Drafts by Harjinder Singh Dilgeer
Sikhs: Past & Present
authored by the esteemed historian Harjinder Singh Dilgeer. In this comprehensive exploration, Di... more authored by the esteemed historian Harjinder Singh Dilgeer. In this comprehensive exploration, Dilgeer invites readers on a captivating journey through the storied landscapes of Punjab's architectural treasures, offering profound insights into their historical, cultural, and architectural significance. Punjab, a land steeped in history and tradition, has been a cradle of civilization for millennia. From the ancient civilizations of the Indus Valley to the vibrant Sikh Empire, Punjab's heritage reflects the dynamic interplay of diverse cultures, religions, and civilizations. Within its borders lie a myriad of historical monuments, each bearing witness to the region's tumultuous past and enduring resilience. With meticulous research and scholarly expertise, Harjinder Singh Dilgeer unveils the hidden narratives behind Punjab's architectural gems, illuminating their role in shaping the cultural and political landscape of the region. From majestic forts and awe-inspiring temples to intricately adorned gurdwaras, this book presents a comprehensive guide to the historical monuments scattered across East Punjab, offering readers a deeper understanding of Punjab's rich heritage. Whether you are an avid historian, a cultural enthusiast, or an intrepid traveler, "The Heritage of the Punjab" promises to be an invaluable companion on your journey of discovery. Join Harjinder Singh Dilgeer as he unravels the mysteries of Punjab's past, celebrates its architectural marvels, and pays homage to the enduring legacy of this land of ancient traditions and timeless beauty. "The Heritage of the Punjab: Historical Monuments in the East Punjab" stands out not only for its scholarly depth but also for its stunning visual presentation. Harjinder Singh Dilgeer has meticulously curated a wealth of photographs, offering readers a vivid and immersive experience of Punjab's rich architectural heritage. Through these captivating images, readers are transported across time and space, allowing them to witness firsthand the grandeur and intricacy of Punjab's historical monuments. From the imposing forts of yesteryears to the serene beauty of ancient temples and gurdwaras, each photograph serves as a window into Punjab's glorious past. Dilgeer's careful selection of photographs not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of the book but also serves as a powerful tool for understanding and appreciation. These images not only complement the text but also provide invaluable visual context, helping readers connect more deeply with the historical significance of each monument. Whether you're a history buff, a cultural enthusiast, or simply someone who appreciates the beauty of the past, this book promises to be a treasure trove of discovery and delight.
then they lose their Individual identities. (11) In our point of view sufism and culture are two ... more then they lose their Individual identities. (11) In our point of view sufism and culture are two sides of the same picture inevitably enjoined with each other. Sufism, in all its versions, stands for the ideals of reverence for culture and human values. A culture, nurtured by the ideas and thoughts of Sufis, evolves on its own, and so becomes like a flower which blossoms in very season, whose colour and fragrance cannot fade away.
then they lose their Individual identities. (11) In our point of view sufism and culture are two ... more then they lose their Individual identities. (11) In our point of view sufism and culture are two sides of the same picture inevitably enjoined with each other. Sufism, in all its versions, stands for the ideals of reverence for culture and human values. A culture, nurtured by the ideas and thoughts of Sufis, evolves on its own, and so becomes like a flower which blossoms in very season, whose colour and fragrance cannot fade away.
then they lose their Individual identities. (11) In our point of view sufism and culture are two ... more then they lose their Individual identities. (11) In our point of view sufism and culture are two sides of the same picture inevitably enjoined with each other. Sufism, in all its versions, stands for the ideals of reverence for culture and human values. A culture, nurtured by the ideas and thoughts of Sufis, evolves on its own, and so becomes like a flower which blossoms in very season, whose colour and fragrance cannot fade away.
The Sikhs: Past & Present, 2023
In 1997 Pal Singh Purewal, a man associated with an engineering job prepared a 'calendar'; he cla... more In 1997 Pal Singh Purewal, a man associated with an engineering job prepared a 'calendar'; he claimed that his 'calendar' was based on Guru Granth Sahib. In fact, this was not based on Guru Granth Sahib but was rather in contravention of the Sikh Rahitmaryada approved in the name of Akal Takht Sahib in 1945; Purewal's calendar, which was given a wrong name as 'Nanakshahi Calendar', promoted celebration of sangrand, massiya, pooranmaashi and other Hindus' so-called holy/auspicious days; besides it was not at all scientific in nature and thirdly it created confusion about historical dates. This 'calendar' had been mooted and promoted through a Chandigarh-based 'Institute of Sikh Studies' (it was no 'institute' but an organization of about a dozen retired officers) Kharak Singh Maan was the main person behind this 'Institute' and he was a yes-man of Gurcharan Singh Tohra hence he could get this calendar accepted. Tohra published this calendar in 1998 and released it to public for opinion but before it could be published one day Harjinder Singh Dilgeer visited Amritsar and went to see Tohra and Sukhdev Singh Bhaur (respectively President and acting Presidents of the SGPC); they presented that calendar to Dr Dilgeer who noticed the word sangrand and objected to it; as a result the word sangrand was replaced by 'aarambhata' (literally: beginning or the first day of month). When it was studied by various sections of Sikh society several objections were raised; Bhai Ranjit Singh called a meeting of different organizations and the Sikh elite on the 25th of January 1999 and this meeting resolved that it should not be implemented and the issue should be postponed for discussion till the celebration of the tercentenary of Khalsa. After this Ranjit Singh was removed from the post of caretaker of Akal Takht; he was replaced by Puran Singh who stopped the implementation of this calendar and formed a seven-member Committee with Santokh Singh (son of Jathedar Achhar Singh as its Convener); most of the members of this Committee opposed the implementation of this 'calendar' but supported that the Sikhs should have a 'calendar' of their own.
Guru Nanak Research Institute, 2023
BLUE and not kesri is flag of the Sikhs Nowadays, most of the Sikh Gurdwara building display saff... more BLUE and not kesri is flag of the Sikhs Nowadays, most of the Sikh Gurdwara building display saffron flags. It is strange that the Sikhs have nothing to do with saffron colour. The colour of the Sikh flag, as chosen by Guru Gobind Singh, was blue. When he initiated the first five Sikhs with 'Khanday Di Pahul',
website www.thesikhs.org, 2020
Guru Nanak's parents gave him the name Nanak (to be pronounced as NAANAK). Later, the Sikhs added... more Guru Nanak's parents gave him the name Nanak (to be pronounced as NAANAK). Later, the Sikhs added Sahib as suffix, as a mark of respect; while others used Baba as a prefix. Most of the earlier writers, however, preferred using Baba Nanak; Sahib too was a later usage. In the second half of the nineteenth century some Brahmanic writers began using Dev as suffix with Guru Nanak's name; until that no book or manuscript or even any verse had ever used DEV for Guru Nanak Sahib. But, like the usage of 'SRI' in Sikhism, the term DEV was so much popularized by the Nirmala (Brahminic priests) writers that a simple minded person considers Guru Nanak's name as incomplete if it is without the suffix DEV.
Sikh History in 10 Volumes
Thatcher Colluded with Indira Gandhi (which led to murder of thousands of Sikhs during Indian arm... more Thatcher Colluded with Indira Gandhi (which led to murder of thousands of Sikhs during Indian army's attack on Darbar Sahib Amritsar on June 4, 1984.
Comprehensive biography of Guru Gobind Singh with complete data of his work, battles and other ac... more Comprehensive biography of Guru Gobind Singh with complete data of his work, battles and other activities.
Attack on Darbar Sahib was Indira Gandhi's conspiracy to cash Hindu votes.
Simon Commission at Lahore
During its tour Simon Commission had planned a visit to Lahore; it wa... more Simon Commission at Lahore
During its tour Simon Commission had planned a visit to Lahore; it was to reach Lahore, by train, on the 30th of October 1928. On the 28th of October 1928, Akali Dal resolved to hold a protest rally on the arrival of Simon Commission. On the 30th of October 1928, about seven thousand people mostly blue-turbaned Sikhs gathered at the Lahore railway station and began raising slogans of ‘Simon go back’; this crowd was led by Master Tara Singh, Mangal Singh, Sardool Singh Kaveeshar, Sohan Singh Josh, Madan Mohan Malvia, Maulavi Abdul Qadar, Raizada Hans Raj, Dr Gopi Chand Bhargo, Dr Sat Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai and several others. When the crowd continued raising slogans for a long time, an English policeman attacked it with his hunter which hit even the leaders some of whom were wounded too; the wounded included Raizada Hans Raj, Abdul Qadar, Dr Gopi Chand and Dr Satpal; it was followed by cane-charge which further wounded several people (as per the newspaper reporting Lala Lajpat Rai was not among the wounded ones); when Simon Commission members were gone this procession too dispersed.
The same day at about 3 p.m. people again gathered at Delhi Darwaza; soon it turned into a big rally; it was addressed by several leaders; after this the people again took out a procession; fifteen thousand people joined it; Dr Gopi Chand (who had several bandages on his head) and Dr Satpal (who had multiple bandages on his arm) too joined it.
Ghadr Movement and the Akali Dal
Ghadr Party was in fact a Sikh Movement; more than 95% of its m... more Ghadr Movement and the Akali Dal
Ghadr Party was in fact a Sikh Movement; more than 95% of its members were Sikhs; the main centres for its organisation were Gurdwaras; its sources were funds from the Sikhs only; almost all its actions took place in the Sikh-Punjab. There is no doubt that a couple of Muslims joined it and some Bengali revolutionaries made their contribution but the Hindus form abroad or in the Punjab did not participate; Lala Hardyal, as mentioned earlier, was either a spy of the imperialist forces or was a coward who, having been once arrested in the USA, retired for fear of going to jail; on the other hand, some other Hindus like Parma Nand and Ram Chand even went even to the extent of renouncing their relationship with the revolutionaries. Even the Communist writer Gurcharan Singh Sehansara accepts that the English regime considered it only a Sikh movement because the regime punished only the Sikhs (except the hard core leaders like Vishnu Ganesh Pingle, Hafiz Abdullah and Babu Ram) and acquitted all the Hindus.
According to the government, even after the failure of the Ghadr in the Punjab, the Sikhs living abroad kept this Movement alive; some of them even went to Russia and got training there; all of these ‘extremists’ hated the English and continued their activities to end the British rule.
After their release most of the Ghadr activists joined political parties which were engaged in movements for the freedom of their homeland from the English; though some of them joined the Communist Party too but most of them joined the Sikh League, Shiromani Akali Dal, Babar Akalis; e.g. Wisakha Singh Dadehar, Bhai Randhir Singh, Dr Thakar Singh Ikolaha (he remained General Secretary and Vice President of Akali Dal), Piara Singh Langeri (he remained an office bearer of the Akali Dal), Piara Singh Canadian etc; and two leaders of Kamagatamaru ship (Gurdit Singh and Rai/Daljit Singh Kauni) too joined the Akali Movement; Gurdit Singh became president of Akali Dal in June; Rai Singh served as the manager of Gurdwara at Muktsar; Wisakha Singh was chairman of Parliamentary Board for SGPC elections in 1936; he also served as caretaker of Akal Takht. Similarly, Karam Singh Jhingarh, Karam Singh Daulatpur joined the Babar Akali Movement; according to the government, the Babar Akali Movement was revival of Ghadr Movement; most of them were former emigrant and like Ghadr workers they used 32 bore revolvers and Mausers.
On the 21st of November 1924, a ‘Qaidi Parvar Sahaik Committee’ was formed to help the families of jailed Ghadr workers; later it was merged with another such Committee; it had 21 members: 13 from Ghadr Party, 4 from Sikh League and 4 were co-opted by these 17 members; Wisakha Singh was the first president of this Committee, Harchand Singh Lyallpuri was its General Secretary and Dr Thakar Singh Ikolaha was its Joint Secretary.
Planning of Ghadr
Although no document of formal planning of armed action is available in any so... more Planning of Ghadr
Although no document of formal planning of armed action is available in any source but there finds a reference to a suggested plan is available from a letter written by Dr Thakar Singh Ikolaha from Canton (China) to Giani Bhagwan Singh (then at Hong Kong) on the 17th of November 1914. This letter could not reach Bhagwan Singh as he had already left his place; and, it could not be delivered to him even after having been directed to his new addresses; it finally fell into the hands of censure at Hong Kong; which opened it and got it deciphered from Punjabi into English (as a result of this letter Dr Thakar Singh was arrested and deported to India, and imprisoned for four and a half years in different jails).
According to this letter, Dr. Thakar Singh had suggested that on the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh, a joint action will be launched simultaneously in all the tehsils, police stations and districts; the revolutionary forces will murder the English officials and, in their place, patriot workers shall be appointed; the Indian soldiers should have already been prepared to join revolutionary action; hence the Punjab will soon be captured and freed; and, the English forces, being busy in war against Germany won’t be able to do much. All this action will be done on the same day throughout the Punjab. According to the letter Dr Thakar Singh had offered to take charge of Ludhiana district.
This was the proposed plan of action to free the Punjab, which had been suggested and discussed by the Ghadr leaders and workers; but this was not acceptable to Lala Hardyal and other Hindu leaders who suggested that the action for expelling the English should be started from Kashmir and North West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P.); it was a strange suggestion because in these two zones there was not a single person who was interested in participating in an armed action; and on the other side more than 90% of the Ghadrites were Sikhs, but, it seems that Hardyal and his associates were not willing to hand over power to the Sikhs; it was one of the reasons that led to failure of Ghadr planning.
