User:Chindit Singh/sandbox

Nishaan-e-mard-e Momin ba too moyam,

Choon marg aayad, tabassum bar lab-e-ost

(You ask me for the signs of a man of faith?

When death comes to him,

He has a smile on his lips.)

Shauq-e-tool-o-peych is zulmat qade mein hai agar,

Bengalee ke baat sun aur Bengalan key baal deykh

(If you like to add legnth to a story, put a twist in its tail,

Hear a Bengali talk (endlessly) and gaze upon his woman's long hair.)

Voh waqt bhee dekhya tareekh kee gharion nay,

Lamhon nay khataa kee thee,

Sadiyon nay sazaa payee

(The ages of history have recorded times,

Where for an error made in a few seconds,

Centuries had to pay the price.)

Parkash Singh Badal

Minister of Communications

Union Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation

Surjit Singh Barnala

Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs

Union Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation

5th Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers

Sukhbir Singh Badal

Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)

Sukhdev Singh Dhinsa

Minister of Works and Estates

Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers

Minister of Mines

Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports

Harsimrat Kaur Badal

Minister of Food and Processing Industries

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Jawahir Singh Kapur

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Delhi

History of Delhi

India Gate

Rashtrapati Bhavan

Connaught Place

Rajpath

Janpath

South Delhi

Central Delhi

The Sikh Revolutionary and Durbar Wars, sometimes called the Great Durbar War, were a series of conflicts between the Sukherchakia Raj and several kingdoms in India under the British East India Company. They encompass the Misl Unification War against the various Misls and from 1805 onwards the Lahore-Patiala War, Afghan-Sikh Wars, First Anglo-Afghan War, First Durbar War, Second Durbar War, Third Durbar War and Lahore Durbar Mutiny of 1856.First Afghan-Sikh War (Abdali)

• Gangetic Campaign of the Sikhs
• Rajputana Campaign of the Sikhs
• Third Hill States-Sikh War
• Fourth Hill States-Sikh War
• Second Anglo-Maratha War
• First Misl Unification War
• Second Afghan-Sikh War (Timur Shah)
• Katoch-Sikh War
• Dogra-Sikh War
• Nepal-Sikh War
• Second Misl Unification War
• First Baloch-Sikh War
• Burmese-Sikh War
• Second Baloch-Sikh War
• Third Afghan-Sikh War (Zaman Shah)
• Muslim Rebellion of 1830
• Fourth Afghan-Sikh War (Nalwa)
• Standoff in the Khyber Pass
• Fifth Hill States-Sikh War
• Fifth Afghan-Sikh War (Basawan)
• Maqpon-Sikh War
• Tatar-Sikh War
• Sino-Sikh War
• Panchayati Revolution
• First Anglo-Sikh War
• Second Anglo-Sikh War
• Parakramabahu VIII of Kotte----Shivnabh Parakramabahu VIII of Kotte
• Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri----Sultan Hamid Karun of Misar
• Afonso I of Kongo
• Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Channi64+Pandit Keshav Das etc)

My father died at ninety, a few minuites after he had his last sip of Scotch. My mother followed him eight years later when she was ninety-four. Her last request, made in a feeble, barely audible voice, was 'Viskee'. It was given to her. She threw it up and spoke no more.

Events in Sikh history:

1850-1880

1. First Sikh Dark Ages
2. First Deravaad Ansi Sikhs Gulabdasi Sect Nirankaris Brahmo Samaj in Punjab Sitala Mata Mahants Taksalism
3. First Isaivaad
4. First Nashavaad
5. Revolt of 1857
6. Punjab Education Policy
7. Sikh Jagirs
8. Sikh Trade Routes
9. Second Opium War
10. Kuka Movement
11. Sikh Settlement outside Punjab
12. Punjab Rural Insurrection

1880-1947

1. Singh Sabha Movement (Amritsar, Lahore, Bhasaur)
2. Punjab Canal Colonies
3. Tirah Campaign
4. Arya Samaj in Punjab
5. Christianity in Punjab
6. World War I
7. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
8. Third Anglo-Afghan War
9. Pagdi Sambhal Jatta Movement
10. Non-Cooperation Movement
11. Akali Movement
12. Nankana Sahib Massacre
13. Babbar Akali Movement
14. New Delhi Development Project
15. Civil Disobedience Movement
16. World War II
17. Sikhistan Independence War
18. 1947 Indo-Pakistan War

1947-1997

1. Partition Resettlement Program
2. Punjabi Suba Movement
3. Disbandment of P.E.P.S.U.
4. Green Revolution in Punjab, India
5. Shiromani Akali Dal Split
6. 1962 Sino-Indian War
7. 1965 Indo-Pakistan War
8. 1967 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
9. Naxalite Movement in Punjab, India
10. Batala Conference
11. Anandpur Sahib Resolution
12. The Emergency (India)
13. Save Democracy Protests
14. Sikh-Nirankari Clashes
15. Dharam-Yudh Morcha
16. Operation Blue Star
17. Sikh Mutiny of 1984
18. Assassination of Indira Gandhi
19. 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots
20. Sikh Exodus of 1984
21. Khalistan Liberation War
22. 1992 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
23. Police Rule in Punjab

Second Sikh Dark Ages

1. 1997 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
2. Sikh Exodus of the 21st Century
3. Diasporization of Khalistan
4. Second Nashavaad
5. Second Isaivaad
6. Second Deravaad Akhand Kirtani Jatha Nirankaris Namdharis RSSB Ram Rahim Hinduism
7. Punjabi Music Industry
8. Second Punjab Rural Insurrection
9. 2015 Guru Granth Sahib desecration controversy
10. 2015 Sarbat Khalsa
11. 2020-2021 Indian farmers' protest
12. Amritpal Singh Saga

Jawahar Singh Kapur

Son of Bhai Anna Singh Kapur of Gurjanwala. Ancestors were Granthis in the Darbar Sahib.

After finishing school, he entered service in the accounts department of the North Western Railway in 1876, and making steady progress rose to be the superintendent in the Manager’s office in 1903. In 1882, he attended law classes of the University of the Panjab, but did not continue to complete the course. In 1886, he applied for the position of a Granthi at the Harimandar at Amritsar, but his candidature was rejected owing to his earlier religious affiliations. He has 18 works in 43 publications in 2 languages and 89 library holdings to his credit. The main proponents of the Singh Sabha were educated, energetic men of the middle class including Gurmukh Singh Chandhur, Dit Singh, and Jawahar Singh Kapur. Gurmukh Singh Chandhur (1849-98) was employed as a cook in the palace kitchen of the raja of Kapurthala. He was given a stipend by the raja and after completing his studies became the first professor of Punjabi at the Oriental College (1885). He was the author of many books in Punjabi including a History of India. Dit Singh (18531901) was a Mazhabi of Patiala. He was amongst those most eager to welcome Dayanand and later his most vigorous critic. Jawahar Singh Kapur (1859-1901), a Khatri Sikh, was employed as a clerk in the north¬ western railway.

Jawahar Singh Kapur addressed meetings in Amritsar telling his Sikh audiences that the Arya Samaj had its institutions to teach Sanskrit and the Vedas, the Muslims had made provision for the teaching of the Koran at Aligarh, but the Sikhs had no institution for the study of Gurmukhi and the Grahth. Tribune, August 15, 1890. The two Singh Sabhas joined hands to create the Khalsa College. An Englishman, Dr. S. C. Oman, was appointed principal. The chief justice of the Punjab High Court, W. H. Rattigan, became president of the college establishment committee, which was controlled by the vicepresident, Sir Attar Singh of Bhadaur, and the secretary, Jawahar Singh Kapur.

The Establishment of the Singh Sabha Lahore, in 1879 A.D. The Singh Sabha of Amritsar was emulated by a new organisation, The Lahore Singh Sabha, which held its first meeting on November 2,1879. Its prominent members were Jawahar Singh Kapur, Thakur Singh Sandhanwalia, Prince Bikram Singh of Kapurthala, Professor Gurmukh Singh and Giani Ditt Singh. The Lahore Sabha was even more democratic than the Amritsar Sabha and accepted members of all castes including untouchables.

The Singh Sabha leadership included GianI Dit Singh, Prof. Gurmukh Singh, Kanwar Bikram Singh, and BhaT Jawahar Singh Kapur etc. During this period the Sikh nation had to fight on another front. It was British sponsored Arya Samaj movement, which was imported to the Sikh Homeland in order to push the Sikhs to another front. The Christians and the Arya Samajists carried on plans to convert the Sikhs into Christianity and Hinduism respectively. The awakened Sikh leadership, under the banner of Singh Sabha, thwarted the designs of the Christian missionaries and the British-sponsored Arya Samaj movement and succeed in saving the Sikh religion from disappearing.

Bhai Jawahar Singh Kapoor was the Vice-President of Lahore Singh Sabha.He was Head clerk in Northern Railway.He talked with Professor Gurmukh Singh, and Giani Dit Singh, and they thought in the long run.(ref. P 233 of"Bhai Dit Singh Giani, Jivan,Rachna Te Shakhsiat", by Dr. Karnail Singh Somal).On this page the author has written about the Newspaper"Khalsa Akhbar, dated May 25,1900.This Newspaper confirms that---"Jis Kaum Wich Door Andesh Ate Diragh Vichar Wale Purakh Na Hon, oh Kaum Kade Bhi Apani Unati Nahi Kar Sakdi---

There was an agreement between the British Government and Singh Sabha organizers to constrct Gurdwaras in East-Africa.Owing to this agreement,Prof.Gurmukh Singh visited Kilindini, a place visited by Satguru Hargobind Sahib in 1632.The first Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara Sahib was opened in Kilindini literally within a few weeks of the arrival of the first shipload of indentured labourers in 1898.

The committee founded the Khalsa College and academic programme started in 1894. Jawahar Singh Kapoor and Sunder Singh Majithia were pioneers in the establishment of the Khalsa College. The Sikhs maharajas made their contribution financially. Jawahar Singh Kapoor who was an aryasmajist served as secretary of the Khalsa College Amritsar managing committee for 20 years. Meanwhile, Mohindera College was set up at Patiala by Maharaja Patiala and Randhir College at Kapurthala by the Raja of Kapurthala.

Sir Robert Egerton contributed.

His daughter, Durga Devi and Dr. Sunder Singh Puri's, marriage was the first time a traditional Sikh did an Anand Karaj, before it was only Nirankaris who performed so.

In 1886 he applied to be a Granthi in the Darbar Sahib but was not allowed due to his previous religious affiliations with the Arya Samaj.

When he was younger he was affiliated with a man named Sant Bahadur Singh of the Gulabdasi sect, and later joined the Arya Samaj, and became the President of Arya Samaj Lahore. He was the head of Arya Paropkarini Sabha from 1878-1883. He broke all ties with the Arya Samaj on 25th November 1885, when an Arya Samaji preacher named Pandit Guru Dutt spoke deregetorily about Guru Nanak Dev on the eleventh annual meeting of the Arya Samaj. The base of the Arya Samaj broke up as all Sikhs who supported it left the Arya Samaj and created the Lahore Singh Sabha to fight against the Hindu and Christian crusade against Sikhism. These included Bhai Ditt Singh, Prof. Gurumukh Singh, Kanwar Bikram Singh of Kapurthala and Sir Attar Singh of Bhadaur. Sardar Dharam Singh Garjakhvalia.

