break;ng the mainspring.
his brief account of a militant movement will not be:
colllp]ete without recalling here that it was the largely
unlettered Akalis who started The l f i n r f ~ ~ s l Times:
an in the
midst of the gurdwara agitation to espouse their cause and!
to public opinion against the reign of terror that the
~ ~ i t rulers
i ~ h o f . P u n j a b had let loose on the participants,,
pledged to do or die. Little did they know then that their
creatul.e might same day grow into a premier ~ ~ a t i o n adaily,
l
occnsionally taking them to task, as was the case, when a .
secessionist voice was raised. But the more protracted
pUnjabi Suba agitation had no such gift to make to the.
nation. Its hyproducts, Haryana and Himachal, have had
the effect of curtailing the jurisdiction of the S G p c '
which did so much to make the Snba agitation a success.
A section of the Sikh community, apart from its ~ o n g r c i s .
wing, has lately been dubbing the Akali victory as a pyrrhic:.
one.
S.R.S-.
Ohapler 1
Birth of AkaQis
The Shiroluani Akali ~~1 was formad on I4 December
1920 during the days of the aurdwara Reform Movement
with headqubrters in the ~ ~Temple,
l Amritoar.
d ~ IL~ ~
was instrumental in bringing about major reforms in the
management of Sikh shrines and bringing them under the
control of the Shiromani Gurdwara prabandhak CJommittoe.
It emerged as a full-fledged polihioal parby in Punjab
during tho 1936-37 elections held under the Government of
India Act of 1936.
The word Alcali is derived from ~ k ~ l in turn, has
originated from the Sanskrit word meaning 'time.'
The prefix 'A,' which for 'not' or 'without,'
imparts to the word Aka2 the meaning of *timelessness' o t
'immortality.' The term ~ k ~ ltherefore,
i , literally signifies
one who is deat'hleas or immortal. Murray has given a,
somewhat different though related explanation. According
to him, Akali means.the follower or of Aha&
Purleha or Immortal G0d.a
It was Guru Gohind singh (167ij.l708), the tenth Sikh
apostle, who, under tho stressof circumstanoes, transfor-
med a n essentially pacifist religious sect into a militant;
community, and selected a devoted band of followers from
among them and named them ~ k ~ lBecauseof i ~ . their heroic
exploits, the Akalis &Isncame to be lrnown as N i h a n g ~ . ~
The two terms were synonymous to begin with but later
acquired difFerent connotations.
An Akali of the old timea was distinguished oonspi-
cuoualy by his dark blue and chequered dress, a peaked
tlirhan. often surmounted . ~ i t , hn t e nouoits,
~ and, as Macla-
 18 BIBTH 010 AKALIS
diminished in numbers, still wear this strange dress, but the
Akalis have oqly retained the dark blue turban.
The Akalis, by virtue of their special origin, considered
themselves not only morally suporior to their oo.religionists
but also assumed the role of the guardians of the Silth
faith. They reprima,nded even Maharaja Ranjit Singh6
(1780-1839) and Maharaja Narinder Singh of PatialaGfor
moral lapses. They also helped Ranjit Singh in his military
campaigns. In faoh, he owed many of his oelebrated viator-
ies to Alrali Warriors like Sadhu Singh and Phula Singh, the
two legendary figuros of Sikh history. Stories of dash,,
velour and aots of bravery, displayed by the former a t
Nultan in 1818 and the latter a t Attook in 1823,?.are treas-
,urea by the Sikhs even today.
Up to the beginning of the twentieth oentury Sikh zeal-
ots lmpt atriot vigilanae over the interests of the oommu-,
nity. But with the beginning of the revivalist movement in
Punjab in the wake of British rule, there came about
&any sooial and politioal changes. Like other onmmuniti'es
&he Sikhs, too, organised themselves into different
kroups to proteot and promote their politioal rights.
