ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>SI&#7748GH SABH&#256 MOVEMENT</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="SIDGH,SABH,MOVEMENT"> <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">&#65279SI&#7748GH SABH&#256 MOVEMENT, a reform movement among the Sikhs which assuming a critical turn in the seventies of the nineteenth century, became a vitally rejuvenating force at a time when Sikhism was fast losing its distinctive identity. Following closely upon the two successive movements, Nira&#7749k&#257r&#299 and N&#257mdh&#257r&#299, it was an expression of impulse of the Sikh community to rid itself of the base adulterations and accretions which had been draining away its energy, and to rediscover the sources of its original inspiration. It was, however, quite different from its precursors in source, content and outcome. The Nira&#7749k&#257r&#299 and N&#257mdh&#257r&#299 movements were inspired by individual holy men who, unhappy at the dilution of Sikh doctrine and practice, desired to set right some of the aberrations purely religious in nature, and who ended up in founding their separate sects. The Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s, on the other hand, arose out of a common awareness of the danger to the very existence of the Sikhs as a separate religious community. It was led by men deeply religious but with no claims to divine knowledge and no ambitions for exalted priesthood. In contrast with the earlier, exclusively sectarian cults, the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 movement possessed a mass appeal and base. It influenced the entire community and reorientated its outlook and spirit. The stimulus it provided has shaped the Sikhs' attitude and aspiration over the past more than one hundred years.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Like other Indian reform movements of the nineteenth-century, the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 was the result of the Sikh intelligentsia's contact with western education and institutions. The transfer of political power to the British in 1849 led to the transformation of the world in which the Sikhs and other Punjabis had lived. The British differed from past rulers in that their presence affected major changes in Punjabi society and culture. The most obvious innovations arose from the administrative structures and the political orientation underlying them. Within two decades, the colonial power introduced a new bureaucratic system complete with western style executive and judicial branches necessitating emphasis on western education and attainment of skills required for new occupations such as law, administration and education. Considering the Sikhs as an important element in their colonial strategy and the centrality of religion in the Sikh society, the ruler took particular care to control the central Sikh institutions notably those at Amritsar and Tarn T&#257ran. British officers headed management committees, appointed key officials, and in general provided grants and facilities to insure continued Sikh sympathy for the <i>r&#257j</i>. At the same time, however, the government also patronized and assisted the rapid spread of Christian missionary activities, thus introducing yet another element in the mosaic of Punjab's religious patterns. The challenge of western science, Christian ethics and humanitarianism had provided self-examination and reinterpretation of religious belief and praxis. The result was the rise of numerous reform movements which even with their professed approach to liberalism and universal humanism remained essentially communal competing for conversions to their respective creeds. In the Punjab the Hindu Brahmo Sam&#257j, Dev Sam&#257j and &#256rya Sam&#257j, and the Muslim 'Al&#299ga&#7771h movement of Sayyid Ahmad and Ahmad&#299yah movement of Q&#257d&#299&#257&#7749 were quite active. For the Sikhs, strangely somnolent since the forfeiture of political authority, besides the awareness of rapid depletion in their numbers and of general laxity in religious observance among themselves, two other motivating factors were at work : a reaction to what was happening in the neighbourly religious traditions and the defensiveness generated by Christian proselytization and the <i>odium theologicum</i> started by Hindu critics especially the &#256rya Sam&#257jists.