(It is widely believed that either Hardyal had been planted by the English intelligence because first he tried to thwart the Punjab action; and when he could not stop it, he ‘retired’ from all the struggle for freedom; or having been once arrested in the USA, and moving to Switzerland after release on bail, he realized that struggle would also mean being in jail also, so he retired from all political activity; after his he .began living in Switzerland and adopted western way of life; later he was found dead in mysterious circumstances; it is possible that he might have been dubbed as a traitor and killed by some revolutionaries).
Sikh League under the Control of Akalis
The second session of the Sikh League was to be held on... more Sikh League under the Control of Akalis
The second session of the Sikh League was to be held on the 20th and 21st of October 1920, in Bradlaugh Hall at Lahore; a week before the session the name of the President of the session was to be finalised; just a few days earlier the Sikhs had taken control of Gurdwara at Sialkot and had selected Kharak Singh as its chief; hence he was one of the most talked of person among the Sikhs, and, he was a raees (affluent person) too; so his name was floated for President-ship of the second session of the Sikh League; and he immediately gave his consent; Sundar Singh Chawla was the Chairman of the Reception Committee and he too was an Akali.
On the 20th of October 1920, when the session began the main attraction of the session was Bibi Kartar Kaur (wife of Bhai Randhir Singh of the Ghadr Party); besides, about 50 leaders of the Ghadr Party and Kamagatamaru ship episode were also present in a special enclave on the right side of the stage; and seven chairs had been left empty with the tags of the names of Ghadr leaders (Bhai Randhir Singh, Chatar Singh, Nidhan Singh, Madan Singh, Jawala Singh Thathian, Amar Singh and Nidhan Singh Chugha) who were serving sentences in the jails.
On the first day Dr Saif-ud-Din Kitchlew, Mohammed Ali, Shaukat Ali and Maulana Abu Kalam Azad too came to attend the session; followed by Kharak Singh and Prof. Teja Singh Mastuana and M.K. Gandhi, his wife, Chowdhry Ram Bhaj Dutt, Sarla Devi, Duni Chand, Agha Safdar, Lala Govardhan Das, and Parma Nand Jhansi. Principal Teja Singh performed ardas and after the reading of a hymn the session was started. Giani Gurbakhsh Singh acted as master of ceremony (the stage secretary); and when he was going towards the stage, someone in the audience hooted by calling him guilty of honouring General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer (the butcher of Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13.4.1919) and Michael O’Dwyer (the Governor of the Punjab); the first to address the session was Sundar Singh Chawla who read out presidential address. After the presidential address Amar Singh (editor Lyall Gazette, later it was named Sher-i-Punjab) formally proposed the name of Kharak Singh as president; it was seconded by Sardool Singh Kaveeshar, Master Mota Singh Patara, Harchand Singh Lyallpuri and Giani Gurbakhsh Singh Advocate.
Before the beginning of the speeches, Harchand Singh Lyallpuri presented some leaders of the Ghadr Party and Kamagatamaru ship on the stage and introduced them to the audience; and he also condemned those priests of the Akal Takht who had declared that ‘those who had defied the police orders at the Baj Baj Ghat in 1914 were not Sikhs’; when Harchand Singh said these words Giani Gurbakhsh Singh, who was one of those who had honoured General Dyer, too was sitting there with shame (his head bowed and eyes closed).
The next day, on the 21st of October 1920, much before the beginning of the session, all the seats had been occupied. Before beginning the formal agenda of the session, it was requested that everyone should take off his necktie (they believed that a necktie was a symbol of cross; hence Christianity); about 500 people voluntarily took off their neck-ties and put them in their pockets (it also proves that the session was attended by so many elite Sikhs wearing suits and neck-ties). The first to address was Sardool Singh Kaveeshar who narrated the history of promulgation of the Martial Law in 1919 and the excesses committed on the Sikhs and Khilafat leaders; he also spoke about denial of political rights to the Sikhs; and finally he proposed resolution for non-cooperation with the regime; and he proposed that: 1. Government honours, honorary magistrate-ship, memberships of all types of offices should be returned. 2. Government functions and darbars should be boycotted. 3. Children should not be sent to the Government schools as well as the schools aided by the State. 4. Instead of taking cases to the Government courts, these should be presented before the Panchayats. 5. The Government should not be co-operated for enrolment of soldiers for action in Mesopotamia (Iraq). 6. No one should contest elections for the Councils and no one should caste vote. 7. All imported articles should be boycotted.
After presenting the resolution Sardool Singh told that innocent Ghadrite and other Sikh activists are still in the jails; under the Amnesty all the Hindu and Muslim prisoners had been released but Bhai Randhir Singh and several others were still in the jails; he also condemned Jallianwala Bagh massacre. This resolution was supported by Mangal Singh Gill (editor Akali), Dan Singh Vachhoa, Sujan Singh Advocate, Jodh Singh, Sewa Ram Singh Advocate, M.K. Gandhi, Shaukat Ali, Mohammed Ali, Maulana Abu Kalam Azad, Agha Safdar, Jaswant Singh Jhabal, Giani Sher Singh, Sundar Singh Lyallpuri, Master Mota Singh, Sohan Singh (editor The Sikh). On the other hand Ujjal Singh, Teja Singh Mastuana, Jodh Singh, Narain Singh B.A., Sohan Singh editor Sikh and even Kharak Singh (the president) proposed amendments to this resolution but the majority did not approve them; hence the resolution for non-cooperation was passed by majority vote.
When the resolution was declared as adopted, Hardyal Singh Beharhwal, Balwant Singh Raees Kulla, Lal Singh Sheikhupura, Harnam Singh Maan announced their resignation from Council; Kundan Singh and Sawan Singh announced resignation from Nambardar-ship; Atma Singh Amritsari announced returning medals and uniform; Beant Singh Ludhiana announced returning of medal won in France and Partap Singh Gujarat announced returning of medals; Santokh Singh and Gurbakhsh Singh announced stopping studying in Government Medical College.
The second resolution formed a Committee to help the families of the Sikh political prisoners; Harchand Singh, Sundar Singh (both from Lyallpur), Jaswant Singh Jhabal, Kartar Singh Jhabbar, Piara Singh Langeri, Badan Singh, Sant Singh Advocate, Teja Singh Samundari and Gurdial Singh were selected as members of this Committee.
After this Master Mota Singh appeared on the stage and declared that ‘I shall not wear shoes and shall eat just one meal a day till all Sikh political prisoners are not released.’
The session of the Sikh League continued for the 22nd of October too. On this day, it was announced that a Shaheedi Jatha (martyrs band) will go to Delhi to rebuild the wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj (which had been demolished by the regime on the 14th of January 1914).
Kharak Singh, while addressing the session, said that the Hindus and the Muslims had done injustice to the Sikhs in Lucknow Pact (of 1916) by ignoring their rights; as a result Gandhi too had to accept the Sikhs’ position.
The Sikh League session was a grand success but due to passing of the resolution for non-cooperation, some senior Sikh leaders, who were not in favour of this resolution and were not interested in confrontation with the regime, severed their relations with the Sikh League (see page 117).
After the formation of the S.G.P.C., on the 15th of November 1920, the religious role of the Sikh League was gone to the S.G.P.C.; and as there was an agitation for the control of the Gurdwaras from 1920 to 1925, the Sikh League and the S.G.P.C. remained almost as one organisation; and, though annual session were held for the Sikh League it was all a common platform; finally it became an umbrella organisation; its sessions continued up to 1932 after which even formal sessions came to an end; its agenda had already been adopted by the Shiromani Akali Dal. However a similar role was played by All Parties Sikh Conferences and World Sikh Conventions.
The Sikh League
It was written in the constitution of the Chief Khalsa Diwan that the organisati... more The Sikh League
It was written in the constitution of the Chief Khalsa Diwan that the organisation will not discuss nor participate on any political issue; hence it (Diwan) did not react to any such situation; even in 1907, it (Diwan) did pass a very weak resolution, making a request to the government to consider the demands of the farmers; hence the elite as well as common Sikhs did not have a soft corner for the Diwan; a Sikh raees (affluent/feudal) Harchand Singh Lyallpuri did, however, raise his voice and earned goodwill of the masses.
During this period, the British government had been establishing a new town in the outskirts of old Delhi; and it was constructing a palace for the Viceroy (now President’s House); and in order to have a straight road towards it, it demolished the outer wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj on the 14th of January 1914; it infuriated the Sikhs and there were voices of resentment and anger from various Sikh quarters; Harchand Singh Lyallpuri being the most vocal; though the government stopped further action but the wall remained broken and it continued for some months.
After this the Sikhs met another injustice in Canada when Kamagatamaru ship passengers were not allowed to land there and further when it (ship) was returned, the police fired at the passengers and killed several of them.
Further, in 1915, the Ghadr activist planned an armed revolt but before it could be executed, most of the Ghadr leaders were arrested; many of them were given death of life imprisonments; even this issue could not create sympathy in the mind of the leadership of Chief Khalsa Diwan; hence an average Sikh was disillusioned with it (Diwan).
The first world war ended in 1918: in this war more than half a million Sikhs joined the British army and fought for England; and during this war more than 83000 Sikhs were killed and about one hundred and ten thousand Sikhs were wounded; but, when the war ended, the English regime, instead of rewarding the Sikhs for their services; passed Rowlatt Act and then promulgated Martial law in the Punjab; on the 13th of April 1919, a congregation protesting against these laws was fired at killing 379 and wounding more than eleven hundred people. The Chief Khalsa Diwan did not utter even a single word against all this injustice; all this created hatred for the Diwan in the mind of an average Sikh; and they began thinking of forming an organisation where the Sikhs’ political and other issues could be raised.
In 1916, a Conference was held at Lucknow which decided sharing of seats for the Muslims and the Hindus in the legislative Councils; this Conference fully ignored the rights of the Sikhs (later it was known as ‘Lucknow Pact’). In 1917, Sundar Singh Majithia submitted a memorandum to the government demanding fixing of a quota for the Sikhs in the Councils according to their position; the Hindus of the Punjab (not the Muslims) vehemently opposed the Sikh demand; it also began propagating that Sikhism is not a separate religion and was a part of Hinduism; at this the Sikhs opposed the Hindu propaganda with an equally forceful voice and declared hat Sikhism had nothing to do with Hinduism; again Sundar Singh Majithia and Harbans Singh Attari played an important role on this issue; but Chief Khalsa Diwan, as an organisation, did not play any role.
In July 1918, Montague Chelmsford Committee considered the issue of the Sikhs and accepted the Sikh claim; in February 1919, Southborogh Committee fixed the Sikh quota at 15% but there was a flaw in this allotment because the so-called sahijdhari (in fact Hindus) too were to be considered against this quota; and it was interesting that any Hindu could declare himself a so-called sahijdhari Sikh. When this came to light, the Sikhs opposed it and declared that they would boycott the elections.
(Later in July 1920, some Sikh leaders visited London and met the Secretary of State; he increased the Sikh quota from 15 to 18.75%; hence the Sikhs were given two more seats; though the issue of so-called Sahijdhari remained unsolved, it was declared that all the voters shall have to declare their religion at the time of registration; and this was enough to stop cheating in the name of so-called sahijdhari as the Hindus did not want to be called Sikhs, though they wanted to enjoy the benefits given to the Sikhs).
Though the issue of the Sikh quota in the Councils was partly solved, there were still several other issues concerned with the Sikhs which were not on the agenda of any Sikh organisation; hence the Sikhs had begun discussing the need of a political platform; at that time the Muslims (Muslim League) and the Hindus (Congress) organisations were already in existence; realising this, some Sikhs held a meeting in Lahore on the 30th of March 1919; S.B. Gajjan Singh of Ludhiana, some members of the Council and some other influent Sikhs and some feudal attended this meeting; however, most of them were those who had been collaborating with the regime and were in its (regime’s) good books.
But, on the 13th of April 1919, firing at Jallianwala Bagh Amritsar and killing 379 and wounding 1137 innocent people, created an atmosphere of terror and anger ; and in this situation Arur Singh Sarbrah of Darbar Sahib honoured. General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, the ‘butcher of Jallianwala Bagh’; and this act became a cause of further hatred for those Sikh leaders who had been co-operating with the English regime; hence for some time the issue of forming a Sikh political organisation went into abeyance.
After a silence of seven months, the Sikh leaders again held a meeting in November 1919 and decided to hold a bigger congregation in December, to form a Sikh political organisation in the name of Sikh League (later it was named Central Sikh League, in order to differentiate the central body from the local units).
Pro-Government group captured the Sikh League
The first session of the Sikh League was held on the 27th of December at Amritsar; it was attended by more than twelve hundred Sikhs from all shades of life; it was presided over by S.B. Gajjan Singh; the function began with an ardas (the Sikhs’ national prayer) by Prof Teja Singh Mastuana (of Benaras Hindu University); it was followed by presidential address by S.B. Gajjan Singh who said: 1. the Sikhs are entitled to one third share in the Punjab, in the seats of Councils, in the jobs in judiciary and Royal Commissions and in all departments because the Sikhs pay two third of the revenue, recruits in army and contribution during war. 2. The management of Darbar Sahib and the Sikh properties should be given to the Sikhs.
