,896 in 1901 and never dwindled again. Thus the Singh Sabha movement proved to be the elan vital in the regeneration of the Sikh society.

In 1888, Khalsa Diwan was established in Lahore. Subsequently, on Nov. 10, 1901, Shiromani GurSikhs gathered at Ramgarhia Bunga, Amritsar, and laid the foundation of Chief Khalsa Diwan. This organization actively corrected numerous traditions in GurSikhism and continues to do so til today.

-Ref. Mahan Kosh (pp. 193) The Sikhs in History, by Sangat Singh, 1995

???? Baba Prem Singh of Hoti Mardaan, a great Sikh historian passed away.

[AkalPurakhDiFauj]

November 3rd

1668

Bhai Dharam Singh was born in Hastnapur to father Sant Ram and Matta Sabho. He was among the first five members to be initiated into the Khalsa order. He was the second one to answer Guru Gobind Singh call and offered his head to the Guru. He remained in the company of his great Master when he went to Nanded where he breathed his last in 1708.

1753 Meer Mannu fell from his horse during an attack. As his foot was stuck in the saddles's stirrup, hew got dragged to death. Subsequently, his wife Mighalani sought help of Abdali.

- Ref. "Amritsar Ji Dae Darshan Eshnan Utay 500 <banned word filter activated> Di Ethasak Directory," Satnam Singh Khalsa Advocate, pp 81

1834 Raja Sangat Singh of Jind passed away.

1988 The hearing began in the case of General Vaidiya's murder. On Aug. 10th, 1985, Harjinder Singh "Jinda" and Sukhdev Singh "Sukha", gunned down General Vadiaya after his retirement from the Indian army. General Vadiya was the Chief of the Indian Army who ordered the attack on the holiest of the holy shrines at Amritsar and elsewhere in Punjab during 1984 operations. On Oct. 9, 1992, Sukhdev Singh "Sukha" and Harjinder Singh "Jinda" were hanged until death in Puna Jail.

==> Here is the text of Sukha and Jinda's letter to the President. They were executed for the killing of General Vaidya who led the assault on the Golden Temple during Operation Bluestar.

"EK ONKAR"

"Rastrapati Ji",

Kindly accept Sat Sri Akal (Salute to the Revered Timeless) by the two Singhs (Sikhs) on their way to martyrdom.

Theoretically, it is appropriate to clarify that our Rastrya (nation) is the Khalsa Panth absorbed into the Guru Granth Sahib. We took the first vital steps towards the destination of Khalistan by touching our foreheads with the footdust of this nation. The elimination of Mr. Vaidya, the General of your forces engaged in destroying the Khalsa Panth and its power, was a holy act on our difficult path of martyrdom. It has once again brought the historical truth to light the urge of the Khalsa Panth to breathe in freedom, its self respect and honor cannot be finished.

We wish to clarify that we are not addressing these words to you as an individual but as the head of a State that is communal and Brahmanical. Whosoever occupies, occupied, or will occupy this throne of falsehood, will be to us a symbol of oppression and cruelty. We have not forgotten that when the "wedding party of sin" (the Indian Armed Forces) was invading our Temple of God, a heathen in the garb of a Sikh, was sitting in your place (Zail Singh). The Panth will "Settle its accounts" with him, when Sikh history imparts its justice.

By invading the Golden Temple, your army tried to rob a nation of saint-soldiers, living in its divine simplicity, of its joy. It gave us a feeling once as if you succeeded in driving us to a point of utter frustration. But by performing our historic task we have reminded you that our heroes like Sukha Singh, Mehtab Singh, Udham Singh are shadowing your tyrants like Wazida, Lakhpat, Rebeiro, Dawyer.

We accept with great joy the penalty of death pronounced by your court of law alienated from the divine blessings and fallen to the Brahmanical reflexes, for whatever we undertook in accordance with the vision of the Khalsa. By touching the sharp edge of death we are moving towards fullness. Without martyrdom the magnificent fair of life cannot come into full swing.

The fact is that the Brahmanical form of Hinduism thinks of the Akal Takhat and its thoughtcomplex related to the movement and play of eternal in vulgar pragmatic terms. This sort of limited thinking of Brahmanical Hinduism puts the great institution of the Khalsa Panth on a very low pedestal and elaborates it in a very harsh practical sense. From this narrow angle the Akal Takhat is reduced to an ordinary building or at the most to a place of worship. The Khalsa Panth does not accept this situation. The Khalsa does not worship power, rather it enters history by empowering itself. The truth from the Akal Takhat has taught us that by being armed, the Khalsa has to snatch the power of the powerful and by absorption into the Eternal Word, the Khalsa has to assimilate the saintliness of the saint. This theory has destroyed the centralized authority of power and saintliness (Miri-Piri) and was very threatening to the Brahmanical stream of thought. Because the new Sikh doctrine not only awakened the people, it also inspired them to organize themselves for an armed struggle under the leadership of the Akal Takhat by shattering falsehood of Brahmanical thought. The Masters of Centralism at once came into action. They began to repeat the well-designed danger to the "unity and integrity of the country" to retain power and encouraged the rise of "Personal Gurus" in the arena of religion.

The thought of Brahmanical reflexes had in fact started attacking the consciousness of the Sikh Gurus ever since its emergence, but on 15th August after assuming imperial authority, the Brahmanical thought took still nastier forms. In the last few decades, your parliament, courts, educational institutions and media have tried to humble the consciousness of the Khalsa through the subtler force of majoritarianism and material monopoly.

We are not hesitant to say that conspiracies have been hatched and very subtle arrangements have been made at the psychological level to destroy the great institutions, traditions, originality and unique sovereignty of the Khalsa Panth. The destruction of the Akal Takhat by sending in lakhs of soldiers was part of this larger conspiracy. In this situation, it hardly needs saying, how justified it was to eliminate the military general Vaidya who was not only a part of this conspiracy but also responsible for its planning and implementation. By completing this holy and historic task, we have unburdened our conscious and proved that the real force of the Khalsa Panth is and will remain free from the Brahmanical reflexes in all ages. By cautioning the Khalsa Panth of these strategies we have won the love of Guru Gobind Singh.

When nations wake up, even history begins to shiver. During such momentous movement a Banda Bahadur bids farewell to his peace-dwelling and destroys a state of oppression like Sirhind, a Che Guevera turns down a ministership of Cuba, loads a gun on his breast and entrenches against the enemies in the forest of Bolivia, a Nelson Mandela rejects the ideology of apartheid and prefers to spend his life in a dark prison cell.

.And we have the privilege of being in the loving care and companionship of that unique general of the Panth Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, blessed by the valiant and transcendental visionary Guru Gobind Singh. We are tiny particles of dust of the numberless heroic jewels of the Sikh nation who walked on the sharp edge of the Dagger, the Khanda, given to us by Guru Gobind Singh. Only the chosen few get the honor of laying down their lives for the nation. We are proud of this honor.

