ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>CHIEF KH&#256LS&#256 D&#298W&#256N</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="CHIEF"> <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">&#65279CHIEF <u>KH</u>&#256LS&#256 D&#298W&#256N, Until the emergence of more radical platforms such as the Sikh League (1919), Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee (1920) and Shiroma&#7751&#299 Ak&#257l&#299 Dal (1920), the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, established on 30 October 1902, was the main council of the Sikhs, controlling their religious and educational affairs and raising its voice in behalf of their political rights. It has proved to be a durable setup and it still retains its initiative in education, though its role in the other spheres has progressively shrunken over the years. It was originally conceived as a central organization of the Sikhs to replace <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, Amritsar, and <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, Lahore, then torn by a conflict which was hampering the work of Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s affiliated to them.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A large public assembly held in the Malva&#299 Bu&#7749g&#257, in the vicinity of the Golden Temple at Amritsar, on the Bais&#257kh&#299 day of 1901, constituted a committee to draw up the constitution of such a unitary body. The draft prepared was finally adopted on 21 September 1902. The opening session of the new society, designated Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, was held in the Malva&#299 Bu&#7749g&#257 on the D&#299v&#257l&#299 day, 30 October 1902, B&#257b&#363 Tej&#257 Si&#7749gh, of Bhasau&#7771; saying the inaugural <i>ard&#257s</i> or prayer. Bh&#257&#299 Arjan Si&#7749gh, of Baga&#7771&#299&#257&#7749, was elected president, Sundar Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257 secretary and So&#7693h&#299 Suj&#257n Si&#7749gh additional secretary. A total of twenty-nine Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s including those of Amritsar, R&#257walpi&#7751&#7693&#299, &#256gr&#257, Bhasau&#7771, Ba&#7693bar, Mult&#257n, D&#257kh&#257 and Kairo&#7749 affiliated themselves to the D&#299w&#257n, the number rising to 53 in an year's time. Enrichment of the cultural, educational, spiritual and intellectual life of the Sikhs, preaching the tenets of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, propagating Sikh history, and protecting the rights of the Sikhs by putting up memoranda and memorials to the government were among its main concerns. It especially aimed at opening schools and institutions for the spread of education among men and women, publishing books on Sikh history, sacred texts and doctrine, translating into Punjabi works from other languages and opening institutions of community welfare. Membership of the D&#299w&#257n was open to all <i>amritdh&#257r&#299</i> Sikhs, i. e. those who had received the rites of <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 initiation and who could read and write Gurmukh&#299. Members were also expected to contribute for the common needs of the community the obligatory <i>dasvandh</i>, or one-tenth of their annual income. Any Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 or any other Sikh society sharing its ideology could have itself affiliated to the D&#299w&#257n.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n theoretically incorporated the perspectives and decisions of five major committees. A general committee consisted of representatives from member institutions, members delegated by the <i>ta<u>kh</u>ts</i> and the Sikh princely states and individuals who met fiscal and service criteria. That committee elected an executive committee that met monthly and conducted most of the regular business, referring critical matters to the broader body. The other three committees dealt with finances, advice (legal, administrative, religious) and life-members. In general, the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n solicited public input on issues and spent considerable time discussing letters and differing opinions. It frequently circulated documents to Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s or published them in journals for public comment. For example, the D&#299w&#257n sent out a questionnaire about opening the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib in public meetings and decided on the basis of the replies received (over 1, 600) that the correct thing to do was to open the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib in a room connected to the assembly but not in the public meeting hall.