15 resolutions were passed in this Conference: 1. The Sikhs assure loyalty to the king and the government 2. Tikka Ripudaman Singh is congratulated 3. Expressed thanks on Royal proclamation of amnesty and demanded release of all the political prisoners and restrictions on the interned persons should be removed. 4. India should be given self-government on the pattern of other colonies. 5. The Act of 1919 does not grant self-government; it should be amended; besides the Sikhs should be given their share in the Punjab 6. The management of the Gurdwaras and the Sikh jagirs should be haned over to the Sikhs and these should be managed by elected committees. 7. Punjab should have fixed revenue system; it should not be increased or decreased; the farmers should be charged tax and not rent for their lands. 8. Kirpan should not be covered under by the Arms Laws. 9. Water rates for canal waters should be reduced 10. The Sikhs should have right to senior government offices. 11. Sikh should be granted more Royal Commissions. 12. The Conference thanks Madan Mohan Malavia and Moti Lal Nehru. 13. The Conference expresses condolence on the death of Maharaja of Faridkot. 14. Those officers who had perpetrated excesses during the Martial Laws should be punished by the Government. 15. The Sikh soldiers should have right to Kirpan; and those who have been dismissed for having Kirpans should be reinstated.
This Conference was attended by M.K. Gandhi, Madan Mohan Malavia, Mr. Tayyab and C.R. Das too; on their arrival a hymn was sung to welcome them (it was an act of sacrilege; singing hymns to welcome or praise any person is an act of blasphemy). After the arrival of these non-Sikh guests, Khazan Singh Barrister said: “Guru Tegh Bahadur by offering his head had solved the crisis of the country; and we feel that Pandit (Malavia) ji have come here to the Punjab to repay that debt; and we hope that they will recognise our rights and will get them through Congress.”
After this Malavia said: “We cannot repay the debt of the Ninth Guru for Ages to come; as far as the question of the rights is concerned we shall honour capable persons”; but Malavia said nothing about the specific rights of the Sikhs and reservation of the seats for them (Sikhs); the same was repeated by Gandhi: “Malavia is my elder brother... You should accept what my elder brother has said.” The function ended with thanks by Gurbakhsh Singh Giani, followed by Ardas by Akali Kaur Singh.
Except for passing these 15 resolutions, the Sikh League did not take any further step; it did not proceed even on the issue of the state of the Gurdwaras.
On the 4th of September 1708, Guru Gobind Singh himself initiated Madho Das as Banda Singh.
Even... more On the 4th of September 1708, Guru Gobind Singh himself initiated Madho Das as Banda Singh.
Events and detail
When Guru Gobind Singh left the company of Bahadur Shah in August 1708, he decided to return to the Punjab. Here, he suddenly thought that Madho Das had established his dera at Nander, so he thought of visiting him, 1 he decided to return to the Punjab. Here, he suddenly thought that Madho Das had established his dera at Nander, so he thought of visiting him. When the Guru reached Madho Das's dera, he was not present there. At that time, the Sikhs were hungry, and because there was no food in the dera, the Guru asked the Sikhs to slaughter the goats of the dera and cook their meat for food. The chelas (followers) of Madho Das tried to prevent them from killing the animals by asserting that they were Vaishnvas (vegetarians), hence meat was prohibited there, but the Sikhs did not pay heed to them; and obeying the order of the Guru, they cooked meat and ate it. 2
, 1 he decided to return to the Punjab. Here, he suddenly thought that Madho Das had established ... more , 1 he decided to return to the Punjab. Here, he suddenly thought that Madho Das had established his dera at Nander, so he thought of visiting him. When the Guru reached Madho Das's dera, he was not present there. At that time, the Sikhs were hungry, and because there was no food in the dera, the Guru asked the Sikhs to slaughter the goats of the dera and cook their meat for food. The chelas (followers) of Madho Das tried to prevent them from killing the animals by asserting that they were Vaishnvas (vegetarians), hence meat was prohibited there, but the Sikhs did not pay heed to them; and obeying the order of the Guru, they cooked meat and ate it. 2 In the meanwhile, one of the chelas (followers) of Madho Das went out in search of him, who could not be found till late. At last, when he was found and informed of the killing of his animals, he virtually ran to the dera. Since the hunting and killing of the she-deer (in 1686), he had become totally a vegetarian. On reaching his dera he saw that the Guru was sitting on his special seat, and, his Sikhs sitting around humbly on the floor were listening to his discourse. Before Madho Das could speak any word, the Guru said: 'Madho Das we have come to see you.' In turn tormented Madho Das answered, 'Gharib-niwaz (honour of the poor) I don't think I know you. Where have you come from? If you knew me well, you should not have killed these animals. This is a dera of Vaishnvaite sadhus (ascetics).' The Guru replied back, 'Remember Madho Das, I had met you first at Rishikesh-Hardwar, fourteen years ago. 3 At that time you were a part of a group of sadhus headed by Aughar Nath Yogi of Nasik.' Hearing this Madho Das looked at the Guru and said wondering, 'Are you Guru Gobind Das, whose father Guru Tegh Bahahdur had sacrificed his life at Delhi to protect the religious rights of the people?' The Guru smiled: 'Yes, Madho Das, I am the same.' Hearing 'yes' Madho Das made obeisance to the Guru and apologised. The Guru further said, 'Madho Das you have just said that yours is a dera of Vaishnu sadhus where animals should not have been slaughtered. Madho Das, I knew that this was a Vaishnu dera; that was why I have slaughtered these animals. With the killing of these three or four animals your dera has become sacrileged. I guess, you don't know about another bigger dera, this country, where every day hundreds and thousands of innocent people, not animals, are being butchered. I have come to your dera to draw your attention to this human misery.' These satirical words had magical impact on Madho Das and he, in a trembling voice, said, 'From today, Gurudev, I am your banda (slave) in mind and body. Tell me as to what I should do for you now.' The Guru smiled and looked sternly at Madho Das and said: Madho Das! It is very difficult to become banda of someone and to obey his orders. A banda is one who sacrifices his body, mind and wealth for his master.' Now, Madho Das was not the earlier Madho Das (a vain Yogi). He had renounced his honour and ego and had really become a humble banda of the Guru. On this, Guru again said, 'Madho Das, our faith (Sikhism) is the house of Guru Nanak. Whosoever joins this house; he needs forget his previous family of birth, faith, actions, hesitations and doubts.' Madho Das consented, 'Master, now I have no other resort even to think of... I have become just your banda in and out.' 4 Banda Singh initiated with Khanday-di-Pahul The next day, on the 4 th of September 1708, the Guru himself bestowed five kakars (Kangha, Kirpan, Karha, Kachhehra, and Keski) upon Madho Das. The former bairagi sadhu now became a Sikh with keski (turban). Madho Das was given Khanday-di-Pahul by the Guru, along with Bhai Daya Singh, Bhai Dharam Singh and two others. He was also given a
Correct name of Guru Nanak Sahib:
Guru Nanak SAHIB not Guru Nanak DEV
(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer... more Correct name of Guru Nanak Sahib:
Guru Nanak SAHIB not Guru Nanak DEV
(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)*
Guru Nanak’s parents gave him the name NANAK only. Later, the Sikhs added Sahib as suffix, as a mark of respect; while others used Baba as a prefix. Most of the earlier writers, however, preferred using Baba Nanak; Sahib too was a later usage. In the second half of the nineteenth century some Brahmanic writers began using Dev as suffix with Guru Nanak’s name; until that no book or manuscript or even any verse had ever used DEV for Guru Nanak Sahib. But, like the usage of ‘SRI’ in Sikhism, the term DEV was so much popularized by the Brahmin writers that a simple minded person considers Guru Nanak’s name as incomplete if it is without the suffix DEV.
An argument was presented that DEV was added because all other Guru-names had two words (i.e. Amar Das, Ram Das, Hargobind, Har Rai, Harkrishan, Tegh Bahadur, Gobind Singh) hence DEV should be added to the names of the other three Gurus also i.e. with Nanak, Angad and Arjan); this is ridiculous logic that names of three Gurus should be changed (adding a new word is ‘changing the original’) so as to make them in the fashion of (or look like) the names of the other seven Gurus. Are these names ‘decoration pieces’ that symmetry has to be established? Why should we not preserve the original names of these three Gurus? Secondly, it is wrong to say that Hargobind, Harkrishan are names with two words; both are one word names. Why don’t they write them as Hargobind Dev and Hakrishan Dev?
Further, the Nirmala writers suggested that the words DEV appears 100 times and DEO for 56 times in Guru Granth Sahib; hence DEV/DEO should be accepted; this too is a strange logic. Similarly, some preachers claim that in one of the verses of Guru Granth Sahib, the name of Guru Arjan Sahib has been mentioned as ‘Arjan Dev’; hence his name should be written as Arjan Dev; and, let us add it to the names of the first two Gurus also. Now, let us read the verse by Bhatt poet Mathura:
jap-ya-o jinh arjun, dayv guroo, fir sankat, jon garabh na aa-ya-o.
This line means that “those who remember GuruDev, as per the teachings of Arjan, they do not suffer from the fear of entering womb and bearing the pains of birth again”. Here DEV is a part of Guru (Gurdev) and not as suffix of the name of Guru Arjan Sahib.
It is further interesting that, in Guru Granth Sahib, RAAM and CHAND too appear after the name of Guru Nanak; should we accept Chand/Raam as suffix of Guru’s name?
Here is the verse where Raam is referred to as suffix:
sikh-yaa saⁿt, naam bhaj, naanak, raam, raⁿg aatam si-o ra-un.
It means: “Nanak says, (O! man) as per teachings of the God-oriented persons, meditate upon name (of God), let your soul live in love of God”. Here, Raam has been used as one of the names of God and not as a suffix of Guru Nanak.
The verse where Chand is referred as suffix:
parathmay naanak chaⁿd jagat bha-yo aanaⁿd
taaran manukh-y jan kee-a-o pargaas.
This means: First, Nanak is like a moon, seeing him the world delights; to liberate the human beings, he illuminates their ways.
In Guru Granth Sahib, the word Nanak appears more than 5100 times and Nanaki (short sound ‘i’ before K in Nanak), and Nanaku short ‘u’ under K in Nanak) 23 and 50 times respectively; so which spellings should we accept, and what is the basis?
Now let us consider the usage of the word DEO (2 times after the word Nanak) and DEV (3 times after the word Nanak) in the verses of Guru Granth Sahib:
tin ka-o ki-aa updaysee-ai jin gur, naanak, day-o.
This verse means: “Nanak says what sermons can be given to those, who have been blessed (taught) by Guru; hence DEO is a part of Gurdev (gur+dayo)”. Similar is the meaning of the word DEO in verse:
bohith, naanak, day-o gur, jis har chaṛaa-ay, tis bha-ojal tarnaa.
It means: Nanak says, “Gurdev (day-o gur) is a boat, whomever God gets to embark it, he will swim across the terrible waters.” Here too DEO (day-o) is a part of Gurdev and not a suffix of Guru Nanak’s name.
so vasai it ghar, jis gur pooraa sayv.
abichal nagree, naanak, dayv.
This means: Nanak says, those whom perfect Guru blesses with the service (meditation) of God; his home (heart/mind) becomes (such an abode, i.e. abchal nagri, which is free from vices) where He resides. Here DEV has been used for God and not for Nanak or even Guru/Gurdev.
Further:
kabeer dhi-aa-i-o ayk raⁿg.
naam dayv har jee-o baseh saⁿg.
ravidaas dhi-aa-ay parabh anoop.
gur, naanak, dayv goviⁿd roop.
[Meaning]: Kabir remembered with single-mind.
(O! God) You dwell with (in the mind of) Namdev.
Ravidas remembered beautiful Master.
Nanak says Gurdev is the image of Govind (God)].
In the second line of this verse, Dayv is a suffix of Namdev, but in fourth line Dayv is a part of Gurdev. Similarly:
kavan kahaan ha-o gun pari-a tayrai.
baran na saaka-o ayk tulayrai.
darsan pi-aas bahuṯ man mayrai.
mil, naanak, dayv jagat gur kayrai.
[Meaning]: I cannot narrate even some of them.
O! my dear, how many of your attributes, I can relate?
In my mind is great thirst to see you
Nanak says, O Gurdev of the world (i.e. God), please meet me (i.e. come to stay in my mind).
In Guru Granth Sahib, there is a ballad by Satta and Balwand which mentions the names of the first five Gurus. They definitely knew the correct names of the Gurus. But they have not used DEV anywhere for any Guru. Bhatt Baani is also a part of Guru Granth Sahib. These Bhatts were court poets of the Guru Sahib. None of them have used DEV for any Guru. Bhai Gurdas, who scribed their verses in the Granth (and Guru Arjan Sahib must have read the final version) they must have knowledge of the names of Guru Nanak, Guru Angad and Guru Arjan. If the suffix Dev had been omitted, by Satta-Balwand or the Bhatts, by mistake, Guru Arjan or Bhai Gurdas would have corrected it. So it also proves that Guru Arjan too did not use Dev for any Guru.
Early sources of Guru Nanak’s life include Wilayat Wali Janamsakhi, Meharban Wali Janamsakhi, Bhai Bala Wali Janamsakhi, Bhai Mani Singh Wali Janamsakhi (attributed to him), and Puratan Janamsakhi etc. None of these used DEV as suffix of Guru Nanak’s name.
The ‘ardas’, approved by the S.G.P.C. and released from Akal Takht, begins with a stanza from Charitropakhyan (wrongly attributed to Guru Gobind Singh). Under which conspiracy it became a part of the Sikh Ardas during the Mahants’ period is not to be debated here, but this ‘ardas’ too does not use DEV as suffix of the name of any Guru:
pirtham bhagauti simar kay gur nanak layee dhiayei.
phir aⁿgad ṯe gur amardaas, raamdaasay hoyiee sahayei.
arjan hargobiⁿd no, simrau sri harrai…
Again, the writer (it is not Guru Gobind Singh) of the poem Bachitra Natak too mentions the names of all the Gurus but he too does not use DEV with any Guru’s name:
Ṯin bedian ki kul bikhayei pragatei nanak Rai.