In no way is it just to accuse us of an unheroic act in attacking an unarmed man. We wish to remind you that by misusing your vast resources you have tried your utmost to humiliate us as a nation. In every field you have tried to make us helpless. You are empowered with your massive armed force and equipped with the most advanced military arsenal of our times. You have made us inadequate to fight you in the open battlefield. In the present situation there is no other alternative with us except to use the kind of method that we employed on General Vaidya to punish the tyrants for their evil deeds. When you are already waging an undeclared war on our nation, guerilla attacks are not our pleasure but an historical compulsion. Please do not forget this fact of history that during the 18th century when robbers like Abdalis and Nadarshah were driving your daughters to Kabul like enroped flocks of animals, our brave Sikh brethren from their jungle and desert hideouts fiercely attacked the robbers. Even the frightened enemies had to praise our courage. We are fired with a generous humanism. Our grip extends to the entire life with its beat and vibration.

In the last one decade there have been very few "actual" encounters between our soldiers and your forces. But wherever those have occurred, the evidence in them of our valor and radiant heroism, we are sure, is preserved in your confidential files. A fragment of that fact once in a while slips through your newspapers as well. Our Khalsa vigor is an aspect of our spiritual heritage. In such moments of fight, spirituality radiates through the flasher of our swords.

Oh. President representing Brahmanism Hear the words of Kazi Noor Mohammad, an eye witness during the seventh invasion (1764 AD) of Ahmad Shah Abdali: "It looks as if guns were invented by these Sikhs and not by Likman. Although many possess guns yet none understands them more than the Sikhs. My observation will be confirmed by the 30 thousand brave soldiers who fought against them."

When we attacked General Vaidya, apart from his own arms, he had with him a well equipped body guard. Our attack was part of the same battlefield strategy that was once used by our hero-martyrs Madan Lal Dhingra, Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, and even today it is used by revolutionaries the world over, and considered right.

Through you we also wish to transmit this message that we harbor no enmity towards the great people and land of India. We are not touched even a bit by hatred for the people of India. Not only to embrace our people, we are restless to embrace the whole of the earth and the sky. We intoxicatedly remember the entire cosmos and worship the life that vibrates in it.

The Khalsa is inseparably and lovingly related to the people of India: the millions of Dalits, the workers who earn their living through honest labor, the Muslims and other minorities, and all those homeless and destitute who have remained oppressed and exploited by Brahmanism for centuries. They are all our kith and kin. Our Master Rider of the blue horse (Guru Gobind Singh) recognized them much earlier. All those termed by the proud Brahmin the lowly, scavengers, shoemakers, mean-professioned, became the beloved sons of our Tenth Father. They rose to Generalships in the army of the Khalsa. Thrones and honors kissed them. Without fantasizing, we are declaring in the midst of history that our gurus loved the meta-poetry (bani) of those divine souls drenched with a passion for the Dalit brotherhood. The gurus bestowed the highest honors on them and included their (bani) along with their own in the Guru Granth Sahib. The spirit of the Dalits and their pain are aspects of our own anguish. We are touched by the warmth of their door. There is hardly any Agro Industry in the Punjab. Heavy industry is totally non-existent. We want to keep our capital safe for our development, but you are exploiting us as if we are your colony.

You have not spared an effort to hurt our culture. By damaging our heritage you want to keep us in a miserable psychological state so that we may feel embarrassed over our language, culture and proud history. Your strategy is to destroy us from "within" and reduce us to your slaves so that you may keep on sucking our blood without any protests.

You want us to adopt your rootless culture of razzle dazzle as our way of life. You want to uproot our culture and take away our source of life. You think our history is not worthy of any significance.

But now we keep track of your ever step. Still a vital blood flows in our veins. We will structure our way of life according to our originality and history. Every one knows that without getting political power it is not possible for any nation to guard its culture. It is not possible for us to keep our cultural and national identity intact without establishing a Sovereign Khalistan. We are offering our heads for achieving our goal; Our True Guru has granted a sovereign State to us, we have won his blessing by offering our heads.

Now we beg to address our Khalsa Panth. The way of the Khalsa is very trying. It is sharper than the edge of a Dagger, the Khanda, and subtler than a strand of hair. The Khalsa panth at all cost has to preserve the original and pure form of its great struggle. The struggle is a diving journey inspired by a transcendental consciousness. During these moments of struggle, the Khalsa is to remain continuously absorbed into the Guru Granth Sahib, no matter how many cruelties are inflicted and provocation is given, the Khalsa has to keep its cool and discipline in the horrible and barbaric situations. The Khalsa has to preserve its traditions established by the valiant Sikhs through martyrdom.

In comparison with the violence of the enemy, the violence of the Khalsa abounds in divine qualities and spiritual blessings. The Khalsa has to give such a divine form and beauty to its struggle that it may even burden the conscience of the enemy with the realization of its own sin. Such a moral miracle will be possible only if the concentration on the guru of the Khalsa and rhythm of the Guru Granth Sahib remain fully connected and intact. The Guru Granth Sahib is the main source of our life-stream and spiritual power. It is also the chief spring of our inspiration to advance towards the destination of Khalistan.

If concentration on the guru and the internal rhythm of the Guru Granth Sahib are the main lifestream of the Khalsa, then it is also necessary to say a few words to the militants who are intensely in love with the stream. In this terrible crisis of history, the concentration on the guru and the rhythm of the Guru Granth Sahib are the only armed brigades. The are the army of the Timeless Man, and they are the guardians of the pure consciousness of the Khalsa. We too had the honor of having been the humble parts of these forces.

It is true that we are confronting a vast material State that has at its command all the worldly resources, horrifying scientific inventions, a capacity to attack and disable the intellect and praxis. The state can also weaken us through penetration and strategies of its intelligence. It can also develop shocking plans and more than everything else it can assemble huge armies. But so what? The Khalsa can send shivers into the spine of the enemy and shake its State with its spiritual might. It is not the bodies alone that fight. It was only a miracle of the Khalsa spiritual strength that even with its tiny number the Khalsa subdued the 10 lakh army of the Mughals at the Castle of Chamkaur.

During the last decade we have overwhelmed this State of Brahmanical prejudices with martyrdom. We have been hailed in all corners. Now the matter is not restricted to the possible creation of Khalistan alone. Several oppressed nations of India have come out in the open to fight for their freedom. The Dalit brothers, specially are liberating themselves from the destructive influence of Brahmanism. The so-called hue and cry made for "unity and integrity" does not touch them any more. They have well understood the cunning of Brahmanical rulers veiled behind this hue and cry. Although these are magnificent accomplishments of our movement still we are not free from big mistakes and inadequacies.

Sometimes, during our struggle we do commit something that is neither morally unique nor pious. Although we are marching towards our goal of achieving Khalistan with determination yet still we have not fully learnt how to go through this difficult terrain. The understanding and experience of our struggle are still diluted and surfacial. We have still to develop a large vision that crosses decades and centuries.

We still keep doing something that gives our enemy an opportunity to question our proud and glorious history. Several times our arms have wrecked the joys, blossom and aspirations of those who had never directly hurt our movement.

It appears sometimes as if we were trying to strike terror among the people although our commitment to the ninth Guru is nether to terrify nor to get terrified.

Oh valiant brethren! Why are not our actions and deeds firing many colors and proliferating unusual effects of life? Why to give the people an excuse that a wide gap has appeared between our mind, word and action. When we sin we become drunk with victory of fault and when we lose we do not investigate its reasons. As a result a chain of losses begins. In such a situation we do not urge to re-integrate ourselves with the transcendental consciousness of the Khalsa, nor do we seek the blessing of the guru's abode.