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Christian missionary activity commenced in the Punjab along with the advent of the British rule. Even while Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh ruled in Lahore, an American Presbyterian Mission had been set up at Ludhi&#257&#7751&#257 close to the Sikh frontier. With the abrogation of Sikh rule in 1849, the Ludhi&#257&#7751&#257 Mission extended its work to Lahore. Amritsar, the headquarters of the Sikh faith, became another major seat of Church enterprise with branches at Tarn T&#257ran, Ajn&#257l&#257 and Ja&#7751&#7693i&#257l&#257. The United Presbyterian Mission was active in Si&#257lko&#7789. Other organizations, notably the Cambridge Mission, the Baptist Mission and the Church of Scotland, entered the field and were amply rewarded with converts, mostly from the lowest stratum of society. The rate of conversion was not alarmingly high. Yet there were instances which aroused community's concern. In 1853, Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Duleep Si&#7749gh, the last Sikh sovereign, who had come under British tutelage at the tender age of eight, accepted the Christian faith ---a conversion hailed as "the first instance of the accession of an Indian prince to the cummunion of the Church." The Sikh ruler of Kap&#363rthal&#257 invited the Ludhi&#257&#7751&#257 Mission to set up a station in his capital, and provided funds for its maintenance. A few years later the Kap&#363rthal&#257 ruler's nephew, Ka&#7749var Harn&#257m Si&#7749gh, converted a Christian. The Ludhi&#257&#7751&#257 Mission noted in its annual report for 1862 : "Until the Rajah of Kap&#363rthal&#257 invited missionaries to his capital no instance had occurred in India in which the progress of the Gospel had been fostered by a ruler."</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Besides conversions to Christianity there were reversions from Sikhism back to San&#257tanist Hinduism at such a large scale that the fact was noted in the government's annual report for1851-52 :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Sikh faith and acclesiastical polity is rapidly going where the Sikh political ascendancy has already gone. Of the two elements of the old Khalsa, namely, the followers of Nanuck, the first prophet, and the followers of Guru Govind Singh, the second great religious leader, the former will hold their ground, and the latter will lose it. The Sikhs of Nanuck, a comparatively small body of peaceful habits and old family, will perhaps cling to the faith of their elders; but the Sikhs of Govind who are of more recent origin, who are more specially styled the Singhs or "Lions", and who embraced the faith as being the religion of warfare and conquest, no longer regard the Khalsa now that the prestige has departed from it.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;These men joined in thousands, and they now desert in equal numbers. They rejoin the ranks of Hinduism whence they originally came, and they bring up their children as Hindus. The sacred tank at Amritsar is less thronged than formerly, and the attendance at the annual festivals is diminishing yearly. The initiatory ceremony for adult persons is now rarely perfomed.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And again in the report for 1855-56 :</p> <blockquote class="C1"><p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This circumstance strongly corroborates what is commonly believed, namely that the Sikh tribe is losing its numbers rapidly. Modern Sikhism was little more than a political association (formed exclusively from among Hindus), which men would join or quit according to the circumstances of the day. A person is not born Sikh, as he might be born a Muhammadan or born a Hindu; but he must be specially initiated into Sikhism. Now that the Sikh commonwealth is broken up, people cease to be initiated into Sikhism and revert to Hinduism. Such is the undoubted explanation of a statistical fact, which might otherwise appear to be hardly credible.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote></p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The resulting cultural upheaval affected the Sikhs from 1860 onward. Despite their early education in <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> schools or through instruction by <i>gi&#257n&#299s</i> (Sikhs learned in religious lore) or local teachers, an emerging Sikh intelligentsia began to study western subjects and joined in associations that discussed religious and social issues. In Lahore, for example, several Sikhs were members of Dr. G.W. Leitner's orientalist Añjuman-i-Punjab, set up in 1865, where they became skilled at literary criticism and debate over historical issues. Debates were held on whether Urdu or Hindi was the more appropriate language to replace Persian as official language. Punjabi in Gurmukh&#299 script was ignored even by the Punjab Education Department as a mere dialect without a written literature. The Oriental College established at Lahore in 1864 to encourage oriental studies had courses in Sanskrit, Urdu and Persian but not in Punjabi. Some Sikh members of Añjuman-i-Punjab like R&#257j&#257 Harba&#7749s Si&#7749gh and R&#257i M&#363l Si&#7749gh pleaded the cause of Punjabi but without success until Sard&#257r Attar Si&#7749gh of Bhadau&#7771 presented a list of 389 books written on different subjects in Gurmukh&#299 script and collected in his personal Library. Dr. Leitner was convinced and he not only introduced Punjabi as a subject in the Oriental College but also got it introduced in the Pañj&#257b University of which he was the first Registrar; but that was later in 1877.