He became the Vice-President of the Lahore Singh Sabha, and pressed claims of the Punjabi language in 1882 in front of the Hunter Commission.

The foundation stone for #Khalsa College, a premier education institution for Sikhs, was laid in Amritsar by Sir James Broadwood Lyall. Prof. Gurmukh Singh was instrumental in its establishment. The Khalsa College Establishment Committee was set up in 1890 to build the institution, including Sir Attar Singh, Gurdial Singh Maan of Nabha, Diwan Gurmukh Singh of Patiala, Bhai Kahn Singh, Professor Gurmukh Singh, and Sardar Jawahir Singh. Many individuals and princely states donated to establish the institution.⁠⁠ Maharaja Rajendra Singh of Patiala, Maharaja Hira Singh of Nabha, Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala and Sir Sunder Singh Majithia.

He inaugarated Lansdowne Bridge at Sakkhar in 1889.

He wrote multiple books, two of them very famous- named Ifalds-I-Hind or the Poverty of India and Dharam Vichar which were reviewed well by British newspapers like the Homeland Mail.

The Amritsar Singh Sabha attacked Bhai Jawahar Singh Kapur and Bhai Ditt Singh for being Gulabdasis in the past.

He was also an editor on the Khalsa Akhbar.

Among them were Dit Singh, Jawahir. Singh and Maya Singh. What the Samaj managed to achieve in barely fifteen-months on several fronts including a new ideology, organization and membership, the Amritsar Sabha had failed to attain in six years. Its leadership was mostly made up of men who had no background in anglo-vernacular education and the intricacies of'print culture'.

A monthly journal, Sudhiirak, was also launched by Gurrnukh Singh in 1886. Behind the continuous expansion of the Lahore Sabha in the 1880s stood three men: Jawahir Singh, Giani Dit Singh and Attar Singh of Bhadaur.

But already by 1886 Jawahir Singh was a Secretary of the Lahore Sabha and Dit Singh a speaker on its public platforms. It is possible that the two at the same time maintained contact with the Arya Samaj as well. But it seems more likely that they had left the Samaj by 1886, much before the virulent attack by Pandit Lekh Ram and Lala Guru Datta on Sikhism at the anniversary celebrations of the Lahore Arya Samaj in 1888.

He was apart of the new Punjabi elites

new elites. His biographical details distinctly represent many of the features that I have associated with an evolue class: the high ritual standing of an upper caste; a bureaucratic job, anglo-vernacular education, familarity and use of 'print culture' and an active promotion of new voluntary associations. Bhagat Lak:shman Singh called him 'the most learned Sikh of his time' .55 Born in 1859 at Amritsar to a family of granthis at the Golden Temple, hardly anything is known about his early upbringing, except that as a disciple of a Gulabdasi preacher Jawahir Singh travelled extensively when still very young with his religious preceptor. 56 At the age of seventeen, he joined the accounts department of the Sind-Punjab and Delhi Railway Company at Lahore. Administering railroad offices was to become a life-long vocation and in his later years Jawahir Singh rose to be a superintendant of the North-West Railways. 57

There was nothing in the ten principles of the Samaj, based on monotheism, omnipresence of God and a universal morality preaching love, justice and truth, that in any way conflicted with Sikhism, least of all with its Sanatan strand. While the Samaj was still in its infancy and needing to overcome several obstacles, particularly a growing opposition from the Hindu orthodoxy, Jawahir Singh took up in 1878 the position of Samaj secretary. It is remarkable that he came to occupy this high post when he was only nineteen years of age and continued to serve in it for the next five years.

In answer to a question by Mr. Stokes, a commission member; 'Would [he] exclude men of low caste ?', J awahir Singh answered 'yes'. When further pressed and asked if he would exclude them altogether, the Sabha's nominee, fmding himself cornered, somewhat revised his position and responded: Not altogether. They [the Sabha] would leave it to the Government to decide. By men of low caste I mean men of the lower middle class, and below that I mean the people whose manners and habits might not be suitable. A man of low social status might be able to pass a purely intellectual test, but might not be desirable otherwise; while in a system of patronage you can secure men of almost equal ability and education and also men of influence. 59 Two points merit attention from this brief statement. First, Jawahir Singh and the Sabha were not keen on competition from the lower castes or lower order, for posts in the highest echelons of the colonial administration. In fact they feared the masses.

On hearing this, Jawahir Singh stood up and resolutely informed his audience: 'In case you are interested in knowing the true state of Sikh religion, undertake a visit to the countryside. There you will fmd how Sikh traditions are going amiss. Our first responsibilty ought to be the reform and correction of folk Sikhism.'73

Khalsa National Party
Abbreviation	KNP
Leader	Sundar Singh Majithia (1935–1941) Dasaundha Singh (1941–1946)
Founder	Sundar Singh Majithia and Jogendra Singh
Founded	1935
Dissolved	1946
Merged into	Shiromani Akali Dal
Ideology	Sikhism Indian Independence Abolition of Communal Award
Politics of India Political parties Elections

Khalsa National Party was a political party formed by Sir Sundar Singh Majithia and Sir Jogendra Singh to contest the 1937 Punjab Provincial Assembly election. Unlike the Shiromani Akali Dal which was originally a task force, the Khalsa National Party was the first political representative of the Khalsa Panth, and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. They were a Sikh-centric party though, unlike the Akali Dal, they were far-right and conservative.

History

Sir Sundar Singh Majithia and Sir Jogendra Singh were two aristocratic Sikh hardliners who were more radical than the Shiromani Akali Dal in their faith and commitment to the Sikh community. They were directly supported by Giani Sher Singh and Sardar Bahadur Mehtab Singh of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and direct support from the Chief Khalsa Diwan. They entered a coalition with Sir Sikander Hyat Khan and formed the government in Punjab in the 1937 Punjab Provincial Assembly Election, winning 18 out of 33 seats reserved for Sikhs. During the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee elections of 1938 they teamed with the Central Sikh League but to no avail as the Shiromani Akali Dal had won. The Shiromani Akali Dal had a coalition with the Indian National Congress. They had a very strong line of Sikh politicians, like Joginder Singh Mann, Naunihal Singh Mann, Ujjal Singh, Sodhi Harnam Singh and Uttam Singh Duggal.

They decline occurred after Dasaundha Singh, who did not have a large political standing, was selected to be the next president of the party over Ujjal Singh, an able parliamentarian, as Dasaundha Singh was a Jatt and Ujjal Singh was not.

Organisation and issues

The Central Executive Committee was consisted of not more than 31 members, including president. In each district the office bearers were a president and a secretary and executive committee was consisting of five members which were elected by the district organisations.

The five points creed of the party were

• To work for the realisation of the ideals of Sikhism.
• To work for attainment of Indian Independence.
• To work for abolition of Communal Award
• To work to unite all sections of the Sikh panth.
• To work for raising the social and economic standard of the masses.

1937 election

After the passing of Government of India Act 1935, Provincial Assembly was setup in Punjab containing 175 seats. Khalsa National Party also contested the election and won 13 constituencies. Khalsa National Party along with Hindu Election Board joined the hands with Unionist Party and formed the Government. Under the leadership of Sikandar Hayat Khan Sundar Singh Majithia sworn as minister of Development.

After the death of Sundar Singh Majithia in April 1941 another Party leader Dasaundha Singh added into the cabinet.

Merger

The death of Sundar Singh Majithia considerably weakened the Party. In 1942 after Sikandar-Baldev Pact KNP leader and minister Dasaundha Singh was removed from the cabinet and Baldev Singh joined in the cabinet.

In 1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly election party failed to get even a single seat. After this most of its members joined Shiromani Akali Dal.

References

Singh Sabha Movement

The Amritsar Singh Sabha (Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਭਾ), popularly known as Sanatan Singh Sabha (Punjabi: ਸਨਾਤਨ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਭਾ), was founded in 1873, "It was essentially original and Sanatan ('eternal'). The Sanatan Sikh (a term and formulation coined by Harjot Oberoi) were the traditional Sikhs who were eventually marginalised.

History

Formation and Support

The Amritsar Singh Sabha was supported by Sujan Singh Bedi, the head of the Una Bedis, Sir Khem Singh Bedi, head of the Kallar Bedis, Sodhi Ram Narain Singh, the head of the Anandpur Sodhis, two Takhts- Anandpur Sahib and Patna Sahib, Baba Ujagar Singh Bhalla, head of the Rawalpindi Bhallas, Satguru Hari Singh, head of the Kukas, Akali Giana Singh and Akali Javand Singh, heads of the Nihang order, Mahant Narain Singh, Giani Hazara Singh, Giani Gian Singh, Giani Sardul Singh of the Nirmalas, Raja Thakur Singh Sandhawalia of Raja Sansi, Kanwar Bikram Singh of Faridkot, Kanwar Bikrama Singh of Kapurthala and Avtar Singh Vahiria of Thoha Khalsa.

Despite being named as the Amritsar Singh Sabha, the followers were mainly of West Punjab. They had their first meeting on the 1st of October 1873, although none of them provided structure despite their money and status. The Christian Missionaries had started gaining a footing in Punjab, when four Sikh students converted to the religion in Kapurthala, they had called in their first meeting wherein Udasis, Nirmalas, Granthis and Gianis attended at the Majithia Bunga, near the Akal Takht.

Their main ideology was to purify Sikh conduct in the villages, and they started it through making speeches and establishing Gurudwaras around Punjab. They did produce literature, but in an unorganized and limited manner, the main two being Baba Sumer Singh of Patna, Giani Gian Singh and Avatar Singh Vahiria who wrote the Khalsa Dharam Shastra. Giani Gian Singh was the first author who wrote the Sri Gurupurab Prakash in 1883. Then Raja Bikram Singh of Faridkot commissioned Giani Badan Singh Sekhavan to create an exegesis on the Guru Granth Sahib- known as the Faridkot Tika. The Rawalpindi Singh Sabha, a sister organization, was also created and was very successful.

Conflict with the Lahore Singh Sabha

The Amritsar Singh Sabha had started at the same time as the Arya Samaj Lahore had gained a footing in Punjab. They both had good relations, and many common Sikhs had supported and became the base of the Arya Samaj. Although in 1886, one Pandit Guru Dutt had made deregatory remarks against Guru Nanak, within a year men like Gurmukh Singh, Ditt Singh, Jawahar Singh Kapur and Maya Singh left the Arya Samaj at once and formed the Lahore Singh Sabha, to fight against the Arya Samaj's crusade against Sikhism. Within a year the Lahore Singh Sabha's organization was more impressive than what the former was able to do in six years. They used their Anglo-Vernacular education, print culture and media like newspapers to spread their modernized version of Sikhism. Originally the two sides were on good terms with each other, Sir Khem Singh Bedi was invited for the first session and Raja Thakur Singh Sandhawalia for the second. The Sri Guru Singh Sabha General had the two branches of the Amritsar and Lahore Singh Sabhas.

The schism first occurred when Baba Nihal Singh wrote the Khurshid Khalsa against the Lahore Singh Sabha, and was supported by all scholars of the Amritsar Singh Sabha. To start their 'cold war', the Lahore Singh Sabha created the Khalsa Diwan, Lahore and the Amritsar Singh Sabha created the Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar. The British were Machiavellian in their tactics and did not openly support either side, although tilted towards the Amritsar Singh Sabha during its begginging- with the Viceroy, Lord Dufferin, attending a meeting in April 1885. The Amritsar Singh Sabha and Lahore Singh Sabha continued their academic battles, fighting each other in their books and media. Bhai Harsha Singh of the Amritsar Singh Sabha started the newspaper Vidyarak to combat against the Khalsa Akhbar and Khalsa Gazette. The Lieutenant Governor of Punjab and Raja Bikram Singh of Faridkot were the two main patrons for the Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar.