Among the organisations whioh oatue into existenoe before'
%heAkali Party emerged as the most pow&ful politioal wing
pf the Panth, the most importanb ,was the Chief IChalsa
Di~an.~
The Chief Khalsa Diwan, founded in 1902, was
'a'so,ooi&l and educational body. The faot that it enjoyed
'the patronage of the British rulers end tho financial backing'
'bf:the ruling prinoes made it a handmaid of the government.
The British, too, helped it in their "enlightened self.inter2
&st." S f r -Charles Rivaa, Lieut-aovernor, for instance,
organfaad d oampaign for raising funds from Sikh land-
bwnerb for the eduoational activities of the Diwan. The
Faaon is not far to seek. Before the non-00-operation mover
'meat of the Congross in 1920-22, the British looked. upon
-.* .
.the Sikhs as thoir right hand as they hadhelped them quell
71. ~. " 7 0 - " ..., -2 "-L-L,:"L
BIRTH OR AXALIS 19
returned to India in 1916,10 the Diwan supported thogovern-
ment's ruthless measures against thom. ' Similarly, during
-the notorious martial law regime in Punjab four years
later, when the government was c3n4emned for shooting
hondredsof innocent people and for other high.handed aots
of the army, polioo and magistraoy, the Diwan did not join
thenational ohorus of cmdemnation. On the other hand,
it, called upon the Sikhs to stay loyal to the government.
As the Sikhs had rendered meritorious sorvioes to the
Empire during the war, argued tho Chief Khalsa Diwan, it
was the bounden duty of the sons of Satguru to lreep thsm-
selves aloof from any movement against the government.
It exhorted thom to maintain thoir traditional loyalty to t;he
Icing-Emperor and help tho government preserve law and
ordor.ll
Although t h e growth of the nabionalist ~novementhad
its inevitable impaot on the activities of the Diwan, ita
methods continued to be oonstitutional. It ooufined its
aotivities to holding oonferenoes, adopting resolutions,
issuing pamphletsia and making appeals to the good eense
of the British Sovereign or his s a t r a ~ s . ~ aWhen Dalip
Singh, the exiled son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, in his.letter
,(20 June 1889) from Russia appealed to Sikh Sardara to
help him regain his lost kingdom, the Diwan-bisted on
his being loyal to the British Crown.14 Infaot, i t told him
t h a t the Sikhs would work against him,if he peraistod in
his anti.,British activities. Even soholars like Bhai Yir Singh
and.Bhai Jodh Singh, leading lights of the Singh Sabhas,
refrained from associating themselves with the iontempo-
rary politioal movements.iG . . . .
The Land Colonisation Bill Moveme:nt'o (1907) was the
first popular upsurge in Punjab. The masses were rouse4 :.bx
politioal leaders like Lajpat E a i (1865.1828) and Ajit Singh
<d.1947) by means of politioal propaganda and pats@tiu
songs like Pagri 8ambhal "'aLta (0, J a t , see that your turban,
the embodiment of your honour, is not dislodged) of,Bunka ,
A?",.:". --*-&,.A Dayal(1880-1929). But the followers of the Singh Sabhas did
 BlRTII OB AEAL18
1919, Bhai Vir Singh (1872.1967), a leading light of the
Ohief IIhalsa Diwan, did not comment. on the t r a P d y
even once in his voluminons works, though the brutal kill-.
ing had taken place in his home town.
According to Khushwant Singh, the Chief Khalsa Divan
was able to monopolise the entire Beld of Bikh activity fop
nearly a quarter of a century (1890.1914) when semi-demo-
cratio institutions were beginning to be introduced on
franchise favourable to the propertied middle class."