We are becoming martyrs, going to jails, bearing every attack of the enemy, but still in our basic thought, the gratitude to the Lord, patience and commitment have not fully penetrated. Sometimes, the glory of the material status, its power and shine captivate us, as a result we fall prey to material values and miracles. During such moments we do not passionately pray before the Guru Granth Sahib to keep our unique character by heroism and spirituality higher and untouched by narrow ends.

Several times we suffer from indecision. To free ourselves from this state instead of getting close to the guru we rather choose distance. We are forgetting that during disagreement among us, the resolution of the entire Khalsa adopted at the Akal Takhat can cement and guide us. Oh Brave brethren drenched with the divine love of the sixth guru, Hargobind Sahib! Why don't you flock towards the Akal Takhat for guidance? Our guru spreading his arms awaits us.

At times, our baseless suspicions divide us into groups. We then patronize our group, and to protect it we unnecessarily accuse the other groups of crossing all limits. Our sword proudly falls on their necks. The militants of the Khalsa Panth have to meet this serious challenge of the moment with determination and love, with a prayer for the enhancement of wisdom and humility of the mind. Will you follow this path our brethren after we are gone?

Oh militant comrades of the procession of those walking with their heads on the palms for sacrifice! You carry on your shoulders the historic responsibility of recognizing the mail lifestream and original form of the Khalsa and also the responsibility of identifying the deadly current of ignorance and temptation. This current, to obtain power, has fallen to act on Brahmanical practices. Please understand the narrow motives concealed behind this current that on surface appears to be proSikh. Wage a war against it. Its divisive tendencies are to be strongly resisted. The people associated with this current have lost their faith in the higher struggle. They have been tempted by the Brahmanical reflexes and its allied power hierarchies. They have begun to like evanescent colors. Their actions do not reflect the message of Guru Nanak's transcendental journey: Nor do they flash any divine experience. Their state mirrors a schism between the mind and word. Declare that these people are false and they have disowned our panth. If they want to be owned by the Khalsa and they feel that there is still in them a secret of truth enunciated by Guru Nanak let them advance straight towards Khalistan otherwise they will be thrown into the dustpan of history.

Respected President Ji! After these few words with our nation we again address you. When we bid farewell to the world it will be a strange meeting of numerous contradictions. If we look at the world insightfully, the while world is in turmoil, a powerful turmoil. With an alien eye it may look to be a destructive development. It feels as if human peace and action were going through acute disturbance, but the people with intuition can see all this from a difference angle altogether.

The humankind's aspiration for freedom cannot be controlled in any system. Any effort to destroy this aspiration gets selfdefeated in history. We are witnessing the same happening in our times also.

The same passion for freedom burning like a flame in the depths of humankind gave birth to the great French Revolution. And then in the beginning of this century, we are watching the tumbling of the Tsarist regime that had become a symbol of terror and tyranny.

But whatever systems have been built up on the ruins of Tsarism, have not succeeded in fully preserving and understanding the rush and aspiration of human freedom. All these massive artifices are showing cracks. What an irony of our times that the same people who had raised our ancestors' flag of freedom became the murderers of freedom.

We are saying this with deep sorrow that the same lands where lakhs of people laid down their lives fighting the Nazis, toda are providing shelter to the murderers of the Sikhs. Wee mean the country of the great Tolstoy and Lenin, the Soviet Union and its East European allies, where the killers of hundreds of Sikh youth like Buta and Rebiero are taking shelter under the pretext of holding diplomatic responsibilities. But at the same time fresh winds of freedom blowing in these countries give us a hope that these countries will not remain safe shelters for these murderers of mankind. To us that time is not distant when the people of these countries will hand over these criminals to us so that the can be given their due in the court of the Khalsa.

The dark storm of oppression that is blowing over the Khalsa and the fire of tyranny that is burning it, must have touched at least a little, the soul of Lincoln, Emerson, Rouseau, Voltaire and Shakespeare because the people fighting for their freedom and sovereignty have the same blood flowing in their veins. But permit us to say that among the people of these great men's lands the urge to push their tradition is dying. Their spiritual values are drying up, they are unable to see the new sun shining in the land of Khalistan whose rays will also radiate the universe. We are hoping that they will accept the reality of Khalistan. We appeal to the United Nations to recognize the face of Khalistan so that the Khalsa nation can make historic contribution to the international peace and security according to the UN Charter, and may also help in building up their relations of tolerance and goodwill among India and its neighbors.

Honorable President Ji! We are going to look into the eyes of death because we believe that the flag of life's glory flies even in the face of death. Not only us, but our entire nation has taken birth from the art of keeping its head on its palm. The guns of evil will never frighten us.

In this era of betrayals we are going to meet our beloved in full faith and wholesomely. Our martyrdom will radiate only integration. We are feeling that martyrdom is a transcendence of all fears, greeds and obscene physical desires. The consciousness of the Khalsa is the most pure and luminous during the moments of martyrdom.

We have chosen the path of martyrdom so that the ever fresh face of the Khalsa and its unique glory can come into its own once again, and enlighten the whole world. In their eternal joy and grace the Gurus blessed us with a spark of their love. With that spark we are on full blossom. Our love for freedom has taken us to the state of cosmic equilibrium sahaja.

We have met our True Guru. The fairies of the eternal symphony have arrived to congratulate us with all their families at this momentous hour of meeting.

Martyrdom has a unique relish of its own. How wonderful is it beyond the material and ineffable emotions!

Please tell our nation not to be sorrowful. The sweet remembrance of, Guru Gobind Singh flows like a river in us. Please tell them that the stream of love of the Tenth Guru has already gushed forth in us. We are going towards the altar in higher peace and divine poise. We are riding a unique boat that the currents are unable to sink.

The maker has put together all the wood perfectly, O Nanak my Lord will not let even lakhs of sea currents sink the boat.

The Khalsa has upheld the belief that whenever death comes, accept it with joy. For this reason please tell all those warriors of the world bringing with the fire of freedom not to let go-mellow the challenge thrown by us. Let their bursting bullets become a lament on our death.

The rope of gallows is dear to us like the embrace our Lover but if we are condemned to be the prisoners of war, we will wish bullets to kiss the truth lurking in our breasts so that the sacred ground of Khalistan becomes more fertile with our warm blood.

Long Live Khalistan!!!!

We are restless to drink the pint of martyrdom of Khalistan.

- Harjinder Singh

- Sukhdev Singh

Enclosure:

Atrocities perpertrated on the Sikhs:

Dear Rastrapati ji,

We are giving below the methods of torture, humiliation and atrocities used by your state against the Sikhs. These have been mentioned by the humanitarian organizations and individuals who hold prestige in their respective fields. These organizations and individuals are not seen directly or emotionally connected with our movement. They have been forced to write about the extreme violations of human rights of our people. We wish you to know and witness the continuous repression and atrocities perpetrated against the Sikhs by your army, paramilitary forces and the police. We are not presenting all this to you to win your sympathy, nor do we wish you repent by taking pity on us. In fact by situating you in this picture we want to have the verdict of the people of the world over the extent you have violated the UNO's Declaration on Human Rights, the Geneva Convention, and many other international treaties. We are mentioning below the violations and atrocities:

- To interrogate the Sikhs, a round log of wood is placed on their legs, and after putting heavy weight on the log it is rotated on the legs.