The Amritsar Singh Sabha was also a movement for the Khatri elite of West Punjab, the religion that was followed by the elites of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Whereas the Lahore Singh Sabha was a movement for the middle class, the socially downtrodden Mazhabis and the hardy Jatt stock of Sikhs. The leaders of the Amritsar Singh Sabha was composed of the old elites, whereas the Lahore Singh Sabha were the new elites. The final straw of the Amritsar Singh Sabha was the division created in the Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar- they separated the Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar into two parts- Mahan Khand for the aristocracy and Saman Khand for the common people. Sir Khem Singh Bedi led the former and Bhai Man Singh, manager of the Darbar Sahib, led the former.

Decline

Through constant academic bombardment and lack of modernization, since they stuck to novels and traditional methods like poetry, Dhadi Vaars, Granths etc, whereas they could not create printing presses and newspapers fast enough despite their status. The Khalsa College started by the Lahore Singh Sabha had also influenced the youth more than any other dynamic, the Amritsar Singh Sabha could not create a Sikh institution as grand as the Lahore Singh Sabha was able to. The Amritsar Singh Sabha was also not able to provide monetary funds as they did not wish to spend too much resources, whereas Sir Attar Singh of Bhadaur had spent almost all his monetary funds to provide for the Lahore Singh Sabha.

Slowly the Amritsar Singh Sabha's academic presence declined to only three Singh Sabhas (Amritsar, Rawalpindi and Faridkot) and the Sikh elite was quick to adopt the ideology of the Lahore Singh Sabha, which had also branched into many Sabhas, around 117 of them in different villages, districts and cities in North India- although some were made all the way in Burma, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Beliefs

They believed that marriage ceremonies in Sikhism never had a direct form of conduct, and it could vary from family to family, culture to culture. They did not believe that Sikhism and Hinduism were the same religion, contrary to popular belief, but they differentiated between the two- so much that Sir Khem Singh Bedi in his Sanskar Bagh Rehatnama banned wearing the colour Saffron for Sikhs. They believed in spirits, witchcraft, casteism, the ability of dead saints to work miracles, good and bad omens, pilgrimage and many other theories which were criticized by Sikhs, saying that the Sabha was more of a magic show. They also believed that a Sikh may find solace in the Muslim Pir- Sakhi Sarwar or the Hindu Gugga Pir.

The Amritsar Singh Sabha was a more strict form of Sikhism, although they focused on traditional styles of preaching (speech, books, poetic meter, Dhadhis), traditional Indic terminology and traditional mindsets of the Khalsa. Neither side was political, although it was suspected that the Amritsar Singh Sabha was planning to resurrect Sikh rule in Punjab from the British, although possibly not as their leaders all accepted servitude, and Khem Singh Bedi even fought for the British against Ahmad Khan Kharral in the Revolt of 1857 and the rulers of Faridkot, Raja Sansi and Kapurthala had accepted the British.

They, although, were for the electrification of the Darbar Sahib and viewed it as a boon while the Lahore Singh Sabha argued that no mosque or church in the West, not even Westminster Abbey, had been electrified at that time and that it would have been a show of extravagance rather than the humility that the Gurus preached.

First Khalistan Liberation War

First Khalistan Liberation War
Part of Partition of India
Location Punjab, Delhi, Jammu, Bikaner, North West Frontier Province
Belligerents
Pakistan Bahawalpur State Pataudi State Loharu State Tonk State Khairpur State Feudal Pathan states in the FATA region Supported By Great Britain	India Jammu and Kashmir Mandi State Chamba State Alwar State Various other princely states across India Supported By Great Britain	Shiromani Akali Dal Shiromani Budha Dal Patiala State Kapurthala State Nabha State Faridkot State Jind State Kalsia State Nalagarh State Bilaspur State Bikaner State
Commanders and leaders
Jinnah Feroze Khan Noon Nasir Ahmed Sir Francis Mudie Iftikhar Hussain Khan Evan Meredith Jenkins Bertrand Glancy General Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan V Abbasi	Nehru Sardar Patel Mohan Singh Mohinder Singh Chopra
Units involved
123rd Indian Infantry Brigade 1st Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment 1,900 8th Battalion, 10th Baluch Regiment 2,300 3rd Battalion, 2nd Punjab Regiment 1,400 2nd Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment 1,000 Muslim League National Guard 170,000 Bahawalpur State Forces 1,950 Bahawalpur State Police 3,000 Punjab Police 45,000 Various unorganized Muslim groups, tribes and gangs 6,000,000 Supported By Punjab Boundary Force 50,000 Punjab Frontier Guards 12,000 Punjab Defence Force 3,000	123rd Indian Infantry Brigade 4th Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry 1,800 1st Battalion, 17th Dogra Regiment 1,400 8th Battalion, 6th Rajputana Rifles 1,100 1st Battalion, 18th Royal Garhwal Rifles 900 3rd Battalion, 9th Jat Regiment 1,200 3rd Battalion, 9th Gurkha Rifles 2,600 Punjab Police 30,000 Desh Sevak Sena 10,000 Desh Istri Sena 15,000 National Volunteer Corps 2,000 Students' Home Guards 800 Supported By Punjab Boundary Force 50,000 Punjab Frontier Guards 12,000 Punjab Defence Force 3,000 Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh 66,000 Vishva Hindu Parishad 29,000 Hindu Mahasabha 33,000 Hindu-Sikh Milap Dal 200 Other Hindu tribes, Meos, Gurjars, Jats 30,000	Akal Regiment Akal Sena 300,000 Akal Fauj 220,000 Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Fauzi Guard 950 Nalwa Regiment 1,900 Ajit Fauj 700 Shaheedi Dal 40,000 Sher-I-Punjab Dal 3,000 Dashmesh Sena 1,000 Shiromani Budha Dal 14,000 Tarna Dal 900 Bidhi Chand Dal 3,150 Other Sikh jathas, gangs and mobs 2,085,000 Patiala State Forces 3,000 Patiala State Police 9,000 Paramjit Infantry 1,000 Kapurthala State Police 4,000 Faridkot State Forces 1,000 Faridkot State Police 4,000 Nabha State Forces 500 Nabha State Police 700 Jind State Forces 400 Jind State Police 700 Supported By Ganga Risala 1,700 Bikaner State Police 7,000
Strength
Total (including supporting groups): 6,291,550 Total (not including supporting groups): 6,226,550	Total (including supporting groups): 290,000 Total (not including supporting groups): 66,800	Total (including supporting groups): 2,702,900 Total (not including supporting groups): 2,694,200

Rajdev Singh

Rajdev Singh
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 1989-1991
Preceded by	Balwant Singh Ramoowalia
Succeeded by	Gurcharan Singh Dadhahoor
Constituency	Sangrur, Punjab
Personal details
Born	(1951-10-11) 11 October 1951 Patiala, Punjab , India
Political party	Shiromani Akali Dal (Master Tara Singh) till 1978 United Shiromani Akali Dal in 1989 Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) till 2015 Rashtriya Sikh Sangat Aam Aadmi Party (2016-2018) Shiromani Akali Dal (Taksali) (11.01.2019-30.04.2019) Bhartiya Lok Sewa Dal (30.04.2019)

Rajdev Singh is an Indian politician and belonged to Shiromani Akali Dal (Taksali).He was elected to the Lok Sabha, lower house of the Parliament of India from Sangrur in Punjab on the ticket of Shiromani Akali Dal (Simranjit Singh Mann) He is known to be the most, or one of the most, skilled politicians in Punjab- going to no lengths to fulfill his aspirations for Sikhism and Punjab.

Early life

He was born in Dhanaula, Barnala, in the erstwhile Patiala and East Punjab States Union, a 'B state' ruled by monarchy of the great lineage of Patiala; at that time Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of Patiala. He was hand picked by Master Tara Singh and was educated alongside being taught politics by veteran Akali leaders. He then, at a young age, was selected by Sant Fateh Singh to head the Sikh Student Federation’s Punjab Division, which he did from 1968-1970, though he did not leave Master Tara Singh's ideology or person.

Political career

From 1970-1978 he worked with the Shiromani Akali Dal alongside old Akali names like Parkash Singh Badal, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Surjit Singh Barnala and others. He started his legal training during this time and after the Sikh-Nirankari clashes he left the party, and joined a less party-based politics, involving social measures to curtail political favor.

He joined Sikh fundamentalist Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's camp and gained his favor. He was present with Bhindranwale and his small army of Sikh guards during the day of Operation Blue Star, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale reportedly told him to leave and help young Sikhs to have legal aid, and help his father Joginder Singh Bhindranwale. After Operation Blue Star he spent time as a lawyer.

Rajdev Singh contested the 1989 parliamentary elections from Sangrur as a candidate of the United Akali Dal, the party headed by Baba Joginder Singh Bhindranwale, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's father. He won and took oath as an MP along with some others elected from his party. During Panthic politics' largest win in elections since the dawn of electoral politics in India, he was the de-facto leader of it as Simranjit Singh Mann refused to join the Parliament.

After a period of political seclusion following Baba Joginder Singh’s death in 1993, Rajdev Singh reentered the political arena in 2012 by joining the party of Sukhdev Singh Dhinsa, the Shiromani Akali Dal. Though the party did not last long. He then had a brief encounter with the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat. Rajdev Singh gave them three conditions for him to join-

1. The Rashtriya Sikh Sangat should acknowledge that Sikhs are not Hindus, but have a separate identity.
2. Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale and others, who had laid their life for the Sikh cause, were “martyrs”.
3. They would work towards giving a special status to the Sikhs under the constitution.

They agreed and Rajdev Singh was put in charge of the organization in Malwa. After the Beadbi incidents of 2015, he realized that the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat would not fulfill his promises and hence he parted ways with them.

He went on to give his support to the Aam Aadmi Party candidate Harvinder Singh Phoolka, a close friend of his, who he believed would give justice to the Anti-Sikh riot victims if he became the Chief Minister of Punjab. He was not elected and later left the Aam Aadmi Party.

In January 2019, Khalsa joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (Taksali) — a breakaway faction of the Shiromani Akali Dal — formed by old Akali leaders Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Rattan Singh Ajnala and Sewa Singh Sekhwan. Khalsa was declared the candidate from Sangrur for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but he did not contest due to an injury. He later left and joined the Bhartiya Lok Sewa Dal

In December 2021, he was again in the news after joining the BJP with Fateh Singh Bajwa, a former Congressman. “I left the BJP almost as soon as I joined because again I was promised that the party would make the three announcements that the RSS promised me. But, I was let down again. So I left,” he said.

In June 2022, ahead of the Sangrur parliamentary by-election, Khalsa supported his bete noire, Simranjeet Singh Mann. The two had joined hands after 32 years, though he left the party shortly after, giving his legal aide to a younger Panthic leader who had been caught in the middle of a political storm, Amritpal Singh. Amritpal Singh's statements created a storm in Punjab which would only lead to him being detained under the NSA laws, after a month-long manhunt by police across North India. His youthful machismo and fiery speeches made young Sikhs reminisce about Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, leading to greater popularity. Once deciding to contest in the elections a year later, Tarsem Singh, his father, and Rajdev Singh were able to put their calm and experienced demeanors to work and calm the fiery, rebelious image of Amritpal Singh. In the entire Punjab state Amritpal Singh had won by the highest margin of 1,97120 votes.

