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GENESIS OF

SIKH - NIRANKARI
TUSSLE

by
BRAI HARI SINGH (Shergill),
Editor, 'Punjabi Samachar', Bombay-400011

Published by
DHARAM PARCHAR COMMITTEE
(SHIRO MANI GURDWARA PARBANDHAK COM MITTEE)
AM R ITS A R.
GENESIS OF
SIKH - NIRANKARI
TUSSLE

by
BHAJ HARI SINGH (Sbergill),
Editor, 'Punjabi Samacbar', Bombay~4000U

,P.ublis~d l1y
DHARAM PAFfCH~l{ 'COMMITTEE
tSHIROMANI GUROWARA PARBANDHAK CDMMIITEE)
AM R ITS A R.
Published by
SARDAR MAHINDER SINGH ' GIAN!' SEC REtARY,
SHIROMANI GURDWARA PARBANDHAJ<. COMMl1TEE ,
AMRJTSAR .
&
Printed at
JASPAL PRINtING PRESS, KATRA GHANIAN , AMRLTSAR
INTRODUCfION
Thi. compilation under the above title has got a specific
background. The so-called N irankari Chief Shri Gurbachan
Singh , in a camouflage Sikh attire, and his domestic Nirankari
MandaI. headquartered in Delhi-9, have been, for quite sometime
past, indulging in publicly insulting, ridicuiing and downgrading
the Sikh religion, the Sikh Gurus, certab time-honoured Sikh
personages, usages and traditions, as ·we ll as their elernal1y
sacreu WORD - INCARNATE ENLIGHTENER ; Sri, Guru
Gninlh Sahib.
Despite a number of earlier angry, non-violent protestations
of Sikhs agail,sl this vulgar and irreligious conduct of Ilis, on
morc than half a dozen difrerent occas~ons in Punj ab and 0l;ltside, ..
the ~Nirankari buba' has hcen pursuing this irresponsible· '.practice
a~ vigorous ly as ever.
At last he grew bold enough to beard the lion in I,is own
den. On the 13th Ap ril, L97 8 on the historical Baisakhi festival,
when more or less a million Sikhs gather From far and near to
pay homage at the Golden Temple, Amritsar, Gurbachan Singh
tholIght expedient to convene his so-called Nirankari Samagam
and repeat his usual blasphemous blurtings and his claim to be
the exclusive supreme modem av tar of God of to-day, over the
hcads of Guru Nanak-Guru Gobi"d Singh and all other time-
honoured oriental avtars and ::;emuti c prophets.
Indeed, it was the most provocative challenge to the very
existeJ1ce of the Sikh Panth in its holiest citadel. As a conse-
quence, about L50 devoted Sikhs, lIJ",rmed and clean of any
partisan politics. proceeded fro m Ajit Nagar premises to
persuade hjm not to inuulge jn the aforesaid profane behaviour
vis-a-vis dignity or the Gurus' house . Instead of acceding to
slIcil a persuasion, as if already flIlIy planned and prepared, he

(iii)
is said to have exhorted personnel of hi s fully armed private
army to attack these protesting Sikhs, even at a distance of about
300 yards from the pandal of his gathering, He was presiding
at this gathering in a kingly demeanour, he as the 'King' and
his consort as the 'Queen',
As a result, over a d07-"n of the Sikh protesters wefe
mowed down in cold blood and about 70 seriously injured. This
simple act of sheer murder has naturally sent a thrill of horror
througl10ut the Sikh World .
It is a long standing misfortu ne of Punj ab in general and
of the Sikh community in particular that there is quite a lot of
hard-boiled communalist Punjabi brethren who are ever o n the
prowl of seekir;g or manoeuvering to create all kinds of un savoury
situations , wherein Sikhs could be run d own and put to grief.
True to their 'mission', therefore. th ese communali ::;ts seem
to have taken it to be a go lden chance to dea l another grievous
blow 10 Ihe Sikhs, by laking s.ides wi th th is fake Nirollkari hoha,
These 'friends' of the Sikh Community, seemingly, all the
more encouraged by the pro -Nirankari attitude of cert ain npex
men in the CeJ1tre have, 011 the contrary. raised a g~·eat (l ust
storm of an anti-Sikh an d pro-'Nirankar; baba' make-bel ieve
pUblicity in the publ ic media and on the platform ~ nd Ihrollgh
misc.hievous lobbying a mong all kil~d s or infiuentlJi quarters aJ:J.
on al\ so rts of important forums ,
Some of even th e apparently u n.concerned responsible people
seem to be ve ry much mi sled by this spuriou s propagan da, Fo r
instance, acco rd ing to an insertion in the 'Hindusta n Ti, l'! L': s' of
15·6·78, one Mrs. Firdos Fa tima, All-India Organiser of World
Family is reported to have cabled even to the Secretary-Gene ral
of U,N.G. Mr. Kllrt Waldheim , as follows:
"Th e Akali G overnment of Punjab ·is persecuting Nirankaris
in the name of reI igion. It is a clear case of genocide
and suppressio n of human rights and the lives and liberty
o f millions of Nirankaris are in danger.
This is how this misleadin g propaganda by the CUl prit-in-
Chief the alleged killer of (he conscien tious Sikh protesters,