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To propagate the message of the Gur&#363s, the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n recruited a cadre of preachers. The Delhi <i>darb&#257r</i> of 1903 when the Duke of Connaught was visiting India as a representative of the British Crown was considered an appropriate occasion to initiate the programme and several religious <i>d&#299v&#257ns</i> or congregations were convened in the city by the D&#299w&#257n to acquaint the people with the beliefs and practices of the Sikhs. An English translation of Gur&#363 N&#257nak's <i>Japu</i> was distributed. Besides towns and cities in the Punjab, the D&#299w&#257n preachers made regular visits to adjacent provinces, notably North-West Frontier Province and Sindh. To train <i>r&#257g&#299s</i> (musicians who recited the sacred hymns), <i>granthis</i> (Scripture readers) and preachers, the D&#299w&#257n opened in 1906 a <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Prach&#257rak Vidy&#257lay&#257 at Tarn T&#257ran, near Amritsar. In 1903, it launched its weekly newspaper, the <i>Khalsa Advocate</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Religious reform was one of the main objects of the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, and in pursuit of this aim it undertook to codify the Sikh ritual and rules of conduct. To this end, a committee was set up on 20 October 1910, consisting of Bh&#257&#299 Tej&#257 Si&#7749gh of Bhasau&#7771, Sant Gurba<u>kh</u>sh Si&#7749gh, of Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, Bh&#257&#299 V&#299r Si&#7749gh, Bh&#257&#299 Jodh Si&#7749gh, M. A. , Bh&#257&#299 Ta<u>kh</u>t Si&#7749gh, Trilochan Si&#7749gh, M. A. , and the Secretary of the D&#299w&#257n. The draft the committee prepared was circulated widely among the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s and other Sikh societies as well as among prominent individuals. The process was repeated twice, and the code as finalized after prolonged deliberations was published in March 1915 under the title <i>Gurmat Prak&#257sh: Bh&#257g Sa&#7749sk&#257r</i>. Historically, this was an important document, standing midway between the traditional <i>Rahitn&#257m&#257s</i> and the <i>Sikh Rahit Mary&#257d&#257</i> issued by the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee in 1950.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Linked with religious reform was the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n's programme for the promotion of Punjabi language and literature. For this purpose it established a Punjabi Prach&#257rak sub-committee and assiduously sought to have Punjabi, in Gurmukh&#299 script, accepted in government offices, especially in the postal and railways departments, for certain preliminary work. The D&#299w&#257n also opened libraries and Gurmukh&#299 schools as well as night classes for adults. It established in 1908 a <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Handbill Society to prepare lithographed posters in Punjabi for free distribution. Advancement of Punjabi was one of the main planks of the Sikh Educational Conference formed in 1908 at the instance of the D&#299w&#257n dignitaries such as Sundar Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257 and Harba&#7749s Si&#7749gh A&#7789&#257r&#299 who, travelling through Sindh preaching Gur&#363 N&#257nak's word, had attended in December 1907 a session of the Muhammadan Educational Conference at Kar&#257ch&#299 and returned with the idea of having a similar institution set up for Sikhs. Besides channelizing the D&#299w&#257n's work in behalf of Punjabi, the Sikh Educational Conference did much to promote Western-style education among Sikhs. Its annual sessions rotating from town to town were always occasions for considerable public fervour. They were largely attended and, besides discussion of the problems of Sikh education, they comprised religious sessions as well as competitions of Sikh <i>k&#299rtan</i> and poetry. The Conference still continues to be an active wing of the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To ensure for Sikhs their due share in government employment and in power then available to the Indian people, the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n kept up pressure on the British authority through representations and memoranda. In 1913, one of its leaders, Sundar Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257, presented Sikh demands and claims before the Royal Commission. Sundar Si&#7749gh had been nominated a member of the Imperial Council in 1909 replacing &#7788ikk&#257 Ripudaman Si&#7749gh, heir apparent of N&#257bh&#257 state. There in the Council he piloted the Anand Marriage Bill introduced by his predecessor in 1908. This was a major step towards reforming Sikh ritual.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The D&#299w&#257n put up on 31 March 1911 a memorandum to the Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, then visiting the Punjab, seeking just representation for the Sikhs in the services and in Imperial and Provincial councils. In 1916 and 1917 the D&#299w&#257n's resolutions and public demonstrations gradually moved from requests to demands. A series of documents was sent to the government concerning Punjabi language, jobs, and commissions in the army.