External links

• Profile on Lok Sabha website

.

Second Khalistan Liberation War

Indian Army

• BSF Border Security Force 175,000 (158 battalions. Half patrolling against kharkus)
• Punjab Police 70,000
• Police from other states sent to help 75,000
• Special Police Officers 40,000
• Intelligence Personnel 5,000 
• Home Guards 25,000
• CRPF Central Reserve Police Force 150,000 (134 battalions) 
• ITBP Indo Tibetan Border Police 30,000 
• CISF Central Industrial Security Force 90,000
• NSG National Security Guard 6,500 
• SSG Special Security Guard 10,000
• IRF Indian Reserve Force 16,500 (15 battalions)
• Assam Rifles 35,000 (31 battalions)
• Rashtriya Rifles 40,000 (36 battalions)
• Border Security Force Cats 5,000
• Fauj-E-Alam Mujahideen 3,000
• Shiv Sena (Jalota) 700
• Shiv Sena (Tangri) 550
• Hindu Suraksha Samiti 300
• Tarna Dal 1,200
• Virk Sena 200
• Vaidya Commando Force 900
• Indian Lions 90-150
• Indian National Army 100
• Zabar te Firkaprasti Virodhi Front 80
• Brigade of Red Guards 3,500
• Brigade of Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha 2,000

Total 790,380

Royal Army of Khalistan

• Babbar Khalsa 1,200
• Bhindranwala Tiger Force of Khalistan 500
• Khalistan Commando Force 750
• Khalistan Liberation Army 300
• Khalistan Liberation Force 850
• Dashmesh Regiment 200
• Unorganized 1,000

Total 4,800

Ukaloserie () is the European interpretation and imitation of Punjabi artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, architecture and music. The aesthetic of Ukaloserie has been expressed in different manners; sometimes relating it to the broader Indo-Persian style.

As a style, Ukaloserie is related to the Indo-Saracenic style. Both styles are characterized by exuberant decoration, symmetry, and stylized nature and subject matter that focuses on leisure and pleasure. Ukaloserie focuses on subjects that were thought by Europeans to be typical of Sikh or Punjabi culture.

People

• Bhai Ram Singh
• Rudyard Kipling
• Sobha Singh Naqqashi
• G.S. Sohan Singh

Architecture

• Lahore Museum
• Khalsa College
• Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara
• Royal Pavilion
• Aitchison College

Interior Design

• Indian Passage, Bagshot Park
• Durbar Room, Osbourne House

Painting

• Post-Sukerchakia Art

Cuisine and Utensils

• Balti Chicken
• Baata

Fashion

• Ukali Fashion
• King George in a Sikh turban
• Le Roi de Lahore

Lady Sobha Singh born Varyam Kaur, daughter of Sardar Harbel Singh, rais, of Jaranwala, factory owner, The Khalsa Factory, cotton spinning, 1905.

Sir Sobha Singh, deputy president of associated chambers of commerce, Calcutta, Director, Reserve Bank of India, Director of Delhi Cloth and General Mills, Trustee, Delhi Improvement Trust

Member Central Legislative Assembly (1938) Member of Council of States (1939). Member , Delhi Municipal Committee , 1915-1936 ; Vice - President , New Delhi Municipal Committee since 1930 and Pre- sident , 1938. Honorary Magistrate since 1916 . Elected Chairman , Punjab Chamber of Com- merce , 1939.

Sobha Singh bought a cotton mill near Sabzi Mandi, originally named Jumna Mills, they changed it to Khalsa Cotton Spinning and Weaving Mills. Though they did not have any experience owning a mill, and they did not have enough liquid cash to repair the old machinery. The mill swallowed up the money retained during their contracting business, which brought them to the verge of bankruptcy, though in 1919 a fire swallowed the mill which gave them insurance money. This ended the family's connection with Old Delhi.

Daljit Singh born October 10, 1922 director united press of india elected on Congress ticket ; devotes to social wel- fare and visual education ; took prominent part in 1942 Quit India Movement ; or- ganised National Volunteer Corps in Delhi after parti- tion to help and rehabilitate refugees ; organised and built up Tonga- Rehra Union Delhi with a membership of 10,000 ; courted arrest in Union's agita- tion for de - rationing gram ; takes active part in St. John Ambulance activities and is Corps Superintendent New Delhi Division.

They moved from Khalsa Mills to an area known as Rasina, which would become New Delhi. They lived in a large shack on Old Mill Road which would later be named Rafi Marg. After Rafi Marg they moved to Jantar Mantar Road. He then sold the house to the Maharaja of Travancore and bought a larger house in the intersection between Janpath and Albuquerque Road.

Sir Sobha Singh had no favorites among his four sons, though according to Khushwant Singh he was close to being one, but he had disappointed his father by not having the conventional success he hoped for. Khushwant Singh noted that Sir Sobha Singh favored his daughter Mohindar Kaur more, stating that he gave her an 'unencumbered estate bigger than the portions he gave his sons."

Khushwant Singh's oldest brother Bhagwant and youngest brother Daljit dragged each other to court in a bitter struggle over the division of property. Their father and uncle tried resolving it though there was no success.

Famed freedom fighter, farm leader and Kisan leader Acharya N.G. Ranga referred to Sir Sobha Singh as the 'Prince of Contractors' in Parliament, it became a popular term for him. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar had defended him in Parliament on multiple occassions.

Sir Sobha Singh Dharamshala.

Construction of Nagpur

During the First World War , my grandfather got many young men recruited in the army . The British rulers , in gratitude , allotted all those lands to him as a jageer The lands were criss - crossed by irrigation canals . They yielded golden harvests . With that money my grandfather set up many factories . All the dishonest sons and crooks of our relatives were given jobs in these factories . My grandfather had just two sons , my father Sardar Sobha Singh and my uncle Sardar Ujjal Singh who later became Governor of Punjab . " Once I wrote somewhere that my grandfather and great grandfather used to lend money to the needy peasants and charged them heavy interest . They were very annoyed with me . My father took the opportunity to tell me how they lived before my grandfather got those lands . They were in wholesale business , he said . They used to load their camels with salt from Kheeora mines and bring it all the way to Amritsar . From Amritsar they bought oil , tea , matchboxes , candles , cloth and other things useful for any household . These loads they took back to our village and the surrounding villages , and sold them there . Afterwards came the lands and factories and they stopped travelling with their merchandise . " I was hardly a year old when my grandfather came to Delhi . My father and uncle followed soon after . I was left alone , with my grandmother .

Battle of Bomdi-La

Battle of Rezangla

Governor Ujjal Singh (27 December 1895 – 15 February 1983) was an Indian politician who was a participant in the First Round Table Conference, opened officially by King George V on 12 November 1930. Ujjal Singh served as the Finance Minister of Punjab, Governor of Punjab, followed by acting Governor of Tamil Nadu . Prior to this he was one of Pre-Partition Punjab's largest landowners, owning thousands of acres in Hadali, Jaranwala, Mian Channu, Lyallpur, Montgomery, Sargodha and other areas. He was also a large businessman and mill-owner.

Early life and family

He was the younger of the two sons of Sardar Bahadur Sujan Singh and Lakshmi Devi, Sujan Singh was a famous agriculturalist in Punjab. Ujjal Singh was born on 27 December 1895 in Hadali belonging to the Shahpur district. His primary education came from Dharmshalas and Madrasas, although he passed his middle examination in Khalsa High School, Amritsar. He then joined the Central Model School, Lahore. He pursued his Master's Degree in History from Government College, Lahore in the year 1916. He excelled in Hockey and was the captain of, possibly, the best Hockey team in India, the team of the Government College, Lahore. His elder brother was Sir Sobha Singh, the main contractor during the construction of New Delhi.

He was first introduced to politics, specifically Sikh politics, by his cousin Sardar Bahadur Mehtab Singh.

He was married twice, his first wife bore him a son, Narinder Singh but passed during child birth. His son Narinder Singh also passed away early in 1950, so he had to raise his granddaughter as well. Later he married Santsev Kaur, daughter of builder Sunder Singh Dhupia and granddaughter of famous poet-philosopher and 'Father of Modern Punjabi Literature' Bhai Vir Singh. She bore him two twin daughters.

Pre-Partition

Business Career

After the passing of his father Sujan Singh, the business in Delhi was taken over by his brother Sir Sobha Singh and the mass of land in West Punjab was given to Ujjal Singh. He lived in his house in Mian Channu known currently as Haveli Ujjal Singh near a railway station named after his father, known as Kot Sujan Singh.

He was given a large agricultural block from Montgomery to Khanewal, Sargodha, Hadali and Jaranwala by his father. Then three factories in Mian Channu, Sargodha and Jaranwala known as Inder Cotton Factory, named after his grandfather Inder Singh. Sobha Singh's father in-law's name was Harbel Singh, Rais, Jaranwala who owned two factories in Jaranwala and Bhalwal. Those properties were shared between Ujjal Singh, Sobha Singh and Harbel Singh; till his passing when the properties were given to Ujjal Singh. These included factories in Jaranwala and Bhalwal known as the Khalsa Cotton Factory and New Khalsa Cotton Factory respectively.

For the agricultural land, he introduced steam tackles and bought many tractors for agricultural operations. He also grew citrus fruit, mainly jackfruit and oranges.

Ujjal Singh could not join politics for a long time despite being a good politician as the politics of Punjab at the time was Jatt-oriented, and he was not a Jatt.

Sikh Politics

At the young age of 22, in 1917 Ujjal Singh had participated as a representative of Sikhs during the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. He was deeply affected by the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy, and only wore khadi (handspun cloth) afterwards. He was later sent in a deputation to London on behalf of the Sikh community. His first election was the 1926 Punjab Legislative Council election, wherein he won, unopposed under the Central Sikh League from the Urban Sikh category. He once again won from the same category in the 1936 Council election.

Ujjal Singh first joined the Chief Khalsa Diwan of Sir Sundar Singh Majithia in 1919.

He also served as the secretary of the Khalsa National Party, which was founded by Sir Sundar Singh Majithia and Sir Jogendra Singh in 1935, he became a representative of the Urban Sikh populace in the Western Towns after contesting in the 1937 Punjab Provincial Assembly Election. After the death of Sir Sunder Singh Majithia, there was inter-party controversy as to who would lead the party, the main two contenders were Dasaundha Singh, who did not have much political standing, and Ujjal Singh who was a good parliamentarian. Dasaundha Singh was chosen, as he was of a rural Jatt background; and Ujjal Singh resigned to join the Shiromani Akali Dal. He worked in Sikh political and religious affairs and became a member of the first Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

His actions were well received by the Sikh spheres- by the time he became famous his cousin Mehtab Singh became the President of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Deputy President of Punjab Legislative Council. From 1929-1930 he served as a secretary of the Punjab Reforms Committee.

