While the extremist slogans and violent actions of a handful of Sikh individuals have received global attention little is known about the tradition of passive suffering among the Sikhs dating back to the martyrdom of Guru Arjan. In the modern times it were the Sikhs, who through their non-violent struggle for Gurdwara Reform (1920-25) were able to demonstrate the efficacy of the Gandhian weapon of passive suffering. Gandhi was so much impressed by the Sikhs' strict adherence to non-violence even in the face of provocation from the hereditary mahants and the British officials that he often quoted the Sikh example to other satyagrahis such as those of Munshi Peta and Melagaon, who failed to keep their vow.
In the non-violent Akali agitation for Gurdwara reform Gandhi found a regional manifestation of the larger passive movement of non-cooperation then launched by him and described the Akali victory in the agitation over the keys' affairs as the first decisive victory of the forces of Indian nationalism. Present paper is a study of the Sikh struggle of Gurdwara reform and attempts to highlight the essentially passive nature of the Akali struggle in the Punjab.
The word Akali,[1] derived from Akal meaning timeless or immortal, was first used by the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, for those of his select followers who, because of their having conquered the fear of death were prepared to undertake the most dangerous expeditions. Because of their fearless nature and heroic exploits they were called Nihangs[2] - a name given to the suicide squads of the Mughal army with blue uniforms. Initially the two terms continued to be used as synonyms, but later acquired different connotations. Conspicuous by their queer dress - blue robes, peaked turbans surmounted with steel quoits, flowing beards and supporting kirpans - the Akalis became zealous custodians of the historic Sikh shrines.
By virtue of their special status they assumed the role of the guardians of the Sikh faith after the Sikh Gurus. They enjoyed supremacy over the later day Sikh chiefs and there are instances in the Sikh annals where the Akalis are said to have reprimanded the powerful Maharaja Ranjit Singh for moral lapses on his part. Though they have been gradually losing their old spirit, their past tradition and history, their command hold over the major Sikh shrines with income of several millions of rupees continue to be their greatest asset.
The Sikh shrines, popularly called Gurdwaras or Dharamsalas,[3] were started by Guru Nanak, to serve as centres of social, religious and moral instructions and to provide food and shelter to the poor and needy. Along with the twin institutions of Sangat and Pangat, the Sikh shrines became laboratories for both the practice and demonstrations of the teachings of Guru Nanak. In the initial stages only dedicated persons like Baba Budha and Bhai Mani Singh were placed in charge of the Gurdwaras as their personal fiefs and used the same for running the free-kitchen and other works of public welfare.
During the period of the persecution of the Sikhs at the hands of the Mughal emperors and their governors in the Punjab, the control of the Gurdwaras passed on to the Udasis who looked after various Gurdwaras and were not attached to any particular shrine or its wealth but moved from place to place. However, some of them established themselves in permanent control of a particular Gurdwara and the jagir [property] attached to it and appointed their regular chelas [followers], who came to be known as Mahants.
In the earlier stages, the Mahants and their chelas led pious lives and enjoyed popular esteem and reverence from the sangats of their area. But this tradition of purity and austerity seemes to have gradually weakened as a result of increase in their income derived from rich and revenue free jagirs attached to most of the historic Sikh shrines by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and other Sikh chiefs.
Introduction of the new work of the canals during the British rule in the Punjab added further to the material prosperity of the Mahants. As a result, the Mahants and their growing flocks began to convert the trust property into their personal fiefs. British administrators, who took over the control of the Punjab after its annexation in 1849, confirmed the Mahants in their hereditary positions in return for their help to the government in containing popular agitations and in condeming those who opposed the British rule.