(iv)
together with his anti-Sikh communalist allies in Punjab, is
clollding the sense of judgment even of presumably impartial
people. Credibility of such a spurious publicity is further rein-
forced by the much too open pro-Nirankari tilt of some apex
d ignitaries in the Centre.
Contents o f this brouchure are, therefore, aimed at :
(i) exposing the very fraud behind this Sikh-Panth deni-
gratin g bogus Niranb'.ri movement,
(ii) bringi ng out in hold relief purely anti-Sikh politics
involved ill tbis fake religious. Centre-sponsord device
to the cheer of Sikh baiters.
(iii) Providing a f~1Ctual l1leterial to the honest, igno rant
peo ple about the current Sikh-Ni rankari scuffle .
(iv) Creating a healthy understand ing in honest quarters
on thi s Issue in order to promote healthy national
cohesion.
(v) Off-setting the ch.llce of this fraud, polluting the very
eSi>ence or the f'i acred mora l-cum·s.piritual values of
eth ica l (nt-lian heritage .
(v i) Alerting people of other religions like Hindus, Christi-
anity and Islam also against the blasphemies of
Gurbachan SUIgh trea(ting upon their sanctified prero-
gatives over the heads or their ol'/ars and prophefs and
With no ml! r1t whatever or his O\vn, rather heavily
we ig hed do wn u nder his demerits, ins tead .
(vii) Clarification of the real 5i!1,nilicancc of the much
disc ussed Akal Takht Hukamnama as a ll in"lru ne nl
fo r safegu ard'ing the sanctity aJld vaiues of dh arma
as slH:h, besides keeping intact the l·. tcg rity or the
Khalsa Panth , by Slaving off the disrupt ive activity
and influence of these immoral. fake Niiankari:;.
(viii) making out a ('a~e fo r a th orough offkia l inqtliry hUD
the activjtie:, of t ll~~ harnlfu l <J.:1d dbi. IL·; r.:ti ~g ~~ j ra ·: ·
kari l\1andul und its Chief and ipso ~ral.'[O othe r 5\1':h
post-ind cper,dc llcc murshrool11 growth of spurious
parasitic cc l\ ~ in the name of rel igio n a!Hj spi ri lu alism

( v)
with a view to b:HiJling them and save the nation fro m
their degrading parasitic and evil depradations.
(lX) making all the responsihle and conscentiollS citizens
and humanity at large aware of what malicious and
subtle designs are there on the part of misguided
po wers- th at he and so me tlie· ha rd communalists in the
country to malign and rub off the Tcligio-cultu ra l-culll-
political entity of a small but virile patriotic minority
li ke Sikhs , who bave slOod the country in good stead
]n variolls fields of national significance during a1\
these over. 500 years of thei r existence, with religio-
cultural robust pOlentialiti es of thei, faith for an all-
round resurgence of I ndia in the modern context.
(x) Last, tJlOugh )1 0\ Jeast, making the exalted stewards of
the Sikh Panth now recognise the in ev it<lbility of
revising and renewing thei r Panthi c strategies, in order
to writ e new equation s For tbe Pan th 's liaison with the
country's destiny and in order to fulfil the destined
his toric com mitment of the Gurus' community ~ i.S

