| 1926 |
The British Government
announced the judgement in Babbar Akali case. As a result, 5 Babbar
Akalis were ordered to the hanged, 11 were sentenced to life imprisonment,
and 38 were imprisoned four years. Approximately 90 religious, high
spirited, daring fighters formed the Babbar Akali group. They had
promised freedom to the masses and vigorously fought the British,
especially in the Duaba and Malwa regions.
==> BABBAR AKALI MOVEMENT: Babbar is an Arabic word which means
a lion. Sher and Akali are Punjabi words which mean lion and without
death, respectively. In Sikh context Akali is a Sikh who worships
the Almighty and who is without death or fear. When combined with
word Babbar, word Akali means a Sikh who is without death and is
fearless and brave, like a lion. This is how the Babbar Akalis really
were. They defied death, fought with great courage, and received
martyrdom. They fought the holy war without any selfish motive.
Babbar Akalis had established their rule in the Doaba region of
Punjab in the early 20s. Commissioner Towshed of Jalandhar wrote
a long letter to the Governor of Punjab,
The British rule is over in Doaba. No one is ready
to cooperate with the government for the fear of the Babbars. There
are some people, loyal to the British goverment, who visit my residence
in a very secret manner and utter the news, in a low tone, into
my ear.
In addition ot
the brave men of Doaba, several Sikhs from the Majha and Malwa region
also gladly accepted martyrdom. Those include Babu Santa Singh son
of Sardar Suba Singh of village Shoti Harion (Tehsil Samrala); Babbar
Nikka Singh son of Sardar Buta Singh, village Alowal, Tehsil Tarn
Tarn.
Source - Babbar
Akalian da Itihas by Dr. Bakhshish Singh Nijjar.
There are some books
available on the Babbar Akalis. Two prominent books about this topic
are by Dr.' Bakhshish Singh Nijjar (M.A. PhD in history, M.A. Punjabi,
M.A.M.L.O. Farsi). He is a Rtd. director of Punjab State Archives
and curently living in USA. His books are:
1. Babbar Akalian da Itihas (Punjabi)
2. Babbar Akali Lehar da Itihas
3. History of the Babar Akalis
There is another
gentleman, Dr. Gurcharan Singh Aulakh who recently wrote his PhD
thesis on the Babbar Akalis. His book is called, Babbar Akali Movement
and is published by Aman Publications, Punjab.
Two other
useful books on the Akalis and Babbar Akalis are:
Babbar Akali Lehar (Punjabi) by Sunder Singh Babbar
Akali Lehar (Punjabi) Partap Singh Giani. |
| 1986 |
Sentences handed
in the case of Indian Airline hijacking.
To protest against the invasion of the Indian army on the Darbar
Sahib, nine Sikhs belonging to the Sikh Students Federation hijacked
an Indian Airliner from Jammu to Lahore on July 5, 1984. The hijackers
were:
. Parminder Singh Harfam Maula (Leader)
. Dalip Singh,
. Manjit Singh Babbar
. Gurdip Singh Pardesi
. Malaghar Singh Babbar
. Harbhajan Singh
. Harminder Singh
. Gurvinder Singh
. Ravinder Singh
On this day, three of them were sentenced to death, two were sentenced
to life-imprisonment and four were acquited. Later in 1989 the death
sentence was commuted to life-imprisonment under the orders of a
general amnesty. Two of the four acquited were killed by the Indian
army while they were returning to India.
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