It was due to this interdependence on the British imperialism that the Mahants of the Golden Temple, Amritsar, issued a Hukamnamah against the Gadrite heroes, calling them thugs and asking the Sikhs not to extend any support to their cause.[4] And again, when the country was busy condemning General Dyre for his brutal action at Jallianwala Bagh, Arur Singh, the government nominated sarbrah of the Golden Temple invited the General to the temple and tried to wash his blood stains by honouring him with a saropa (robe of honor) and by declaring him as Sikh. The dialogue which took place between Arur Singh and other priests at the Akal Takhat on the one hand and General Dyre on the other, is worth quoting here:
'Sahib', they said, 'you must become a Sikh. Even Nikalseyan Sahib became a Sikh.'
The General thanked them for the honor, but he objected that he could not, as a British officer, let his hair grow long.
Arur laughed, 'We will let you off the long hair,' he said.
General Dyre offered another objection, 'But I cannot give up smoking.'
'That you must do,' said Arur Singh.
'No,' said General Dyre, 'I'm sorry but I cannot give up smoking.'
The priest conceded, 'We will let you give it up gradually.'
'That I promise you,' said the General, 'at the rate of one cigarette a year.'
According to the biographer of General Dyre, the priests proceeded with the pseudo-initiation. "General Dyre and Captain Briggs were invested with the five kakars, the sacred emblems of that war-like brotherhood and so became Sikhs."
While the tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh lent impetus to the struggle for the country's freedom, the perfidious and sacrilegious action of Arur Singh brought home to the advocates of reform the urgent need of puting a stop to the prevailing system of Gurdwara management and with it the greed, licentiousness and misdeeds of the Mahants and priests and other vested interests among them.
As a result of the increasing instances of the misuse of the Sikh shrines by the Mahants and the government nominated managers and the growing awareness among the Sikh masses due to cumulative effect of the movements of religious, social and political awakening among the Sikhs, a section of the Sikh community, described as 'Neo-Sikhs' in the C.I.D. reports, took up the initiative in the matter of the Gurdwara Reform and succeeded in taking over the control of a number of important Sikh shrines through peaceful means. However, it was the tragedy of Nankana, in which Mahant Narain Das and the mercenaries hired by him killed about 150 peaceful Akali reformers that proved a turning point in the history of the Akali Movement and compelled the Akali reformers to widen the scope of their movement.[6]
Mahatama Gandhi, who had then launcehed a larger movement of non-violent non-cooperation, was greatly impressed by the example of passive resistance of the Akali Sikhs. He was overwhelmed by the courage displayed by them in the Nankana tragedy and visited Nankana Sahib om March 3, 1921 to express his sympathy with the Sikh reformers. In a specially arranged Shahidi Diwan he made a brief speech in Hindustani in the course of which he said that 'the news of Nankana was so staggering that he would not believe it without confirmation.' While condemning the group of Mahant Narain Das, he described the martyrdom of Akali reformers as an 'act of national bravery.'[7]
The mahatma exhorted the Akalis to offer non-cooperation in the matter of official enquiry into the Nankana tragedy and consented to serve as Chairman of the non-official Commission of Enquiry set up by the Central Sikh League and he further advised the Akalis to broaden the base of their struggle and reform the 'big Gurdwara' i.e. India, by joining the larger movement of non-cooperation launched by him. The Akalis accepted Gandhi's advice and formally joined the nationalistic struggle by officially adopting non-cooperation in their formal meeting held on May 5, 1921.[8]
Akalis adherence to non-violence so much impressed the Mahatama that for quite some time the Nankana tragedy figured in his speeches and writings. While addressing the satyagrahis of Munshi Peta he said:
"I wish to see the bravery of Lachhman Singh and Dalip Singh in Munshi Peta, without raising a little finger, these two warriors stood undaunted against the attack of mahant Narain Das of Nankana Sahib, and got themselves be killed..."[10]
Similarly, the residents of Malegaon, who after being provoked by the Sub Inspector, killed him, Gandhi reminded them:
"if these two brothers (Lachhman Singh and Dalip Singh) acted with great nobility at Nankana Sahib the residents of Melagaon had displayed an equal degree of henoiusness."[11]
Gandhi was able to convince his lieutenants in the Congress to support the Akali movement which to him offered a good opportunity to demonstrate the efficacy of his experiment of passive suffering. Under the new program, Akali struggle against a foreign Government became synonym for reforming Sikh shrines. Akali agitation over the 'Keys Affair' and later their struggle at Guru-ka-Bagh are two important manifestations of the non-violent nature of the Akali movement.