embodled in a mcmor,lble Pu :;jabi couplet "Asil1 vor is


han Hind di a1lna de, puja kiti hai ihdi l1ihang banke. I '
That is to say, "we ure the rightful heirs to Indianism
as we have hitherto ,elftcssJy staked our all at the a ltar
of its serv ice, glorification und wo rship.
Towa rd:; these ends follow a brje f narration he reafter. A
li st of contents afte r thi s and a number of Appcr.dkcs A to H ,
as :hmc xures at the e nd , are like ly to g ive a c lear idea of the
c onter. ts on points enumerated hereabove.
The author is obUged to the learn ed authors of the va riotJ s
references consulted in co mpi ling th is booklet. Their Jist js given
under par agraph No . 32 in the main na rration . The writer is all
the more h1debtctl to th e Se· ret ,li Y_ ~ . G . P . C . : A lllf itsar, for his
very ki nd ly providing to the U\.u(' r:.,igr,e<..l all thejr rccel.tlY
pubUshed materia l on the :;lihj<.~<.:l u nder dist'ussion.

-H A Rf SINGH (Sllerg ill)


CONTE:NTS
l. Origin or Nira nkari-Sikh Sampardai ...
2. Ni l' ankari Movement 2
3. 'Baba Dyal's Resuregence Campaign 'd 2
4. Code 0 f Conduct 3
5. Baba Dyal's Suc<:esso rs 3
6. Buta Singh , The Rebel 4
7. Buta Singh, A Debauch 5
8. A vt:.tr Slllgh 'Ano inted' 5
9. Settiing down in D elhi 5
10. Creed of Wine and Women 6
J I. Sham Spiritualism ... 10
12. "B1Lsphemol1s Claims 11
13. Colossal Ignorance ... 14
14. Avtarvani. A Fraud 14
15 . The Disclaimer 16
16. Wha 1. is Correct '! Ii
17. The Nirankari Malldal 17
18. Celltre's Complicity 18
19. Anti-Sikh Political Conspiracy 21
20. Another Stunning Disclosure .., 21
21. Sardar Hukam Singh's Evidence 22
22. Still more Collaboration 24
23. Sikh-Nimnkar; COlltrove rsy ,.. 26
24. Clash or Kill.ing ? 27
25. The Hlikamnama 36
26. Study the Hukamn.ama 37
27. Hukamnama Safeguard s other Faiths also 38
28. Private AnllY 39
19 . Naq,li Niranko.ri Niha llg; 42

(Vii)
30. Status of A ',,,-itsa r M "Tty'" 43
31. Inquiry, A ~/i\l :, t 45
32. Refere oces , .. 49
33 . The Finis 50
34. APPENDICES ;
A Shri Gurbachan's C laim to 51
B Supreme Incarnation 52
C Translation of Abstr acts from P a njpan i 53
D Shri S:llpal Bngh i's Article 56
E The Hukamn " n:-Orig iu al and Transla tion 58
F Naqli Nira,Ilk"r; Nihangs 61 -62
H Sardar 1-i1lkam Singh's Article 67
GEN'ES~§.< OF ~l~
NJRANKARl - ~

1. Origin of Nirankari Sikh Sect


In the SikJj religious terminology, a Nirankari
is a perso n who believes in the worship of formless
God (NfRANKAR) . As again st Brabminic poly-
theism, Guru Nanak (1469-1570) believed in and
preached this cult, i.e., the glorification and worship
of one form less God alone. Among his contemporary
spiritual exponents, therefore, he came to be known
as NANAK NIRANKARI.
As a matter of fact, Guru Nanak's school of
thought was an antithesis of centuries-old Brahminism.
To believe in one God a lone, to discard Avtar theory,
to shun idol worship, to reject caste system, not to
practise Brahlllinic ritua ls, ceremonies, pilgrimages,
to resist evil and socio-political aggression etc. etc.,
were some of the cardinal points in tbe Guru's
religious doctrine.
The Guru 's physical form , after running through
ten successors, Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh
(1469-1708), came to an end.
In fact, to complete the evolu tionary process
of ultimately vesting the GUru 's eterna l a-uthority in
the SABDA, the Divin e Word (the Gurbani), enshrin-
ing tbe Guru's soul and spirit, and creating the Khalsa
in the cnd as the Guru's physical form, is interpreted
by recent research to be the divine design of the Ten
Masters.
Guru Gob~d Singh, before his demise in
Nandcd (Maharashtra) in 1708, reposed tbe spiritual
Guru ship in the Guru 's Word , Sri Guru Granth Sahib
and the physical Guruship in the body corporate of
the Khalsa Panth , to ever keep implementing the
Guru 's mission. The latter were to a ct in conformity
with the sp iri tual dictates of Sri Guru Granth Sahib
.i n all the religio-tcmporal affairs for aU time to come.
2. Nirankari Movement
As it usually happen s in case of almost all the
religious denomination s, by about the beginning of
the last century, very many followers of Sikh religion ,
under the recurring influence of centuries-old Brahmi-
nism, began to relapse into Brahminic ways again, as
now too to so me extent.
They began to worship Brahminic gods and
goddesses and their idol s, practise the sa me old rituals,
rites and ceremonies in mundan e matters, indulge in
pilgrimages, and take to all sorts of perso nal gurus in
place of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
3. Baba Dyal's Resnreg£nce Campaign
In the midst of such an un-Sikh like deteriora-
ting environments a.ppeared Baba Dyal (1783-[855),
the reformist. Born to devout Sikh parents in
Peshawa r, he snbsequently shifted to Rawalpindi to
preach hi s gospel of reforms. Of course, jle had to
face a stiff oppositio n from the misled ren egades in
the begi nning. In a vigOl'ous bid to reclaim such
Sikhs b3ck to th e Guru' s fold in respec t of aU the
above noted Sikh credentials. he launched a full-
blooded, organised re-formi sl movement. It came 10