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What really shook the Sikhs out of their slumber were two incidents that occurred one after the other in early 1873. In February 1873, four Sikh pupils of the Amritsar Mission School--- &#256y&#257 Si&#7749gh, Atar Si&#7749gh, S&#257dh&#363 Si&#7749gh and Santokh Si&#7749gh--proclaimed their intention to renounce their faith and become Christians. This shocked Sikh feelings. The boys had hardly been persuaded by their parents and other wise men not to carry out their intention when another provocation followed. One Pa&#7751&#7693it Shardh&#257 R&#257m of Phillaur, who had been engaged by the British to write a history of the Sikhs, came to Amritsar and began a series of religious discourses in Gur&#363 B&#257<u>gh</u> in the Darb&#257r S&#257hib complex. During his narration of Gur&#363 N&#257nak&#8217s life story he garbled certain facts and spoke disrespectfully of the Sikh Gur&#363s and their teachings. Some Sikh young men in the audience objected and challenged the speaker to a debate. The Pa&#7751&#7693it quietly disappeared from Amritsar but not without leaving some leading Sikhs thinking. Sard&#257r &#7788h&#257kur Si&#7749gh &#346andh&#257&#7749v&#257l&#299&#257 (1837-87), B&#257b&#257 Khem Si&#7749gh Bed&#299 (1832-1905), Ka&#7749var Bikram&#257 Si&#7749gh (1835-87) of Kap&#363rthal&#257 and Gi&#257n&#299 Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh (1824-84) of Amritsar convened a meeting in Gur&#363 B&#257<u>gh</u>, Amritsar, on 30 July 1873. It was decided to form an association which should adopt measures to defend the Sikh faith against the onslaught of Christian missionaries and others. The name proposed for this body was Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257. Its first formal meeting took place in front of the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t on 1 October 1973. It was attended by priests of different <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s, gi&#257n&#299s</i>, representatives of Ud&#257s&#299 and Nirmal&#257 sects and members of other classes of the Sikh society. Sard&#257r &#7788h&#257kur Si&#7749gh &#346andh&#257&#7749v&#257l&#299&#257 was appointed its chairman, Gi&#257n&#299 Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh secretary, Sard&#257r Amar Si&#7749gh assistant secretary and Bh&#257&#299 Dharam Si&#7749gh of Bu&#7749g&#257 Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257&#7749 treasurer. The main objects of the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 were (i) to propagate the true Sikh religion and restore Sikhism to its pristine glory; (ii) to edit, publish and circulate historical and religious books ; (iii) to propagate current knowledge using Punjabi as the medium and to start magazines and newspapers in Punjabi; (iv) to reform and bring back into the Sikh fold the apostates; and (v) to interest the high-placed Englishmen in and ensure their association with the education programme of the Sabh&#257. It was the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257's policy to avoid criticism of other religions and discussion of political matters.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In 1877, Punjabi was introduced in the Oriental College. Bh&#257&#299 Hars&#257 Si&#7749gh, a <i>granth&#299</i> of Darb&#257r S&#257hib, Tarn T&#257ran, was the first teacher and Bh&#257&#299 Gurmukh Si&#7749gh, who was later to be one of the central figures of the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 movement, one of the first batch of students. Bh&#257&#299 Gurmukh Si&#7749gh after completion of his own course, was appointed to teach Punjabi and Mathematics in the Pañj&#257b University College. He got some leading Sikh citizens of Lahore, such as D&#299w&#257n B&#363&#7789&#257 Si&#7749gh and Sard&#257r Mehar Si&#7749gh Ch&#257wl&#257, interested in the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 work. As a result Sr&#299 Gur&#363 Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257, Lahore, was set up on 2 November 1879. It started holding weekly meetings. D&#299w&#257n B&#363&#7789&#257 Si&#7749gh as president, Bh&#257&#299 (also known as Professor) Gurmukh Si&#7749gh as secretary and Bh&#257&#299 Hars&#257 Si&#7749gh, R&#257m Si&#7749gh and Karam Si&#7749gh as members formed its working committee. The movement picked up momentum and Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s appeared at many places not only in the Punjab but also in several other parts of India and abroad from London in the west to Shanghai (China) in the East.