He served as Parliamentary Secretary (Home) in the Unionist Government in undivided Punjab (1936-1941) under Sikander Hayat Khan- but resigned after differences. He was, later, part of an Indian delegation to the Food and Agriculture Organization held in Quebec. He was nominated as the Urban Sikh representative to the 1st and 2nd Round Table Conferences held in London. He resigned in protest to the British not freeing Akali prisoners during the Gurdwara Reform Movement. Later he refused to attend the 3rd Round Table Conference in protest to the Communal Award and the British not taking the Sikh stance into consideration.

He was then a part of the Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru Committee in 1944. From 1946 onwards he joined the Indian National Congress and became a member of the Finance Commission.

Partition of India

During March, 1947 when violence erupted in Pothohar, he visited Panja Sahib and Rawalpindi to help the people living over there, and he gave shelter and supplies to Hindus and Sikhs. Independence of Sikhistan was declared on 9 March in Maharaja Dalip Singh Nagar, Lahore by Ujjal Singh himself along with other notable Sikhs like Master Tara Singh and Giani Kartar Singh Jhabbar. He was a part of the Sikh Council of Action set up with Dictator Niranjan Singh Gill of the Azad Hind Fauj. He was then elected into the Defense Committee to protect Hindus and Sikhs from Islamic aggression. He then visited Rawalpindi and Panja Sahib to help Hindus and Sikhs who fell prey to riots in West Punjab. He along with Jawaharlal Nehru arrived and secured the protection of refugees in Punjab.

In the first week of September, he once again visited Lahore with Jawaharlal Nehru from Delhi and set up refugee camps in the towns. During this time he had received information that in Inder Cotton Factory, Mian Chanu, 5,000 Hindus and Sikhs had collected fearing an attack. He himself, with great personal risk, arrived with lorries provided by the Indian Army to rescue all the Hindus and Sikhs in the area.

He had later donated thousands for the resettlement of refugees, he himself being one as he had no property in India and was homeless. He abandoned thousands of acres of land, factories and urban property and came to India as a homeless refugee. He stayed with his brother Sir Sobha Singh and then bought a house in Mashobra, Himachal Pradesh.

Post-Partition

National Politics

He became a member of the Central Advisory Board of Education of India and also of All India Council of Technical Education which he continued to serve until 1949. He was also part of the Constituent Assembly on behalf of the Punjab Assembly. Ujjal Singh argued in favour of the adoption of the Objective Resolution which laid down the founding principles of the Constitution.

He served as Minister of Industries and Civil Supplies, and again as Finance and Industries Minister between 1949 and 1956. He was a member of the Second Finance Commission established by the Government of India from June 1956 to September 1957. He was also Director of India Central Cotton Committee and Textile Board, Bombay, President of the Northern India Chamber of Commerce and Director of many concerns including the Life Insurance Corporation, Industrial Cables Ltd., Hindustan Housing Factory and National Coal Development Corporation. He taught farmers in the lower Bari Doab region, which was considered uncultivatable how to use mechanized farming (which he used since 1928) to make sure it was cultivatable for wheat and sugarcane. He was also the Director and Chairman of the Punjab & Sind Bank from 1947 to 1960.

He formed the Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan in memory of Bhai Vir Singh, he was a member of the Khalsa College organizing committee, a Fellow of the Panjab University and member of the Delhi University Court. As a member of the Punjabi University Commission (1960), he was instrumental in setting up of Punjabi University, Patiala. He was the founder of Guru Nanak Public School, Chandigarh, where he served as Founder President. He made significant contribution in setting up Guru Gobind Singh and Guru Nanak Foundations to celebrate the 300th and 500th birth anniversaries respectively of the great Gurus.

According to his nephew Khushwant Singh, Ujjal Singh wanted to retire from politics and regain his Pre-Partition fortune in India (he had already bought an orchard in Panipat) but the Central Government needed a Khalsa Sikh face to counter the Akali Dal's Punjabi Suba Morcha. Despite being a proponent of Punjabi, he accepted the offer and served as Governor of Punjab from 1 September 1965 to 27 June 1966, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and the Punjabi Suba Movement. He supported the movement and was a key reason for it not drowning in blood and being kept peaceful. During the Indo-Pakistan War, he visited sites and raised the morale of the people, he made a clarion call on the All India Radio on the 6th and 11th September which was greatly appreciated by the people.

He was the Governor of Tamil Nadu from 28 June 1966 to 25 May 1971.

Death

Ujjal Singh died at his New Delhi residence on 15 February 1983. Offices, corporations, boards and educational institutions of the Punjab Government were closed as a mark of respect. The Punjab Vidhan Sabha observed a 2 minute silence at the start of its budget session. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Council adjourned half-an-hour at Madras as a mark of respect to his memory.

Major General Mohindar Singh Chopra
Born	12, January, 1908 Amritsar, Punjab, British India
Died	1990 New Delhi, India
Allegiance	British India India
Service/branch	British Indian Army Indian Army
Years of service	1928–1956
Rank	Major General
Unit	Frontier Force Regiment ("Piffers") Royal Fusiliers 7th Rajput Regiment Persia and Iraq Command Fourteenth Army Jullundur Brigade 5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) Assam Regiment 20th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	Afghan Civil War (1928-1929) Burma Campaign Anglo-Iraqi War North African Campaign Partition of India Korean War
Relations	Pushpinder Singh Chopra (son)
Other work	Ambassador of India to Philippines Ambassador of India to Taiwan Director of National Institute of Sports, Patiala

Major General Mohindar Singh Chopra (1907–1990) was an Indian Army General Officer who was known for being in charge of stopping the Partition Riots in both corners of India; Punjab and Bengal. He stopped riots and genocides from taking place through military force.

As the Brigadier he was responsible for a voluntary flow of migration. He had managed to do a referendum in Sylhet, East Pakistan and stopped riots in Amritsar-Lahore along with the rest of Punjab after the Partition of the British Indian Army. His main achievement was the rehabilitation of the partition's refugees and making sure that the Indian Army remained a controlled and orderly force during the times of violent communalism across India. After retirement from the Indian Army he became India's Ambassador to the Philippines. Later, he became Director, National Institute of Sports, Patiala.

Early life

Mohindar Singh Chopra was born to a urban Sikh background in Amritsar, Punjab, British India, he studied at the Khalsa College, Amritsar and at an early age was selected for military training as an 'A' listed recruit in the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College, Dehra Dun.

Early Military career

Training and Sports

He qualified for the Army Commission from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1928. He had joined his first Regiment, the Royal Fusiliers of the British Indian Army, on a year's attachment in 1928. Various professional courses were attended but Mohindar Singh Chopra excelled in army physical training (being a Sandhurst Blue for Athletics) and he was sent for advanced courses to Army School Physical Training, Aldershot in 1938, which included visits to Denmark, Sweden and Germany just before the Second World War broke out.

Afghan Civil War

He was part of one of the first batches of King’s Commissioned Indian Officers of the Indian Army. His army career progressed steadily, he saw action on the North West Frontier Province with the 1st Battalion, 7th Rajput Regiment at Bannu after which he was posted to his permanent regiment, the 6th Royal Bn, 13th Frontier Force Rifles (Scinde) as part of the elite "Piffer Group", the legendry "Black Puttees" as they were known. They helped to keep the peace on the turbulent North West Frontiers, with their wild and warlike Pathan tribesmen during the course of the Afghan Civil War from 1928 to 1929.

Mohindar Singh Chopra was then transferred to the 1st Rajput's and later became the first Indian to join the 6th Royal Battalion of the 13th Frontier Force Rifles at Hangu in 1932.

Second World War

Anglo-Iraqi War

After graduating from Staff College, Quetta in 1941 he was sent to the frontlines. He was a part of the British Indian Army Head Command to secure the area from Iraqi rebels, especially the rebel infested region around the Euphrates. The region fell under the indirect occupation of the British Raj at the time hence he administrated and sent communications from Iraq to India under the Persia and Iraq Command (PAI Force).

Burma Campaign

This phase was short, since he was sent to the Burma front which had the worst fighting between Great Britain and Japan. Mohindar Singh Chopra served with the Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom) on the Assam-Burma front, also known as the Forgotten Army. He was a company commander of a war he raised battalion of the 13 Frontier Force Rifles, operating deep behind Japanese lines during the second phase of the Burma Campaign. He had beaten back the Japanese forces in the Arakan Jungles and was promoted to Lt Colonel by the British Indian Army for his service. His role was also to fight against the Indian National Army, under the Indian Independence League of Subhas Chandra Bose since they were working with the Japanese and trying to get Indians to revolt across the country, though they were militarily unsuccessful.

Towards the End of the War

He was then sent to North Africa in 1944, although he did not see any military service in the region. He was later rewarded for his services in the British Indian Army by being promoted to Lt. Colonel and becoming the first Indian Commanding Officer of the 1st Assam Regiment in Shillong. He also became Commandant of Army School of Physical Training (1944-1945) and Inspector of Physical Training (1946-1947).

Partition of India

He had the most important responsibility during the Partition of India, to not only defend hundreds of miles of turbulent frontier, but also of evacuating nearly two million refugees safely during the partition of the subcontinent. The British had promoted him to Brigadier before independence and commander of the 123 Indian Infantry Brigade (1947-1949).

Partition of Bengal

Before Mohindar Singh's entry into Bengal there was no continuity when it came to divisional commanders, hence there were some riots that happened during the time.

In the region of Bengal, there were barely any riots, excepting the Noakhali riots and Direct Action Day, due to the presence of the SYL Force (Sylhet Force) in the area under the overall command of Mohindar Singh Chopra, now a Brigadier. He prevented any riots or armed violence during the Sylhet Referendum despite massive religious tension in the area, as the people were almost equally split between Hindu and Muslim- the former generally wanting to be part of India and the latter Pakistan. The Sylhet Referendum concluded on 6 July 1947 with most of the region joining East Pakistan. He stayed till early September and then left to Delhi where he was given the job to partition the British Indian Army.

During his time in Bengal he had written to Master Tara Singh, Jathedar Mohan Singh Tur and other Akali leaders to keep peace in the area- although they did not listen since there was no army presence.

Partition of the British Indian Army

In Delhi, in September 1947, he had started to chalk out a plan to Partition the British Indian Army into the newly formed Pakistani Army and Indian Army. They settled on the battalions moving from and to India/Pakistan along with the transportation. He also helped Muslims settle in tents in Delhi near Humayun's Tomb and the Red Fort who were all refugees coming in from Uttar Pradesh and mostly East Punjab.

Partition of Punjab

In Punjab around 800,000 Muslims from East Punjab and the rest of India were killed by Sikh jathas while trying to reach the Western side, whereas around 200,000 Hindus and 50,000 Sikhs also died in riots in, mainly, Pothohar. For three months (October–December) Mohindar Singh Chopra commanded the 123 Indian Infantry Brigade to stop the riots going on in Punjab. He took over at the height of violence from a British Officer-Brigadier Solomons, a highly decorated officer. He was the first Indian to take over the post. Brigadier Solomon had under him three battalions while he was given seven more to look after the border and to protect the refugees.

He was able to set up organized militia to keep peace in localities around the border, the Ajit Dal, Punjab Defence Force, Sher-I-Punjab Dal, Amritsar Raksha Dal, Hindu-Sikh Milap Dal, National Volunteer Corps, Ajit Fauj, Dashmesh Sena, Nalwa Dal, Desh Sevak Sena all did their part to protect the citizens no matter which religion; Muslim, Hindu or Sikh. These, although, were not able to combat the overwhelming Sikh jathas who were organized under the Shiromani Akali Dal, Maharajas of Sikh princely states like Patiala, Faridkot, Kapurthala, Nabha, Kalsia and Jind and local armed Sikhs who formed groups and raided Muslim villages and homes.