2
be called the Nirankari rnovementas the Baba would
always repeat the words 'Dharr Nirankar' (i.e., Hail
the Formless God).
As again t the personal gurus, he emphasised
on following Sri GUIU Granth Sahib as the only and
the eternal Enlightener. As said above, be condemned
and di,,(;ard ed the Brahminic rituals, rites and cerc-
mon.ies aad follow those as prescr ibed in Sikhism,
instead.
4. Code of Conduct
]n the matter of personal socia-religious di sci-
pline and code of condllct, no Nirankari member
could smoke, drink or use any other intoxican ts, not
indulge in showy , ga udy and luxurious liv·ing, earn ing
one's living by honest mean s, not to indulge is sex
beyond one's wedded ~ pou se . Of course, other items
of Sikh religious routine, like early rising, take bath,
en gage in s il11l"Oll i.e. repetition of God 's Name, recite
G lJ rbani and attend early morningKirtan in Gurdwara
follow a ll au stere, socially u seful , and virntollS .life
etc. etc., were a s well adhered to.
In lhis way Bab~ Dayal's Nirankari movement
was aimed at restori ng Sikll Faith back to its original
pristine form. Thi s was the need of the hour for
Sikh Fai th. Babaji fulfilled it.
5. Baba Dyal's Saccessors
After Babaji, his welcome organisation still
continues, having becn stewarded by these equally
d~dicated stalwans : Saba Darbara Singh (I 8L4-1 870),
Baba Rattaji (1830-1909) , Baba Gurdit Singh (1869-
1947), Baba Hara Singh (1887-1971). After partition,

3
the Nirank ari Oat-bar shifted its head-quarters to
Chandigarh in Sector 2l ·B. Its present leader is
Baba Gurbux Singh , elder brother of Dr. Man Singh
Nlrankari, one of the front rank Opthalmic Surgeons
in the country.
The whole Sikh community feels indebted to
this original Niran ka ri Sikh Sampardai. It stood tbe
Sikh Panth in good stead during a critical time of
religious decadence. The Sikh community as a whole
has got respectful regards for it even now.
6. Buta Singh, The Rebel
During Baba Gurdii Singh's time, one Shri
Bu ta Singh in course of tim e, started contravening
the Nirankari rel igious discipline. Although he was
an employee of the Niranka ri Darbar, a preacher-cum
-Kirtan singer, he took to drinking and other all ied
social evils. After a few warnings, when he did not
mend his ways, he was expelled from and excommu-
nicated by the Darbar.
As all th,~ decent circles in Rawalpindi began
to Jlate and shun him, he nltim ately went to Peshawar
in his pseudo-Nirankari garh, in sea rch of another
bird of tbe same feather. He picked up at last Shri
Avtar Singh (father of the present N irankari chief,
Shri Gurbachan Singh) to be his partner in his future
fraudulent design of slartillg a bogus rival Nirankari
organ isation. Shri Avtar Sing h was then a petty
bakeryrnan in ~ome remote street af Peshawar. But
though iUiterak he is said to have been sufficiently
clever and of the same debauch kind as Buta Singh.
He readily agreed to be his (Buta Singh's) follower