The Golden Temple, the Akal Takhat and the adjoining Gurdwaras had passed into the control of the Akalis in October 1920. Sardar Sunder Singh Ramgarhia, the Government appointed manager of the Golden temple, was also holding the office of Secretary of the new Committee of Management appointed by the SGPC. Realizing the force of public opinion, he decided to fall in line with the party of reform. Though the SGPC and the committee appointed by it virtually controlled the affairs of the Golden Temple, the fact that the keys of the Toshakhana were still in the possession of a government appointed manager gave the reformers a feeling of continued official control over the Gurdwaras. At its meeting held on October 20, 1921 the Executive Committee of the SGPC asked Sardar Sunder Singh Ramgarhia to hand over the keys to Sardar Kharak Singh, the President of the SGPC. Even before the resolution was made public, the news reached the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, who decided to forestall the manoeuvre by immediately
sending an Extra Assistant Commissioner accompanied by a police party to Sardar Sunder Singh Ramgarhia to collect the key of the Toshakhana.
The Akali reaction was immediate. As soon as the news reached Amritsar, the SGPC which was in session at Akal Takhat, adjourned its meeting at Ajnala. Soon more than 50 members reached Ajnala and continued proceedings of the Diwan. The authorities declared the assembly illegal and immediately arrested all its members. However, the arrests, instead of checking the advance of the movement gave it a fresh fillip. The SGPC by a resolution called upon the Sikhs to hold religious Diwans everywhere to explain the facts about the 'Keys Affair'. The resolution further advised the Sikhs to observe hartal (strike) on the day of the arrival of the Prince of Wales on Indian shores. Further, Sikh soldiers and pensioners were asked not to attend any of the functions in honor of the Prince. The boycott move of the Akali leadership seems to have frightened the authorities in the Punjab to such an extent that they decided to cancel the scheduled visit of the Prince to Amritsar.
Meanwhile more arrests were made. Sardar Amar Singh Jhabal, acting President of the SGPC, Master Tara Singh, Jaswant Singh, Dr. Gurbaksh Singh, Bhai Tara Singh and Kartar Singh, soon found themselves behind bars for having discussed the prohibited issue. The movement became intense when the arrested leaders, who refused to put up any defence on the plea that they were non-cooperators were convicted and awarded rigorous punishments.
Official action in arresting the Akali leaders and awarding them rigorous sentences and fines greatly added to the popularity of the movement. Reports of the C.I.D. officials that 'the agitation was spreading fast to the rural areas of the Sikh districts of the Punjab, particularly Lahore and Amritsar' combined with similar reports from the military authorities of the serious effects on Sikh troops seems to have disturbed the authorities who started devising a method to get out of the difficult situation.
Along with the suppression of the popular movement the government also tried to solve the complicated question of the 'Keys'. When it realized that no Sikh was prepared to accept the office of the Sarbrah at the hands of the government, it thought of appointing a committee of a few moderate Sikhs. But in the face of mass and determined opposition from the Sikhs, even the moderates dared not accept the official offer. The SGPC passed a resolution on december 6, 1921 that no Sikh should agree to any arrangement about the restoration of the keys unless and until the Sikhs arrested in connection with the Keys Affair are released unconditionally.
