ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>RIK&#256BGAÑJ AGITATION (1913-20)</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="RIKBGAÑJ,AGITATION,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">&#65279RIK&#256BGAÑJ AGITATION (1913-20) marked the Sikh protest against the demolition by the British of one of the walls of the historical Rik&#257bgañj shrine in New Delhi. Gurdw&#257r&#257 Rik&#257bgañj, sacred to the memory of Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur, at present a splendid marble edifice, was, in the early years of the present century, a small structure in what was then known as the R&#257is&#299n&#257 village. This was close to the site where the new imperial complex was to be raised in consequence of the colonial government's decision to shift the capital from Calcutta to Delhi. To Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, the chief architect, Gurdw&#257r&#257 Rik&#257bgañj with its modest looking building, a large barren estate and an uneven boundary wall, appeared to be an eyesore ill becoming the neighbourhood of the planned Viceregal Lodge. He wanted the Gurdw&#257r&#257 to be demolished for the sake of his architectural design, but the local authorities were unwilling to take such a drastic step. The Chief Commissioner of Delhi, W.M. Hailey, in consultation with the chief engineer, decided instead to pull down the hexagonical stone wall enclosing the Gurdw&#257r&#257 and replace it with a quadrangular iron railing and convert the inner area of the shrine into a garden. To acquire the land which was part of the Gurdw&#257r&#257 estate, a sum of Rs 39,133 was deposited in the name of a charitable trust, controlled by the <i>mahant</i> or custodian of the Gurdw&#257r&#257. In May 1913, the wall enclosing Gurdw&#257r&#257 Rik&#257bgañj &#8212 78 feet on the north and 322 feet on the east &#8212 was demolished to lay out a straight road from the northeast corner of the shrine to the Viceregal Lodge. Initially, the government action went unnoticed because of sparse Sikh population in Delhi and because of the Gurdw&#257r&#257 being located outside the city, but, as the news spread to the Punjab, a wave of resentment arose. Telegrams, petitions and memoranda protesting against the sacrilege began to pour into the offices of the Viceroy, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, the commander-in-chief of the army and the chief commissioner of Delhi. Sikhs residing in Burma, China, Hong Kong and the United States sent telegrams asking for the reconstruction of the dismantled wall. In February 1914, a series of <i>d&#299v&#257ns</i> was held at Ly&#257llpur, Lahore, Shiml&#257, Amritsar, Ludhi&#257&#7751&#257, Jalandhar, Tarn T&#257ran, R&#257walpi&#7751&#7693&#299, Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, Montgomery and various other places, criticizing the government and urging it to rebuild the demolished wall at its own expense. As the agitation became widespread, the Punjab Government adopted a sterner policy. Harchand Si&#7749gh, a prominent leader of the movement, was threatened with prosecution. The security of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 A<u>kh</u>b&#257r, a weekly newspaper financed by him, was confiscated in July 1914. But just when the agitation was beginning to spread to the rural areas, World War I started. The protest was muted, but it was revived as soon as the hostilities ceased. Master Mot&#257 Si&#7749gh, Harchand Si&#7749gh and Tej&#257 Si&#7749gh Samundr&#299, all of whom had initially played a prominent role in the Rik&#257bgañj movement sought the help of Sard&#363l Si&#7749gh Caveeshar, then a prominent leader of the Central Sikh League, which had been formed in December 1919, to act as a political spokesman of the Sikhs. Sard&#363l Si&#7749gh convened a public meeting in the Bradlaugh Hall at Lahore, under the auspices of the Sikh League, and had a resolution adopted that a Sh&#257h&#299d&#299 Jath&#257, or martyrs' band, comprising one hundred volunteers should proceed to Delhi on 1 December 1920 to reconstruct the demolished wall of the holy shrine. If the government obstructed, the <i>jath&#257</i> should lay down their lives.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sard&#363l Si&#7749gh, who had already inserted a call in the <i>Ak&#257l&#299</i>, a Sikh newspaper published from Lahore, inviting one hundred men who should be willing to sacrifice their lives, received an overwhelming response. Within a fortnight, seven hundred volunteers, including some Hindus and Muslims, had offered to join the Sh&#257h&#299d&#299 Jath&#257. The British administrators had meanwhile decided to find an "honourable solution" to have the Rik&#257bgañj wall reconstructed. In March 1920, the local authorities and a committee of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, Delhi, decided at a joint meeting to have a new wall enclosing the Gurdw&#257r&#257 built, on a pattern approved by the chief engineer. The Gurdw&#257r&#257 and the entire estate were to be placed under the management of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, Delhi.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sard&#363l Si&#7749gh's Sh&#257h&#299d&#299 Jath&#257 was thus forestalled. The plan for the reconstruction of the Rik&#257bgañj wall was given wide publicity. When the wall was built, government had its photograph published in newspapers.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Ganda Singh, <i>Some Confidential Papers of the Akali Movement</i>. Amritsar, 1965<BR> <li class="C1"> Teja Singh, <i>Gurdwara Reform and the Sikh Awakening</i>. Jalandhar, 1922<BR> <li class="C1"> Mohinder Si&#7749gh, <i>The Akali Movement</i>. Delhi, 1978<BR> <li class="C1"> Harbans Singh, <i>The Heritage of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1983<BR> <li class="C1"> Khushwant Singh, <i>A History of the Sikhs</i>, vol. II. Princeton, 1966<BR> <li class="C1"> Trilochan Singh, <i>Historical Sikh Shrines in Delhi</i>. Delhi, 1972<BR> <li class="C1"> Sangat Singh, <i>Freedom Movement in Delhi</i>. Delhi, 1972<BR> <li class="C1"> Harjot Singh, "From Gurdwara Rikabganj to the Viceregal Palace : A Study of Religious Protest," in <i>The Panjab Past and Present</i>. Patiala, April 1980<BR> <li class="C1"> N&#257har Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Az&#257d&#299 d&#299&#257&#7749 Lahir&#257&#7749</i>. Ludhiana, 1960<BR> <li class="C1"> T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh, Master, <i>Mer&#299 Y&#257d</i>. Amritsar, 1944<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"> Josh, Sohan Si&#7749gh, <i>Ak&#257l&#299 Morchi&#257&#7749 d&#257 Itih&#257s</i>. Delhi, 1972<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Harjot Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>