- Chillie powder is sprinkled in the eyes and sex organs of the Sikhs.

- Sikhs are hung upside down from the ceilings till they became unconscious.

- The body joints are battered.

- Electric shocks are administered to the genitals making most of the youth impotent

- Sikh women, during interrogation, are hurt in their sex organs. Filthy abuse is showered on them.

- Violence is inflicted on the parents in presence of their sons and daughters and vice-versa.

- Brothers are forced to beat sisters and vice versa. violence is inflicted on adult girls after stripping them naked and their sex organs are damaged. They are sexually assaulted, pregnancies are terminated of the expectant females

- Crotchets are pulled apart.

- The victims of inhuman violence are made to sit naked in winter, and under the sun in summer, kept sleepless for days in solitary cells.

- Sikhs are subjected to severe beatings and filthy abuse in the presence of their village folks.

- Dead bodies of Sikhs killed in fake encounters are not handed over to their parents to conceal marks of excessive violence.

- The state manipulates tailored post mortem reports from the doctors, and burns the dead bodies of the Sikhs after falsely declaring them unclaimed.

- All sorts of excesses are made on the parents of underground Sikh youths.

- Indiscriminant atrocities are committed on the parents of the underground youth of the area where some militant action takes place.

- Atrocities are committed without caring for one's age, health life or death. If some one luckily survives such brutal excesses, it is well and good But if one dies while under "interrogation", then such a dead body is taken out, pierced with some bullets, and a news item is sent that a dreaded terrorist has been shot dead in an encounter.

- Houses of underground Sikh youths are demolished, their belongings are looted, crops destroyed, their tube well motors are taken away, and they are prevented from sowing crops.

- Even animals of the families of underground Sikh youth are subjected to police anger. After summoning the families to the police station, villagers are told not to take care of the animals of the families of the underground youth. Generally the animals starve to death.

- False cases are registered against innocent sikh youths, later they are let off taking fat bribes.

- Reporters giving true reports are arrested, an undeclared censorship is imposed on them to stop them from exposing police atrocities.

- Peaceful protests by the Human rights organizations are prohibited.

- Press is used to launch vicious and false propaganda against the Sikhs.

- Hardened criminals are inducted into Sikh movement to help in arresting the Sikh revolutionaries and sabotage the movement. Such criminals are inducted to tarnish the fair name of the Sikh revolutionaries are now called the "Black Cats" in the Punjab. Under SSP Izhar Alam, such criminal gangs were named the "Alam Sena." Besides, such police sponsored bands of criminals also operated under the name of Panthic Tiger Force and "Red Brigade." The director general of the police himself admitted about the "Black Cats" bands. In his interview to the India Today on Sept. 15, 188, KPS Gill had announced without an iota of shame that the security forces in Punjab cannot do anything without the help of secret bands (Black Cats).

- Thousands of innocent pilgrims, children, females, aged people, who got encircled in the Golden Temple during Operation Bluestar were made to die through starvation and thirst. The whole of Punjab was converted into a vast jail by clamping curfew on the entire area. The army bulletin branded all Amritdhari Sikhs as terrorists.

- Indian army desecrated the Gurdwaras and committed such atrocities on the Sikhs that even the soul of Ahmed Shah Abdali might have felt ashamed of.

- The targets of army guns were none else but religious persons, devotees, pilgrims, ladies, old people, children or some militants whom the indian government deemed as terrorists.

- No neutral observer was allowed to take stock of the situation.

- The injured during the attack on the Golden Temple were subjected to extreme partiality. Whereas every assistance and facility was made available to the injured army personnel, there was no such provision for the wounded belonging to the other side.

- The number of prisoners taken was rather small. There is ample scope for doubt that the Indian army had thought it better to eliminate the thousands of people seized in the Golden Temple instead of taking them prisoners or having to provide them with medical assistance.

- No need was felt to perform religious rites for the dead pilgrims and devotees.

- Before consigning the dead bodies to flames, no effort was made to identify them. No relatives were informed.

- No dead bodies were handed over to the next of kin. In such a situation only the dead or those wishing to be dead could be present at the last rites.

- All dead bodies were placed in heaps and then consigned to flames. IT was never insured that among the dead there could also be some Muslim devotees. To cremate is against the tenets of Islam.

- No need was felt to give a list of the dead to the Red Cross or any other International Agency.

- Despite such atrocities, no commission was appointed to go into this dark episode. Even the Britishers, the foreign rulers, had cared to appoint the Hunter commission to inquire into the Jallianwalla Massacre which was of a much less magnitude on the other hand. The Indian government, on the other hand, took all steps to hide the excesses of the army.

[AkalPurakhDiFauj]

November 4th

1469 Prakash Utsav, Patshahi first, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

==> GURU NANAK (1469-1539):

In a world rife with falsehood, sunk in superstitions and plagued by all kinds of inequities and inequalities, Guru Nanak rang in the gospel of truth, universal love and brotherhood. The Founder Guru of the Sikhs and one of the greatest and saintliest of saviours, he redeemed the soul of a moribund society that had experienced a total eclipse, if not annihilation, of all abiding human values. The condition of the contemporary society has been vividly described by the First Master in the well -known words

"This age is a knife, kings are butchers,

justice hath taken wings and fled.

In this completely dark night of falsehood

the moon of truth is never seen to rise."

Guru Nanak was born in a Bedi family at Talwandi (Nankana Sahib), near Lahore, in 1469. At an early age he learnt Sanskrit, Persian and the prevalent form of Gurmukhi. He was a precocious child with a pronounced penchant for religion. His father, Mehta Kalu, made vain efforts to woo him to a mundame mode of life. Accordingly, he was got employed in a Government store of the Nawab of Sultanpur where he served for 13 years.

It was in 1499 that the day of destiny of ecstatic communion with God came. While taking his daily bath in the rivulet Bain that flows near Sultanpur, Nanak had his illumination through a soul-stirring vision of Almighty God. It was here that the Guru delivered his great sermon in the memorable words: "There is no Hindu, there is no Musalman". The spiritual enlightenment enjoined on him a mission to the propagation of which he consecrated his entire life. He set out on his great Udasi's (Missionary journeys) to deliver God's message to sinning and suffering humanity.

He toured the whole of India and many foreign countries, preaching the gospel of true religion and rooting out ignorance and evil. The great Guru undertook five major missionary journeys in this behalf.

In the course of his first long travel, Guru Nanak visited celebrated Hindu places of pilgrimage like Kurukshetra, Banaras and Jagnnath Puri. He taught people how to distinguish Dharma from Adharma and abandon such pretentious rituals and prayers as constituted the accepted religious practice of the times. During his second journey the Guru went as far as Sangla Deep and having done his ministry returned to the Punjab.

The Master's third missionary journey is known for his discussions with reputed Kashmiri Pandits and savants and for his visits to famous haunts of the Yogis, the Sidhas and the Nathas in the Himalayas. The Guru preached truth and righteousness wherever he went.