4
and canvass for more followers.
Thus they are said to have both struck a
mutuaUy gainful bargain, But inspite of all sorts of
tricks and tactics in their pse udo-religious camouflage,
they are said to have not cut much ice in respectable
Sikh quarters, either in Peshawar or afterwards in
Rawalpindi.
7. Buta Singh, A Debauch
Giani Partap Singh, Editor, 'Gian Amrit
Monthly' Amritsal' and ex-Jathedar, ShTi Akal Takht,
Aruritsar and author of 'Naqli Nirankari' (Punjabi)
5th Edition, on page 37 bottom of his book, mentions
a sto ry , It proves that he was a meat-eater-cum-wine
addict and a licentious free lancer in sex, as the reader
wiU read more about him further on in this narration.
8. Avtar Singh' Anointed'
As a result of his debaucllery and dissipated
life, Buta Singh is said to have died at last a miserable
and a tortuous death of syphilis in Kohmari (Pak.) in
1943 (ibid pp. 36-37).
It is stated, when Buta Singh's dead body was
being carried to the cremation ground, a man in a
lighter vein, garlanded tbe accompanying Avtar Singh
with a garland removed [rom over tbe dead body.
In this way Avlar Singh proclaimed himself to
be Buta Singh's successor (ibid, p. 39). I n fact he
assumed the title of a ' spiriwal emperor' (Shahembah)
next to Buta Singh, [he pervert.
9. Settling Down in Delhi
After partition , this 'shahenshah' , together with
his meagre family coterie, came down from Ra wa J-

5
pindi to Delhi, ultimately to set lip his Nirankari
colony there. Hcre he succeeded in course of time
in buildin g up an extensive, spu riou s growth of his
'eat-drink-and-be-mcrrj ' sort of a bogus Nirankari
MandaI, virtua lly a family concern . As is in dicated
down below in this booklet, the Nirankari Mandai
flouri shed, with the Centre', patronage.
10. Creed of Wine and Women
I n order to illu strate the point th a t Bu ta Singh
injtiated a fake spiritual cult to breed a permissive
society, here are, for illustration sake, a few
anecdotes, cu lled from reliable printed record:
(i) Giani Partap Singll in his aforesa id publicat ion
(p. 37) states, in the words of one Giani Kartar
Singh Sa rhaddi of Pes!]awar, as, " Once o n
the in sistence of Avtar Singh, J went to see
h is guru Bu ta Singh in an upstair room in a
public lod ge in Peshawar. On ente rin g what
did I see? Buta Singh was seated there with
a few plates of cooked meat a nd a wine bottle
before h im and al so an a1tract ively dressed
young woman, apparentl y, of ques tionab le
reputation . On seeing a ll thi s, I qui,.;kly retired
from tbere." Buta Singh was a reg ular add ict
of liquor. He used to preaciJ hi s mission , quite
drunk so often (' Nirankari Ba ha' by Balwant
Gargi p. 58). ]n these peop le's 'bible', tbe
'Avtar Bani' (p. 7), Avtar Singh prcaches,"God
never prol1ibited an y thing in the matier of
eating and drinking. Spiritualism has got
nothil.,g to do with these t ri viali ties," a nd so
. "

6
.in case of free sex.
In the 'NirankaTi Baba' publication of the
Nirankari Mandai, p. 168, it is stated, " Baba
Avtar Singh used to sometime distribute whisky
to his disciples with his own hands as prasad.
(ii) Dr. Mohall Lal Sandal, President of Sehjdhari
Sabha of Amritsa r, repwduces a nasty story
from th e 'Indian Observe r' of New Delhi of
22 Oct., 1956. In his recent Punjabi pamphlet,
'Naqli Nirankari Mat' p. II, Dr. Sandal tells
of a Kanpur young refugee girl. She is
reported to have sta ted, "A Kanpur lady
disciple of the NiTankari Baba seduced me to
accompany her to Delhi for tlJe Ba ba 's
darshan . I was kept in a hotel for the night
in Delhi. The next day she took me in a car
to the Nirankari colony and ushered me into
the Baba's (Avtar Singh' s) presence in his
room. The latter, quite drunk at the moment,
molested me, i.e. had sex with me."
fiii) In a dialogue, which Mr. Sandal cites on pp.
[I , l2, Mr. Ba[want Gargi, in his 'Nirankari
Baba' (p. 21, 22), is said to have had with a
young lady illlnate of the N irankari campus,
tbe latter is stated to have openly admitted,
"I believe in free love: there is no sin in this.
Tn the N irankari cult, the Baba has absolved
us of all sex inhibitions. Such inhibition s are
all a humbug. Sex res trictions are a nonsen se
in our spiritual faith." She is said to have
quoted from the~biiM -<+w._214. 245)
I . • •