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 General (renamed <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n soon after) was set up on 11 April 1880, as a coordinating body at Amritsar. R&#257j&#257 Bikram Si&#7749gh of Far&#299dko&#7789 and the Lieut-Governor of Punjab were its patrons, B&#257b&#257 Khem Si&#7749gh Bed&#299 president, Sard&#257r M&#257n Si&#7749gh <i>sarbar&#257h</i> or manager of Darb&#257r S&#257hib, vice-president, Bh&#257&#299 Gurmukh Si&#7749gh of Lahore chief secretary and Bh&#257&#299 Ganesh&#257 Si&#7749gh secretary. The D&#299w&#257n opened <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 schools for general education and floated papers and periodicals to propagate Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 ideology as well as its religious activities. But ideological differences soon arose between the president and the chief secretary. The former, supported by the priestly class, considered Sikhs as a part of the Hindu community and did not favour a total break with old established social customs and practices. Himself being a direct descendant of Gur&#363 N&#257nak, he claimed special position of reverence for himself as well as for all members of clans to which the Gur&#363s had belonged. Bh&#257&#299 Gurmukh Si&#7749gh, on the other hand, was a progressive reformist believing Sikhism to be a separate sovereign religion having equality of all believers without distinction of caste or status as its basic social creed. The result was the setting up of a separate <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, Lahore, on 10-11 April 1886 under the presidentship of Sard&#257r Attar Si&#7749gh Bhadau&#7771 with Professor Gurmukh Si&#7749gh as secretary. The Amritsar <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n re-organized itself as a bicameral body consisting of Mah&#257n Kha&#7751&#7693 comprising the aristocracy, and Sam&#257n Kha&#7751&#7693 representing the commonalty of believers and the priestly class. Some smaller organizations were also active for achieving the aims of the movement. Gurmat Granth Prach&#257rak Sabh&#257, Amritsar, established on 8 April 1885 was engaged in research and publication of books on ideological and historical topics. <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Tract Society came into existence through the efforts of Bh&#257&#299 V&#299r Si&#7749gh in 1894. Shuddh&#299 Sabh&#257 for conversions and reconversions into Sikhism was founded in April 1893 by Dr. Jai Si&#7749gh. Among the local Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s, the one at Bhasau&#7771 was the most active under its leading light, B&#257b&#363 Tej&#257 Si&#7749gh. Among individual scholars, Gi&#257n&#299 Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh, the historian, and Pa&#7751&#7693it T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh Narotam were the most prominent.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Both the D&#299w&#257ns, despite mutual bickerings and even litigation, worked for the same aims with the same programmes, but the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n Lahore soon stole a march over its rival in popularity by virtue of its progressivism and the total dedication and hard work of Bh&#257&#299 Gurmukh Si&#7749gh who had enlisted the help of two other colleagues, equally dedicated and industrious. They were Gi&#257n&#299 Ditt Si&#7749gh and Bh&#257&#299 Jaw&#257hir Si&#7749gh Kap&#363r. The former as editor of and chief contributor to the D&#299w&#257n's weekly newspaper, the <i><u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 A<u>kh</u>b&#257r</i>, made it a forceful medium for the propagation of the D&#299w&#257n's ideology. Giving his judgement in a defamation case against Gi&#257n&#299 Ditt Si&#7749gh the district judge of Lahore, R.L. Harris, observed in February 1888 that</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) The Lahore faction had about 30 Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s attached to it, while the Amritsar faction had about six or seven Si&#7749gh Sabhas including Rawalpind&#299, Ferozepore and Faridkot</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) The Lahore party comprised enlightened educated men who are freeing themselves from the thraldom of priesthood by seeking to purge their religion of all the grossness that has clung to it by the devices of the priestly class... represented by the Bedi Guru or Sodhi class... their opponents are naturally the priestly class who would like, if possible, to maintain their sway over the conscience of men, though it might be at the expense of the true spiritual and religious growth; and so we find Bedi Khem Si&#7749gh, as the head of the priestly class, in league with Raja of Faridkot, opposing and trying to stifle the spirit of reformation.