The fourth missionary journey comprised the Master's visit to prominent Muslim shrines in Mecca, Medina and Baghdad. After his return to the Punjab, the Guru set out on his fifth and final journey. This time he confined his travel to places nearer home such as Saidpur, Pakpattan, Multan, Achal Batala, etc. Saidpur had been sacked by Babar's forces. Deeply moved by spectacle of infinite human suffering resulting from the inhuman atrocities perpetrated by the Mughal invader, the Guru chanted hymns of Sorrow.

At Achal Batala, a renowned centre of the Yogis and Sidhas, the Guru preached the unity and equality of all religions. For twenty-two years Guru Nanak propagated his faith in India and abroad. During his 18 years' stay at Kartarpur, he incarnated into splendid deeds the lofty ideals that he had been preaching all his. life. Thus, by his own inspiring example, the Guru demonstrated how Raj and Yog, the worldly and the spiritual modes of life, could be happily and fruitfully conjoined.

During his extensive missionary journeys, Guru Nanak exhorted the benighted humanity to pursue the path of divine meditation. He stressed the significance of righteous living above all other things. The Guru made men realize that there is only one God Who is peerless. He held that through Nam Simran (Meditation of God's Name) and concentration on Shabad (the word) man could muster up courage enough to uphold truth in his life.

Guru Nanak cried down all cant and blind observance of soulless customs, rites and rituals. The Guru averred that they were a meaningless meandering unconnected with the attainment of man's spiritual destiny, Thus he rightly laid accent on pious practical living which alone constitutes true religiosity.

The quintessence of Guru Nanak's philosophy is enshrined in his mul mantra. He has aptly emphasized the imperative need of truth and beauty, freedom and fraternity. According to Guru Nanak, religion implies a communion between God and man. As a corollary to this, a person who devotes himself to Nam Simran is naturally virtuous and fearless. Unsullied by ill-will or enmity, he works for the amelioration of the weak and the down-trodden. His noble actions give an impulse to his aesthetic ability. A truely religious man of the Guru's conception is opposed alike to serfdom and masterdom. His life is radiant with love and humility, sweetness and light.

Indeed, Guru Nanak wanted to unite and organize his disciples in order to give religion true solidarity. To this end, he established sangat (congregations) at numerous places and appointed their chiefs. Besides, he compiled his writings in book form which he handed over to his successor, Guru Angad Dev.

The Guru established a sangat at Kartarpur and prescribed a set of values to be cherished and practised. He also founded the great institution of langar (free community-kitchen) and spent his earnings from land on running it. Thus, he gave a living form to his doctrine of work, Nam Simran and the Temple of Bread. The Guru nominated Bhai Lehna, his most beloved and trusted disciple, for the exalted office of the Guru after him. In the Adi Granth are enshrined 974 hymns by the First Master.

-Ref. "Guru Granth Ratnavali," (pp. 38) by Dr. D.S. Mani, Sardar Bakhshish Singh, and Dr. Gurdit Singh Mahan Kosh (pp. 111)

1753 Mir Mannu died near Lahore. Immediately, after Ahmad Shah's departure from his 3rd invasion, Mir Manu recommended persecution of the Sikhs. About 30,000 Sikhs were killed under sustained pressure, yet the spirit of the Khalsa remained undaunted and could not be subdued.

Mannu and his elite guards were camped in a small village near Lahore on Mar. 8, 1753. He was on a hunting expedition with his chosen marksmen. Their presence was detected by Bhai Garja Singh, a young man who lived in the vicinity. He rode his horse as fast as he could and found some Khalsa forces in a jungle near by. He informed them that Mannu was near by and would be an easy Target. The Khalsa forces (number unknown but historians agree that it could not have been any larger that 200 Singhs) attacked the Mannu camp at night. In the darkness of the Moonless night Sikhs were able to hit hard on the Mannu forces. In the pitch of the battle, Mir Mannu tried to escape the field but his horse was hit by an arrow of a Sikh. As wounded horse jumped in pain Mir Mannu fell off and was dragged for miles through the thick brush of the jungle. He was severely wounded and died the next day. Sikhs left the battle field once they could do all the damage that could be done. Thus came a painful end to a tyrant of Punjab who was responsible for the execution of thousands of innocent Sikhs including very old and the very young. The news of his death came as a great relief for the Sikhs.

1763 Sikh forces attacked and defaetaed Ahmad Shah's Jahan Khan at Wazirabad.

1982 Akali Dal organized morcha in Delhi during the 9th Asian Games. Haryana police harassed Sikhs on their way to Delhi. No rank, status, or position mattered. All Sikhs were thoroughly harassed and made to feel foreigners in their own home.

Nov. 4-30, Sikhs were insulted during the 9th Asian Games held at Delhi. The moderate Sikh Party, the Akali Dal, had organised a morcha and announced its intention to court arrests on this occasion. The Indian Government, therefore, ordered the search and humiliation of all Sikhs travelling to Delhi. Sikh passengers were pulled out of buses and trains and were searched by the para military forces and police. Even old men, women and children were not spared. Sikh army officers in their uniforms, retired Army generals, senior civil and police officers, High Court Judges, who were per chance carrying their identity cards, were also stopped, searched, insulted and badly humiliated. Nine main barricades and check posts guarded by armed policemen and para-military forces, were established in Haryana province. All Sikhs were treated as if they were a part of an enemy's army who were going to attack India with most dangerous weapons. Sikh women were also searched by male police officials. Even when the Indian Parliament was told about this humiliation of the Sikh officers of the military, judiciary and administration, etc., but no action was taken against.

[AkalPurakhDiFauj]

November 5th

1675 Guru Tegh Bahadhur Patshah Ji was taken to Delhi in an iron cage. Guru Tegh Bahadhur along with Dewan Mati Das, Sati Das, and Dayal Das, were taken into custody on July 12, 1675 and taken to Sirhind where he was tortured while in detention. Upon reaching Delhi, the Subedar of Delhi and the royal Qazi formally went into the motion of offering them the options of showing miracles, accepting Islam or face death. Guru Sahib and the accompaning Disciples refused the first two options and were ready for the third.

Bhai Mati Das was tied between two logs and cut into twain with a saw, Dayal Das was boiled to death in a cauldron of hot water, while Sati Das was roasted alive with cotton wrapped around his body. Guru Tegh Bahadhur, after witnessing martyrdom of the three disciples, was beheaded on Nov. 11, 1675.

1840 Maharaja Khadak Singh, the first Prince designate of Maharaja Ranjit Singh died of slow poisoning. He was administered dozes of white lead in wine at the instance of Dhian Singh. The Dogra brothers had hatched a conspiracy to kill all the eligible princes of the Maharaja.

At the cremation of Maharaja Kharak Singh, Prince Nau Nihal Singh, while walking under an archway was seriously injured by falling stones. Udham Singh, son of Gulab Singh, walking with him died instantaneously. Dhian Singh who was following them was badly bruised. Prince Nau Nihal Singh died of injuries.

Dhian Singh's record is so dark and dirty in intrigues and murders, that all historians agree on his capability to carry out the same. His keeping even the mother of the prince away from the injured son, throws serious doubts over his creditability.

