| 1950 |
Republic day of
India. But the Sikh Nation's aspirations remain unfulfilled.
India's constitution was enforced. Whilst August 15th 1947 is usually
viewed as a turning point in Indian history, it is the years preceding
and following 1947 have become instrumental in shaping the position
of Sikhs in society. Prior to 1947 the British were an active party
and witnesses to an agreement that provided constitutional safeguards
for a SikhHomeland. Additionally, the Sikhs were continually reassured.
For example, in 1929, the Indian National Congress under the leadership
of Jawaharlal Nehru had promised to seek total independence.
"The
Congress assures the Sikhs that no solution in any future Constitution
will be acceptable to the Congress that does not give them full
satisfaction."
(Indian Constitution Documens, Vol. ii, by A.C. Banarjee)
This meeting
was held on the banks of river Ravi in Lahore.
Sikhs entered
the Union of Indian assured of their now legal right to an independent
nation but the past fifty years have seen successive Indian and
British government deny Sikhs a right to self-determination. On
this day, the Indian parliament unilaterally annulled the treaty
signed at Independence. The Sikhs it seems have merely had one colonial
power substituted for another.
Immediately after
independence, the relationships of Sikhs and the Indian Government
took a downward slide. Master Tara Singh's arrest was initiated
at the 1949 conference in Delhi and the Sikhs responded with a marcha.
Nehru was hot tempered. He forgot the contrbition of Sikhs, especially
the Akalis for India's independence. As a result the Sikh members
did not sign the Indian constitution. And the relationship kept
deteriorating. 1952 electrions saw Akali government under PEPSU
which was dissolved only after a year. By disallowing Nehru from
speaking at Fatehgadh Sahib, this silent war among the Sikhs and
the Indian government further advance. Subsequently, the election
of Pratap Singh Kario as Chief Minister of Punjab, further deteriorated
the situation. Morchas were initiated for Punjabi Suba and finally,
Indira Gandhi divided the Punjab. Now Akali government was elected
in Punjab during the 1967 elections. However, the central government
of India dissolved this government. Subsequently, Akali government
is re-elected followed by President rule. This scaneri was repeated
many times. There was an agreemnt between the Akalis and the Congress
in 1956. But that was short lived. Several opportunities emerged
under Giani Zail Singh's tenture as Chief Minster but none materialised.
Subsequently, the Akalis came to power three times. In 1980, Sikh-GOI
relations saw their lowest point under Darbara Singh. Challenging
Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawala put the relationship in new perspective.
Finally, Operation Bluestar took place undre which Sri darabar Sahib
was attcaked and Sri Akal Takhat was detroyed. Though Sikhs participated
fully and made numerous sacrifices (more than any other community)
for the independence struggle, their own independence remains unfulfilled
and is in question.
==> EAST PUNJAB
STATES: Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Faridkot, and Malerkotla were the
Sikh states in the East Punjab before the integration of Indian
States in 1948. The first four were the Sikh states under the sovereignty
of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and were brought under British protection
by the 1809 treaty of Amritsar. Patiala, Nabha, and Jind, also known
as Phulkian states, share a common ancestor Phul, who was descendent
of Baryam. The Emperor, in 1526, had granted Baryam, the office
of revenue collection for the waste country south-west of Delhi.
Emperor Shah Jahan continued Phul in this office. From his eldest
son descended the families of Nabha and Jind while from his second
son the Patiala family. The Faridkot family, founded in the middle
16th century sprang from the same stock as the Phulkians chiefs.
The remaining
two states were Kapurthala and Malerkotla. The Kapurthala rulers
belonged to the Ahluwalia family. The real founder of this family
was Raja Jessa Singh, a contemporary of Nadir Shah. The malerkotla
rulers were Sherwani Afghans who traced their descent from Sheikh
Sadruddin who had received 68 villages near Ludhiana in marriage
gifts when he married the daughter of Sultan Bahlol Lodi.
The Sikh states
geographically lay in three blocks. The main block comprising the
territories of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Malerkotla and Faridkot was
in the centre of East Punjab and was fairly compact. Kapurthala
State, composed of two enclaves in the Jullunder district, was in
the north of East Punjab. The outlaying districts of Narnual, Dadri,
and Badwal, which formed parts of Patiala, Jind, and Nabha States
respectively, lay with the geographical orbit of the southern districts
of East Punjab. There were also islands of Patiala State in what
is now Himachal Pradesh.