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The most hotly contested argument within the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 movement was whether Sikhs were Hindus. The San&#257tanists, or the conservatives of the Amritsar D&#299w&#257n, saw Sikhism as an offshoot of a broadly defined Hinduism. Examples from the &#256di Granth and accompanying literature were used to "prove" that the Gur&#363s had no intention of separating Sikhs from their Hindu roots, and had in fact revered Hindu gods and scriptures. In this the conservatives were enthusiastically supported by the &#256rya Sam&#257j&#299sts. On the other side, the Tat <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 or the progressive <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n Lahore made "Ham Hind&#363 Nah&#299&#7749"(we are not Hindus) their battle cry. They too used quotes from the Scripture and historical analysis to combat what was seen as the most dangerous threat to Sikh survival. The tract warfare over the issue was heated and prolonged. Scores of tracts and booklets on the subject appeared, the most reasoned and convincing of which was Bh&#257&#299 K&#257hn Si&#7749gh N&#257bh&#257's, <i>Ham Hind&#363 Nah&#299&#7749</i>, first published in 1898.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another bone of contention between the two D&#299w&#257ns was of relatively less importance. Both had been convassing government's support for the opening of a <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 College. <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n Amritsar had mooted the suggestion as early as 1883 but inter-D&#299w&#257n disputes hindered progress. Ultimately when <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299v&#257n Lahore succeeded in enlisting the support of the government as well as of the Sikh aristocracy, and an establishment committee was set up in 1890 under the chairmanship of the Director, Public Instruction, Punjab, Colonel W.R.M. Holroyd, succeeded the following year by Dr W.H. Rattigan, with Sard&#257r Attar Si&#7749gh Bhadau&#7771 as vice-chairman and W. Bell of the Government College, Lahore, as secretary, there was wrangling over the location of the college. At last the protagonists of Amritsar won the day and the foundation of the college was laid by the Lieut-Governor of the Punjab on 5 March 1892.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mutual recriminations indulged in by the two D&#299w&#257ns had led neutrally inclined elements to voice the need for uniting the different sections under a central organization. The idea met with reverberating support at a large gathering of Sikhs in Malva&#299 Bu&#7749g&#257 at Amritsar on 12 April 1900. The conference unanimously voted for the establishment of a new <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, supreme in the affairs of the community, and formed a committee to draw up the constitution of such a unitary body. This was also necessitated by the fact that death had denuded the old D&#299w&#257ns by snatching many of their leading lights within a short period at the turn of the century. Sard&#257r &#7789h&#257kur Si&#7749gh &#346andh&#257&#7749v&#257l&#299&#257 and Ka&#7749var Bikram&#257 Si&#7749gh had already died in 1887. Now came, in quick succession, the deaths of Sard&#257r Attar Si&#7749gh of Bhadau&#7771 and Dr. Jai Si&#7749gh (June 1896), R&#257j&#257 Bikram Si&#7749gh of Far&#299dko&#7789 (August 1898), Professor Gurmukh Si&#7749gh (September 1898) and Gi&#257n&#299 Ditt Si&#7749gh (September 1901). The responsibility of leading the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 movement was therefore taken over by the new organization, the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, formally established at Amritsar on 30 October 1902. Bh&#257&#299 Arjan Si&#7749gh of B&#257ga&#7771&#299&#257n was elected its first president, Sard&#257r Sundar Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257 secretary and So&#7693h&#299 Suj&#257n Si&#7749gh additional secretary. Membership was open to all <i>amritdh&#257r&#299</i> Sikhs, i.e. those who had received the rites of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 initiation, and who could read and write Gurmukh&#299. Members were also expected to contribute <i>dasvandh</i> or one tenth of their annual income for the common needs of the community. The Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n adopted all the aims and programmes of the old <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, viz. insistence on separate identity of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Panth, spreading the teaching of the Gur&#363s as well as general education on modern lines, disseminations of information on traditional and on current issues and safeguarding