(The author, however, uses RAI and not DEV. Now, what should we use, as suffix of Guru Nanak’s name, Dev or RAI?
There are a very large number of vaars (ballads) in Punjabi which preserve history of the Guru period. Most of these were written between seventeenth and early nineteenth century. These include:
Raamkali Di Vaar (Satta & Balwand)
Vaar Babe Nanak Ji Ki (Bhai Gurdas)
Karhkhay Patshah Dasven Kay (Sain Singh)
Paurian Guru Gobind Singh Ji Kian (Mir Mushki & Chhabila)
Yudh Guru Gobind Singh Ji Ka (Ani Rai)
Vaar Patshahi Dasvin Ki (unknown writer)
Vaar Bhayrei Ki Patshahi Das (unknown writer)
Vaar Bhangani Ki (unknown writer)
Yudh-Charitra Guru Gobind Singh Ji Ka (Veer Singh Ball)
Vaar Amritsar Ki (Darshan Bhagat)
Vaar Sarb Loh Ki (unknown writer)
Vaar Kalyan Ki (Khushal Chand)
In these vaars, nowhere has DEV been used as suffix to the name of any Guru.
Bhai Gurdas has used the word DEO or DEV in several verses of his vaars e.g. vaar 3 (pauris 2 and 12), vaar 13 (pauri 25), vaar 15 (pauri 2), etc. But in these verses Dev/Deo is not a part of any Guru’s name but it means ‘manifested’. Further, he has used DEO/DEV in vaar 24 (pauri 25), where the words ‘deo japaiya...’ means ‘the Guru preached meditation in the name of God’ (here DEO means God). In vaar 28 (pauri 11), ‘DEV’ means ‘devta/god’ and it is not a suffix of any Guru’s name.
Bhai Gurdas’s 1st vaar depicts the life and role of the Guru Sahibs and in the whole Vaar the word DEV has not been used even once. In this vaar, pauris 23 to 45 are life story of Guru Nanak Sahib and pauris 45 to 48 are about the lives of Guru Angad to Guru Hargobind Sahib. In these 26 pauris too the word DEV (as suffix) is missing. Does it mean that Bhai Gurdas had written incomplete name of Guru Sahib?
The Bhatt Vahis (by various Bhatts, including Mathra and Keerat, the poets of Guru Granth Sahib) and Panda Vahis (of Hardwar, Pehowa, and Mattan etc) were written during the times of Gur Sahibs. None of the entry-writers of these records used Dev for any Guru.
The Sikh history books written during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries include the works by Sainapati, Koer Singh, Kesar Singh Chhibber, Sawrup Singh Kaushish, Ratan Singh Bhangoo, Sukhbasi Ram Bedi etc. None of these has used DEV as suffix of the name of any Guru. Dev is missing even from the Nirmala writings.
In fact the usage of Dev began with Nirmala and Brahmin writers after 1850s. The first Sikh to popularize it was Bhai Veer Singh (who himself was a Nirmala). Though he used Dev but his action was still not followed by serious Sikh scholars. It was only after 1972 that DEV became an epidemic and Guru Nanak Sahib’s name was changed into Guru Nanak Dev.
Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer
Director: G.N. Research Institute, Birmingham, England
[email protected]
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During its tour Simon Commission had planned a visit to Lahore; it was to reach Lahore, by train, on the 30th of October 1928. On the 28th of October 1928, Akali Dal resolved to hold a protest rally on the arrival of Simon Commission. On the 30th of October 1928, about seven thousand people mostly blue-turbaned Sikhs gathered at the Lahore railway station and began raising slogans of ‘Simon go back’; this crowd was led by Master Tara Singh, Mangal Singh, Sardool Singh Kaveeshar, Sohan Singh Josh, Madan Mohan Malvia, Maulavi Abdul Qadar, Raizada Hans Raj, Dr Gopi Chand Bhargo, Dr Sat Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai and several others. When the crowd continued raising slogans for a long time, an English policeman attacked it with his hunter which hit even the leaders some of whom were wounded too; the wounded included Raizada Hans Raj, Abdul Qadar, Dr Gopi Chand and Dr Satpal; it was followed by cane-charge which further wounded several people (as per the newspaper reporting Lala Lajpat Rai was not among the wounded ones); when Simon Commission members were gone this procession too dispersed.
The same day at about 3 p.m. people again gathered at Delhi Darwaza; soon it turned into a big rally; it was addressed by several leaders; after this the people again took out a procession; fifteen thousand people joined it; Dr Gopi Chand (who had several bandages on his head) and Dr Satpal (who had multiple bandages on his arm) too joined it.
Ghadr Party was in fact a Sikh Movement; more than 95% of its members were Sikhs; the main centres for its organisation were Gurdwaras; its sources were funds from the Sikhs only; almost all its actions took place in the Sikh-Punjab. There is no doubt that a couple of Muslims joined it and some Bengali revolutionaries made their contribution but the Hindus form abroad or in the Punjab did not participate; Lala Hardyal, as mentioned earlier, was either a spy of the imperialist forces or was a coward who, having been once arrested in the USA, retired for fear of going to jail; on the other hand, some other Hindus like Parma Nand and Ram Chand even went even to the extent of renouncing their relationship with the revolutionaries. Even the Communist writer Gurcharan Singh Sehansara accepts that the English regime considered it only a Sikh movement because the regime punished only the Sikhs (except the hard core leaders like Vishnu Ganesh Pingle, Hafiz Abdullah and Babu Ram) and acquitted all the Hindus.
According to the government, even after the failure of the Ghadr in the Punjab, the Sikhs living abroad kept this Movement alive; some of them even went to Russia and got training there; all of these ‘extremists’ hated the English and continued their activities to end the British rule.
After their release most of the Ghadr activists joined political parties which were engaged in movements for the freedom of their homeland from the English; though some of them joined the Communist Party too but most of them joined the Sikh League, Shiromani Akali Dal, Babar Akalis; e.g. Wisakha Singh Dadehar, Bhai Randhir Singh, Dr Thakar Singh Ikolaha (he remained General Secretary and Vice President of Akali Dal), Piara Singh Langeri (he remained an office bearer of the Akali Dal), Piara Singh Canadian etc; and two leaders of Kamagatamaru ship (Gurdit Singh and Rai/Daljit Singh Kauni) too joined the Akali Movement; Gurdit Singh became president of Akali Dal in June; Rai Singh served as the manager of Gurdwara at Muktsar; Wisakha Singh was chairman of Parliamentary Board for SGPC elections in 1936; he also served as caretaker of Akal Takht. Similarly, Karam Singh Jhingarh, Karam Singh Daulatpur joined the Babar Akali Movement; according to the government, the Babar Akali Movement was revival of Ghadr Movement; most of them were former emigrant and like Ghadr workers they used 32 bore revolvers and Mausers.
On the 21st of November 1924, a ‘Qaidi Parvar Sahaik Committee’ was formed to help the families of jailed Ghadr workers; later it was merged with another such Committee; it had 21 members: 13 from Ghadr Party, 4 from Sikh League and 4 were co-opted by these 17 members; Wisakha Singh was the first president of this Committee, Harchand Singh Lyallpuri was its General Secretary and Dr Thakar Singh Ikolaha was its Joint Secretary.
Although no document of formal planning of armed action is available in any source but there finds a reference to a suggested plan is available from a letter written by Dr Thakar Singh Ikolaha from Canton (China) to Giani Bhagwan Singh (then at Hong Kong) on the 17th of November 1914. This letter could not reach Bhagwan Singh as he had already left his place; and, it could not be delivered to him even after having been directed to his new addresses; it finally fell into the hands of censure at Hong Kong; which opened it and got it deciphered from Punjabi into English (as a result of this letter Dr Thakar Singh was arrested and deported to India, and imprisoned for four and a half years in different jails).
According to this letter, Dr. Thakar Singh had suggested that on the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh, a joint action will be launched simultaneously in all the tehsils, police stations and districts; the revolutionary forces will murder the English officials and, in their place, patriot workers shall be appointed; the Indian soldiers should have already been prepared to join revolutionary action; hence the Punjab will soon be captured and freed; and, the English forces, being busy in war against Germany won’t be able to do much. All this action will be done on the same day throughout the Punjab. According to the letter Dr Thakar Singh had offered to take charge of Ludhiana district.
This was the proposed plan of action to free the Punjab, which had been suggested and discussed by the Ghadr leaders and workers; but this was not acceptable to Lala Hardyal and other Hindu leaders who suggested that the action for expelling the English should be started from Kashmir and North West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P.); it was a strange suggestion because in these two zones there was not a single person who was interested in participating in an armed action; and on the other side more than 90% of the Ghadrites were Sikhs, but, it seems that Hardyal and his associates were not willing to hand over power to the Sikhs; it was one of the reasons that led to failure of Ghadr planning.
(It is widely believed that either Hardyal had been planted by the English intelligence because first he tried to thwart the Punjab action; and when he could not stop it, he ‘retired’ from all the struggle for freedom; or having been once arrested in the USA, and moving to Switzerland after release on bail, he realized that struggle would also mean being in jail also, so he retired from all political activity; after his he .began living in Switzerland and adopted western way of life; later he was found dead in mysterious circumstances; it is possible that he might have been dubbed as a traitor and killed by some revolutionaries).
The second session of the Sikh League was to be held on the 20th and 21st of October 1920, in Bradlaugh Hall at Lahore; a week before the session the name of the President of the session was to be finalised; just a few days earlier the Sikhs had taken control of Gurdwara at Sialkot and had selected Kharak Singh as its chief; hence he was one of the most talked of person among the Sikhs, and, he was a raees (affluent person) too; so his name was floated for President-ship of the second session of the Sikh League; and he immediately gave his consent; Sundar Singh Chawla was the Chairman of the Reception Committee and he too was an Akali.
On the 20th of October 1920, when the session began the main attraction of the session was Bibi Kartar Kaur (wife of Bhai Randhir Singh of the Ghadr Party); besides, about 50 leaders of the Ghadr Party and Kamagatamaru ship episode were also present in a special enclave on the right side of the stage; and seven chairs had been left empty with the tags of the names of Ghadr leaders (Bhai Randhir Singh, Chatar Singh, Nidhan Singh, Madan Singh, Jawala Singh Thathian, Amar Singh and Nidhan Singh Chugha) who were serving sentences in the jails.
On the first day Dr Saif-ud-Din Kitchlew, Mohammed Ali, Shaukat Ali and Maulana Abu Kalam Azad too came to attend the session; followed by Kharak Singh and Prof. Teja Singh Mastuana and M.K. Gandhi, his wife, Chowdhry Ram Bhaj Dutt, Sarla Devi, Duni Chand, Agha Safdar, Lala Govardhan Das, and Parma Nand Jhansi. Principal Teja Singh performed ardas and after the reading of a hymn the session was started. Giani Gurbakhsh Singh acted as master of ceremony (the stage secretary); and when he was going towards the stage, someone in the audience hooted by calling him guilty of honouring General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer (the butcher of Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13.4.1919) and Michael O’Dwyer (the Governor of the Punjab); the first to address the session was Sundar Singh Chawla who read out presidential address. After the presidential address Amar Singh (editor Lyall Gazette, later it was named Sher-i-Punjab) formally proposed the name of Kharak Singh as president; it was seconded by Sardool Singh Kaveeshar, Master Mota Singh Patara, Harchand Singh Lyallpuri and Giani Gurbakhsh Singh Advocate.
Before the beginning of the speeches, Harchand Singh Lyallpuri presented some leaders of the Ghadr Party and Kamagatamaru ship on the stage and introduced them to the audience; and he also condemned those priests of the Akal Takht who had declared that ‘those who had defied the police orders at the Baj Baj Ghat in 1914 were not Sikhs’; when Harchand Singh said these words Giani Gurbakhsh Singh, who was one of those who had honoured General Dyer, too was sitting there with shame (his head bowed and eyes closed).
The next day, on the 21st of October 1920, much before the beginning of the session, all the seats had been occupied. Before beginning the formal agenda of the session, it was requested that everyone should take off his necktie (they believed that a necktie was a symbol of cross; hence Christianity); about 500 people voluntarily took off their neck-ties and put them in their pockets (it also proves that the session was attended by so many elite Sikhs wearing suits and neck-ties). The first to address was Sardool Singh Kaveeshar who narrated the history of promulgation of the Martial Law in 1919 and the excesses committed on the Sikhs and Khilafat leaders; he also spoke about denial of political rights to the Sikhs; and finally he proposed resolution for non-cooperation with the regime; and he proposed that: 1. Government honours, honorary magistrate-ship, memberships of all types of offices should be returned. 2. Government functions and darbars should be boycotted. 3. Children should not be sent to the Government schools as well as the schools aided by the State. 4. Instead of taking cases to the Government courts, these should be presented before the Panchayats. 5. The Government should not be co-operated for enrolment of soldiers for action in Mesopotamia (Iraq). 6. No one should contest elections for the Councils and no one should caste vote. 7. All imported articles should be boycotted.
