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Garma
Garam
Hulchal: News & Analysis
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A
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A
Saga of Sacrifice & Struggle
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Sikhism
: The Way Of The Khalsa
Sikhism
is a progressive religion
well ahead of its time, and very much similar to Islam, when it was
founded over 500 years ago. The Sikh religion today has a following
of over 20 million people worldwide. Sikhism preaches a message of
devotion and remembrance of God at all times, truthful living,
equality of mankind and denounces superstitions and blind rituals.
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The Greater Holocaust
Ahmad
Shah Abdali during his fifth invasion defeated Marathas in the
battle of Panipat on the 13th January, 1761 A.D., and plundered
Delhi at will. He started back on 22nd March, 1761 A.D., with his
booty and thousands of young men and women (app. 22,000 to be
precise) as his captives.
When he crossed river Sutlej in April 1761 A.D., the Singhs started
looting him and setting the prisoners free and sending them back to
their homes. After reaching Lahore, Abdali sent army to arrest the
Singhs but there was no success.
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Maharaja
Ranjit
Singh
Who
Ruled
His
People's
Hearts
The
guide
at
Lahore
Fort
described
Ranjit
Singh
as
the
bravest
and
the
most
benevolent
king
of
the
19th century.
He
said
that
the
Punjab
peasantry
still
remembered
the
king
in whose
rule
the
strong
were
just
and
the
weak
secure.
A
book
entitled
"The
Real
Ranjit
Singh"
by a
Pakistani
historian,
Syed
Fakeer
Waheeduddin,
the
great
grandson
of
Fakeer
Azizuddin,
Maharaja's
Foreign
Minister,
brings
out
the
secular
character
of
the
Maharaja
giving
very intimate
facts
based
on
family
records
and
archives.
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First Anglo Sikh War
ANGLO-SIKH WAR
1, 1845-46, resulting in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom, as the
outcome of British expansionism. It was near-anarchical conditions that
overtook the Lahore court after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in June
1839... |
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Second
Anglo Sikh War
ANGLO-SIKH WAR
II, 1848-49, which resulted in the abrogation of the Sikh kingdom of the
Punjab, was virtually a campaign by the victors of the first Anglo-Sikh
war (1945-46) and since then the de facto rulers of the State finally to
overcome the resistance of some of the sardars
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Immortal Komagata Maru
- In the year 1900 the
census reported 2050 people from India on the North American continent. The
majority of these people were Punjabis who had settled in Canada. They had come
with the hope of finding work so that they could improve their economic
situation from what it had been in the Punjab. Upon arrival in Canada they
encountered numerous hardships and discrimination. Canadians wanted the
"brown invasion" to stop. They felt that the growing number of Indians
would take over their jobs in factories, mills and lumber yards.
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Ghadar
Ki Goonj
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History of the
Ghadar Movement
"Our struggle will continue as long as a handful of men, be they
foreign or native, or both in collaboration with each other, continue to
exploit the labour and resources of our people. Nothing shall deter us
from this path."
Kartar Singh
Sarabha
Gadar
Party
The
GADAR or GHADAR PARTY was secular in character. Its aim was to overthrow the British rule by using force and free India from foreign domination. GADAR Party
was the popular name of the "Hindi Association of the Pacific Coast"
which ran the newspaper "GADAR" which was loved by every Indian.
Ghadar Publication.....
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Shaheed
e Azam Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh was an outstanding revolutionary and martyr of the Indian
anti-colonial movement. He represented the youth who were dissatisfied with
Gandhian politics and groped for revolutionary alternatives. Bhagat Singh
studied the European revolutionary movement and was attracted to anarchism and
communism. He became a confirmed atheist, socialist and communist.
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Udham
Singh - A short Biographical Sketch
Udham Singh was one of the great patriots of India, with a burning desire
to see his motherland free from the clutches of British colonialism and
imperialism. According to British records, he was born at Sunam Village, Patiala
State, on 23 August 1901, and was known at various stages in his relatively
short life by the following names: Sher Singh, Udham Singh, Udhan Singh, Ude
Singh, Frank Brazil and Mohammed Singh Azad.
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Udham Singh's Last Words
Prior to passing the sentence Mr. Justice Atkinson asked Udham Singh whether
he had anything to say. Replying in the affirmative he began to read from
prepared notes. The judge repeatedly interrupted Udham Singh and ordered the
press not to report the statement. Both in Britain and India the government made
strenuous efforts to ensure that the minimum publicity was given to the trial.