But i t could not keep pace with the rising tide of public
opinion that emerged under the infiuence of the national
movemenf,, As the Chief Khalsn Diwan exhorted the Sikhs.
to be loyal t o a government whioh had perpetrated such
atrocities ao the Amritsar massacre, 'lit suffered heavily in
prestige among the common people and became thoroughly
discredited."'8
8'Ioreover, a feeling grew among the Sikhs that without
political organisation of their own, their interests ran the
risk of being negleoted altogether, or, a t any rate, of not
being adequately safeguarded: No doubt, the community
had a t no time been wanting in politically oonscious, publia-
spirited and patriotic leaders, some of whom had thrown.
in their lot with the Indian National Congress. 13ut there
was no Silrh organisatibn as such- either to ventilate the.
grievances of the oommnnity or safeguard its economic and.
politiaal interests. To achieve that end a meeting of
prominent Sikhs of all shades of opinion was held in
Bradlaugh Hall, Lahore. It decided to set up the Central
Sikh League.'"
The inaug~lralsession of the Central Sikh League mas-
held in Bande Matram Hall, Amritsar on 27 December
1919 simultaneously with the a n i u a l sessions of the Congress.
and the Muslim League a t Amritaar, with the avowed
"object of learning aomething from the other oommu-.
nities who were in their politioal yowth and vigo~r,."*~
. 8. B, Gajjan Singh, a moderate Sikh leader, presided.
Among olhers who attended were Sant Singh, Gurbux
Singh, Ujjal Singh, R . S . Bai~aEha Sringh, (leader of
the Chief Khalsa Diwan), Bkai Jodh Singh and Amar Singb
of the Lyall Gazette. Th,ough both its president, Gajjan Singh,.
and vice.president, Cl~ptainGopal Singh Phngowalia, were
loyalists and of modernte views, the Central Sikh League
could not remain immune to the infloeoce of the non co.op-
ration movemelit ,which had surcharged the political
utn?osphel.e of the country. Soon its londmship passed
into the hands of nationillist Silchs. One of its militant
units, the Lyallpur k>ranah, a t its meeting on 18 March
1020, placed on record that i t had learnt wit,h great appre-
hension that the names of aajjan Singh and Captain
Phagowalia were on the Dyer Apprcoiiltion P ~ l n d Committee
whioh was ' sponsored by pro-British Punjabis a n d
the inahan18 and which presented General ilyer with
E28,000 and a golden sword, proclaiming him "the defend-
der of the Empiro."zl I t regarded the association of
these leadora with tho committee a s <'the hoight of infamy"
and said that their membership controverted both t h e
letter and spirit of the resolution on the Punjab dieturb-
ances passed a t the annual session of the Central SikhLeagne.
The meeting callsd upon them t o sever their co'nnec-
tion with t h o fund and thus show t h a t they respected their
resolution.
At its seooud sossion, held a t Lahore in Optobei. 1920,Baha
Icharak Singh 22 a nationalist leader, was elected p r e ~ i d e n t
o f t h e Central ~ i k League.
h He was taken out in a mammoth
procession along with Mahatma Gandhi, Shaukat Ali
.(1873-1938) and Muhammad Ali (1878-1931). The session
was attended by over a thousand delegates and
about six lhousand visitors. Mahatma Gandhi and
other Congress leaders like Rambhaj Dutt Chowdhury,
Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew (d. 1963), Agha Mohd Safdar,
Maulana Abul Kalam.Azad(1888.1968), Maulana Muhammad
Ali, Dr. Mohammed Alam and Maulana Shaukat Ali also
attended the conference." The delegates, mostly from the
rural areas, took a livoly interest in the proceedings, and
almost a whole day was spent on drafting the non-co-operat-
ion rcsolution, which was in the same vein as the resolution
adopted by the Congress a t its speoial session earlier.
However, there was a minor diffcrenoe. In the preamble t o
t h e Sikh League resolution a new ground for non-oo.oparation
was added: "the utter disregard shown by the government for

BlRTU OV AKAI.18
the rights of the Sikh community." Pro-British Sikh loaders.
like Sewa Singh m d Bhai Jodh Singh, who tried to spealr
against the non-co-operation resolotion, were heoltled. The
resolution mas parrsed by an overwhelming majority-only
about a dozen delegates voting against it.
