ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>SUNDAR SI&#7748GH LY&#256LLPUR&#298 MASTER (1885-1969)</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="SUNDAR,SIDGH,LYLLPUR*,MASTER,Person,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">&#65279SUNDAR SI&#7748GH LY&#256LLPUR&#298, MASTER (1885-1969), teacher, journalist and politician, was born on 4 April 1885, the son of Lakhm&#299r Si&#7749gh Kamboj and R&#257m Kaur, of the village of Baho&#7771&#363, 12 km south of Amritsar. The family later moved to the canal colony in Shei<u>kh</u>&#363pur&#257 district where they founded a new village, Chakk No. 18 Baho&#7771&#363. Having completed his early education in Baho&#7771&#363 and in Sh&#257hko&#7789, district Shei<u>kh</u>&#363pur&#257, Sundar Si&#7749gh took his B.A. (Honours) degree at <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 College, Amritsar, and his B.T. at Government Training College, Lahore. In 1908, he joined Master T&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh, the future Ak&#257l&#299 suprermo, to teach at <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 High School, Ly&#257llpur, on an honorarium of barely 15 rupees a month. Later he served successively at <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 High School at Chakk No. 41 and at S&#257&#7749gl&#257.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What brought Master Sundar Si&#7749gh Ly&#257llpur&#299 into politics was his contact with Sard&#257r Harchand Si&#7749gh of Ly&#257llpur, active in the nationalist movement. In 1908, the Punjab Government changed the constitution of the governing body of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 College, Amritsar, in order to ensure firmer control over the affairs of the college. Master Sundar Si&#7749gh published, in July 1909, a strongly-worded pamphlet entitled <i>K&#299 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 College Sikh&#257&#7749 D&#257 Hai?</i> ("Does the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 College belong to the Sikhs?"). He argued therein that the British intended to rob the Sikhs of their college as they had, by a grave breach of faith, previously swallowed up their kingdom. He also castigated Sundar Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257, the secretary of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 College Council, for having brooked official interference. The same year, he started publication from Ly&#257llpur of a Punjabi newspaper, <i>Sachch&#257 &#7692ha&#7751&#7693or&#257</i> ("The True Proclamation"). According to a report from the then Assistant Director of Criminal Intelligence, dated 11 August 1911, it printed "largely echoes of the violently nationalistic writings which were then appearing in the Punjab press and which culminated in a series of press prosecutions during 1909-10." <i>Sachch&#257 &#7692ha&#7751&#7693or&#257</i> too fell a victim to prosecution and suppression. Sundar Si&#7749gh was also in the forefront of the agitation against the demolition of a wall of Gurdw&#257r&#257 Rik&#257bgañj to suit the government's construction plans in New Delhi.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To promote the cause of Gurdw&#257r&#257 reform, Master Sundar Si&#7749gh launched from Lahore on 21 May 1920 a daily newspaper, the <i>Ak&#257l&#299</i>. The main objectives announced by the <i>Ak&#257l&#299</i> were democratic control of Sikh shrines and of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 College, reconstruction of the demolished wall of Gurdw&#257r&#257 Rik&#257bgañj, political and national awakening among the Sikh masses, and the establishment of a representative Sikh body based on democratic principles. Sohan Si&#7749gh Josh, <i>Ak&#257l&#299 Morchi&#257&#7749 d&#257 Itih&#257s</i>, describes Master Sundar Si&#7749gh as "the life and soul of the <i>Ak&#257l&#299</i>. "In July 1922, <i>Ak&#257l&#299</i> was amalgamated with <i>Prades&#299 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257</i> and published as <i>Ak&#257l&#299 te Prades&#299</i> from Amritsar. Master Sundar Si&#7749gh was arrested on 26 November 1921 at Ajn&#257l&#257 during the agitation for the restoration to the Sikhs of the keys of the Golden Temple treasury and was sentenced to six months' imprisonment with a fine of 4,000 rupees. However, he did not support the agitation launched by the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee in 1923 for the reinstatement of the deposed Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 of N&#257bh&#257. He was of the view that it would not be correct for the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Committee which was a religious body to involve itself in politics and that the N&#257bh&#257 question had better be dealt with by the Central Sikh League. Master Sundar Si&#7749gh was among the Ak&#257l&#299 detenues who refused to accept release from jail on the condition that they would implement the Sikh Gurdw&#257r&#257s Act of 1925.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Besides his articles in his newspaper, Master Sundar Si&#7749gh published tracts on burning topics of the day in which he also made use of his poetic talent. The topics covered varied from the lives of the Gur&#363s to the evil of drinking and scenes from Gur&#363 k&#257 B&#257<u>gh</u> agitation. In 1924, he restarted the <i>Ak&#257l&#299</i>, this time in Urdu, from Lahore, and launched the <i>Hindust&#257n Times</i> from Delhi, but they did not long survive his arrest soon after they had made their appearance. The <i>Gur&#363 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, Daler <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, Mel&#363, Kundan</i> and <i>Nav&#257&#7749 Yug</i> were some of the other papers he started, but none of them lived long. Sundar Si&#7749gh tried his hand at business and set up a shop in Bombay, but it had to be closed down within two years. After Independence, he was awarded a pension and allotted some land in Hiss&#257r district. He died at his new home on 5 January 1969.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Pi&#257r Si&#7749gh, <i>Tej&#257 Si&#7749gh Samundr&#299</i>. Amritsar, 1975<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> <li class="C1"> Ashok, Shamsher Si&#7749gh, <i>Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Prabandhak Committee d&#257 Pañj&#257h S&#257l&#257 Itih&#257s</i>. Amritsar, 1982<BR> <li class="C1"> Ganda Singh, ed., <i>Some Confidential Papers of the Ak&#257l&#299 Movement</i>. Amritsar, 1965<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Mohinder Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>