After presenting the resolution Sardool Singh told that innocent Ghadrite and other Sikh activists are still in the jails; under the Amnesty all the Hindu and Muslim prisoners had been released but Bhai Randhir Singh and several others were still in the jails; he also condemned Jallianwala Bagh massacre. This resolution was supported by Mangal Singh Gill (editor Akali), Dan Singh Vachhoa, Sujan Singh Advocate, Jodh Singh, Sewa Ram Singh Advocate, M.K. Gandhi, Shaukat Ali, Mohammed Ali, Maulana Abu Kalam Azad, Agha Safdar, Jaswant Singh Jhabal, Giani Sher Singh, Sundar Singh Lyallpuri, Master Mota Singh, Sohan Singh (editor The Sikh). On the other hand Ujjal Singh, Teja Singh Mastuana, Jodh Singh, Narain Singh B.A., Sohan Singh editor Sikh and even Kharak Singh (the president) proposed amendments to this resolution but the majority did not approve them; hence the resolution for non-cooperation was passed by majority vote.
When the resolution was declared as adopted, Hardyal Singh Beharhwal, Balwant Singh Raees Kulla, Lal Singh Sheikhupura, Harnam Singh Maan announced their resignation from Council; Kundan Singh and Sawan Singh announced resignation from Nambardar-ship; Atma Singh Amritsari announced returning medals and uniform; Beant Singh Ludhiana announced returning of medal won in France and Partap Singh Gujarat announced returning of medals; Santokh Singh and Gurbakhsh Singh announced stopping studying in Government Medical College.
The second resolution formed a Committee to help the families of the Sikh political prisoners; Harchand Singh, Sundar Singh (both from Lyallpur), Jaswant Singh Jhabal, Kartar Singh Jhabbar, Piara Singh Langeri, Badan Singh, Sant Singh Advocate, Teja Singh Samundari and Gurdial Singh were selected as members of this Committee.
After this Master Mota Singh appeared on the stage and declared that ‘I shall not wear shoes and shall eat just one meal a day till all Sikh political prisoners are not released.’
The session of the Sikh League continued for the 22nd of October too. On this day, it was announced that a Shaheedi Jatha (martyrs band) will go to Delhi to rebuild the wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj (which had been demolished by the regime on the 14th of January 1914).
Kharak Singh, while addressing the session, said that the Hindus and the Muslims had done injustice to the Sikhs in Lucknow Pact (of 1916) by ignoring their rights; as a result Gandhi too had to accept the Sikhs’ position.
The Sikh League session was a grand success but due to passing of the resolution for non-cooperation, some senior Sikh leaders, who were not in favour of this resolution and were not interested in confrontation with the regime, severed their relations with the Sikh League (see page 117).
After the formation of the S.G.P.C., on the 15th of November 1920, the religious role of the Sikh League was gone to the S.G.P.C.; and as there was an agitation for the control of the Gurdwaras from 1920 to 1925, the Sikh League and the S.G.P.C. remained almost as one organisation; and, though annual session were held for the Sikh League it was all a common platform; finally it became an umbrella organisation; its sessions continued up to 1932 after which even formal sessions came to an end; its agenda had already been adopted by the Shiromani Akali Dal. However a similar role was played by All Parties Sikh Conferences and World Sikh Conventions.
It was written in the constitution of the Chief Khalsa Diwan that the organisation will not discuss nor participate on any political issue; hence it (Diwan) did not react to any such situation; even in 1907, it (Diwan) did pass a very weak resolution, making a request to the government to consider the demands of the farmers; hence the elite as well as common Sikhs did not have a soft corner for the Diwan; a Sikh raees (affluent/feudal) Harchand Singh Lyallpuri did, however, raise his voice and earned goodwill of the masses.
During this period, the British government had been establishing a new town in the outskirts of old Delhi; and it was constructing a palace for the Viceroy (now President’s House); and in order to have a straight road towards it, it demolished the outer wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj on the 14th of January 1914; it infuriated the Sikhs and there were voices of resentment and anger from various Sikh quarters; Harchand Singh Lyallpuri being the most vocal; though the government stopped further action but the wall remained broken and it continued for some months.
After this the Sikhs met another injustice in Canada when Kamagatamaru ship passengers were not allowed to land there and further when it (ship) was returned, the police fired at the passengers and killed several of them.
Further, in 1915, the Ghadr activist planned an armed revolt but before it could be executed, most of the Ghadr leaders were arrested; many of them were given death of life imprisonments; even this issue could not create sympathy in the mind of the leadership of Chief Khalsa Diwan; hence an average Sikh was disillusioned with it (Diwan).
The first world war ended in 1918: in this war more than half a million Sikhs joined the British army and fought for England; and during this war more than 83000 Sikhs were killed and about one hundred and ten thousand Sikhs were wounded; but, when the war ended, the English regime, instead of rewarding the Sikhs for their services; passed Rowlatt Act and then promulgated Martial law in the Punjab; on the 13th of April 1919, a congregation protesting against these laws was fired at killing 379 and wounding more than eleven hundred people. The Chief Khalsa Diwan did not utter even a single word against all this injustice; all this created hatred for the Diwan in the mind of an average Sikh; and they began thinking of forming an organisation where the Sikhs’ political and other issues could be raised.
In 1916, a Conference was held at Lucknow which decided sharing of seats for the Muslims and the Hindus in the legislative Councils; this Conference fully ignored the rights of the Sikhs (later it was known as ‘Lucknow Pact’). In 1917, Sundar Singh Majithia submitted a memorandum to the government demanding fixing of a quota for the Sikhs in the Councils according to their position; the Hindus of the Punjab (not the Muslims) vehemently opposed the Sikh demand; it also began propagating that Sikhism is not a separate religion and was a part of Hinduism; at this the Sikhs opposed the Hindu propaganda with an equally forceful voice and declared hat Sikhism had nothing to do with Hinduism; again Sundar Singh Majithia and Harbans Singh Attari played an important role on this issue; but Chief Khalsa Diwan, as an organisation, did not play any role.
In July 1918, Montague Chelmsford Committee considered the issue of the Sikhs and accepted the Sikh claim; in February 1919, Southborogh Committee fixed the Sikh quota at 15% but there was a flaw in this allotment because the so-called sahijdhari (in fact Hindus) too were to be considered against this quota; and it was interesting that any Hindu could declare himself a so-called sahijdhari Sikh. When this came to light, the Sikhs opposed it and declared that they would boycott the elections.
(Later in July 1920, some Sikh leaders visited London and met the Secretary of State; he increased the Sikh quota from 15 to 18.75%; hence the Sikhs were given two more seats; though the issue of so-called Sahijdhari remained unsolved, it was declared that all the voters shall have to declare their religion at the time of registration; and this was enough to stop cheating in the name of so-called sahijdhari as the Hindus did not want to be called Sikhs, though they wanted to enjoy the benefits given to the Sikhs).
Though the issue of the Sikh quota in the Councils was partly solved, there were still several other issues concerned with the Sikhs which were not on the agenda of any Sikh organisation; hence the Sikhs had begun discussing the need of a political platform; at that time the Muslims (Muslim League) and the Hindus (Congress) organisations were already in existence; realising this, some Sikhs held a meeting in Lahore on the 30th of March 1919; S.B. Gajjan Singh of Ludhiana, some members of the Council and some other influent Sikhs and some feudal attended this meeting; however, most of them were those who had been collaborating with the regime and were in its (regime’s) good books.
But, on the 13th of April 1919, firing at Jallianwala Bagh Amritsar and killing 379 and wounding 1137 innocent people, created an atmosphere of terror and anger ; and in this situation Arur Singh Sarbrah of Darbar Sahib honoured. General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, the ‘butcher of Jallianwala Bagh’; and this act became a cause of further hatred for those Sikh leaders who had been co-operating with the English regime; hence for some time the issue of forming a Sikh political organisation went into abeyance.
After a silence of seven months, the Sikh leaders again held a meeting in November 1919 and decided to hold a bigger congregation in December, to form a Sikh political organisation in the name of Sikh League (later it was named Central Sikh League, in order to differentiate the central body from the local units).
Pro-Government group captured the Sikh League
The first session of the Sikh League was held on the 27th of December at Amritsar; it was attended by more than twelve hundred Sikhs from all shades of life; it was presided over by S.B. Gajjan Singh; the function began with an ardas (the Sikhs’ national prayer) by Prof Teja Singh Mastuana (of Benaras Hindu University); it was followed by presidential address by S.B. Gajjan Singh who said: 1. the Sikhs are entitled to one third share in the Punjab, in the seats of Councils, in the jobs in judiciary and Royal Commissions and in all departments because the Sikhs pay two third of the revenue, recruits in army and contribution during war. 2. The management of Darbar Sahib and the Sikh properties should be given to the Sikhs.
15 resolutions were passed in this Conference: 1. The Sikhs assure loyalty to the king and the government 2. Tikka Ripudaman Singh is congratulated 3. Expressed thanks on Royal proclamation of amnesty and demanded release of all the political prisoners and restrictions on the interned persons should be removed. 4. India should be given self-government on the pattern of other colonies. 5. The Act of 1919 does not grant self-government; it should be amended; besides the Sikhs should be given their share in the Punjab 6. The management of the Gurdwaras and the Sikh jagirs should be haned over to the Sikhs and these should be managed by elected committees. 7. Punjab should have fixed revenue system; it should not be increased or decreased; the farmers should be charged tax and not rent for their lands. 8. Kirpan should not be covered under by the Arms Laws. 9. Water rates for canal waters should be reduced 10. The Sikhs should have right to senior government offices. 11. Sikh should be granted more Royal Commissions. 12. The Conference thanks Madan Mohan Malavia and Moti Lal Nehru. 13. The Conference expresses condolence on the death of Maharaja of Faridkot. 14. Those officers who had perpetrated excesses during the Martial Laws should be punished by the Government. 15. The Sikh soldiers should have right to Kirpan; and those who have been dismissed for having Kirpans should be reinstated.
This Conference was attended by M.K. Gandhi, Madan Mohan Malavia, Mr. Tayyab and C.R. Das too; on their arrival a hymn was sung to welcome them (it was an act of sacrilege; singing hymns to welcome or praise any person is an act of blasphemy). After the arrival of these non-Sikh guests, Khazan Singh Barrister said: “Guru Tegh Bahadur by offering his head had solved the crisis of the country; and we feel that Pandit (Malavia) ji have come here to the Punjab to repay that debt; and we hope that they will recognise our rights and will get them through Congress.”
After this Malavia said: “We cannot repay the debt of the Ninth Guru for Ages to come; as far as the question of the rights is concerned we shall honour capable persons”; but Malavia said nothing about the specific rights of the Sikhs and reservation of the seats for them (Sikhs); the same was repeated by Gandhi: “Malavia is my elder brother... You should accept what my elder brother has said.” The function ended with thanks by Gurbakhsh Singh Giani, followed by Ardas by Akali Kaur Singh.
Except for passing these 15 resolutions, the Sikh League did not take any further step; it did not proceed even on the issue of the state of the Gurdwaras.
Events and detail
When Guru Gobind Singh left the company of Bahadur Shah in August 1708, he decided to return to the Punjab. Here, he suddenly thought that Madho Das had established his dera at Nander, so he thought of visiting him, 1 he decided to return to the Punjab. Here, he suddenly thought that Madho Das had established his dera at Nander, so he thought of visiting him. When the Guru reached Madho Das's dera, he was not present there. At that time, the Sikhs were hungry, and because there was no food in the dera, the Guru asked the Sikhs to slaughter the goats of the dera and cook their meat for food. The chelas (followers) of Madho Das tried to prevent them from killing the animals by asserting that they were Vaishnvas (vegetarians), hence meat was prohibited there, but the Sikhs did not pay heed to them; and obeying the order of the Guru, they cooked meat and ate it. 2
Guru Nanak SAHIB not Guru Nanak DEV
(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)*
Guru Nanak’s parents gave him the name NANAK only. Later, the Sikhs added Sahib as suffix, as a mark of respect; while others used Baba as a prefix. Most of the earlier writers, however, preferred using Baba Nanak; Sahib too was a later usage. In the second half of the nineteenth century some Brahmanic writers began using Dev as suffix with Guru Nanak’s name; until that no book or manuscript or even any verse had ever used DEV for Guru Nanak Sahib. But, like the usage of ‘SRI’ in Sikhism, the term DEV was so much popularized by the Brahmin writers that a simple minded person considers Guru Nanak’s name as incomplete if it is without the suffix DEV.
An argument was presented that DEV was added because all other Guru-names had two words (i.e. Amar Das, Ram Das, Hargobind, Har Rai, Harkrishan, Tegh Bahadur, Gobind Singh) hence DEV should be added to the names of the other three Gurus also i.e. with Nanak, Angad and Arjan); this is ridiculous logic that names of three Gurus should be changed (adding a new word is ‘changing the original’) so as to make them in the fashion of (or look like) the names of the other seven Gurus. Are these names ‘decoration pieces’ that symmetry has to be established? Why should we not preserve the original names of these three Gurus? Secondly, it is wrong to say that Hargobind, Harkrishan are names with two words; both are one word names. Why don’t they write them as Hargobind Dev and Hakrishan Dev?
Further, the Nirmala writers suggested that the words DEV appears 100 times and DEO for 56 times in Guru Granth Sahib; hence DEV/DEO should be accepted; this too is a strange logic. Similarly, some preachers claim that in one of the verses of Guru Granth Sahib, the name of Guru Arjan Sahib has been mentioned as ‘Arjan Dev’; hence his name should be written as Arjan Dev; and, let us add it to the names of the first two Gurus also. Now, let us read the verse by Bhatt poet Mathura:
jap-ya-o jinh arjun, dayv guroo, fir sankat, jon garabh na aa-ya-o.