According to Gandhi the government in the Punjab was in a real dilemma:
"If it releases the Sikhs it would be ridiculed and the strength of the Sikhs will increase two-fold. If it does not release them their strength will increase ten-fold. It must therefore, decide whether it should be wiser for it to allow the Sikh strength to increase ten times or to release the prisoners and be laughed at, taking consolation in the fact that the strength of the Sikhs will then only be doubled."[11]
Adoption of the non-cooperation by the Akalis and their addition to the ranks of those arrested in connection with the Khalifat agitation and non-cooperation in Punjab geratly worried the government. With a view to dissuade the Sikhs from joining the non-cooperators, the government thought of adopting a conciliatory attitude towards the Akalis and suddenly announced its final withdrawl from the management of the Golden Temple and hand over the keys to the President of the SGPC. When, even after securing the unconditional release of the Akali volunteers arrested in connection with the Keys Affair, including Pandit Dina Nath, President of the District Congress Committee, Ajnala, the Akali leadership refused to collect the keys, a gazetted officer of the Punjab Government was deputed to deliver the keys to Baba Kharak Singh, President of the SGPC in a Diwan specially arranged for the purpose.
Unconditional release of the Akalis and return of the keys was viewed by the nationalist leaders in the country as a decisive victory for the forces of nationalism. Gandhi who seems to have found in the Akali victory an echo of the success of the non-cooperation, sent the following telegram to Baba Kharak Singh:
FIRST BATTLE FOR INDIA'S INDEPENDENCE WON CONGRATULATIONS.[12]
Akali struggle at Guru-ka-Bagh is a landmark both in the history of the Akali movement and the larger movement of non-violent non-cooperation in the country. It was here that the Akalis were able to demonstrate the efficacy of the Gandhian weapon of passive suffering by their strict adherence to the vow of non-violence and thus set a new example before the forces of nationalism in the country. Their firm faith shook the authorities whose immoral use of force was exposed by the patient suffering of the Akalis. It is interesting to note that in a fresh trial of strength, the Akalis who were now isolated from the larger movement of non-cooperation, again emerged victorious and gave another blow to the power and prestige of the Government.
After its defeat in the Keys Affair the government was looking for some excuse to implement its new policy of repression of the Akalis by force. A convinient issue was found in what was otherwise an insignificant incident of felling a dry "kikkar" tree by the Akalis on the land attached to the Gurdwara. According to the official statement:
"The mahant complained to the police of the theft of his property from his land."
It is strange that a dry kikkar tree was described as 'property' to enable the mahant to lodge a complaint with the local police. Using this minor incident as an excuse, the authorities arrested five Akalis on August 9, 1922 and put them on trial. They were convicted of theft by Mr. Ivan Jenkins, a first-class Magistrate of Amritsar, and were sentenced to six months imprisonment and to a fine of Rs50. According to the SGPC communiques and the version of the incident by some contemporaries such as Teja Singh, Ruchi Ram Sahni and Sohan Singh Josh, the Akalis were arrested not on the complaint of the mahant but under orders from Mr. J.M. Dunnett, the District Magistrate of Amritsar.[13]
In the complaint of the mahant Sunder Das about the 'theft' of his property and the authorities instituting criminal proceedings against the Akalis for cutting wood from the land attached to Guru-ka-Bagh was seen by the Akali leadership as a fresh challenge. To protest against the official high-handedness and to assert their right to chop wood for the free community kitchen, jathas of five volunteers each started marching towards Guru-ka-Bagh. A new wave of enthusiasm spread among the Akalis in different parts of the province which soon encouraged Akali jathas from the surrounding areas to pour into Guru-ka-Bagh to help in the cutting and storing of wood for the Gurdwara kitchen.
To check the continued influx of Akali jathas and their supporters and sympathisers, police pickets were placed on all the roads leading to Guru-ka-Bagh. Arrangements were also made to prevent the jathas from reaching Amritsar by rail or by road.
Increasing use of force on the Akali jathas in the face of their total non-violent attitude had a great impact on the general public in the Punjab and outside. The SGPC appealed to men of independent opinion, journalists and national leaders to come and watch the non-violent struggle that was going on at Guru-ka-Bagh and to counter misrepresentation at the hands of the bureaucracy. In response to the Akali appeal several national leaders, members of the Legislative Council and press representatives converged on Guru-ka-Bagh. Eye-witness accounts of these independent observers when published in various newspapers in India and England aroused public opinion against the high-handed and brutal policy of the government.
