ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>KH&#256LS&#256 CENTRAL COUNCIL</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 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">&#65279<u>KH</u>&#256LS&#256 CENTRAL COUNCIL, a society formed in Lahore in 1933 to safeguard the interests of the Sikhs, had a very short career. The occasion for the formation of the Council arose when Gi&#257n&#299 Sher Si&#7749gh and Master T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh, two prominent Sikh leaders of pre-partition Punjab, openly confronted each other soon after the announcement by the British government of the Communal Award (1932). The Sikhs deplored the Award as it did not meet their political aspirations. A Sikh organization called the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Darb&#257r representing all sections of the Sikhs to launch an agitation against the Communal Award was formed, but it was soon plagued with group rivalries. Leaving the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Darb&#257r, Gi&#257n&#299 Sher Si&#7749gh and his supporters held a meeting in the Bradlaugh Hall, Lahore, on 28 September 1933 where they formed the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Central Council, on the lines similar to those of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Darb&#257r. The new organization comprised three sub-organizations called the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Ak&#257l&#299 Dal, the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Missionary Society and the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 National League. According to the constitution of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Central Council, these bodies were to spread Sikh religion, organize the Panth for its political advancement, work for the freedom of the country, and carry on a campaign to have the Communal Award scrapped. The membership of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Central Council, mostly owing allegiance to Gi&#257n&#299 Sher Si&#7749gh, primarily belonged to upper and middle class Sikhs. Master T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh's group, however, continued to hold sway over the Sikh masses and the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Central Council ceased to exist without leaving any perceptible mark on Sikh affairs.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Caveeshar, Sardul Singh, <i>The Sikh Studies</i>. Lahore, 1937<BR> <li class="C1"> Gulati, K.C., <i>The Akalis: Past and Present</i>. Delhi, 1974<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">K. C. Gul&#257&#7789&#299<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>