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Focus
on Udham Singh's sacrifice |
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Fanning the fires of
freedom abroad
The story of the Indian struggle for Independence will be incomplete
without recollecting the contribution of the Indians settled abroad, and their
publications which helped to fan the fire for Independence. The agitation
against the British in foreign countries took a concrete shape towards the
beginning of the 19th century, just prior to the World War I. It was supported
by the Germans and the Japanese, both enemies of the British.
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Kartar
Singh Sarabha
Revolutionary
Kartar Singh, the great devotee of Bellona, the goddess of war, was not even
twenty years old when he sacrificed himself on the altar of goddess of freedom.
He appeared like a storm from somewhere, ignited the flame of revolution and
tried to wake up the sleeping Bellona. He blazed the holy yajna of revolution
and became himself an offering for the same. Who was he? From what world did he
suddenly appear? And where did he go? We were awestruck. Such courage,
self-confidence, and dedication is rarely found. Few persons have been
born in India who can be called revolutionary in true sense of the word.
Kartar Singh's name comes at the top among these few. Revolution lived in
his veins. There was only one aim of his life, only one desire, only one
hope - all that held meaning in his life was revolution.
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Sanyal's
open letter to Gandhi ji
It
was
published
in
Young
India (Ahmedabad),
dated
February
12,
1925,
and
reproduced
by M.N.
Gupta
in
his
book.
They
Lived
Dangerously, PPH,
New
Delhi, 1969.
Sukhdev's
letter to Gandhi ji
Gandhiji
was
negotiating
with
the
government
for
the
release
of
political
prisoners
not
convicted
of
violence.
He
was
also
appealing
to
the
revolutionaries
to
stop
their
movement.
It
was
in
this
context
that
Sukhdev
wrote
this
letter.
It
was
published
in
Young
India,
April
23,
1931,
after
the
execution
of
Bhagat
Singh,
Raj
Guru
and Sukhdev.
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Jallianwala
Bagh Revisited
A look at
the actual history of one of the most shocking events of the independence
struggle.
"He was
the real culprit. He deserved it. He wanted to crush the spirit of my
people, so I have crushed him."
- Shaheed Udham
Singh,
telling the trial court why he killed former Punjab
Lieutenant-Governor Michael O'Dwyer.
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The
philosophy of the bomb
In December
1929, a bomb exploded under the Viceroy Irwin’s special train, from
which he, however, escaped. Gandhiji thanked God for the Viceroy’s
narrow escape and condemned in his article “The Cult of the Bomb” the
revolutionaries for the act. It was in reply to Gandhiji’s article that
this outstanding document was written by Bhagawati Charan in consultation
with Chandra Shekhar Azad. It was drafted in the room located above the
Soloman Company, Aminabad, Lucknow, which was used as a den exclusively by
Azad, Bhagawati Charan and Yashpal.
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Madan
Lal
Dhingra:
Trail-Blazer
of
Freedom
Movement
Madan
Lal
was
born
in
1887
in a
prosperous
family
of
Punjab.
His
father,
Sahib
Ditta
Mal,
was a
Civil
Surgeon
at
the
Civil
Hospital
in
Gurdaspur
and Hissar.
On
retirement,
he
settled
at
Amritsar
where
he
held
a
huge
property.
A
friend
of
the Britishers,
he
was
given
the
title
of 'Rai
Sahib'.
In
1906,
Madan
Lal
was
sent
to
England
to
join
the
University
College,
London,
to
study
Mechanical
Engineering.
During
his
stay
in
London
he
used
to go
to
India
House
and
there
he
came
in
contact
with
Veer
Savarkar
and
Shyamji
Krishna
Verma,
and
the
former
administered
him
the
oath
of
allegiance
as a
member
of
his
Revolutionary
Secret
Society
called
"Abhinav
Bharat
Sanstha".
He
learnt
shooting
and
decided
to
work
for
the
liberation
of
his
motherland.
He
prepared
a
list
of
all
India-haters,
the
enemies
of
his
motherland.
He
grabbed
his
very
first
opportunity.
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Ramanand
Chatterji's editorial note on 'Long Live Revolution'
According
to a
free
press
message,
at a
meeting
of
the
Naujawan
Sabha
(Youth
League)
of
Gujranwala
in
the
Punjab
a
resolution
was
passed
protesting
against
the
arrest
of
students
on
the
ground
of
their
shouting
"Long
Live
Revolution"
and
"Down
with
Imperialism",
before
the
Court
of
the
Special
Magistrate
of
Lahore.