Amritsar Conflict

In early October 1947 M.S. Chopra along with his troops, was escorting a large Muslim convoy from Beas to Amritsar. Nearing the camping ground at Amritsar hundreds of Amritsar citizens shouting hysterically waving swords and spears. The situation was explosive, he stood on top of a standing bullock cart and shouted the Sikh war-cry, "Jo Bole So Nihal Sat Sri Akal." He stressed that if they killed the lot of Muslims there would be further retaliation and revenge. He told them two wrongs do not make one right and moreover Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had given explicit instructions that those Muslims who did not want to stay in India, should be allowed to go unmolested. The crowd, miraculously, listened and dispersed.

Every protection and facility was given to the Muslims to proceed to Pakistan without any molestation at all. They were escorted by Indian troops up to Attari border. Every Muslim was given protection after his taking over in September 1947. He had under his command over ten battalions numbering over eight thousand soldiers, including six battalions of Gorkhas.

Wagah-Attari Border

He and his counterpart and former associate and friend, Brigadier Nasir Ahmad, had devised a plan to create a joint check post to make sure that the border is created. They both founded the famous Wagah-Attari Border which, at that time, was 3 drums on each side and a line of chalk drawn on the Grand Trunk Road. Visitors can still see a plaque at the bottom of the flagstaff at the check post which bears the words: "Foundation stone of this flag staff was laid by Brig Mohindar Singh Chopra on 11th Oct 1947".

"Gentlemen, this is India's North-West border: the most unnatural ever created."

— Brigadier (later Major General) Mohinder Singh Chopra, 12 November 1947, referring to the Radcliffe Line, 1947: A Soldier's Story

India's First Border Skirmishes

Although, Pakistan, before the 1947 Indo-Pakistan War, also tried to infiltrate East Punjab like they did in Kashmir although he had cleverly foiled their plan by creating check-posts along the border to capture them, there were around fifty Pakistanis who were caught by the Indian Army and sent back to the other side. The first gunshots fired between India to Pakistan was during an incident near the border in the Amritsar district, some journalists were shot at by the Pakistani Army, they were not killed and managed to escape. The Pakistani raiders outnumbered the journalists escort, and hence two platoons from the 2 Bihar under Major Yadhav arrived from Attari and took action and after 4 hours and cleared the pockets occupied by Pakistani troops in Indian territory. It was further disclosed that the raiders belonged to village Thehpur in Pakistan. The East Punjab Police of the Boundary Force chased the raiders and recovered their cattle. The raiders returned with renewed strength. Brigadier Mohindar Singh Chopra took over command of the Police Force, reorganized it, and returned the fire. Lt Col Randhir Singh Grewal was noted to be one of the more competent assistants during the Partition saga.

There was a similar encounter near Qadian on 12 November when Brigadier Mohindar Singh Chopra personally directed operations and recovered improvised anti- personnel land mines and 3 " mortars from the fleeing raiders. With open warfare having broken out in Kashmir the Lahore-Amritsar border was getting restless. On 3 November, large concentrations of Pathans and other tribals at Lahore were reported to be preparing for raiding Amritsar, 3 lorry-loads of Pathans were observed at camping around Wagah, although they were thwarted as reinforcements were placed. During the major chunk of the 1947 Indo-Pakistan War, there was no fighting on the neighboring Punjab front, and he later invited Jawaharlal Nehru for a parade in Gobindgarh Fort, Amritsar to inspire the people that Punjab would be safe, Brigadier Chopra stayed there till October 1949.

During the 1947 Indo-Pakistan War, he moved his Infantry Division to Fazilka to look after that border of the Punjab.

A page from the Manchester Guardian of 'Moslems refugees in a train' from Delhi to Pakistan.

Relief Work

Hundreds of separated women were rescued by the Indian troops from Pakistan in cross-border operations, under his command (other than Sikhs and Dogra troops) who were not permitted to enter Pakistan just as the entire Baloch Regiment was not allowed to come to India, as they had played havoc in Sheikhupura. When the womenfolk were brought back to safety at Amritsar, some parents were in hysterics at the happy reunion, whilst others refused to accept them back as they had lost their virginity. However, many of the Indian 'jawans' in the army volunteered and married these girls. To rescue the womenfolk he dispatched British officers; a few were under his command, to assist in recovery work. They went deep into Pakistan as far as Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Kohat and Peshawar to rescue unfortunate girls.

He formed the Military Evacuee Organisation, Amritsar that came into being on September 1, 1947. He flew with Wing commander Mehar Singh to over-see the caravans of refugees marching from Pakistan to India and drop 'food parcels and cooked chapattis and vegetables in sacks'. He revealed that he sent the belongings of Sir Zaffar Ullah, Pakistani representative at the United Nations from Qadian to Lahore.

Post-Partition

5th Infantry Division

He became the first Indian-origin commandant of the Central ASPT (Ambala-Kasauli). In late 1949 he was promoted to Major General and given the responsibility to resurrect the famous 5th Infantry Division, then scattered along most of North and Eastern India. In 1950 he was given the singular honor of being appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the 5th Royal Gurkhas Rifles (Frontier Force) being then and remaining the senior Piffer in the Sub-Continent. He was the organizer of the Gukha Centenary in 1958, along with Brigadier Harrison. The 5th Division was built up into a formidable fighting force and mobilized twice for the Korea War of 1950–53, wherein he represented the Indian Army, they provided medical service and tried restoring diplomatic ties between the two countries.

1952 Devon Plane Crash

In 1952 the Devon Plane Crash could have wiped out the entire top brass of the Indian Army, although they miraculously survived. Among them were the then GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lt Gen SM Shrinagesh, Maj Gen KS Thimayya, Maj Gen SPP Thorat (later GOC-in-C, Eastern Command), Maj Gen Sardanand Singh, Maj Gen Mohindar Singh Chopra and Brig Ajaib Singh. Shrinagesh, who died in December 1977, wrote, "I gazed out of the cabin window and saw flames coming out of the engine. The plane could explode the moment the fire reached the fuel system." Flt Lt S Biswas was attempting desperately to extinguish the fire when suddenly the plane flipped and plunged down to almost 4,000 feet." In Shrinagesh's own words, "We disembarked from the plane unscathed, apparently in order of precedence, and walked to the nearest village a couple of miles away. We obtained a lift from the village to the main Lucknow road in the only means of conveyance available – a bullock cart!"

20th Indian Division

In 1953 he took over as GOC 20th Infantry Division, the last Division to have troops stationed in Tibet before the Chinese invasion there. Major General Mohindar Singh Chopra retired from the Indian Army in 1955.

Post-Military career

Ambassador Philippines

He became the first Ambassador from India to the Philippines and held the position till 1959. Due to his arrival, for the first time, the Cabinet meeting was held in the Malacañang state dining hall. For a short time he became the Ambassador to Taiwan as well in the 1960s. Around half of all Indians in the Philippines were Sikhs, and most of them shaven.

Director of Sports, Patiala

After a few years of civilian life, from 17 July 1964 to 30 April 1967 he was Director of National Institute of Sports in Patiala.

Later Life

In 1988 he was invited to Manchester where he formed the Jullundur Brigade Association between India (5th Battalion, Sikh Regiment), Pakistan (1st Battalion the Frontier Force Regiment) and Great Britain (1st Battalion, Kings Regiment).

"There is something unique and central in the faiths that the men in arms professed- to have been made incumbent upon men of different religions (Christian, Sikh, Hindu) to have lived, fought and died together."

— Major General Mohinder Singh Chopra about the Jullundur Brigade, Jullundur Brigade Book

Death

Partition Museum, Amritsar.

He passed away in New Delhi at the age of 84.

Legacy

His memoirs were collected and published with explanations by his son, famous aviator Pushpindar Singh Chopra in '1947: A Soldiers' Story' which depicted the military side of the Partition of India.

Some of his relics are currently on public display in the Town Hall Partition Museum, Amritsar.

There is a 'Clock Tower' in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh with an inscription in commemmoration, presented by his family.

On the Wagah-Attari Border, Amritsar the name of Mohindar Singh Chopra along with his Pakistani counterpart Nazir Ahmed are written on their respective flags.

See also

• Sam Manekshaw
• Jagjit Singh Aurora

References

Sardar Bahadur Sujan Singh
Born	Hadali, Khushab, Sargodha, British Raj (now Pakistan)
Died	Mian Channu, British Raj
Monuments	Kot Sujan Singh Sujan Singh Park Sujan Singh Block Others
Nationality	British Indian
Occupation(s)	Contractor, real estate developer, agriculturalist and farmer
Organization(s)	Chief Khalsa Diwan, Inder Cotton Factory
Known for	Agriculture in Punjab and Real Estate in Delhi
Title	Sardar Sahib, Sardar Bahadur
Relatives	Sardar Sohel Singh (grandfather) Sardar Inder Singh (father) Lakshmi Devi (spouse) Sardar Ujjal Singh (son) Sir Sobha Singh (son) Bhagwant Singh (grandson) Khushwant Singh (grandson) Brigadier Gurbux Singh (grandson) Daljit Singh (grandson) Mohinder Kaur (granddaughter)

Sardar Bahadur Sujan Singh was a contractor and agriculturalist in Punjab and Delhi during World War I and a contractor in the 1920s who helped in agricultural development, construction of highways and infrastructure in Punjab along with Delhi.

Early life and family

His father, Inder Singh, was a trader, and his grandfather was one too, and he traced his lineage from Baba Sangat Singh. His grandfather was Sohel Singh (born Pyare Lal Khurana) who used to work at the Khewra Salt Mines near the desert area of Hadali. They both used to have camels which would transport rock salt from the Khewra Mines, along with dates to sell in Lahore and Amritsar. They brought back textiles, kerosine oil, tea, sugar and spices to sell to other villages. His father Inder Singh was very patriotic toward the British Raj. When any ruler was crowned, Khushwant Singh recalled, they distributed sweets to their neighbors in Hadali, and when any ruler died they would do an Akhand Path.

His family Haveli was the largest house in Hadali and on the two sides of the door had a picture of Guru Nanak Dev on one side and Queen Victoria (Malika Victoria) on the other. After the Partition of India, his family Haveli in Hadali was inhabited by a Muslim family from Rohtak, although is now in ruins.

He was married to Lakshmi Devi (also known as Lakshmi Bai) and had two children- Ujjal Singh and Sir Sobha Singh.

Shaida Peer Incident

He is ascribed to an old Pakistani legend, wherein a Sufi Peer, named Shaida Peer was caught in a massive flood in the salt range of Pakistan. He was trapped on the thatched roof of his hut, and by the time he had reached Hadali, where Sujan Singh was staying, he only had a loin cloth around him. Sujan Singh made him clothes, food and built him a hut near the Muslim graveyard. Shaida Peer blessed him, and said, "I will give your two sons the keys to Delhi and Lahore; they will prosper." His two sons were Sir Sobha Singh, the owner of around fifty percent of Lutyens' Delhi and Ujjal Singh, one of Pre-Partition Punjab's largest landholders and Governor of Punjab and Tamil Nadu.