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As secretary of the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, Sundar Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257 sent a letter to the Punjab Government on 26 December 1916 reiterating the claims of the Sikh community for representation in government jobs and legislative bodies, which should be "adequate and effective and consistent with their position and importance. " On 18 September 1918, the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n called a representative conclave of the Sikhs to consider the Montagu-Chelmsford scheme of reform. In the memorandum prepared on behalf of the community, government was urged to carry out the assurances given the Sikhs. The publication of the Montagu-Chelmsford report was followed by the appointment of Franchise Committee to go into the question of the composition of the new legislatures in India. It had three Indian members, but none of them was a Sikh. When the Sikhs protested, Sundar Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257 was taken as a co-opted member for the Punjab, but their demand for one-third of the total number of non-official seats held by Indians in the Punjab, 7 out of 67 non-official seats in the Assembly of India and 4 seats in the Council of States for the Sikh community remained largely unfulfilled.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The political awakening among Indians in the early years of the twentieth century gave rise to certain mass movements. In the Punjab, the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n came to be looked upon as moderate, pro-government and elitist over against the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee and the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Ak&#257l&#299 Dal which were more dynamic, anti-government and mass-based. They soon wrested from the D&#299w&#257n initiative in religious and political spheres. The Shiroma&#7751&#299 Committee after the adoption of the Gurdw&#257r&#257s Act 1925 took over management of all the major historical Sikh shrines. The Shiroma&#7751&#299 Ak&#257l&#299 Dal has been over the years the premier political party of the Sikhs. The Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n thus had its area of influence and activity severely curtailed. It now restricts itself to expressing its opinion through resolutions and memoranda on religious and political issues facing the Sikh community.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In retrospect, the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n may be seen to have made three key contributions to Sikh life. The first was institutionalizing the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 view of Sikhism as a separate religion with distinct rituals and a tradition devoid of Hindu influence. The resulting consciousness affected the way Sikhs looked at each other and the world around them. Without that consciousness, the mobilization of Sikhs spread across the world would have been impossible. There would have been no drive for protecting Sikh rights nor assertion of community control over the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Secondly, the D&#299w&#257n took existing but often disparate Sikh organizations and linked them together in an effective communication system. Efforts were focussed and information and ideas disseminated over time and distance. This enhanced the sense of Sikh identity and mission and opened up new paths of collaborative action and also conflict. The religious gatherings, conferences, district and provincial meetings, tracts and, most importantly, the journals and newspapers all were critical legacies from the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 and Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n era. Without them, there would have been no dissemination of Sikh rituals, no sustained communication and exchange of ideas, no network that could be activated for legislation over <i>anand</i> marriage and no Ak&#257l&#299 challenge to the community.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The final element was a strategy for dealing with internal division and survival as a minority community. Accommodation, negotiation and compromise were hallmarks of the D&#299w&#257n's policy. Sikhs could not be totally self-reliant. Some of the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n leaders, such as Sundar Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257, pursued collaborative arrangements in the widened legislature and attempted to help Sikh interests through alliances with other political groups and the British. The Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, as an institution, however, resumed its familiar task of trying to buttress Sikhism through education, toleration and institution-building. The new representatives of the Sikhs, the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee and the Ak&#257l&#299 Dal, now had to face the problems of disunity, political alternatives as a minority, and maintaining the contours of Sikh identity.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Jagj&#299t Si&#7749gh, <i>Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 Lahir</i>. Ludhiana, 1974<BR> <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"> Teja Singh, <i>Gurdwara Reform Movement and the Sikh Awakening</i>. Jalandhar, 1922<BR> <li class="C1"> Sahni, Ruchi Ram, <i>Struggle for Reform in Sikh Shrines</i>. Amritsar, 1965<BR> <li class="C1"> Khushwant Singh, <i>A History of the Sikhs</i>, vol. 2. Princeton, 1966<BR> <li class="C1"> Harbans Singh, <i>The Heritage of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1983<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Dharam Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>