7.
in support or her contention.
(iv) Quoting from p. 131 of 'Yug Puni sh' a book
which descri bes Avtar Singh as the present
day Messiah, Dr. Sandal states on p. 13 tbat
he (Avtar Singh) claimed like tbi s : "When of
all the foregone Avtars and pro phets, e.g.,
Lords Rama and Krishna, Jesus Christ, Pro-
phet Mohammcd , Guru Nanak etc., God
ordained me from heaven to gO do wn to the
earth for mankind 's deliverance (in (1900) he,
(Avtar Sill gh) had covenanted with Him (God)
as undcr :
"There shall not be any inhibition s for my
followers in matters of sex, diet , dress etc."
Dr. Sandal, therefore, asserts th e Nirankari
Bhawans are dens of vice and tkball chery
(p. 13). These Bhawan~ , he furt her contends,
are palluting the rraditional spirilLlomoral tone
and tenure of the Indian culture and putting
the young boys and girls off the track.
(v) Dr. Fauja Singh of Punjabi University Patiala,
Director of History Faculty, al so endorses thi s
view in hi s folder, entitled. 'Sant Nirankari
Dal, a Challenge for Indian Society'. He
srates (pp. 4, 5 and 6) "The presenT N irankari
Chief ie. Shri Gurbacban Singh , live luxuri-
ously and moves abollt in Me rcedes Car.
They (Niran kari s) arc oppooed to any restric-
tiOllS wheth er they aTe on food , liqu ors, meats
and smoking. The 'Baba' a llows a mjxed
meat diet of pork, bear, goats etc. together

8
with wines and liberty in sex relations etc.
(Avtar Bani pp. 7, 203). The Sant Nirankari
Dal has become a challenge to all right think-
ing Indians. In the name of spiritualism .. .
all moral values, wllich are the bedrock of
human society, particularly Indian society,
have been thrown to the winds. Naturally,
this is causing heavy damage to our soc iety,
to our whole value system and it is high time
that effective steps were taken by the Govern-
ment as well as by the people [0 ban all these
objectionahle activities of the Nirankari "
(vi) As reported in a Bombay Punjabi Weekly (the
Ranjit, Bombay-56, dated 6.8.78, p. 2) in the
alleged Amritsar 13.4.78 murder case, against
the 'Nirankari Baba' & Co., an approver is said
to have disclosed during police investigation
like this, 'During. a pleasure dance in a
Nirankari Bhawan in which only married
disciple co uples participate, if a garment of a
lady touches any ot1,er ma n or vice-versa, both
can retire i nto a secluded adjoining room to
mutually enjoy an uninhibited sex. 11 is a lso
reported. when the police put this que stion
to the 'Baba' to testify, he began to weep.
Perha ps, because of such awkward police
queries, thc communalis t allies of the ' baba'
and the ir press had expressed their distres,
on their 'Baba's' harassment by the PUlljab
police.
By the way, these kinds of unaba shed immoral

9
libertie" it seems, have attracted multitudes
of disciples to him. A host of high govern-
ment officers roo, could not be excluded from
such a pleasure loving multitude.
(vii) In another recent 4 page Punjabi pamphlet,
published by the SGPC and tirled "Nirankari
Mat vich shrab kabab di khulh" (i.e. , in the
N irankari cult there is no restriction on meat
eating and use of liquors), the author states
on the last page "Now in place of the extil1ct
WAM MARG, the Nirankari cult has come
forward to take its place. It is aimed at
creating an ,i mmoral society. It is like a cancer
on the spiritual body of Indianism ."
(viii) In another 4 page Punjabi handbill captioned,
'NlRANKARI TOLE DA PAJ UGHAR
GIYA' (i.e. 'Nirankaris have been exposed ),
tJ1e wr iter says, "these people have openly
propagated debauchery in the name of
rei igion."
Thus, there is now a volume of published
prima-facie record to estab lish that t11ese new
blasphemous Wam margis (who believe in
'mans , madura, mail han' CUlt) are a blot on
J ndia's dhical culture, based on spiritual,
Illoral tradition; they are sprrading the cult
of perm issive society.
11. Sham Spiritualism
They claim that they can impart spirit uali sm
lesso n for the vision of God within twinkling of an
eye. These charlatans have introduced a ridiculous

