ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>AMAR SI&#7748GH (1888-1962)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="AMAR,SIDGH,Person,Person"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279AMAR SI&#7748GH (1888-1962), who came into prominence in the Gurdw&#257r&#257 Reform movement, was the eldest of the three sons of Gop&#257l Si&#7749gh of the village of Jhab&#257l, in Amritsar district of the Punjab. His great-grandfather, Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh, had served in the army of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh and his grandfather, Harbhagat Si&#7749gh had been an aide-de-camp to Ka&#7749var Nau Nih&#257l Si&#7749gh. Born in 1888, Amar Si&#7749gh was educated at the village school and at <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Collegiate School, Amritsar. After passing the matriculation examination, he joined the police department and became a sub-inspector. Once as he saw police officials snatch away <i>kirp&#257ns</i> from some Sikhs, he protested and told the superintendent of police that dispossessing a Sikh of his <i>kirp&#257n</i>meant violating his religious freedom. Demolition by the British of a portion of the outer wall of Gurdw&#257r&#257 Rik&#257bgañj in Delhi, ban on the wearing of <i>kirp&#257n</i> by Sikhs and incidents such as the Budge Budge firing led Amar Si&#7749gh to resign his appointment in the police. He got started on a political career by organizing and addressing, in association with D&#257n Si&#7749gh Vachho&#257, a series of public meetings in his own village and in the neighbourhood. He defied orders of the deputy commissioner of Amritsar banning the meeting to be convened at Mañj&#299 S&#257hib, close to the Golden Temple, to protest against a robe of honour having been conferred by the manager of the Darb&#257r S&#257hib on General Dyer, who had ordered the firing in Jalli&#257&#7749v&#257l&#257 B&#257<u>gh</u>. The meeting did take place and resolutions castigating the deputy commissioner as well as the manager were adopted.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Following a public appeal by Sard&#363l Si&#7749gh Caveeshar for volunteers for a Shah&#299d&#299 Jath&#257 or martyrs' band to march to Delhi on 1 December 1920 to rebuild the Gurdw&#257r&#257 Rik&#257bgañj boundary wall demolished by the British, Amar Si&#7749gh and his brother, Jaswant Si&#7749gh, made a hurricane tour of the Punjab addressing meetings and enlisting names. At one such meeting during the Am&#257vas fair at Tarn T&#257ran under the auspices of the Central M&#257jh&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n complaints were received about the mismanagement of Gurdw&#257r&#257 B&#257be d&#299 Ber at Si&#257lko&#7789. Amar Si&#7749gh was deputed to visit the shrine and make a report. He was joined there by his brother, Jaswant Si&#7749gh, and by Tej&#257 Si&#7749gh of Bhuchchar and Kart&#257r Si&#7749gh of Jhabbar with their bands of volunteers. The government yielded to public pressure and the management of the Gurdw&#257r&#257 was handed over to a committee of selected Sikhs on 6 October 1920. Henceforth the Jhab&#257l brothers were recognized as a force in Sikh affairs. When the control of the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t was taken over by the Sikhs and Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee formed on 16 November 1920, both of them and their third brother, Sarmukh Si&#7749gh, were included in it as members. Amar Si&#7749gh was nominated a member of the provisional committee to manage the Tarn T&#257ran Gurdw&#257r&#257 after it had been taken over from the priests by the reformists. He took a leading part in assuming possession of <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> at O&#7789h&#299&#257&#7749, Tej&#257 Kal&#257&#7749, Chom&#257l&#257 S&#257hib, Pañja S&#257hib, Pesh&#257war, Ramd&#257s and Jhab&#257l. For a public speech he delivered after the Nank&#257&#7751&#257 S&#257hib tragedy, he was arrested and imprisoned for six months.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amar Si&#7749gh presided over the third annual session of the Sikh League held at Lyallpur in 1922. He participated in the non-cooperation movement launched by the Indian National Congress as well as in the Ak&#257l&#299 <i>morch&#257s</i> for the reformation of the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i>. On 16 July 1922, he was elected vice-president of the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee. He suffered imprisonment again for making seditious speeches at the time of the <i>morch&#257</i> for securing release from the British of the keys of the Golden Temple <i>tosh&#257<u>kh</u>&#257n&#257</i>. After the Sikh Gurdwaras Act was passed, Amar Si&#7749gh drifted more towards the Congress and remained for some time president of the Punjab Provincial Congress Committee. He died on 28 March 1962 at the village of Day&#257l Bha&#7771a&#7749g, in Ajn&#257l&#257 <u>tahs&#299l</u> of Amritsar district, where he had been allotted lands after the partition of the Punjab (1947).</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Prat&#257p Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Gurdw&#257r&#257 Sudh&#257r arth&#257t Ak&#257l&#299 Lahir</i>. Amritsar, 1975.<BR> <li class="C1"> Josh, Sohan Si&#7749gh, <i>Ak&#257l&#299 Morchi&#257&#7749 d&#257 Itih&#257s</i>. Delhi, 1972.<BR> <li class="C1"> Harbans Singh, <i>The Heritage of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1983.<BR> <li class="C1"> Ganda Singh, ed. , <i>Some Confidential Papers of the Akali Movement</i>. Amritsar, 1965.<BR> <li class="C1"> Sahni, Ruchi Ram, <i>Struggle for Reform in Sikh Shrines</i>. Ed. Ganda Singh. Amritsar, n. d.<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Jagj&#299t Si&#7749gh <br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>