1920 Khalsa College was handed over to a Panthic College Committee.

1978 Killing of Sikhs took place in Delhi. The Delhi police fired at a Sikh protest procession and killed four Sikhs including the President of the Akali Party's Delhi unit, Jathaedar Awtar Singh Kohli, Sardar Mohinder Singh, and Sardar Gobind Singh. The police sieged three Sikh shrines of Delhi. Entrance to the Sikh shrines was banned after a period of 200 years. The curfew around the Sikh shrines was not lifted until November 7 when a secret Akali meeting decided to send a band of the senior-most Akali Ministers of the Punjab to violate the curfew orders.

-Ref. THE SIKHS' STRUGGLE FOR SOVEREIGNTY, An Historical Perspective By Dr. Harjinder Singh Dilgeer and Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon Edited By: A.T. Kerr Page 110-119

[AkalPurakhDiFauj]

November 6th

1573 Sri Guru Ramdas Ji personally conducted the ground breaking for Sri Amritsar Sarowar.

1840 Naunihal Singh, son of Maharaja Kharak Singh, was killed by Dogras in Lahore.

==> NAUNIHAL SINGH: was born in Lahore on Feb. 11, 1820, to mother Chand Kaur, daughter of Sardar Jaemal Singh of Kanaeya Misl, and father Khadak Singh, son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Naunihal was Maharaja's favorite since early childhood. He received timely religious educated from Giani Sant Singh, weaponry education from Sardar Lehna Singh Majiniya, Sardar Hari Singh Nalua, and General Vaentura Bapaegae. He married Nanaki (daughter of Sardar Sham Singh Attariwalae) in March of 1837.

From early childhood, Naunihal was being personally groomed for succession by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He proved to be worthy of such attention and enlarged the Sikh raj boundaries by conquering several neighboring states. The conquest of Peshawer in 1834 was monumental in establishing a deep affection for the young Naunihal, among the Khalsa forces and the public at large.

When Maharaja Khadak Singh assumed power after Maharaja Ranjit Singh's death, Raja Dhyan Singh Dogra's jealousy plotted the friction among Naunihal and his father. Slowly through false information, father was turned into an arch enemy.

As a result, Naunihal Singh put his father under house arrest and assumed the control of SikhRaj. On Nov. 5 1840, as Naunihal Singh was returning from the cremation of his father's body, he was crushed by the unexpected fall of fort entrances roof. From the eye witness accounts of Col. Alexander Gardner, it is evident that Naunihal was deliberately murdered.

-Ref. Mahan Kosh (pp. 721-722)

1908 The first Sikh Missionary School (Khalsa Parcharak Vidyala) was established at Taran Taran.

[AkalPurakhDiFauj]

November 7th

1675 Guru Tegh Bahadhur was presented to Aurangzeb, after his arrest near Roper on July 12. Aurangzeb did all in his power to xoax Guru Tegh bahadhur to embrace Islam. He offered him wealth, women, power, and reign. The Guru did not accept any one of them. He asked the Emporor for the Royal justice. He opposed the Emporer's policy of forced conversion. He said that the Emperor' coercive plan to prosleyytization was against God's laws. The Emperor was not in a mood to accept defeat. When the dialogue broke down he sentenced the Guru and his companions to death by torture. In the next three days, all the companions of the Guru were brutally tortured to death in front of the Guru's eyes. Bhai Mati Das was sawed into two pieces from head to lions. Bhai Dayal Das was thrown into a cauldron of boiling water and Bhai Sati Das was hacked to pieces, limb by limb.

-Ref. "The Sikh Religion and The Sikh People," by Dr. S.S. Kapor, Hemkunt Press, New Delhi, 1992

1759 Khalsa Panth gathered at Sri Amritsar and resolved to attack upon Lahore.

1921 The keys to Sri Harimandir Sahib's "ToshaKhana" (Panthic treasury) were seized by the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, to forestall SGPC's decision to acquire them. The clamping of seditious meetings Act as well as the arrest of 103 leading Akalais failed to cow them down. The committee declated that the surrender of the keys to S Kharak Singh, the uncrowned King of the Sikhs, would alone give them satisfaction. An agitation resulted for their returned on Jan. 19, 1922. The keys were returned to Baba Kharak Singh, President of SGPC, during active diwan in front of the Akal Takhat, by District Authorities, Amritsar. Mahatma Gandhi hailed this event as the "first decisive battle for India's freedom won".

==> Baba KHARAK SINGH, popularly known as "the Betaj Badshah" was one of the greatest Sikh leaders, a religious reformer and freedom fighter. For more than three decades, he struggled boldly against mis-management of Gurdwaras and the British rule in India. He was tried by courts in every important agitation for independence, went to prison fifteen times and suffered incarceration for an aggregate of twenty years. In the liberation of Sikh shrines from the British agents his role was decisive. Giani Partap Singh calls him the most honored Sikh leader of Indian people and founder of Gurdwara Reform Movement who had firm determination, a sense of selfless service detachment and simplicity ("Akali Lehar de Mahan Neta", p. 5, tr. mine).

Baba Kharak Singh was born on June 10, 1868 in Sialkot (now in Pakistan). He came of a wealthy family. His father, Rai Bahadur Hari Singh Rais was a big contractor. So good education was achieved easily. He matriculated from Scotch Mission High School in his home town. After passing Intermediate from Murray College, Sialkot, he joined Government College, Lahore. He was fortunate to be one of the first batch to pass B.A. from Punjab University. Then he joined the law course in Allahabad University. But he had to discontinue the studies on account of his father's death. He was married in a rich family and had one son.

With the noble idea of devoting himself fully to public and national service, Kharak Singh renounced all comforts of a wealthy home. It was an act of great sacrifice on his part. In this respect he can be justly compared to Jawaharlal Nehru. Later he faced all difficulties and deprivation with good grace. During the days of poverty he did not seek help from any quarter.

Even in his early public activity his patriotic and religious spirit was evident. For some time he worked as Secretary, Municipal Committee, Sialkot. But he resigned because the President was the Deputy Commissioner, an Englishman. It was against his self-respect to salute that foreign officer and keep standing while presenting papers. He got the first honor to be the President of Sialkot Singh Sabha and Khalsa High School. At the same time he was also an active member of Chief Khalsa Diwan when it was free from the official influence.

The sphere of Kharak Singh's public life widened in 1912 when he became Chairman of Reception Committee of Fifth Sikh Educational Conference, Sialkot. In 1915 he acted as President of Sikh Educational Conference, Taran Taran. A bold action on his part here was to disallow a resolution conveying greetings to the British victory in World War I. As Sohan Singh Josh says, he tore the resolution to pieces and threw it in waste paper basket ("Akali Morchian da Itihas", p. 52). He did not care for the displeasure of some Sikh leaders inclined towards the authorities.

Baba Kharak Singh was closely associated with Gurdwara Reform Movement for many years. He revolted against closure of Gurdwara Babay-de-Ber at Sialkot by the "patit" Sarbrah Ganda Singh. He led a jatha to get the doors of that shrine opened. When his action was declared by the D.C. as violative of law, he replied, "I know law better than you" (Quoted by Kirpal Singh, "Chonvian Sikh Juwania", p.4). He broke open the lock and brought official control to an end.