This line means that “those who remember GuruDev, as per the teachings of Arjan, they do not suffer from the fear of entering womb and bearing the pains of birth again”. Here DEV is a part of Guru (Gurdev) and not as suffix of the name of Guru Arjan Sahib.
It is further interesting that, in Guru Granth Sahib, RAAM and CHAND too appear after the name of Guru Nanak; should we accept Chand/Raam as suffix of Guru’s name?
Here is the verse where Raam is referred to as suffix:
sikh-yaa saⁿt, naam bhaj, naanak, raam, raⁿg aatam si-o ra-un.
It means: “Nanak says, (O! man) as per teachings of the God-oriented persons, meditate upon name (of God), let your soul live in love of God”. Here, Raam has been used as one of the names of God and not as a suffix of Guru Nanak.
The verse where Chand is referred as suffix:
parathmay naanak chaⁿd jagat bha-yo aanaⁿd
taaran manukh-y jan kee-a-o pargaas.
This means: First, Nanak is like a moon, seeing him the world delights; to liberate the human beings, he illuminates their ways.
In Guru Granth Sahib, the word Nanak appears more than 5100 times and Nanaki (short sound ‘i’ before K in Nanak), and Nanaku short ‘u’ under K in Nanak) 23 and 50 times respectively; so which spellings should we accept, and what is the basis?
Now let us consider the usage of the word DEO (2 times after the word Nanak) and DEV (3 times after the word Nanak) in the verses of Guru Granth Sahib:
tin ka-o ki-aa updaysee-ai jin gur, naanak, day-o.
This verse means: “Nanak says what sermons can be given to those, who have been blessed (taught) by Guru; hence DEO is a part of Gurdev (gur+dayo)”. Similar is the meaning of the word DEO in verse:
bohith, naanak, day-o gur, jis har chaṛaa-ay, tis bha-ojal tarnaa.
It means: Nanak says, “Gurdev (day-o gur) is a boat, whomever God gets to embark it, he will swim across the terrible waters.” Here too DEO (day-o) is a part of Gurdev and not a suffix of Guru Nanak’s name.
so vasai it ghar, jis gur pooraa sayv.
abichal nagree, naanak, dayv.
This means: Nanak says, those whom perfect Guru blesses with the service (meditation) of God; his home (heart/mind) becomes (such an abode, i.e. abchal nagri, which is free from vices) where He resides. Here DEV has been used for God and not for Nanak or even Guru/Gurdev.
Further:
kabeer dhi-aa-i-o ayk raⁿg.
naam dayv har jee-o baseh saⁿg.
ravidaas dhi-aa-ay parabh anoop.
gur, naanak, dayv goviⁿd roop.
[Meaning]: Kabir remembered with single-mind.
(O! God) You dwell with (in the mind of) Namdev.
Ravidas remembered beautiful Master.
Nanak says Gurdev is the image of Govind (God)].
In the second line of this verse, Dayv is a suffix of Namdev, but in fourth line Dayv is a part of Gurdev. Similarly:
kavan kahaan ha-o gun pari-a tayrai.
baran na saaka-o ayk tulayrai.
darsan pi-aas bahuṯ man mayrai.
mil, naanak, dayv jagat gur kayrai.
[Meaning]: I cannot narrate even some of them.
O! my dear, how many of your attributes, I can relate?
In my mind is great thirst to see you
Nanak says, O Gurdev of the world (i.e. God), please meet me (i.e. come to stay in my mind).
In Guru Granth Sahib, there is a ballad by Satta and Balwand which mentions the names of the first five Gurus. They definitely knew the correct names of the Gurus. But they have not used DEV anywhere for any Guru. Bhatt Baani is also a part of Guru Granth Sahib. These Bhatts were court poets of the Guru Sahib. None of them have used DEV for any Guru. Bhai Gurdas, who scribed their verses in the Granth (and Guru Arjan Sahib must have read the final version) they must have knowledge of the names of Guru Nanak, Guru Angad and Guru Arjan. If the suffix Dev had been omitted, by Satta-Balwand or the Bhatts, by mistake, Guru Arjan or Bhai Gurdas would have corrected it. So it also proves that Guru Arjan too did not use Dev for any Guru.
Early sources of Guru Nanak’s life include Wilayat Wali Janamsakhi, Meharban Wali Janamsakhi, Bhai Bala Wali Janamsakhi, Bhai Mani Singh Wali Janamsakhi (attributed to him), and Puratan Janamsakhi etc. None of these used DEV as suffix of Guru Nanak’s name.
The ‘ardas’, approved by the S.G.P.C. and released from Akal Takht, begins with a stanza from Charitropakhyan (wrongly attributed to Guru Gobind Singh). Under which conspiracy it became a part of the Sikh Ardas during the Mahants’ period is not to be debated here, but this ‘ardas’ too does not use DEV as suffix of the name of any Guru:
pirtham bhagauti simar kay gur nanak layee dhiayei.
phir aⁿgad ṯe gur amardaas, raamdaasay hoyiee sahayei.
arjan hargobiⁿd no, simrau sri harrai…
Again, the writer (it is not Guru Gobind Singh) of the poem Bachitra Natak too mentions the names of all the Gurus but he too does not use DEV with any Guru’s name:
Ṯin bedian ki kul bikhayei pragatei nanak Rai.
(The author, however, uses RAI and not DEV. Now, what should we use, as suffix of Guru Nanak’s name, Dev or RAI?
There are a very large number of vaars (ballads) in Punjabi which preserve history of the Guru period. Most of these were written between seventeenth and early nineteenth century. These include:
Raamkali Di Vaar (Satta & Balwand)
Vaar Babe Nanak Ji Ki (Bhai Gurdas)
Karhkhay Patshah Dasven Kay (Sain Singh)
Paurian Guru Gobind Singh Ji Kian (Mir Mushki & Chhabila)
Yudh Guru Gobind Singh Ji Ka (Ani Rai)
Vaar Patshahi Dasvin Ki (unknown writer)
Vaar Bhayrei Ki Patshahi Das (unknown writer)
Vaar Bhangani Ki (unknown writer)
Yudh-Charitra Guru Gobind Singh Ji Ka (Veer Singh Ball)
Vaar Amritsar Ki (Darshan Bhagat)
Vaar Sarb Loh Ki (unknown writer)
Vaar Kalyan Ki (Khushal Chand)
In these vaars, nowhere has DEV been used as suffix to the name of any Guru.
Bhai Gurdas has used the word DEO or DEV in several verses of his vaars e.g. vaar 3 (pauris 2 and 12), vaar 13 (pauri 25), vaar 15 (pauri 2), etc. But in these verses Dev/Deo is not a part of any Guru’s name but it means ‘manifested’. Further, he has used DEO/DEV in vaar 24 (pauri 25), where the words ‘deo japaiya...’ means ‘the Guru preached meditation in the name of God’ (here DEO means God). In vaar 28 (pauri 11), ‘DEV’ means ‘devta/god’ and it is not a suffix of any Guru’s name.
Bhai Gurdas’s 1st vaar depicts the life and role of the Guru Sahibs and in the whole Vaar the word DEV has not been used even once. In this vaar, pauris 23 to 45 are life story of Guru Nanak Sahib and pauris 45 to 48 are about the lives of Guru Angad to Guru Hargobind Sahib. In these 26 pauris too the word DEV (as suffix) is missing. Does it mean that Bhai Gurdas had written incomplete name of Guru Sahib?
The Bhatt Vahis (by various Bhatts, including Mathra and Keerat, the poets of Guru Granth Sahib) and Panda Vahis (of Hardwar, Pehowa, and Mattan etc) were written during the times of Gur Sahibs. None of the entry-writers of these records used Dev for any Guru.
The Sikh history books written during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries include the works by Sainapati, Koer Singh, Kesar Singh Chhibber, Sawrup Singh Kaushish, Ratan Singh Bhangoo, Sukhbasi Ram Bedi etc. None of these has used DEV as suffix of the name of any Guru. Dev is missing even from the Nirmala writings.
In fact the usage of Dev began with Nirmala and Brahmin writers after 1850s. The first Sikh to popularize it was Bhai Veer Singh (who himself was a Nirmala). Though he used Dev but his action was still not followed by serious Sikh scholars. It was only after 1972 that DEV became an epidemic and Guru Nanak Sahib’s name was changed into Guru Nanak Dev.
Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer
Director: G.N. Research Institute, Birmingham, England
[email protected]
During its tour Simon Commission had planned a visit to Lahore; it was to reach Lahore, by train, on the 30th of October 1928. On the 28th of October 1928, Akali Dal resolved to hold a protest rally on the arrival of Simon Commission. On the 30th of October 1928, about seven thousand people mostly blue-turbaned Sikhs gathered at the Lahore railway station and began raising slogans of ‘Simon go back’; this crowd was led by Master Tara Singh, Mangal Singh, Sardool Singh Kaveeshar, Sohan Singh Josh, Madan Mohan Malvia, Maulavi Abdul Qadar, Raizada Hans Raj, Dr Gopi Chand Bhargo, Dr Sat Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai and several others. When the crowd continued raising slogans for a long time, an English policeman attacked it with his hunter which hit even the leaders some of whom were wounded too; the wounded included Raizada Hans Raj, Abdul Qadar, Dr Gopi Chand and Dr Satpal; it was followed by cane-charge which further wounded several people (as per the newspaper reporting Lala Lajpat Rai was not among the wounded ones); when Simon Commission members were gone this procession too dispersed.
The same day at about 3 p.m. people again gathered at Delhi Darwaza; soon it turned into a big rally; it was addressed by several leaders; after this the people again took out a procession; fifteen thousand people joined it; Dr Gopi Chand (who had several bandages on his head) and Dr Satpal (who had multiple bandages on his arm) too joined it.
Ghadr Party was in fact a Sikh Movement; more than 95% of its members were Sikhs; the main centres for its organisation were Gurdwaras; its sources were funds from the Sikhs only; almost all its actions took place in the Sikh-Punjab. There is no doubt that a couple of Muslims joined it and some Bengali revolutionaries made their contribution but the Hindus form abroad or in the Punjab did not participate; Lala Hardyal, as mentioned earlier, was either a spy of the imperialist forces or was a coward who, having been once arrested in the USA, retired for fear of going to jail; on the other hand, some other Hindus like Parma Nand and Ram Chand even went even to the extent of renouncing their relationship with the revolutionaries. Even the Communist writer Gurcharan Singh Sehansara accepts that the English regime considered it only a Sikh movement because the regime punished only the Sikhs (except the hard core leaders like Vishnu Ganesh Pingle, Hafiz Abdullah and Babu Ram) and acquitted all the Hindus.
According to the government, even after the failure of the Ghadr in the Punjab, the Sikhs living abroad kept this Movement alive; some of them even went to Russia and got training there; all of these ‘extremists’ hated the English and continued their activities to end the British rule.
After their release most of the Ghadr activists joined political parties which were engaged in movements for the freedom of their homeland from the English; though some of them joined the Communist Party too but most of them joined the Sikh League, Shiromani Akali Dal, Babar Akalis; e.g. Wisakha Singh Dadehar, Bhai Randhir Singh, Dr Thakar Singh Ikolaha (he remained General Secretary and Vice President of Akali Dal), Piara Singh Langeri (he remained an office bearer of the Akali Dal), Piara Singh Canadian etc; and two leaders of Kamagatamaru ship (Gurdit Singh and Rai/Daljit Singh Kauni) too joined the Akali Movement; Gurdit Singh became president of Akali Dal in June; Rai Singh served as the manager of Gurdwara at Muktsar; Wisakha Singh was chairman of Parliamentary Board for SGPC elections in 1936; he also served as caretaker of Akal Takht. Similarly, Karam Singh Jhingarh, Karam Singh Daulatpur joined the Babar Akali Movement; according to the government, the Babar Akali Movement was revival of Ghadr Movement; most of them were former emigrant and like Ghadr workers they used 32 bore revolvers and Mausers.
On the 21st of November 1924, a ‘Qaidi Parvar Sahaik Committee’ was formed to help the families of jailed Ghadr workers; later it was merged with another such Committee; it had 21 members: 13 from Ghadr Party, 4 from Sikh League and 4 were co-opted by these 17 members; Wisakha Singh was the first president of this Committee, Harchand Singh Lyallpuri was its General Secretary and Dr Thakar Singh Ikolaha was its Joint Secretary.
Although no document of formal planning of armed action is available in any source but there finds a reference to a suggested plan is available from a letter written by Dr Thakar Singh Ikolaha from Canton (China) to Giani Bhagwan Singh (then at Hong Kong) on the 17th of November 1914. This letter could not reach Bhagwan Singh as he had already left his place; and, it could not be delivered to him even after having been directed to his new addresses; it finally fell into the hands of censure at Hong Kong; which opened it and got it deciphered from Punjabi into English (as a result of this letter Dr Thakar Singh was arrested and deported to India, and imprisoned for four and a half years in different jails).
According to this letter, Dr. Thakar Singh had suggested that on the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh, a joint action will be launched simultaneously in all the tehsils, police stations and districts; the revolutionary forces will murder the English officials and, in their place, patriot workers shall be appointed; the Indian soldiers should have already been prepared to join revolutionary action; hence the Punjab will soon be captured and freed; and, the English forces, being busy in war against Germany won’t be able to do much. All this action will be done on the same day throughout the Punjab. According to the letter Dr Thakar Singh had offered to take charge of Ludhiana district.