10
jugglery trick to initiate their naive disciples irlte)
spiritualism. The Chief or his approved deputv
places his left palm below and the right one at a
distance above, before an initiate. They ask th e
latter to look in between the two palms in the empty
space, for a vision of Nirankar, the formle ss God.
And that is all.
What a joke, a fraudulent drama. Is it really
so che,lp an affair? Indian Rishjs. Saints, Tapasvis,
and Gurus spent and even now spe nd , years and years
go ing ~ hrough hard , rigorous timt:-honoured, sp iritual
se lf-discipline in solitude in order to acl lieve spiritual
excellence.
In contrast, therefore, isn't it a mockery by
these people of India' s only proud heritage in this
field, comulated through a sustai ned , well di sciplined
spi ritual labour of ages and ages, by m)' riad s of ollr
sacred land's great spiritual l11a , ters? Our 'moralist'
Prime Minister, who all the more exulls in tilis rare
anc ient 11Crilnge of lndia, must put hi s foot down on
sud) sham activities in the sacred 1l.lme of spi ritualism.
It i:-. a n i.nsult to the country's spiritua l tradition .
.I sn't it ?
12. Blasphemous Claim
The present chief of the Nirankari MandaI, and
hi s late fatller, Shri Avtar Singh, have bee n claiming
to be the o nl y alltars and proplwts in the world today
since 1900, beginning witb the fore-mentioned CULl
Singh, the debauch. They ha ve been asserting that
in suppression even of Noah's, Janak's, Lord Rama's,
Krishna's , that of Moses, Christ's, Prophet Moham-

11
mad's, Bhakt Kabir's, Guru Nallak's and Baba Dyal's
spiritual prerogatives, exclusive assignment of
spiritual leadership of a1\ of them has been now
vested in them both, the fatber and the son, together
with their wives.
A photo-stat copy of Shri Gurbachan Singh's
general proclamation in this context, addressed some
time back to the whole mankind, is reproduced
hereunder:
"Gurbachan Singh Sant Nirankari Mandai
Nirankari Delhi-9 (Ind ia)
My dear Friend,
Please be informed that the responsibility
assigned from time to time prophets like Noah, Janak,
Rama , Kri shna, Moses, Christ, Mohammad, Kabir,
Nanak and Dyal, has now been put on my shoulders,
by my predecessor, Baba Avtar Singh ji. My duties
include revealing God to one and all, irrespective of
seekers' caste, creed, culture, nationality or morals.
So whosoever wiU approach me or any of my apostles
will instantaeously be gifted with an abiding percep-
tion of the omni-present God.
1 came also to glorify the holy prophets of the
past by revealing their real greatnes~ and decoding
their teachings into layman's actual experience. 1
have no ritual to impose, no particu lar recitation to
prescribe, no penance to subject my disciples to, and
no new religion to found. Vegetarianism or non-
vegetarianism or tllis or that political ideology does
not stand in my way. My message is for the human
being in yo u and not For a member of any particular

12
religion or nationality.
I have the entire reservoir of water for the
present day thirsty world. You too come and quench
you r thirst.
Yours eternally,
Sd/- Gurbachan Singh"
(See Appendix-'A')

There is another photo-stat copy of a post card


in this context, as reproduced hereunder, written by
disciple of the Nirankari Chief, Shri Gurbachan
Singh, from Chandigarh. One Mr. Harcharan Singh
Nirman, 1313 /Sector IS-B, sometime b,ICk wrote to
fore-mentioned Giani Partap Singh as follows:
"Tbere is one lineage of prophets from Adam
to Gurbachan. All holy prophets including Noa h,
Rama, Moses, John (The Baptist), Christ, Paul,
Mohammad, Nanak, Gobind Singh, Dyal and
GurbaC?han are interlinked iu a never broken chain of
succession (Nomination by predecesso r) and have a
total identity of philosophy since Adam. One lineage
of prophets discovered by (above-noted) HarchaTan
Singh Nirman. Enquires welcome". (See Appendix-'B')
Further, in the word s of one Mr. Balwant
Gargi in the 'T1lustrated Weckly of India' Bombay, in
its issue of 24 Oct., 1971, p. 23, Shri GLLrbachan Singh
proclaims," the responsibility ass igned from time to
time to prophets like Noah, Janak, Rama, Kris hna,
Moses, Christ , Mohammad, Kabir, Nanak and D ya l,
has now been put on my shoulders by my predecessor
Baba Avtar Singh."