Agricultural Career

In vast tracts of land between Montgomery and Khanewal; Sujan Singh tried to introduce modern techniques of farming like tractors and harvesters. He was a pioneer of exploiting the soils and was the first to use mechanized tools for farming along with oil pressing. The land was crisscrossed with canals and the farmers were very tough, most of them being servicemen or ex-servicemen with Punjabi and Baluchi blood. He also raised a cotton factory, which was named after his father, Inder Cotton Factory in Jaranwala, Mian Channu, Bhalwal and Sargodha, the factory existed till the 1960s. There were two families who were awarded lots of land- these were the families of Sujan Singh and Datar Singh. Both families prospered. For his successful attempts to improve cattle breeding the British Government conferred knighthood on Sir Datar Singh, whereas Sujan Singh was given the title of 'Sardar Sahib'.

Sujan Singh and his son Sobha Singh were present for the Coronation of the King and Queen near Delhi in 1911 as guests due to their work in the field of canal irrigation, development and construction of roads and rail tracks, invited by Malcom Hailey. Sir Sobha Singh and him were given the task to build Delhi as the capital was shifting, as he had bought land there anticipating the shift of the capital.

Real Estate Career

After building the Kalka-Simla railway, he was of the opinion that being a contractor was more lucrative. He contacted Malcom Hailey, who was put in charge of selecting contractors for building New Delhi, and put the names of Sujan Singh and his son Sobha Singh. They were given a house on Rafi Marg, now Old Mill Road along with other Sikh contractors.

Sardar Sujan Singh and his family shifted near Sabzi Mandi in Delhi and worked in the textile industry, in a cotton mill. It was originally called Jumna Mill but then he changed the name to Khalsa Cotton Spinning and Weaving Mills. He left it during the First World War.

World War I

Due to the First World War, the plans for building the city had been postponed. Sujan Singh was asked by the government to help in the war effort- he enlisted 437 soldiers from around Shahpur and gained more land, thousands of acres across the North and South West of Punjab. After the war they reaped the benefits, they were rewarded with large tracts of land between Mian Channu and Khanewal along with Jaranwala which was canal area, which went to Ujjal Singh. The railway station near Khanewal was named after his father called Kot Sujan Singh after persistence by Ujjal Singh, and his Havelis in Mian Channu and Hadali were given to Ujjal Singh too. Whereas Sobha Singh was able to receive plots of land where the India Gate, Vijay Chowk, Rashtrapati Bhavan and other monuments and buildings would be built.

Later Life and Death

He went back to his home in Mian Channu and worked in his fields. He put cotton ginning and spinning mills along with oil pressing in the area. It was noted by Khushwant Singh, his grandson, that in their family they did not mourn death but celebrated it as a release from the world's bondage.

Personal life

Sujan Singh and his son Ujjal Singh wrote a doggerel after Sir Datar Singh was given his grandiose title and Sujan Singh was given a far smaller one- Sardar Sahib. It went-

"Ban Gaya Sir Datar,

Mjhan Chaar Kay,

Moh Layee Sarkar,

Guppan maar maar kay"

(He has become a Sir Datar,

For taking buffaloes out to graze,

He has won over the government,

By sweet talk and hogwash)

— Sujan Singh

He was very traditional in his mindset. When his three grandchildren joined Modern School in Delhi he saw them being taught the Sitar and Esraj- he was disgusted and taunted them by labelling them 'miraasees' (folk singers) and 'ran-mureed' (disciples of lowly women).

He was also religious and took part actively in the Chief Khalsa Diwan of Sir Sundar Singh Majithia. They presented memoranda on behalf of the Sikhs at the time of Minto Morley Reforms.

Despite being rich he was very money-minded and used to argue with vegetable sellers over prices in annas and paisa.

Khushwant Singh (his grandson) noted that Sujan Singh's special word of affection was "bharua" (pimp).

Legacy

Many places are named after Sujan Singh, mainly:

1. Kot Sujan Singh, a railway station in Mian Channu.
2. Sujan Singh Park, a high-end colony in New Delhi.
3. Sujan Singh Block, now Wengers Block, in Connaught Place.

References

Not to be confused with Sobha Singh (painter) or Sobha Singh (Sikh chieftain).

Sardar Bahadur, Sir Sobha Singh CBE
Member of Council of States
Nominated by	Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow
Swatantra Party Chairman, Delhi Unit
Preceded by	Sardar Bahadur Lal Singh
Succeeded by	Dr. Hans Raj Pasricha
Nominated by	Minoo Masani
Personal details
Born	1888 Hadali, Khushab, Sargodha, British Raj (now Pakistan)
Died	18 April 1978 New Delhi, Delhi, India
Nationality	British Indian (1888-1947) Indian (1947-1978)
Political party	Swatantra Party
Relations	Sardar Inder Singh (grandfather) Sardar Sujan Singh (father) Lakshmi Devi (mother) Sardar Ujjal Singh (brother) Lady Sobha Singh (spouse) Sir Teja Singh Malik (brother-in-law) Bhagwant Singh (son) Khushwant Singh (son) Brigadier Gurbux Singh (son) Daljit Singh (son) Mohinder Kaur (daughter) Rukhsana Sultana (relative)
Occupation	Real Estate Developer Contractor Businessman Politician
Known for	Building most of Lutyens' Delhi
Awards	Order of the British Empire Sardar Bahadur Knighthood

Honorary Magistrate, Sardar Bahadur, Sir Sobha Singh CBE (1888 – 18 April 1978) was an Indian civil contractor, prominent builder and real estate developer of the modern day Delhi.

Not only a builder, but he was also a subordinate architect and part of the Council of States laying the foundation of development schemes across cities and running various businesses. He came to be described as "Adhi Dilli ka Malik" (the owner of half of Delhi) as he virtually owned half of Lutyens' Delhi. He played the largest part in early industrial construction in Delhi in the 1920s and 1930s along with being a main participant in the Westernization and modernist collective Indian identity. He was a proficient developer and a Sikh business icon.

He also became the first Indian president of the New Delhi Municipal Council and held the post four times, in 1938, 1942, and 1945-46. Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1938 Birthday Honours, he was subsequently appointed a member of the Council of State He was knighted in the 1944 Birthday Honours. He also built Sujan Singh Park, named after his father, New Delhi's first apartment complex, which only had bungalows till then, in 1945, designed by Walter Sykes George. He became a member of the Central Legislative Assembly, but opposed and desisted from any sort of politics.

Early life and family

Sir Sobha Singh was born in 1888, in the village of Hadali in Khushab, Shahpur District – then part of British India (now Pakistan). He was the elder of the two sons of Sardar Bahadur Sujan Singh and Lakshmi Devi, the younger one being Sardar Bahadur Ujjal Singh, who was a member of Parliament in India along with the governor of Punjab and Tamil Nadu.

He was pulled out of school before giving his final exams, as his father believed that to make money one only needed was addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and how to calculate simple and compound interest, although he wanted to learn English, he could not till much later. He was married at the age of 17 to a 13-year-old girl from a village named Mitha Tiwana neighboring Hadali, her name was Viran Bai, although her name was changed to Varyam Kaur- to others she was known as Lady Sobha Singh. His father, Sardar Sujan Singh, constructed many buildings in Sargodha and Multan. He was of a landowning family in the Shahpur District of Punjab.

Early career

Sujan Singh and Sobha Singh were called to the Central Public Works Department and had been asked them to arrive and start plans for the construction of the New Delhi. He had started with developing the roads of Delhi, including Alipur Road. Sobha Singh and his father were present for the Coronation of the King and Queen near Delhi in 1911 as guests due to their work in the field of canal irrigation, development and construction of roads and rail tracks, invited by Malcom Hailey, Baron of Shahpur. Malcom Hailey knew Sujan Singh since a long time, in 1905 they first came in contact in Shahpur while constructing sites in the area.

When coming to Delhi Sujan Singh had given Sobha Singh a dark green Raleigh cycle made in England which he used for the next fifteen years.

Delhi Conspiracy Case

On 23 December 1912, he was an eyewitness to the Delhi Conspiracy Case, when the Viceroy's elephant was bombed, although no one except the umbrella-bearer was killed. Although, when everyone dispersed after seeing the bombing, all the witnesses believed that the English would massacre the local Indians, hence Sujan Singh and Sobha Singh went to Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib and shut the gates of the Gurudwara to make sure the Guru Granth Sahib was safe. Once night fell, they both walked back to their residence in the dark, while Sujan Singh muttered, 'Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru'.

Foundation Stone of Delhi

Sobha Singh's first job was to relocate the foundation stones from where the King and Queen had laid them, in Kingsway. Under cover of darkness (so it would not be taken as a bad omen), he moved them to the new site 11 km away on Raisina Hill. Sobha Singh was accepted as a senior-grade contractor in the Construction of New Delhi. He lived in his fathers house on the Old Mill Road now known as Rafi Marg.

World War I

While Sujan Singh toured Shahpur, Hadali and Mian Channu to recruit soldiers for World War I, Sobha Singh stayed in Delhi and tried his prospects in the textile industry. Due to World War I Sir Sobha Singh, Sardar Sujan Singh and his family shifted near Sabzi Mandi in Delhi and worked in the textile industry, in a cotton mill. It was originally called Jumna Mill but then he changed the name to Khalsa Cotton Spinning and Weaving Mills. The mill was not successful and often had to shut down due to lack of money and they were on the verge of bankruptcy. In 1919 a fire swallowed the mill and turned it to ashes. They were very concerned that the English may lose the war and New Delhi would have never been built, but that did not happen. He then learned English to communicate with the Englishmen during this time.

Income Tax Enquiry Commission

Liaquat Ali Khan (then finance minister of British India) started an income tax enquiry commission against people who supposedly made money during World War I and hadn't paid taxes, he had to spend three years answering to that commission, and was proven innocent in court.

Late career

Construction of Delhi

Sir Malcom Hailey allowed Sobha Singh to buy several extensive sites like the Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, Vijay Chowk and other sites at as little as Rs 2 per square yard, freehold as a reward for their service in the First World War. He hired around 6,000 Bagadi laborers and dozens of supervisors, clerks and accountants with stone imported from Dholpur. The Bagadis were famous for building Mughal monuments like the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb and others. The laborers had very low wages- 80 paisa for men and 60 paisa for women per day. During this time Sujan Singh left for Punjab to help his younger son, Ujjal Singh. He had gone back to Mian Channu when his father fell ill. Sujan Singh had died at 65 of illness in their Haveli at Mian Channu.

He originally lived in Old Mill Road, then shifted to Ajmeri Gate and then shifted to a double-storied house in Jantar Mantar Road, which became a road for wealthy Sikh contractors, currently Kerala House, and bought an Oldsmobile from an English engineer. He bought the land of Connaught Place in 1921 and was given the title of 'Sardar Sahib' in the 1922 birthday celebrations. The official horticulturist imported some exotic trees like the Sausage tree and the African Tulip tree from East Africa to line the streets of Delhi, to make sure that the city remained cool in summer.

Maharaja Jiwajirao Scindia gave him a plot of land in Delhi to build a royal house as an embassy in the capital, but it became too costly for him after it was completed so it was not bought back. Sir Sobha Singh was only able to complete the Janpath side, as the British chief engineer refused to release payments claiming he had to complete the building before. Sobha Singh was forced to take a loan of around 20 lakhs.

The South Block in New Delhi for which Sir Sobha Singh was the sole contractor.