Kharak Singh plunged into active politics in 1919 soon after seeing the horrors of the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. Along with others, he organized Central Sikh League, a purely political party of the Sikhs. On October 20, 1920 he presided over its Lahore Session. The issue of the demolished wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, Delhi, felled by officials was taken up. He also endorsed Non-Cooperation Movement of Indian National Congress. During those days mutual cooperation among political parties was quite common. Congress leaders like M.K. Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Dr. Kitchloo participated in the Sikh League meetings.

Side by side he brought the representative religious body of the Sikhs - Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee - on sound footing. The previous committee formed by Panjab Govt. was elaborately extended. In August 1921 he became the first President of the real S.G.P.C. With his control (to quote Sohan Singh Josh again) the command of Sikhs came into the hands of such a leader who was sworn enemy of the English Raj, who hated selfish leaders and who could bear the worst blows to arouse the deadened spirit of Sikhs ("Akali Morchian da Itihas", p. 52, tr. mine). Under his guidance the objectives of S.G.P.C. were to bring the Sikh shrines under Panthic control, to abolish the influence of Mahants, to utilize the property and income of sacred places for religious purposes and to practice Sikhism as per teachings of the Gurus.

For missionary purpose Kharak Singh took bold initiative and determined stand. He ran one of the biggest factories manufacturing Kirpans without licence.

Contrary to the British Govt. instructions, he did not reduce the size of this weapon from three feet to nine inches. The police raided his factory on November 2 1, 1921 and seized 179 Kirpans. In the second raid on March 22, 1922, again 158 swords were seized. In the face of his determination the authorities had to yield. The people praised him for "liberating" the Kirpan irrespective of its length.

The brave Sikh crusader compelled the administration to hand over to him 53 keys of Toshakhana (Treasury) of Harmandir Sahib. These were still in the hands of officially appointed Manager though the whole complex had come in control of the Sikhs in October 1920. In a clever move these keys were obtained by Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, in November 1921. Baba Kharak Singh as President of S.G.P.C gave a call for agitation which came to be known as the keys Morcha. Along with some other leaders he was arrested on November 29, 1921 at Ajnala for violating prohibitory orders.

During the prosecution in that case in the court of Mr. Conor, he made bold statement against the British authorities. To quote an extract, "As the Government is a party to this prosecution and the Judge is one of its servants, I, therefore, do not wish to make any statement. My position as President of the Sikh Panth is like that of the President of the United States, France and Germany" (Quoted by Mohinder Singh, "The Akali Struggle", pp. 50-51). He was jailed for six months but had to be released earlier due to public protest.

Finally, the keys of Toshakhana were handed over to him by the District Judge on January 19, 1922. It was his great achievement and a big victory over the administration. Mahatma Gandhi called it decisive victory in "first Battle for India's Freedom". He also got Pandit Dina Nath released who was arrested along with Akalis. This glorious success made him a much esteemed leader of all the people. At this point people started calling him Betaj Badshah (Uncrowned King) and Baba Ji.

For his speeches against Colonial government, Baba Kharak Singh was again arrested in March 1922. Among other things he had said, "These Englishmen should leave India now. If they want to stay, they should live like tame persons" ("Akali Morchian da Itilias", p. 244; tr. mine). There were two charges against him - sedition and manufacture of large sword. He was sent to Dera Ghazi Khan Jail where his imprisonment was later extended to five years. In that jail he sacrificed A class facilities and lived like ordinary prisoners. The authorities there asked him to stop wearing black turban which irritated them. But he refused to carry out that instruction. As a result his turban was forcibly taken off. He protested against this outrage by removing shirt also. It is on record that he remained only in underwear for four years. When black turban was allowed he insisted on permission for Gandhi cap for Congressmen. Then his release was recommended by the Punjab Council. But he, like Master Tara Singh, refused to give any written or verbal assurance regarding his conduct.

When the Simon Commission arrived in 1928, he organized a big demonstration against it. Nothing less than absolute independence was acceptable to him. His protest against the demand of Dominion Status for India had to be considered by other leaders.

Baba Kharak Singh's open criticism of certain leaders of Congress Party brought about his alienation from it. In 1922 he was elected President of Panjab Pradesh Congress Committee also. But in 1929 the recommendation made by Nehru Committee annoyed him. Even the withdrawal of demand of Dominion Status could not appease him. Some Congress leaders said that his attitude was adamant. He organized a separate Akali Conference in Lahore.

As leader of the Sikhs he brought about many reforms in their shrines and organizations. Corruptions at religious places could not be tolerated by him. Influence of government agents was checked and then completely removed. He became the president of S.G.P.C. again in 1926. During his administration, the Sikh institutions were not used for honoring British officials, as had been done in the past. In 1929, he presided over All India Sikh Educational Conference for the second time.

During 1932-33 he had differences with Master Tara Singh who had been his companion. It was alleged that he had secret understanding with Maharaj Patiala who had employed his nephews Sunder Singh and Nirmal Singh. Baba Ji could not tolerate such petty things. He submitted his resignation from S.G.P.C. and Akali Dal. With that action the field was left completely opened for Master Tara Singh.

Meanwhile Kharak Singh continued playing his role in the struggle for independence. In 1931 he was detained, but released after six months. Next year he was again arrested for his active role in the movement and remained in jail for nineteen months. In 1935 he rejected Communal Award passed by the British Govt. This brought him imprisonment for two years. Like Subhas Chander Bose, he was not in favor of helping the British in World War II. In 1940 he was jailed for one year for speaking against the government.

Even in his old age Baba ji was active in the struggle for freedom. When the question of partition of the country came up, he raised the slogan - Undivided India. In 1944 he presided over United India Conference at Gujranwala. For his forceful speech there he was again arrested but released soon after.

After independence in l947 Baba Kharak Singh settled in Delhi. He did not seek any office or position on the basis of his sacrifices. On his 86th birthday Prime Minister Nehru and President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad praised his bravery, patriotism and determination. He breathed his last on October 6, 1963, aged 95, survived by three grandsons, his son having pre-deceased him in an accident.

-From "Baba Kharak Singh - The Betaj Badshah by Dr. Dharam Singh

- Sikh Review, Sept. 1992 issue

[AkalPurakhDiFauj]

November 8th

1665 Guru Tegh Bahadhur was arrested and taken to Delhi. The acceptance of Guruship by Guru Tegh Bahadhur without obtaining the approval of the imperial government at Delhi was considered an affront to Aurangzeb. he deputed Alam Khan Rohilla to take the Guru into custody, and bring him to his presence. Alam Khan and his escort showed themselves up in Dhamdhan when Guru Sahib was in the deep forest on a hunting expedition. Guru Tegh Bahadhur and his entourage were rounded up and taken to Delhi. This is the only time Guru Sahib met Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb asked Guru Sahib to show miracles or be ready to be put to death. Guru Sahib refused the first option as display of miracles is discouraged in Sikhism and considered arrogance while competing with God. As a result Aurangzeb ordered the execution of Guru Sahib. But the intervention of Raja Ram Singh, son of Raja Jai Singh, made Aurangzeb to relent, and order instead the detention of Guru Sahib and his entourage under his care. They were released on December 16, 1665.