This was the proposed plan of action to free the Punjab, which had been suggested and discussed by the Ghadr leaders and workers; but this was not acceptable to Lala Hardyal and other Hindu leaders who suggested that the action for expelling the English should be started from Kashmir and North West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P.); it was a strange suggestion because in these two zones there was not a single person who was interested in participating in an armed action; and on the other side more than 90% of the Ghadrites were Sikhs, but, it seems that Hardyal and his associates were not willing to hand over power to the Sikhs; it was one of the reasons that led to failure of Ghadr planning.
(It is widely believed that either Hardyal had been planted by the English intelligence because first he tried to thwart the Punjab action; and when he could not stop it, he ‘retired’ from all the struggle for freedom; or having been once arrested in the USA, and moving to Switzerland after release on bail, he realized that struggle would also mean being in jail also, so he retired from all political activity; after his he .began living in Switzerland and adopted western way of life; later he was found dead in mysterious circumstances; it is possible that he might have been dubbed as a traitor and killed by some revolutionaries).
The second session of the Sikh League was to be held on the 20th and 21st of October 1920, in Bradlaugh Hall at Lahore; a week before the session the name of the President of the session was to be finalised; just a few days earlier the Sikhs had taken control of Gurdwara at Sialkot and had selected Kharak Singh as its chief; hence he was one of the most talked of person among the Sikhs, and, he was a raees (affluent person) too; so his name was floated for President-ship of the second session of the Sikh League; and he immediately gave his consent; Sundar Singh Chawla was the Chairman of the Reception Committee and he too was an Akali.
On the 20th of October 1920, when the session began the main attraction of the session was Bibi Kartar Kaur (wife of Bhai Randhir Singh of the Ghadr Party); besides, about 50 leaders of the Ghadr Party and Kamagatamaru ship episode were also present in a special enclave on the right side of the stage; and seven chairs had been left empty with the tags of the names of Ghadr leaders (Bhai Randhir Singh, Chatar Singh, Nidhan Singh, Madan Singh, Jawala Singh Thathian, Amar Singh and Nidhan Singh Chugha) who were serving sentences in the jails.
On the first day Dr Saif-ud-Din Kitchlew, Mohammed Ali, Shaukat Ali and Maulana Abu Kalam Azad too came to attend the session; followed by Kharak Singh and Prof. Teja Singh Mastuana and M.K. Gandhi, his wife, Chowdhry Ram Bhaj Dutt, Sarla Devi, Duni Chand, Agha Safdar, Lala Govardhan Das, and Parma Nand Jhansi. Principal Teja Singh performed ardas and after the reading of a hymn the session was started. Giani Gurbakhsh Singh acted as master of ceremony (the stage secretary); and when he was going towards the stage, someone in the audience hooted by calling him guilty of honouring General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer (the butcher of Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13.4.1919) and Michael O’Dwyer (the Governor of the Punjab); the first to address the session was Sundar Singh Chawla who read out presidential address. After the presidential address Amar Singh (editor Lyall Gazette, later it was named Sher-i-Punjab) formally proposed the name of Kharak Singh as president; it was seconded by Sardool Singh Kaveeshar, Master Mota Singh Patara, Harchand Singh Lyallpuri and Giani Gurbakhsh Singh Advocate.
Before the beginning of the speeches, Harchand Singh Lyallpuri presented some leaders of the Ghadr Party and Kamagatamaru ship on the stage and introduced them to the audience; and he also condemned those priests of the Akal Takht who had declared that ‘those who had defied the police orders at the Baj Baj Ghat in 1914 were not Sikhs’; when Harchand Singh said these words Giani Gurbakhsh Singh, who was one of those who had honoured General Dyer, too was sitting there with shame (his head bowed and eyes closed).
The next day, on the 21st of October 1920, much before the beginning of the session, all the seats had been occupied. Before beginning the formal agenda of the session, it was requested that everyone should take off his necktie (they believed that a necktie was a symbol of cross; hence Christianity); about 500 people voluntarily took off their neck-ties and put them in their pockets (it also proves that the session was attended by so many elite Sikhs wearing suits and neck-ties). The first to address was Sardool Singh Kaveeshar who narrated the history of promulgation of the Martial Law in 1919 and the excesses committed on the Sikhs and Khilafat leaders; he also spoke about denial of political rights to the Sikhs; and finally he proposed resolution for non-cooperation with the regime; and he proposed that: 1. Government honours, honorary magistrate-ship, memberships of all types of offices should be returned. 2. Government functions and darbars should be boycotted. 3. Children should not be sent to the Government schools as well as the schools aided by the State. 4. Instead of taking cases to the Government courts, these should be presented before the Panchayats. 5. The Government should not be co-operated for enrolment of soldiers for action in Mesopotamia (Iraq). 6. No one should contest elections for the Councils and no one should caste vote. 7. All imported articles should be boycotted.
After presenting the resolution Sardool Singh told that innocent Ghadrite and other Sikh activists are still in the jails; under the Amnesty all the Hindu and Muslim prisoners had been released but Bhai Randhir Singh and several others were still in the jails; he also condemned Jallianwala Bagh massacre. This resolution was supported by Mangal Singh Gill (editor Akali), Dan Singh Vachhoa, Sujan Singh Advocate, Jodh Singh, Sewa Ram Singh Advocate, M.K. Gandhi, Shaukat Ali, Mohammed Ali, Maulana Abu Kalam Azad, Agha Safdar, Jaswant Singh Jhabal, Giani Sher Singh, Sundar Singh Lyallpuri, Master Mota Singh, Sohan Singh (editor The Sikh). On the other hand Ujjal Singh, Teja Singh Mastuana, Jodh Singh, Narain Singh B.A., Sohan Singh editor Sikh and even Kharak Singh (the president) proposed amendments to this resolution but the majority did not approve them; hence the resolution for non-cooperation was passed by majority vote.
When the resolution was declared as adopted, Hardyal Singh Beharhwal, Balwant Singh Raees Kulla, Lal Singh Sheikhupura, Harnam Singh Maan announced their resignation from Council; Kundan Singh and Sawan Singh announced resignation from Nambardar-ship; Atma Singh Amritsari announced returning medals and uniform; Beant Singh Ludhiana announced returning of medal won in France and Partap Singh Gujarat announced returning of medals; Santokh Singh and Gurbakhsh Singh announced stopping studying in Government Medical College.
The second resolution formed a Committee to help the families of the Sikh political prisoners; Harchand Singh, Sundar Singh (both from Lyallpur), Jaswant Singh Jhabal, Kartar Singh Jhabbar, Piara Singh Langeri, Badan Singh, Sant Singh Advocate, Teja Singh Samundari and Gurdial Singh were selected as members of this Committee.
After this Master Mota Singh appeared on the stage and declared that ‘I shall not wear shoes and shall eat just one meal a day till all Sikh political prisoners are not released.’
The session of the Sikh League continued for the 22nd of October too. On this day, it was announced that a Shaheedi Jatha (martyrs band) will go to Delhi to rebuild the wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj (which had been demolished by the regime on the 14th of January 1914).
Kharak Singh, while addressing the session, said that the Hindus and the Muslims had done injustice to the Sikhs in Lucknow Pact (of 1916) by ignoring their rights; as a result Gandhi too had to accept the Sikhs’ position.
The Sikh League session was a grand success but due to passing of the resolution for non-cooperation, some senior Sikh leaders, who were not in favour of this resolution and were not interested in confrontation with the regime, severed their relations with the Sikh League (see page 117).
After the formation of the S.G.P.C., on the 15th of November 1920, the religious role of the Sikh League was gone to the S.G.P.C.; and as there was an agitation for the control of the Gurdwaras from 1920 to 1925, the Sikh League and the S.G.P.C. remained almost as one organisation; and, though annual session were held for the Sikh League it was all a common platform; finally it became an umbrella organisation; its sessions continued up to 1932 after which even formal sessions came to an end; its agenda had already been adopted by the Shiromani Akali Dal. However a similar role was played by All Parties Sikh Conferences and World Sikh Conventions.
It was written in the constitution of the Chief Khalsa Diwan that the organisation will not discuss nor participate on any political issue; hence it (Diwan) did not react to any such situation; even in 1907, it (Diwan) did pass a very weak resolution, making a request to the government to consider the demands of the farmers; hence the elite as well as common Sikhs did not have a soft corner for the Diwan; a Sikh raees (affluent/feudal) Harchand Singh Lyallpuri did, however, raise his voice and earned goodwill of the masses.
During this period, the British government had been establishing a new town in the outskirts of old Delhi; and it was constructing a palace for the Viceroy (now President’s House); and in order to have a straight road towards it, it demolished the outer wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj on the 14th of January 1914; it infuriated the Sikhs and there were voices of resentment and anger from various Sikh quarters; Harchand Singh Lyallpuri being the most vocal; though the government stopped further action but the wall remained broken and it continued for some months.
After this the Sikhs met another injustice in Canada when Kamagatamaru ship passengers were not allowed to land there and further when it (ship) was returned, the police fired at the passengers and killed several of them.
Further, in 1915, the Ghadr activist planned an armed revolt but before it could be executed, most of the Ghadr leaders were arrested; many of them were given death of life imprisonments; even this issue could not create sympathy in the mind of the leadership of Chief Khalsa Diwan; hence an average Sikh was disillusioned with it (Diwan).
The first world war ended in 1918: in this war more than half a million Sikhs joined the British army and fought for England; and during this war more than 83000 Sikhs were killed and about one hundred and ten thousand Sikhs were wounded; but, when the war ended, the English regime, instead of rewarding the Sikhs for their services; passed Rowlatt Act and then promulgated Martial law in the Punjab; on the 13th of April 1919, a congregation protesting against these laws was fired at killing 379 and wounding more than eleven hundred people. The Chief Khalsa Diwan did not utter even a single word against all this injustice; all this created hatred for the Diwan in the mind of an average Sikh; and they began thinking of forming an organisation where the Sikhs’ political and other issues could be raised.
In 1916, a Conference was held at Lucknow which decided sharing of seats for the Muslims and the Hindus in the legislative Councils; this Conference fully ignored the rights of the Sikhs (later it was known as ‘Lucknow Pact’). In 1917, Sundar Singh Majithia submitted a memorandum to the government demanding fixing of a quota for the Sikhs in the Councils according to their position; the Hindus of the Punjab (not the Muslims) vehemently opposed the Sikh demand; it also began propagating that Sikhism is not a separate religion and was a part of Hinduism; at this the Sikhs opposed the Hindu propaganda with an equally forceful voice and declared hat Sikhism had nothing to do with Hinduism; again Sundar Singh Majithia and Harbans Singh Attari played an important role on this issue; but Chief Khalsa Diwan, as an organisation, did not play any role.
In July 1918, Montague Chelmsford Committee considered the issue of the Sikhs and accepted the Sikh claim; in February 1919, Southborogh Committee fixed the Sikh quota at 15% but there was a flaw in this allotment because the so-called sahijdhari (in fact Hindus) too were to be considered against this quota; and it was interesting that any Hindu could declare himself a so-called sahijdhari Sikh. When this came to light, the Sikhs opposed it and declared that they would boycott the elections.
(Later in July 1920, some Sikh leaders visited London and met the Secretary of State; he increased the Sikh quota from 15 to 18.75%; hence the Sikhs were given two more seats; though the issue of so-called Sahijdhari remained unsolved, it was declared that all the voters shall have to declare their religion at the time of registration; and this was enough to stop cheating in the name of so-called sahijdhari as the Hindus did not want to be called Sikhs, though they wanted to enjoy the benefits given to the Sikhs).
Though the issue of the Sikh quota in the Councils was partly solved, there were still several other issues concerned with the Sikhs which were not on the agenda of any Sikh organisation; hence the Sikhs had begun discussing the need of a political platform; at that time the Muslims (Muslim League) and the Hindus (Congress) organisations were already in existence; realising this, some Sikhs held a meeting in Lahore on the 30th of March 1919; S.B. Gajjan Singh of Ludhiana, some members of the Council and some other influent Sikhs and some feudal attended this meeting; however, most of them were those who had been collaborating with the regime and were in its (regime’s) good books.
But, on the 13th of April 1919, firing at Jallianwala Bagh Amritsar and killing 379 and wounding 1137 innocent people, created an atmosphere of terror and anger ; and in this situation Arur Singh Sarbrah of Darbar Sahib honoured. General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, the ‘butcher of Jallianwala Bagh’; and this act became a cause of further hatred for those Sikh leaders who had been co-operating with the English regime; hence for some time the issue of forming a Sikh political organisation went into abeyance.
After a silence of seven months, the Sikh leaders again held a meeting in November 1919 and decided to hold a bigger congregation in December, to form a Sikh political organisation in the name of Sikh League (later it was named Central Sikh League, in order to differentiate the central body from the local units).
Pro-Government group captured the Sikh League
The first session of the Sikh League was held on the 27th of December at Amritsar; it was attended by more than twelve hundred Sikhs from all shades of life; it was presided over by S.B. Gajjan Singh; the function began with an ardas (the Sikhs’ national prayer) by Prof Teja Singh Mastuana (of Benaras Hindu University); it was followed by presidential address by S.B. Gajjan Singh who said: 1. the Sikhs are entitled to one third share in the Punjab, in the seats of Councils, in the jobs in judiciary and Royal Commissions and in all departments because the Sikhs pay two third of the revenue, recruits in army and contribution during war. 2. The management of Darbar Sahib and the Sikh properties should be given to the Sikhs.