Prominent leaders and workers of the Congress and the Khalifat movements also reached Amritsar. On September 20, 1922 the Akali Diwan at Amritsar was attended by Swami Shraddhanand, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maulana Kifayat Ullah, Kumari Lajwanti and Syed Atta Ullah Shah. All of them who addressed the jathas assured the Akali leadership of the support of the Hindus and Muslims.[14]
In this Diwan an American cinematographer, Captain A.L. Verges, was also present. Later, he covered the beatings of the Akalis at the Guru-ka-Bagh in a short film titled, 'Exclusive Picture Of India's Martyrdom'. He described the Akali morcha at Guru-ka-Bagh as:
"A unique struggle in human history and a peaceful rebellion against the constituted authority."[15]
In another public meeting held at Jallianwala Bagh on September 10, 1922 under the presidentship of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and attended by more than 13,000 people including 1,000 women and 5,000 Akalis, action of the police at Guru-ka-Bagh was severely criticised. In the course of his speech Pandit Malviya declared that 'it is the duty of every Indian to express hatred and contempt for the actions of the Government and raise a unanimous voice to demand a change of policy.' Resolutions were passed expressing hatred of, and contempt for, the oppressive, inhuman and uncivilised treatment meted out to the Akalis and demanding an immediate end of this policy. Such criticism compelled the authorities in the province to do a serious rethinking on the subject. Criticising the official action, C.F. Andrews, a Christian Missionary, described the official action as:
"inhuman, brutal, foul, cowardly and incredible to an Englishman and a moral defeat of England."[16]
Finding that the Akalis could not be suppressed by force and the official measures against them had created great resentment among the nationalistic leaders, the government thought of resolving the problem by leasing the disputed land to Sir Ganga Ram, who, in turn, allowed the Akalis to cut wood from the Bagh and thus resolved the dispute.
During these two phases of their earlier struggle, the Akali reformers succeeded not only in demonstrating the efficacy of the Gandhian weapon of passive suffering, but also in strengthening the forces of nationalism among the Sikhs. A contemporary newspaper has thus summarised the Akali contribution in this regard:
"The Akalis have shown to the Indians how a most arrogant, oppressive, cunning and deceitful bureaucracy can be brought to its knees by means of non-violent satyagraha. By sacrifices at Guru-ka-Bagh, they have destroyed the prestige of the bureaucracy and raised the dignity of India."[17]
[1] Kahan Singh Nabha, "Gurshabad Ratnakar Mahankosh", (Punjabi), pp.25, 527.
[2] The word Nihang in Punjabi seems to have been taken from Nishang, maning indifferent to worldly discipline. While the Persian meaning of Nihang is crocodile which in the present context means invincible.
[3] Mahankosh, p.496
[4] Teja Singh, "Gurdwara Reform Movement", pp.90-91
[5] Ian Colvin, "Life of General Dyre", p.201
[6] For a detailed account see Mohinder Singh, "The Akali Movement", pp.27-41
[7] "Collected works of Mahatma Gandhi", XIX, p.401
[8] See for details, Mohinder Singh, Ibid., pp.141-42
[9] "Collected works of Mahatma Gandhi", XX, p.67
[10] Ibid., 68
[11] Ibid., XXII, p.170
[12] Ganda Singh (Ed.), "Confidential Papers of the Akali Movement", p.11
[13] Teja Singh, Ibid., p.399
[14] "The Civil and Milliatry Gazette", September 21, 1922
[15] File No. 914-II/1922, Home-Political, National Archives of India.
[16] See for text of C.F. Andrew's Eye-witness account, Appendix IV of "The Akali Movement", pp.199-205
[17] "The Akali te Pardesi", December 25, 1923