The eclipse of the moderate and pro-Britiah Sikh leaders
in the Central SikhLeague became completo when the organ-
isation gave iteel1 a new constitution on 22 July 1921.2"
I t s aims and objccts were redefined as "attainment O F
Swavajya by all legitimcte, peacef~ll and constitutional
meane; prolnotion of Panthic unity; fostering patriotism and
public spirit amone the Sikhs, and development and organ-
isation of their political, moral and ooonomio resources."
The new constitution provided for a broad.based council of
101 (a favourite number among the Sikhs) excluding ex-
officio members. Eighty members were to be elected accord-
ing to a scheme prepared by tho exeoutive council a n d
,twenty-one to be t1orniuate-l by the elected members. T h e
annual membership fee wa5 fixed a t annas four (Lhe same as
for the Oongress) to make it a mass-based organisation. B y
August 1921, district Sikh leagues were established at,
Gujranwala, Lahore, Lyallpur, Amritsar, Sialkot, Jhelum,
Perozepore, Jullundur. Hoshiarpur and Delhi.
Tho third annual session was held a t Lyall~pnri n 1921.
Khilefat, Congress and Sewa Samiti volunteers attendid
in lnrge numbers. The conference venue looked' like a
sea of black turbans as if the delegates were in mourning for
those who died in clashes with the British. A resolution
on Congress lines snpporting non-co-operation was p s s e d
and instruclions about boycott of government institutions.
land offices were included in the resolution. Decision on
,non-payment of taxes was, however, deferred. Another
; The Central Sikh League met in annual seasions a t
,
,various p~aaeaand passed resolutions in favour of the move-
..merits launohed by the Congress, including the Khilafat
BIETH OE AHALlS 23:
movement. ~t created political consciousness among the
Sikhs but was overshadowed in the political field by t h e
Shiromani Akali ,Dal, which acquired for itself the status
of a religio-political organisation of tho community after
1935, mainly because of its prominent role in tho Gurdwara
Reform M o ~ e m e n t . ~ ~
Iihushwant Singh s ~ y :s "The movement for the libera-
tion of the gurdwaras (1919 to 1926) was generally desoribed
as the Akali movemont."2e I t is interesting to study how
the Gurdwara Reform Movement originated in the cliscon-
tent among the Sikh laity against the malpractioes of the
mahants, the hereditary heads of gurdwaras ; how the law's
delay led the frustrated peoplo.to seize gurdwaras by direot
action and how there arose a conflict t h a t assumed propor-
tion8 of' a movement and lent a new direction and dimension
t o the character of t,he A.kalis.
It would, therefore, be not out of place to trace t h e
origin and de~elopment of the movement in which
Akalis played a role which later on became a political
one in an era of rapid political changes..
Gardwarasz7 are a part of the Sikh Trinity oE C's-Glaru,
Qranth Sahib and.gurdwara. ,The Sikh temple, founded by or
in honour of the Sikh Curua, is the centre of Sikh sooial.
and religious life. Giani Partap Singh has observed rightly
t h a t a gurdwara "is more than just a place of 'worship.
It is also a school, a meeting plaoe and a r e ~ t - h o u s e . " ~ ~
I n all gurdwaras the presence of the Granth Sahib ia essen-'
tial. It represents the Sikh Grtrus, whose spirit, according
$0 the Sikh belief, is prosent in its body. Hymns f r o m t h e
Granlh Sahib are recited'daily in gurdwaras. I t is t h e
religious duty of all Sikhs to visit the gurdwara daily, to
listen t o the recitations from the Granth Sahib and to sing
hymns. Besides arranging recitations from t h e Qranth
sahib, and secular and religious instruction to ,
Sikh ohildren, the gurdwara has t o provide food to the
hungry and shelter to the homeless and the itinerant. To.
meet these demands, a gurdwara is usually well.endowed. It
has a handsome income in t h e form of money offerings from',
worshippers. A gurdwara is thus an intergral part of
sikh:religious and social life..