sikhpride

The contribution of the Sikhs in the Freedom Movement was mainly an outcome of their movement for the liberation of Gurdwaras from corrupt Mahants like Narayan Das who were working at the behest of their British Lords. The sacrifices made by the Sikhs like Bhai Lachman Singh of Dharowal, Bhai Dalip Singh and other martyrs of Guru Ka Bagh and Jaito Morcha led to the freedom of Gurdwaras. When keys of Golden temple were handed over to Baba Kharak Singh, Gandhi Ji had sent a telegram to him, which read as “first decisive battle of India’s freedom won.” There were two other important movements aimed at bringing social and educational awakening among the Sikhs. Whereas Baba Ram Singh wanted the Sikhs to know about religious values for strengthening the religion, Baba Dayal Ji launched the Nirankari Movement as a revolt against the Brahmin cults. They introduced Anand ceremony for marriage and lead the Anand Marriage Act passed. When Hindus lead by Swami Dayanand and Christian Missionaries became powerful to influence the people to convert from Sikhism and Hinduism to Christianity, the Singh Sabha Movement came into being to stem the tide of such conversions. The great Singh Sabha leaders S. Thakur Singh Sandhawalia, Baba Khem Singh Bedi, Kanwar Bikram Singh of Kapurthala, Giani Gian Singh of Amritsar, Bhai Dit Singh, Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, Pandit Tara Singh Narottam, Prof. Sahib Singh, Principal Jodh Singh and Dr. Ganda Singh played an effective role to bring a revolution which raised the morale of the Sikhs. A number of Sikh institutions like Chief Khalsa Diwan, Khalsa College Amritsar and Punjab & Sind Bank were created to strengthen the educational and economic position of the community. SGPC was also created by an act of the Government in 1925 to look after the historic Gurdwaras which were freed because of the efforts of the above noted movements from the control of the selfish and corrupt Mahants.