At the time of
India's independence, there were divergent opinions as to the integration
of the above states. On Feb. 11, 1948, Giani Kartar Singh, then
President of Akali Dal, suggested the formation of the Union of
Sikh States.He was opposed to the idea of merging those States with
East Punjab, as it would further undermine the Sikh's position who
had suffered tremendously because of the partition of Punjab. On
Feb. 22, there was a much advertised proposal to form a unit of
4 States of Est Punjab, but that proposal fizzled out because of
disagreements among their rulers. The Nationalist Sikh opinion,
though not vocal at that time, was in favor of a separate Union
of all the Punjab States. Further, the government of India felt
special responsibility to ensure that these States, particularly
as they were border States, should be organized on proper and efficient
lines. On May, 5, 1948, Patiala and Easy Punjab States Union, hereafter
called PEPSU, was formed. The covenant was signed by the rulers
of eight States, the Maharaja of Patiala signing also on behalf
of the minor rulers of Kalsia.
On July 15, 1948,
PEPSU was inaugurated. Sardar Patel called this occasion a landmark
in the history of India's progress. The area of PEPSU was to be
10,000 square miles, while its population was 34,24,060, and an
annual budget of a little more than 5 crores. Sardar Patel administered
the oath of to the Maharaja of Patiala as the first RajPramukh,
who in turn administered the oath to Maharaja Kapurthala as teh
UprajPramukh, swearing allegiance to the Centre and Indian Union,
promising to do justice to all people in accordance with the laws
and usages of the Country without fear, favor or ill-will. Due to
the obvious differences between the three major parties at the time,
no ministries could be announced. A care-taker ministry was formed
with Sardar Gian Singh Raraewala as the head. The three major parties
included Prajamandal (Congress party in the state was generally
addressed by this name), Akali Dal, and Lok Sewak Sabha (patronized
by Sardar Udham Singh Nagoke).
On Jan. 13, 1949,
a broad based ministry was constituted to conduct the adminsitration
of PEPSU. It comprised of Sardar Gian Singh Rarewala (as the head),
Col. Raghbir Singh, Gianai Zail Singh, Chaudhri Nihal Singh Takshak,
Pandit Ram Nath, Mr. Lachhman Dass Advocate, Sardar Ajit Singh of
Rampura Phul, and Sardar Harcharan Singh Advocate of Bhatinda. Only
10 month later, this ministry was disolved and the government of
India took over the administration of PEPSU.
On May 23, 1951,
a 7-person ministry was sworn in. It consisted of Sarvshri Raghbir
Singh (Col.), Brish Bhan, Giani Zail Singh, Nihal Singh Takshak,
DEs Raj Gupta, Tirath Singh, and Sampuran Singh as cabinet ministers
while Sardar Harchand Singh and Mr. Roshan Lal were the two deputy
ministers.
On Jan, 7, 1952,
PEPSU went to the polls for electing a 60-member state assembly
with Congress winning 26 seats and Akali winning 19 seats. On March
1, 1952, Col. Raghbir Singh was unanimously elected as the Leader
of the Congress Assembly Party. On March 19, the Congress Ministry
was announced and administered the oath of office. Political activities
in PEPSU centered around economic and social but certainly not on
religious considerations. The problem of antagonistic relations
between the landlords and tenants was so enormous that it almost
defied a solution. Maharja Patiala's father-in-law, Sardar Harchand
Singh Jeji, played a vital role in PEPSU politics. He has always
been associated with the Akali movement in the pricely States. After
the settlement of disputes over the Gurudwaras, the Akalis from
the states began to agitate against teh autocratic misuse of power
by the maharajas, chiefly Bhupendra Singh of Patiala. Bhupendra
Singh retaliated by having the leading agitator, Seva Singh Thikrivala,
transfered from Lahore and interned in Patiala on false charges
of theft. The Akalis took up the case of Thikrivala and let loose
a campaign publicising Bhupendra Singh's amorous escapades and the
sadistic behavior of his police. Though Maharaja was able to win
over a section of the Akalis, he could not silence the Punjabi and
Urdu press.
In 1928, Akalis
from the states joined with Hindu nationlists and founded the Praja
Mandal (States People's Association). The mandal was later affiliated
to the All India States People's Congress, which in turn was associated
with the Indian National Congress. Sewa Singh Thikrivala was the
moving spirit behind the Mandal. He was arrested several times and
in 1935 succumbed to third degree methods practised on him by the
Maharaja's Jailers. As a result of the murder of Thikrivala, the
anti-Maharaja, anti-British movement gained momemtum in all princely
ststes of the Punjab.
As far as teh
language problem, PEPSU was linguistically divided for educational
purposes. The Hindi speaking region consisted of the districts of
Mahendragarh and Kohistan (including Chhachrauli tehsil minus Dera
Bassi) and the tehsils of Jind and Narwana. The rest of the State
was declared to be Punjabi zone. In one zone, Hindi in Devnagri
script; in the other Punjabi in Gurmukhi were made the media of
instruction and in both the other language was made compulsory from
the 4th primary class upwarsd. There was no provision for choice
of the medium of instruction in Punjab.
-Ref. The
Illustrated History of the Sikhs (1947-78), by Gur Rattan Pal Singh |
