ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>KH&#256LS&#256 D&#298W&#256N AMRITSAR</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 D&#298W&#256N AMRITSAR, established at Amritsar on 11 April 1883 to oversee and provide direction to the work of the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257. This reform movement had originated in Amritsar with the formation of the first Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 on 1 October 1873. Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s began springing up in other places, the one at Lahore being formed on 2 November 1879. Amritsar and Lahore Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s joined hands to evolve a common platform under the name of General Sabh&#257 set up at Amritsar on 11 April 1880. The General Sabh&#257 turned itself on 11 April 1883 into the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, the central body to which thirty-six Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s were initially affiliated. The Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab and R&#257j&#257 Bikram Si&#7749gh of Far&#299dko&#7789 were its patrons with B&#257b&#257 Khem Si&#7749gh Bed&#299 as president and Bh&#257&#299 Gurmukh Si&#7749gh as chief secretary. The D&#299w&#257n addressed itself to the tasks of religious and social reform and the promotion of education. It was the first representative organization of the Sikhs and at the time of the visit to Amritsar of the Governor-General, Lord Dufferin, it presented to him on 11 April 1885 an address stressing mainly the educational backwardness of the community and seeking the means to redress it. But the D&#299w&#257n suffered a setback as a schism occurred between the Amritsar and Lahore Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s. The Lahore group was especially critical of the way B&#257b&#257 Khem Si&#7749gh Bed&#299, being a direct lineal descendant of Gur&#363 N&#257nak, was apotheosized by his followers and how he sat in the <i>sa&#7749gat</i> on a special seat, <i>gadail&#257</i> or cushion even in the presence of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib for which reason the Amritsar group was pejoratively called the Gadail&#257 Party. Opinion was sharply divided at the annual meeting of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n in April 1884 when the R&#257walpi&#7751&#7693&#299 Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 under the influence of B&#257b&#257 Khem Si&#7749gh proposed that the name of the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 be changed to Sikh Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 to enable non-baptized Sikhs to enroll as members. This was strongly opposed by the Lahore spokesman, Bh&#257&#299 Gurmukh Si&#7749gh, and the meeting broke up in confusion.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The publication in May 1885 of a book in Urdu entitled <i>Khursh&#299d <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257</i>, written by B&#257v&#257 Nih&#257l Si&#7749gh, caused further antagonism between the two groups. The book contained passages against the government and in favour of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Duleep Si&#7749gh who had by that time turned a rebel. To this the Lahore party objected and asked the author to withdraw the book. Gurmukh Si&#7749gh as secretary of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n issued a letter in October 1885, clearing the D&#299w&#257n of any connection with the publication and throwing the entire blame on the author, who had the backing of the Amritsar faction. As the differences came to a head, the Lahore group split from the parent body and set up on 11 April 1886 a separate organization called the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n Lahore. The truncated Amritsar D&#299w&#257n was left with fewer than 10 Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s affiliated to it --- three important ones among them being those of Amritsar, R&#257walpi&#7751&#7693&#299 and Far&#299dko&#7789 . A new constitution of the D&#299w&#257n adopted in September 1887 failed to stem the decline; it in fact accelerated the process. Under the new scheme the D&#299w&#257n split itself into two divisions --- the upper house called Mah&#257n Kha&#7751&#7693 representing the aristocracy and the lower house Sam&#257n Kha&#7751&#7693 representing the common people. B&#257b&#257 Khem Si&#7749gh was president of the former and M&#257n Si&#7749gh, manager of Sr&#299 Darb&#257r S&#257hib, Amritsar, of the latter, with R&#257j&#257 Bikram Si&#7749gh as patron at the apex. The D&#299w&#257n became defunct with the establishment of the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n in 1902.</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"> Harbans Singh, <i>The Heritage of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1983<BR> <li class="C1"> Ganda Singh, ed., <i>The Singh Sabha and other Socio-Religious Movements in the Panjab</i>. Patiala, 1984<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Jagj&#299t Si&#7749gh <br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>