1899 "Khalsa Samachar", a weekly punjabi newsletter, was started by Vir Singh.

1921 First Akali Conspiracy case initiated. Case lasted until May 8, 1922, Presiding Magistrate was P.J. Rust. Babbars involved included :-

Amar Singh, Kot Barre Khan (Gujranwala) - approver

Amar Singh, Delhi - absconded

Bachittar Singh, Dhuri (Sangrur)

Battan Singh, Kahir (Hoshiarpur) diede in July 1921

Bela Singh, Gholia Khurad (Ferozpur) - sentenced to 5 years term of improsonment

Bijla Singh, Ghuruan, District Patiala - Absconded

Bishan Singh, Sherpur (Sangrur)

Bur Singh, Lussar, Karamn Singhwala (Sialkot)

Chanchal Singh, Jandiala (Jullunder)

Chattar Singh, Tung (Gujjaranwala) - approver

Chattar Singh, Jethuwal (Amritsar)

Ganda Singh, Sarhali Khurd (Amritsar) - approver

Gurbachan Singh, Ambala, District Hoshiarpur, absconded

Guabakhash Singh, Peshawari - approver

Kishan Singh, Birring, District Jullunder - absconded

Mota Singh, Patara, District JUllunder - absconded

Narain Singh, Chattiwind (Amritsar)

Prem Singh, Lahore - approver

Sarmukh Singh, Kahiri (Hoshiarpur) - approver

Sham Singh, Kahiri (Hoshiarpur)

Sadhu Singh, Dhuri (Sangrur)

Shankar Singh, Pindori Bibi (Hoshiarpur)

Tara Singh, Thethar (Lahore) - sentenced to 5 years imprisonment

Thakar Singh, Bhojawal (Jullunder)

Tota Singh, Peshawar - sentenced to 5 years imprisonment

1927 Formation of the Simon Commission announced.

1983 Sikhs of Yamuna Nagar were attacked by fundamentalist Hindus.

[AkalPurakhDiFauj]

November 9th

1821 Maharaja Ranjit Singh invaded Mankera, territory annexed and Nawab Haji Ahmad Khan given some jagir elsewhere. All his territories of Bannu, Tonk, Liya and Kundian came under Sikh occupation.

1840 Sher Singh proclaimed the successor.

1840 Rani Chand Kaur, mother of Nau Nihal Singh, announced the pregnancy of Gilwani, wife of prince Nau Nihal Singh.

1901 Singh Sabhas of Lahore and Amritsar merged.

==> SINGH SABHA, a reform group of Amritdhari GurSikhs who objectively sought the eradication of the wrong practices in re-establishing the true traditions of GurSikhism. Their initial efforts for religious propagation and education resulted in the establishment of "Sri Guru Singh Sabha", Amritsar, in 1872. Sardar Thakur Singh Sandawalaia was the first chief, while the temporary offices and gathering facilities were organized at Guru Ka Bagh. The objectives of Singh Sabha, Amritsar, were to inculcate the principles of SIkh religion as preached by the Sikh Gurus among the Sikhs with a view to restoring Sikhism to its pristine purity, preach the principles of Sikh religion by word of mouth, by publication of historical and religious books, and through magazines and newspapers, encourage propagation of Punjabi, reclaim apostates and attract the sympathies of those highly placed in public adminsitration to the educational progress of the Sikhs. The Singh Sabha was to shun politics.

Next in 1879, another Singh Sabha was established at the Prakash place of Guru Ram Das Patshah, in Lahore. Diwan Buta Singh and Bhai Gurmukh Singh were the chiefs of this organization. The successful efforts of these Singh Sabhas resulted in several Singh Sabhas springing around the country. Singh Sabha had a clear perception of Sikhism as enunciated by the Sikh Gurus, and was determined to restore it to its original shape, without any compromise with Hindusim. A number of Singh Sabhas were established and affiliated to the Singh Sabha, Lahore. Amrit Prachar (administration of baptism) to all, including Muslims and lower classes, was an effective movement which, however, brought about conflict with certain Pujaris of the Sikh shrines. Gradually, the Singh Sabhas constructed their own gurudwaras with granthis, ragis, and updeshaks, and they became centres of new rivivalism.

The warming up of the Singh Sabha activity was discernible by a decision to establish Khalsa Diwan at Amritsar. This came into being in 1883 to oversee the functioning of over three dozen Singh Sabhas. There were, however, differences over the provisions of the conmstitution of the Khalsa Diwan. THese resulted in a break, with Lahore Singh Sabha spearheading a Khalsa Diwan at Lahore with a membership of all except three of the Singh Sabha affiliated to it. Suffices to say that the Singh Sabha Lahore, became the focal point of the Sikh reform movement.

The Singh Sabha movement played its historic role by exposing the evils which had crept into the social and religious life of the Sikhs. It reclaimed Sikhism from "a state of utter ossification and inertia and articulated the inner urge of Sikhism for reform and gave it a decisive direction." It not only checked the relapse of the Sikhs into Hinduism but also retaliated by carrying prosewlytsing activities into the Hindu camp. A large number of Hindus were baptised and the Sikh population which was 17,06,165 in 1881 rose to 21,02,896 in 1901 and never dwindled again. Thus the Singh Sabha movement proved to be the elan vital in the regeneration of the Sikh society.

In 1888, Khalsa Diwan was established in Lahore. Subsequently, on Nov. 10, 1901, Shiromani GurSikhs gathered at Ramgarhia Bunga, Amritsar, and laid the foundation of Chief Khalsa Diwan. This organization actively corrected numerous traditions in GurSikhism and continues to do so til today.

-Ref. Mahan Kosh (pp. 193)

- The Sikhs in History, by Sangat Singh, 1995

1985 Through Nov 10, an All Canada Sikh Convention was hosted in Victoria by the local sangat. Although the Federation had been in existence for the last five years, the Sikh community has passed through challenging times since the last Convention of 1983. A host of activities had been undertaken by the Federation such as "Chair in Sikh Studies," the presentation of a Kirpan to the Prime Minister Trudeau, the Kirpan Case, the Turban Case of K.S. Bhinder; numerous briefs on these were presented. Assistance went to Sikhs seeking refugge status, and they worked on negation of false propaganda against Sikhs generated by Air India crash. The Federation had also been publishing "The Nation" paper. The objectives of the convention were to establish rthe decision making process at the national level, to devise strategic planning for the involvement of the Sikh community, to review progress of the activities of the Federation, to address social, cultural and religious concerns of Sikh women, and to allow a forum for the Sikh youth to articulate problems, concerns, and issues on the religious and cultural developments of Sikh youth. Apart from the federation business, there were three workshops on: Community Development; Women's Issues; and the Concerns of the Youth.

[AkalPurakhDiFauj]

November 10th

1880 First ever Punjabi weekly, "Gurumukhi Akhbar," was started by Singh Sabha, to popularise teh Sikh ideals.

1955 Sri Bhim Saen, then Chief Minister, visited Sri Darbar Sahib and sought forgiveness of Sikh Sangats for the July 4, 1955 incident.