He was a member of the Delhi Municipal Committee, the Improvement Trust which was planning New Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Committee. For the South Block and War Memorial Arch (now India Gate), Sir Sobha was the sole builder. He also worked on some parts of the Viceregal House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) and Vijay Chowk. He constructed many residential and commercial buildings, including the Connaught Place market complex, as well as the Chelmsford Club, A.I.F.A.C.'s Hall, Broadcasting House (All India Radio), the National Museum, Dyal Singh College, T.B. Hospital, Modern School, Deaf and Dumb School, St. Columba's School, Red Cross Buildings and Baroda House. He also owned the first few cinemas (Regal Building and Rivoli) and restaurants in Delhi. Outside Delhi, he built the High Court and Government Medical College at Nagpur and the Pasteur Institute at Kasauli.

He was given many titles, such as Sardar Bahadur, then O.B.E, knighthood and nomination to the Council of States.

"Sobha Singh didn’t have time to worry about politics. He just kept constructing and building and making money.”

— Gurbaksh Singh

Indian Independence Movement

Gurdwara Reform Movement

Sir Sobha Singh's activities were questioned by the British after 1921, after he started helping Sir Sundar Singh Majithia in his extremist demands against the British Raj. William Birdwood had clearly stated that the Sikh prisoners kept in Rasina Hill after the Jaito Morcha and Akali Movement should have been kept in custody. On 16 September 1921, Sir Sobha Singh defied the orders of the British, stating that they were innocent and non-violent, and the Sikhs who were charged with more severe terms (manslaughter, looting, theft) were still kept in Rasina Hill despite the Akali protest. Sir John Maynard agreed with Sir Sobha Singh and the Akalis, and allowed the prisoners to be free. Sir Sobha Singh was also made the honorary secretary of the Chief Khalsa Diwan like his father was.

He wrote a letter congratulating Sir Sunder Singh Majithia and wished his success in the Akali Movement, though Sir Sobha Singh was against Sikhs (or Indians) demanding independence from the British Raj.

Bhagat Singh Issue

According to the official version, in 1929 Sobha Singh came late and just as the session had started in the Parliament and it was a lively discussion about the Indian National Congress' role in British India. He was seated near Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt, and while he was scanning the headlines on a newspaper, they had started firing. So that they would not see him as a threat, Sobha Singh sat down on his chair till the second bomb was thrown. Only after the second bomb did Sir Sobha Singh get up, and when he heard shots he went back and saw Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt being escorted by the policemen. Once they finished, an Anglo-Indian officer surrounded all of them, and recognizing Sobha Singh, an honorary magistrate, they let him leave.

He along with Mahatma Gandhi, Ajaib Singh Kokri, Jawaharlal Nehru and 6 members of the HSRC (Bhagat Singh's party) had all testified, inside or outside the court. Bhagat Singh himself admitted to his actions during their special tribunal, in fact he requested the tribunal to be shot in the manner of a prisoner-of-war which was denied.

Quit India Movement

During his time as an honorary magistrate Mahatma Gandhi had started his protests and Satyagrahas, which Sobha Singh had to quell. For three weeks during the Quit India Movement, he helped cool the heated situation in different areas of Delhi and did not arrest nor baton charge any of the protestors.

Sujan Singh Park

Built in 1945 by Anglo- Indian British architect Walter Skyes George and Sir Sobha Singh as the city's first apartment complex and was part of the Lutyen's plan. The entire complex was raised to house British and American military and civilian officers during World War II to help in the war effort. In the early 1940s, Sobha Singh got the contract from the chief engineer of Delhi, Bahadur Suleman Khan, who himself migrated to Karachi after the Partition of India. It was known as Delhi's "drawing room". For officers that had families larger flats were given and ones without families went to what is now known as the Ambassador Hotel.

Interim Government of India

Govind Ballabh Pant had created a team of people for Evacuee Property transactions after the Partition of India, Dr. Zakir Husain, Sir Sobha Singh and Raghunandan Saran were all in the team to restore Muslim properties in Delhi and give them to the migrant populations, mainly from Sindh and from West Punjab. They were able to restore most of the properties but the population influx had changed the overall demographics, to such an extent that there were not enough houses for the Sikhs and Hindus who arrived. This led to new colonies springing in Delhi, which Sir Sobha Singh objected to, as they were badly planned, cramped, one-laned and many were lying on flood plains.

After-Independence

Bhakra-Nangal Dam Project

Bhakra Nangal Dam was designed by an American, Harvey Slocum and was executed by Sir Sobha Singh. When lack of funding from investors and the government had forced Harvey Slocum to almost abandon the project, Sir Sobha Singh arrived and funded it with his own money, he also helped in engineering parts of the project where it was unfeasible, along with many other engineers. The Bhakra Nangal Dam was built over thirteen years (1949-1963) and Sir Sobha Singh steered the project through rough storms. The tiles that he had bought, if landed in a straight line, would be seven times the length of the Equator, it is the largest multipurpose river valley project in India and was the only dam in Asia which could produce 1500 MW of power- a beacon to India's new economic progress despite the setbacks and newly achieved freedom.

Business in Bhopal

Sir Sobha Singh was heavily invested in Bhopal owning many properties. He worked from a bungalow called Kashiyana Alvi near the Upper Lake and was a close friend of last ruler of Bhopal, Nawab Hamiduallah Khan. Nawab invited him to set up industries in Bhopal State, for which he was given a 36-acre at a lease for 99 years, at Rs 1 near the old railway station. In the property was the Nerbudda Ice Factory and an orchard which he received in the late 1940s, which provided ice to most of India. It was here where his son Khushwant Singh wrote the famous story, Train to Pakistan.

Asian Games

He was a part of the organizing committee for the Asian Games in New Delhi, 1951. The committee was headed by Maharaja Sir Yadavindra Singh.

Air India (Tata Group)

From 1951-1953, his main investments were directed at Air India (Tata Group) in Bombay, he quickly became the main investor at first, then the special director, then vice chairman and finally the chairman by 1952 within a span of two years. He had provided the airline business with the funding that it needed during the time. His business and administrative acumen had allowed for Air India to break through into their 'Golden Age' of service in the late 1950s through the 1970s.

Swatantra Party

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari noted that Sir Sobha Singh was an enthusiast of the Swatantra Party in his letters to Mahatma Gandhi. He was given the position of chairman of the Delhi unit of the Swatantra Party in 1960, taking over from Sardar Bahadur Lal Singh in 1960. The manager (Hans Raj Pasricha) and Sir Sobha Singh did not get along well with each other, as the manager's ideology leaned to leftism, whereas Sir Sobha Singh's to the right. The Pasricha refused to comply with some orders, when the Delhi Swatantra Party Committee had decided that Manmohini Zutshi Sahgal should contest the New Delhi By-Election in 1961 as a Swatantra-supported independent candidate, it had gained major support till the manager and his aides did not comply with any orders and disrupted party meetings and rallies. Manmohini came fourth and the manager was blamed for the loss by Minoo Masani, though the manager could not officially receive the blame, Sir Sobha Singh resigned and the manager became the chairman.

Charity Work

Sardar Bahadur Sir Sobha Singh left a large part of his private estate to a charitable trust, the Sobha Singh Charitable Trust, which maintains homes and hospitals for the terminally ill and aged all over the country, most recently it built, a Dharamsala, within the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital complex, in New Delhi in 2005. He also presided over some institutions funded by it like the Deaf and Dumb School. Among his last grants was one for Bhagat Puran Singh's Pingalwara home for the destitute in Amritsar. He also became the head of the Central Public Works Department in Delhi. He also donated heavily to the Tuberculosis Association of India and became a member of the Executive Committee of the Association from 1966 to 1972. He was a believer in the concept of Dasvandh (donating a tenth of ones earnings to charity).

He worked with the Modern School as well, and was the main contractor along with the President of the Board of Trustees from 1930 to 1977. He was also the architect of the building. Since Sir Sobha Singh did not name anything after himself, an award was named after his wife in the school, the Lady Sobha Singh Trust Award.

Death

Sir Sobha Singh died at the age of 90 in Delhi on 18 April 1978. His son Khushwant Singh noted that he had passed minutes after having his last sip of Scotch Whiskey.

Personal life and family

Sir Sobha Singh used to be very Anglicized as mentioned by his son Khushwant Singh- "he never wore Sherwanis or Chooridars, only two-piece suits, excepting the Tehmat he wore before sleeping." He was very hospitable, Sapru, Jayakar, Gandhi, Jinnah and C. Rajagopalachari all became very close to him and stayed at his house 'Vaikunth' in Delhi, he used to talk about politics with Mahatma Gandhi in Birla House. Due to his hospitality, after one of his parties in Shimla, a captain offered a lucrative contract to supply provisions to the British Indian Army.

He had four sons and a daughter:

1. Bhagwant Singh: Was heavilly involved in Modern School and took care of his father's and his ancestral properties.
2. Daljit Singh: Freedom fighter and MLA from Safdar Jung constituency in 1951.
3. Khushwant Singh: Famous journalist, writer and politician in the Rajya Sabha. He received the Padma Bhushan (which he gave back in protest after Operation Blue Star), and later the Padma Vibhushan.
4. Mohinder Kaur: Married to Jaspal Singh Virk of Jandiala Guru.
5. Brigadier Gurbaksh Singh: Soldier who took part in the 1962 Sino-Indian War.

Unlike him, his sons were not supporters of British rule, his two elder sons when going to buy school uniforms came back with khadi (handspun cloth) as Mahatma Gandhi boycotted British fabrics.

He was a gardener, and grew grapefruit, strawberries and roses. He was very humble, and named no buildings after himself or his children, he named many after his father (Sujan Singh Park near Khan Market, Sujan Singh Block now Wengers Block in Connaught Place and more) and one after his nephew, Narinder Singh, who he raised as his own.

He was a proponent of arts and owned the first theatre in the new city- the Regal Theatre which he originally tried managing himself along with a restaurant named Standard, now Gaylord. He even bought another theatre named Rivoli but neither prospered.

Urban Legends and Sayings

He was a part of what was nicknamed the Panj Pyare of Delhi (named after the Panj Pyare, the first 5 Khalsa Sikhs)- Sir Sobha Singh, Basakha Singh, Ram Singh Kabli, Narain Singh and Dharam Singh Sethi.

"The only man expanding while contracting" was a popular joke at the time about his business.

He came to be described as "Adhi Dilli ka Malik" (the owner of half of Delhi) as he virtually owned a half of Lutyens' Delhi, before or during its construction.

Legacy

Sir Sobha Singh did not name any places after himself, although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had stated that Connaught Place was to be renamed Sobha Singh Place although it did not happen. Instead they named it Indira Chowk and Rajiv Chowk. The Delhi Development Authority also planned to have a park near Sanjay Lake, Delhi named Sir Sobha Singh Park, though that did not happen either.

Post-independence none of the contractors, architects or engineers of New Delhi were honored and no roundabouts, roads or monuments were named after any of them, Khushwant Singh stated, "it appeared like anti-Sikh communal prejudice."

In 2006, India International Centre (IIC) organized the first Sir Sobha Singh Memorial Lectures, in which the inaugural lecture titled, "My father, the builder", was given by his son, writer Khushwant Singh.

External links

• "Sir Sobha Singh (1890-1978)". All About Sikhs.
• Jahagirdar, Archana (13 October 1997). "Khushwant Singh". Outlook.