the political rights of the Sikhs by maintaining good relations with the government and Sikh rulers. It carried out its mission with the help and cooperation of the local Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s most of whom sought affiliation with the new D&#299w&#257n, and of eminent individuals such as Bh&#257&#299 V&#299r Si&#7749gh, Bh&#257&#299 Mohan Si&#7749gh Vaid, Bh&#257&#299 Ta<u>kh</u>t Si&#7749gh, B&#257b&#363 Tej&#257 Si&#7749gh, Bh&#257&#299 K&#257hn Si&#7749gh and Bh&#257&#299 Jodh Si&#7749gh. Its earliest success came in the conversion of 35 persons including a Muslim family of six in a largely attended d&#299v&#257n (religious assembly) held through the efforts of B&#257b&#363 Tej&#257 Si&#7749gh, at Bak&#257pur, village near Phillaur in Jalandhar district, on 13-14 June 1903. Next came the passing of the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, which gave legal validity to the exclusively Sikh ceremony of marriage. The Bill was piloted in the Imperial Legislative Council successively by &#7788ikk&#257, heir apparent, Ripudaman Si&#7749gh of N&#257bh&#257, and Sard&#257r Sundar Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257. Another milestone in the social history of the Sikhs was the establishment of the Sikh Educational Conference held annually since its inception in 1908 to the present day under the Educational Committee of the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n. Some of the other achievements of the D&#299w&#257n were the removal of idols from the compound of the Darb&#257r S&#257hib, Amritsar (1905), and the preparation of a common code of conduct for the Sikhs laying down in detail the way the Sikhs should perform their religious ceremonies (1916).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For over a decade, the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n consolidated its position and had remarkable success at fostering Sikh identity and strengthening Sikh institutions. From 1914 onward, however, the organization began to lose its hold on and popularity with the Sikh masses. Loyalty to the government in order to seek favours for the community was one of the bases of the strategy of the D&#299w&#257n as had been the case with the old <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257ns of Lahore and Amritsar, but the climate in the country had started changing since the advent of the twentieth century so that the pro-government policy of the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n became increasingly suspect in view of its soft stance during the peasant unrest of 1906-07 and the Rik&#257bgañj agitation in 1914, open denunciation of the <u>Gh</u>adar activists (1915-16), and over-enthusiasm for Sikh recruitment bordering on virtual conscription during the Great War (1914-18).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Moreover, although the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 movement had done a tremendous lot to revitalize the religious spirit of the Sikhs, it had done precious little to cleanse the rot that had set in the Sikh religious places. While the masses, now better aware of their true religious past, were becoming more and more impatient of the management of <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> under a corrupt and degenerate priesthood secure under legal protection, the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n continued to pursue the path of helpless inactivity for fear of British displeasure. A single instance will illustrate the point. <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n M&#257jh&#257, one of the several regional organizations for management reform in religious places had been established in 1904. The Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n, pleading Panthic unity, asked it to affiliate with the central body. It obeyed; but watching impatiently over the years the indifference of the central leadership, it revived itself as an independent body in March 1919. A few days later, on 13 April 1919, occurred the Jalli&#257&#7749v&#257l&#257 Ba<u>gh</u> massacre which radically changed the political as well as religious scenario in which the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n became practically irrelevant, and the central stage was occupied by the Gurdw&#257r&#257 Reform movement. The Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n is, however, still active, especially in the educational field, and enjoys the affiliation of a large number of local Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257s.