ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>VAS&#256KH&#256 SI&#7748GH (1877-1957)</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="VASKH,SIDGH,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">&#65279VAS&#256KH&#256 SI&#7748GH (1877-1957), one of the <u>Gh</u>adr leaders, was born on 13 April 1877 at Dadehar, a village in Amritsar district of the Punjab. His father, Di&#257l Si&#7749gh, and mother, Ind Kaur, were a God-fearing couple. One of his ancestors, Mohar Si&#7749gh, is said to have received the rites of <i>amrit</i> at the hands of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh himself. Vas&#257kh&#257 Si&#7749gh grew up in a religious environment . As was usual in those days, he had his early education at the village <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> and learnt to read the Sikh texts. He took the Sikh initiatory rites at the age of twelve. He was married to R&#257m Kaur while he was quite young. His wife died within four years, but he did not marry again. At the age of nineteen he joined the army which he left in 1907 to go to China. From China, he went on to the United States of America, where he had a partnership in a 500-acre farm with B&#257b&#257 Jav&#257l&#257 Si&#7749gh of &#7788ha&#7789&#7789ia&#7749. Out of the income of the farm Vas&#257kh&#257 Si&#7749gh and Jav&#257l&#257 Si&#7749gh set up Gur&#363 N&#257nak Educational Society with a view to helping needy Indian students studying in America. He was also one of the builders of the Gurdw&#257r&#257 at Stockton. As the first issue of the <u>Gh</u>adr, the weekly organ of the revolutionary <u>Gh</u>adr party, carrying reports of the conferences of Indian immigrants held in the States of Oregon and Washington, reached the hands of Indians working on California farms, they felt deeply stirred. Vas&#257kh&#257 Si&#7749gh went to Sacramento to attend the party meeting held on 31 December 1913, and was elected a member of the central executive committee. He responded to the party's call to return to India and take part in the armed rebellion it had planned. But as he reached Madr&#257s on 7 January 1915, he was taken into custody. He was put under house arrest and detained in his village.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He retained his links with the <u>Gh</u>adr party. When the plot was leaked out to the British by a spy, Vas&#257kh&#257 Si&#7749gh was seized by police along with several other <u>Gh</u>adr leaders. He was tried in the Lahore conspiracy case I (1915) and, on 13 September 1915, sentenced to transportation for life and forfeiture of property. He went on a strike for over a month in the A&#7751&#7693am&#257ns as a protest against maltreatment of political prisoners. After his release from jail as a result of general amnesty to certain categories of political prisoners, he reached his village on 14 April 1920 in a very poor state of health. He, however, continued working actively for the freedom of the country. To help political prisoners languishing in jails, he helped form Desh Bhagat Pariv&#257r Sah&#257ik Committee of which he was elected president. In 1931, B&#257b&#257 Vas&#257kh&#257 Si&#7749gh's movements were confined to the city of Amritsar, and in 1932, he was detained in his village for two years. He again went to jail in the years 1940 and 1942.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B&#257b&#257 Vas&#257kh&#257 Si&#7749gh's was a revered name in Sikh piety. He led a <i>jath&#257</i> of 100 volunteers to court arrest in Gur&#363 k&#257 B&#257<u>gh</u> <i>morch&#257</i>. He was one of the Pañj Pi&#257ras when the <i>k&#257r-sev&#257</i> or cleansing of the holy <i>sarovar</i> at Tarn T&#257ran was commenced on 10 January 1931. He was also one of the Pañj Pi&#257re who laid, on 14 October 1932, the foundation-stone of the new building of Gurdw&#257r&#257 Pañja S&#257hib. He had the honour to be appointed, in 1934, Jathed&#257r of the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t at Amritsar.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He died in a hospital at Tarn T&#257ran on 5 December 1957.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Jas, Jaswant Si&#7749gh, <i>B&#257b&#257 Vis&#257kh&#257 Si&#7749gh</i>. Jalandhar, 1991<BR> <li class="C1"> Ghumman, Bikram Si&#7749gh, <i><u>Gh</u>adar&#299 B&#257b&#257 Vis&#257kh&#257 Si&#7749gh</i>. Amritsar, 1982<BR> <li class="C1"> Deol, Gurdev Si&#7749gh, <i>Ghadr P&#257r&#7789&#299 ate Bh&#257rat d&#257 Qaum&#299 Andolan</i>. Amritsar, 1970<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Gurdev Si&#7749gh Deol<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>