Role
of Punjab in India's freedom struggle (19th century)
Punjab’s struggle for the freedom from the foreign rule began
soon after the defeat of the Sikhs in the first Anglo-Sikh War. One of the first
indication was the "Cow Row" affair. This incident took place in Lahore on the
24th of April 1846, when under protest the businessmen of Lahore
closed their shops against the British guard stationed outside the Masti Gate of
the City.
Struggle
for Freedom in the Punjab
At a session of the Indian History Congress in the 1960s,
a senior historian from the Punjab was arguing that the Punjab had
contributed much to the freedom struggle when an equally senior
historian from Uttar Pradesh interrupted him with the rhetorical
question 'where were you in 1857?'
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The
Namdhari Sikhs - pioneers of freedom movement
The Namdhari
Sikhs played a prominent role in the freedom movement of India. They were
in the forefront of freedom struggle at a time when the British were
consolidating their hold over the country. During the early days of
British rule in Punjab the Namdhari Sikhs organised themselves into a
well-knit group of saint soldiers in the true tradition of Sikh Gurus and
offered a tough resistance to British rule in
Punjab. |
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Sardar
Dyal Singh Majithia: Liberalism and Politics
Sardar Dyal
Singh evinced much interest in politics but he realized that his countrymen
must deserve political rights before they could be enjoyed. To deserve
political rights it was necessary to liberalize social customs and remove
social shackles by the spread of liberal education. To this end his
countrymen were to devote their energies. The public must be educated and
the duty of an enlightened leader like him was to articulate public opinion
and to keep the Government in touch with it. For this end he started The
Tribune newspaper and managed educational institutions.The Tribune, under
his wise direction and tactful management, began to exercise an influence in
the Punjab
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Origins
of non-violence movement in India
As fate would have it Mahatma Gandhi is credited with
starting the non-violent movement to oust the British out of India. Gandhi
deserves a lot of praise because he did implement the principles of
non-violence, but he certainly was not the originator of that concept. He
learnt that from the Sikhs. The Sikhs drew their inspiration from their very
Gurus, two of who had suffered martyrdom in order to make their point. Over
time, the principle of non-violence was used again and
again.
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Sikh
Regiment: Where valour is a tradition
REMEMBER the Battle of Saragarhi when Havildar Ishar Singh
with 21 Other Ranks (ORs) made the supreme sacrifice while repulsing an attack
by more than 10,000 Afridi tribesmen in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), now in Pakistan? The British Parliament had then arisen as one man to
pay its respect to these gallant Sikh soldiers. Now, more than 102 years
later, the entire nation has risen again. This time to acknowledge the triumph
of the Sikhs at Helmet and India Gate ( Tiger Hill features) in the Kargil
sector.
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Bhai Jassa
Singh
Jassa Singh Ramgarhia was a born leader of unprecedented qualities. His birth took place near city of Amritsar. He was 5 years old when Banda Singh Bahadur attained martyrdom at Delhi. He was among the crop of those Sikhs who had fought against all odds for survival of their newly founded religion. In those times all Sikhs, cook, ate, fought together and Sikhism was thought of a family. Sardar Kapur Singh was elder and an able leader, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, Sardar Budh Singh Sandhu (grand father of Ranjit Singh), and others were able leaders fighting Mughals and Afghnis keeping Khalsa flame alive with their resistance.
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Saka
Nankana Sahib
Glorious fight against mahants
In October 1920 A.D., a congregation was held at Dharowal, District
Sheikhupura for reform in Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in which the leaders
revealed to the gathering of devotees, the misdeeds being committed inside
the Gurdwara. Gurdwara Nankana sahib was highly revered as it is the birth
place of Guru Nanak, a city named Nankana Sahib came up around the
Gurdwara which is now in Pakistan. At meeting ,it was unanimously resolved
that the Mahant be asked to mend his ways. When Mahant Narian Dass was
asked to reform himself, he started making preparations to oppose the
Panth (Sikh community) instead. He did not feel it necessary to pay heed
to the suggestions of the Committee. He was the owner of the estate
attached to the Gurdwara with an income of one hundred thousand rupees
besides the offerings of the Gurdwara. |
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