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The main motivation of the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 movement was search for Sikh identity and self-assertion. The entire period can be interpreted and understood in terms of this central concern. Under this Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 impulse, new powers of regeneration came into effect and Sikhism was reclaimed from a state of utter ossification and inertia. Its moral force and dynamic vitality were rediscovered. The Sikh mind was stirred by a process of liberation and it began to look upon its history and tradition with a clear, self-discerning eye. What had become effete and decrepit and what was reckoned to be against the Gur&#363s' teachings was rejected. The purity of Sikh precept and practice was sought to be restored. Rites and customs considered consistent with Sikh doctrine and tradition were established. For some, legal sanction was secured through government legislation. This period of fecundation of the spirit and of modern development also witnessed the emergence of new cultural and political aspirations. Literary and educational processes were renovated. Through a strong political platform, the Sikhs sought to secure recognition for themselves.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The most important aspects of the Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 movement were educational and literary. By 1900, orphanages, a system of Sikh schools, institutions for training preachers and <i>granth&#299s</i>, and other self-strengthening efforts gained broad support from Sikhs in the Punjab and, especially, migrant communities abroad. In northwest Punjab B&#257b&#257 Khem Si&#7749gh Bed&#299 took a prominent part in building <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 schools. Sikh schools were also built in Amritsar, Lahore, F&#299rozpur and in some villages such as Kairo&#7749, Gharj&#257kh, Ch&#363ha&#7771 Chakk, and Bhasau&#7771. One of the best known institutions was the Sikh Kany&#257 M&#257h&#257 Vidy&#257laya of F&#299rozpur founded by Bh&#257&#299 Ta<u>kh</u>t Si&#7749gh. The teaching of Gurmukh&#299 and Sikh scriptures was compulsory in these <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 schools.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The impetus given to education in its turn stimulated the publication of books, magazines, tracts ; and newspapers. The earliest venture in Punjabi journalism was the Lahore <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n's Punjabi weekly <i><u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 A<u>kh</u>b&#257r</i>. In 1899, the <i><u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Sam&#257ch&#257r</i> was founded and soon became the leading theological journal of the community. Its circulation increased under the editorship of Bh&#257&#299 V&#299r Si&#7749gh, who rose to prominence as a novelist, poet and commentator of scriptural writings. The <i><u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Advocate</i> (English) later became the Spokesman of the Chief <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 D&#299w&#257n.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A large number of books on Sikhism, both in Gurmukh&#299 and English, were published. Of the Gurmukh&#299, Gi&#257n&#299 Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh's <i>Panth Prak&#257sh</i> and <i>Tw&#257r&#299<u>kh</u> Gur&#363 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257</i> and K&#257hn Si&#7749gh's voluminous encyclopaedia of Sikh literature (<i>Gurushabad Ratan&#257kar Mah&#257n Kosh</i>) were of lasting significance. Max Arthur Macauliffe's monumental work on the life and teachings of the Sikh Gur&#363s and the <i>Far&#299dko&#7789 &#7789&#299k&#257</i>, an exegesis of the entire Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, were also published during this time.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 movement checked the relapse of the Sikhs into Hinduism. Large number of Hindus of northern and western Punjab and Sindh became <i>sahajdh&#257r&#299</i> Sikhs and the <i>sahajdh&#257r&#299s</i> were encouraged to become the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257.</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"> Ashok, S.S., <i>Pañj&#257b d&#299&#257&#7749 Lahir&#257&#7749</i>. Patiala, 1974<BR> <li class="C1"> Ganda Singh (ed.), "The Si&#7749gh Sabha and other Socio-Religious Movements in the Punjab" in <i>The Punjab : 1850-1925</i><BR> <li class="C1"> Harbans Singh, <i>The Heritage of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1983<BR> <li class="C1"> Chandhar, Gurmukh Singh, <i>My Attempted Excommunication</i>. Lahore, 1898<BR> <li class="C1"> Barrier, N.G., <i>Sikhs and their Literature</i>, Delhi, 1970<BR> <li class="C1"> Gurmukh Singh, Major, "Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 Lahir" in <i>N&#257nak Prak&#257sh Patrik&#257</i>. Patiala, Dec. 1988<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">N. G. Barrier<br>N&#257zar Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>