15 resolutions were passed in this Conference: 1. The Sikhs assure loyalty to the king and the government 2. Tikka Ripudaman Singh is congratulated 3. Expressed thanks on Royal proclamation of amnesty and demanded release of all the political prisoners and restrictions on the interned persons should be removed. 4. India should be given self-government on the pattern of other colonies. 5. The Act of 1919 does not grant self-government; it should be amended; besides the Sikhs should be given their share in the Punjab 6. The management of the Gurdwaras and the Sikh jagirs should be haned over to the Sikhs and these should be managed by elected committees. 7. Punjab should have fixed revenue system; it should not be increased or decreased; the farmers should be charged tax and not rent for their lands. 8. Kirpan should not be covered under by the Arms Laws. 9. Water rates for canal waters should be reduced 10. The Sikhs should have right to senior government offices. 11. Sikh should be granted more Royal Commissions. 12. The Conference thanks Madan Mohan Malavia and Moti Lal Nehru. 13. The Conference expresses condolence on the death of Maharaja of Faridkot. 14. Those officers who had perpetrated excesses during the Martial Laws should be punished by the Government. 15. The Sikh soldiers should have right to Kirpan; and those who have been dismissed for having Kirpans should be reinstated.
This Conference was attended by M.K. Gandhi, Madan Mohan Malavia, Mr. Tayyab and C.R. Das too; on their arrival a hymn was sung to welcome them (it was an act of sacrilege; singing hymns to welcome or praise any person is an act of blasphemy). After the arrival of these non-Sikh guests, Khazan Singh Barrister said: “Guru Tegh Bahadur by offering his head had solved the crisis of the country; and we feel that Pandit (Malavia) ji have come here to the Punjab to repay that debt; and we hope that they will recognise our rights and will get them through Congress.”
After this Malavia said: “We cannot repay the debt of the Ninth Guru for Ages to come; as far as the question of the rights is concerned we shall honour capable persons”; but Malavia said nothing about the specific rights of the Sikhs and reservation of the seats for them (Sikhs); the same was repeated by Gandhi: “Malavia is my elder brother... You should accept what my elder brother has said.” The function ended with thanks by Gurbakhsh Singh Giani, followed by Ardas by Akali Kaur Singh.
Except for passing these 15 resolutions, the Sikh League did not take any further step; it did not proceed even on the issue of the state of the Gurdwaras.
Events and detail
When Guru Gobind Singh left the company of Bahadur Shah in August 1708, he decided to return to the Punjab. Here, he suddenly thought that Madho Das had established his dera at Nander, so he thought of visiting him, 1 he decided to return to the Punjab. Here, he suddenly thought that Madho Das had established his dera at Nander, so he thought of visiting him. When the Guru reached Madho Das's dera, he was not present there. At that time, the Sikhs were hungry, and because there was no food in the dera, the Guru asked the Sikhs to slaughter the goats of the dera and cook their meat for food. The chelas (followers) of Madho Das tried to prevent them from killing the animals by asserting that they were Vaishnvas (vegetarians), hence meat was prohibited there, but the Sikhs did not pay heed to them; and obeying the order of the Guru, they cooked meat and ate it. 2
Guru Nanak SAHIB not Guru Nanak DEV
(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)*
Guru Nanak’s parents gave him the name NANAK only. Later, the Sikhs added Sahib as suffix, as a mark of respect; while others used Baba as a prefix. Most of the earlier writers, however, preferred using Baba Nanak; Sahib too was a later usage. In the second half of the nineteenth century some Brahmanic writers began using Dev as suffix with Guru Nanak’s name; until that no book or manuscript or even any verse had ever used DEV for Guru Nanak Sahib. But, like the usage of ‘SRI’ in Sikhism, the term DEV was so much popularized by the Brahmin writers that a simple minded person considers Guru Nanak’s name as incomplete if it is without the suffix DEV.
An argument was presented that DEV was added because all other Guru-names had two words (i.e. Amar Das, Ram Das, Hargobind, Har Rai, Harkrishan, Tegh Bahadur, Gobind Singh) hence DEV should be added to the names of the other three Gurus also i.e. with Nanak, Angad and Arjan); this is ridiculous logic that names of three Gurus should be changed (adding a new word is ‘changing the original’) so as to make them in the fashion of (or look like) the names of the other seven Gurus. Are these names ‘decoration pieces’ that symmetry has to be established? Why should we not preserve the original names of these three Gurus? Secondly, it is wrong to say that Hargobind, Harkrishan are names with two words; both are one word names. Why don’t they write them as Hargobind Dev and Hakrishan Dev?
Further, the Nirmala writers suggested that the words DEV appears 100 times and DEO for 56 times in Guru Granth Sahib; hence DEV/DEO should be accepted; this too is a strange logic. Similarly, some preachers claim that in one of the verses of Guru Granth Sahib, the name of Guru Arjan Sahib has been mentioned as ‘Arjan Dev’; hence his name should be written as Arjan Dev; and, let us add it to the names of the first two Gurus also. Now, let us read the verse by Bhatt poet Mathura:
jap-ya-o jinh arjun, dayv guroo, fir sankat, jon garabh na aa-ya-o.
This line means that “those who remember GuruDev, as per the teachings of Arjan, they do not suffer from the fear of entering womb and bearing the pains of birth again”. Here DEV is a part of Guru (Gurdev) and not as suffix of the name of Guru Arjan Sahib.
It is further interesting that, in Guru Granth Sahib, RAAM and CHAND too appear after the name of Guru Nanak; should we accept Chand/Raam as suffix of Guru’s name?
Here is the verse where Raam is referred to as suffix:
sikh-yaa saⁿt, naam bhaj, naanak, raam, raⁿg aatam si-o ra-un.
It means: “Nanak says, (O! man) as per teachings of the God-oriented persons, meditate upon name (of God), let your soul live in love of God”. Here, Raam has been used as one of the names of God and not as a suffix of Guru Nanak.
The verse where Chand is referred as suffix:
parathmay naanak chaⁿd jagat bha-yo aanaⁿd
taaran manukh-y jan kee-a-o pargaas.
This means: First, Nanak is like a moon, seeing him the world delights; to liberate the human beings, he illuminates their ways.
In Guru Granth Sahib, the word Nanak appears more than 5100 times and Nanaki (short sound ‘i’ before K in Nanak), and Nanaku short ‘u’ under K in Nanak) 23 and 50 times respectively; so which spellings should we accept, and what is the basis?
Now let us consider the usage of the word DEO (2 times after the word Nanak) and DEV (3 times after the word Nanak) in the verses of Guru Granth Sahib:
tin ka-o ki-aa updaysee-ai jin gur, naanak, day-o.
This verse means: “Nanak says what sermons can be given to those, who have been blessed (taught) by Guru; hence DEO is a part of Gurdev (gur+dayo)”. Similar is the meaning of the word DEO in verse:
bohith, naanak, day-o gur, jis har chaṛaa-ay, tis bha-ojal tarnaa.
It means: Nanak says, “Gurdev (day-o gur) is a boat, whomever God gets to embark it, he will swim across the terrible waters.” Here too DEO (day-o) is a part of Gurdev and not a suffix of Guru Nanak’s name.
so vasai it ghar, jis gur pooraa sayv.
abichal nagree, naanak, dayv.
This means: Nanak says, those whom perfect Guru blesses with the service (meditation) of God; his home (heart/mind) becomes (such an abode, i.e. abchal nagri, which is free from vices) where He resides. Here DEV has been used for God and not for Nanak or even Guru/Gurdev.
Further:
kabeer dhi-aa-i-o ayk raⁿg.
naam dayv har jee-o baseh saⁿg.
ravidaas dhi-aa-ay parabh anoop.
gur, naanak, dayv goviⁿd roop.
[Meaning]: Kabir remembered with single-mind.
(O! God) You dwell with (in the mind of) Namdev.
Ravidas remembered beautiful Master.
Nanak says Gurdev is the image of Govind (God)].
In the second line of this verse, Dayv is a suffix of Namdev, but in fourth line Dayv is a part of Gurdev. Similarly:
kavan kahaan ha-o gun pari-a tayrai.
baran na saaka-o ayk tulayrai.
darsan pi-aas bahuṯ man mayrai.
mil, naanak, dayv jagat gur kayrai.
[Meaning]: I cannot narrate even some of them.
O! my dear, how many of your attributes, I can relate?
In my mind is great thirst to see you
Nanak says, O Gurdev of the world (i.e. God), please meet me (i.e. come to stay in my mind).
In Guru Granth Sahib, there is a ballad by Satta and Balwand which mentions the names of the first five Gurus. They definitely knew the correct names of the Gurus. But they have not used DEV anywhere for any Guru. Bhatt Baani is also a part of Guru Granth Sahib. These Bhatts were court poets of the Guru Sahib. None of them have used DEV for any Guru. Bhai Gurdas, who scribed their verses in the Granth (and Guru Arjan Sahib must have read the final version) they must have knowledge of the names of Guru Nanak, Guru Angad and Guru Arjan. If the suffix Dev had been omitted, by Satta-Balwand or the Bhatts, by mistake, Guru Arjan or Bhai Gurdas would have corrected it. So it also proves that Guru Arjan too did not use Dev for any Guru.
Early sources of Guru Nanak’s life include Wilayat Wali Janamsakhi, Meharban Wali Janamsakhi, Bhai Bala Wali Janamsakhi, Bhai Mani Singh Wali Janamsakhi (attributed to him), and Puratan Janamsakhi etc. None of these used DEV as suffix of Guru Nanak’s name.
The ‘ardas’, approved by the S.G.P.C. and released from Akal Takht, begins with a stanza from Charitropakhyan (wrongly attributed to Guru Gobind Singh). Under which conspiracy it became a part of the Sikh Ardas during the Mahants’ period is not to be debated here, but this ‘ardas’ too does not use DEV as suffix of the name of any Guru:
pirtham bhagauti simar kay gur nanak layee dhiayei.
phir aⁿgad ṯe gur amardaas, raamdaasay hoyiee sahayei.
arjan hargobiⁿd no, simrau sri harrai…
Again, the writer (it is not Guru Gobind Singh) of the poem Bachitra Natak too mentions the names of all the Gurus but he too does not use DEV with any Guru’s name:
Ṯin bedian ki kul bikhayei pragatei nanak Rai.
(The author, however, uses RAI and not DEV. Now, what should we use, as suffix of Guru Nanak’s name, Dev or RAI?
There are a very large number of vaars (ballads) in Punjabi which preserve history of the Guru period. Most of these were written between seventeenth and early nineteenth century. These include:
Raamkali Di Vaar (Satta & Balwand)
Vaar Babe Nanak Ji Ki (Bhai Gurdas)
Karhkhay Patshah Dasven Kay (Sain Singh)
Paurian Guru Gobind Singh Ji Kian (Mir Mushki & Chhabila)
Yudh Guru Gobind Singh Ji Ka (Ani Rai)
Vaar Patshahi Dasvin Ki (unknown writer)
Vaar Bhayrei Ki Patshahi Das (unknown writer)
Vaar Bhangani Ki (unknown writer)
Yudh-Charitra Guru Gobind Singh Ji Ka (Veer Singh Ball)
Vaar Amritsar Ki (Darshan Bhagat)
Vaar Sarb Loh Ki (unknown writer)
Vaar Kalyan Ki (Khushal Chand)
In these vaars, nowhere has DEV been used as suffix to the name of any Guru.
Bhai Gurdas has used the word DEO or DEV in several verses of his vaars e.g. vaar 3 (pauris 2 and 12), vaar 13 (pauri 25), vaar 15 (pauri 2), etc. But in these verses Dev/Deo is not a part of any Guru’s name but it means ‘manifested’. Further, he has used DEO/DEV in vaar 24 (pauri 25), where the words ‘deo japaiya...’ means ‘the Guru preached meditation in the name of God’ (here DEO means God). In vaar 28 (pauri 11), ‘DEV’ means ‘devta/god’ and it is not a suffix of any Guru’s name.
Bhai Gurdas’s 1st vaar depicts the life and role of the Guru Sahibs and in the whole Vaar the word DEV has not been used even once. In this vaar, pauris 23 to 45 are life story of Guru Nanak Sahib and pauris 45 to 48 are about the lives of Guru Angad to Guru Hargobind Sahib. In these 26 pauris too the word DEV (as suffix) is missing. Does it mean that Bhai Gurdas had written incomplete name of Guru Sahib?
The Bhatt Vahis (by various Bhatts, including Mathra and Keerat, the poets of Guru Granth Sahib) and Panda Vahis (of Hardwar, Pehowa, and Mattan etc) were written during the times of Gur Sahibs. None of the entry-writers of these records used Dev for any Guru.
The Sikh history books written during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries include the works by Sainapati, Koer Singh, Kesar Singh Chhibber, Sawrup Singh Kaushish, Ratan Singh Bhangoo, Sukhbasi Ram Bedi etc. None of these has used DEV as suffix of the name of any Guru. Dev is missing even from the Nirmala writings.
In fact the usage of Dev began with Nirmala and Brahmin writers after 1850s. The first Sikh to popularize it was Bhai Veer Singh (who himself was a Nirmala). Though he used Dev but his action was still not followed by serious Sikh scholars. It was only after 1972 that DEV became an epidemic and Guru Nanak Sahib’s name was changed into Guru Nanak Dev.
Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer
Director: G.N. Research Institute, Birmingham, England
[email protected]