| 1925 |
14th Shahidi Jatha
of 500 valiant Akali Satyagrahies, led by Saradar Darshan Singh Pheruman
courted arrest upon reaching Gangsar, Jaito.
==> WHERE IS JAITO? A village under Nabha Riyaasat, now under the
district Bhatinda, which falls on the Bathinda-Ferozpur railway
line. It is 96 miles from Lahore and 17 miles from Bathinda.
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JAITO? On this place situated near
a fort, is a historical Gurudwara of Guru Gobind Singh Patshah.
Maharaja Hira Singh constructed the beautiful buildings of this
Gurudwara. The sarowar is popularly known as Gangsar. About a
mile and a half north of Jaito is Tibhi Sahib Gurudwara, where
Guru Gobind Singh Patshah used to organize and participate in the
evening recitation of Rehras. Both Gurudwaras have extensive land
sanctioned to it by the Nabha rulers. Additionally, extensive financial
resources are made available on an annual basis from the Nabha rulers
and the surrounding villages. A maela celebration is held every
7th of Pooh month (Dec.-Jan.) and Katak (Oct.-Nov.) Puranmashi.
Jaito's markets are well renowned. People come from far distances
to buy and sell their herds.
WHY AKALIS COURTED ARREST? The key issue involved was resoration
of Maharaja Ripudaman Singh of Nabha. Maharaja of Nabha, well-known
for his pro-Tat Khalsa Proclivities, had a dispute with Maharaja
of Patiala, known for this pro-government role. Although Maharaja
of Nabha had absolutely no dispute with the government, as a result
of mediation, he was forced to abdicate in July 1923. Col. Michin,
with the help of troops and armoured cars, took the Maharaja by
surprise on July 8, 1923 and taunted him with the query, Where
is that Akali? The news of deposition by the government raised
a strom of protest against the Government's interefernce in Nabha
and was decsribed as a challenge to the Akali movement. As a result
tensions mounted. The Akalis, in defiance of state orders, continued
to hold diwan indefinitely. The Nabha police in order to arrest
all the Akalis, including the one reading the holy Granth Sahib,
was said to have disrupted the Akhand Path on Sept. 14, 1923. This
dispute took such a tragic shape and got so inflames by Feb. 21,
1924 that several people lost their lives. After sixteen shaheedi
jathas apart from one from Bengal and another from Canada, the agitation
process was completed two years later, on August 6, 1925, after
the concurrent bhog of 101 Akand Paaths.
-Ref. Mahan Kosh
The Sikhs in History, by Sangat Singh, 1995
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