13
13. Colossal 19Doranc~
What a pity? The man is eve n ignorant that
both in the Oriental a nd Semetic religi o ns, th e re is
no quesrion of scccessio n to an Avtar or a prophet.
H. 'Avtar Bani', A Fraud
Shri Gurbachan Singh's father, Shri AVLar
Singh, wa s an illelt'ra1e person. H e is said to have
paid a fabulous a mount to some third ratc Punjabi
pocts and got d o ne a poo r poetic scribbling under
the title of 'A vtar Ba n i'. He prescribed it as the
Nirankari religiou s book. This is also full or such
ab sunj fibs , crudely glorifying Shri Avtar Singh and
his son, Shri Gurbachan Si ngh as the present day
exclusive avtars and prophets of G od. Their wives,
Smts. Budhan and Kulwant Kaur, are also similarly
deified How preposterously absurd.'

A SYNOPSIS
The comiler of this booklet some time back had
an occasion to glance through the complete 2S2-pages
of the Avta r Bani. The origi.nal is a Punjabi publica-
tion of 25-10- [965 of the Sant Nirank a ri Mandai,
Saut Niraukui Colony, D.:lhi-9.
The a Jtilor indicated is Shri Avtar Singh. But
its conten ts consist of three parts. The first 170 pages
wi th 376 versified pieces, are by Shri A vtar Singh and
the next 6 of one [uDnin g non sensical rhymes are by
the 'Mothe r of Universe' (Jagat Mata ), the 'worship-
ful' (Smt.) Budha wanti Niraokari, spouse of Shri
Av tar Singh , The las t, 3rd part of 73 pages is a set
of 42 co mpo siti ons by 42 different poet henchmen

14
followers of the Nirankari MandaI.
As to the poor, crude, nonsensical Splfltuo-
religions a nd literary quality of the whole text, Prof.
Pritam Si ngh, Head of the GUfU Nanak Studies
Department o~· Guru Nanak Dev University, Aillritsar,
has given an able, and objective> review thereo f in the
Daily Trihune, Chandigarh, in its 25 Sept., 1978 i. sue ,
p. 4, fOf the sake of this brief narration, one can add
little more to it.
How it 'is all a fraud on the conscious and
intell igent cOlllmunity, hereunder is the summary of
Prof. Pritam Singh's review:
"He (i.e. A Vlar Sing.h) exhorts men not to
brother about good and bad and to understand that
such praGtices as five " nam azes" per day and other
penances only erode the body and serve no other
usrfui purpose. MO$t of sucb exJlOrtations are onl y
generalities.
Baba Avt a r Singh has a racy, direct, repcti tive
but un eq ual style which does not care much for
literary embellishments. Judged purel y as literature.
"Avtar Bani" may not succeed in commanding
any prominent place in Punjabi swdie 5 either for the
originality of its matter or for its bold experimentation
with di ction or language, fo r all of which it dra ws
heavily On Guru Granlh Sahib . It i; not a bo ok o f
re ligio us philosopb y either, as no consistent ori gin al
theorretica l framework on whicb all independent and
lasting reli giou; st ru cture may be built, is avai la ble
there.
There is hardly any Idea th at can be put fo r-

t5
ward as new . The book res ts marc on its rejec tion
of the preva lent religions tha n on its prese nt a ti on of
a fresh or a reorgani sed thesis, whi ch may be rel evant
to the times that we jive in . Th e whole idiom of the
book is so medieval, in fact so ancient, that o ne just
wonders whether any of the writers of the book lived
or lives in our own age at a ll.
10 view of the growth in Ill e number of the
foll owers of Sa n t Nira nka ris, should th is extraonJjnary
feature of "Avtar Ba ni" be interpreted as a tragic
bid of our peo ple to esca pe the contem porary socio-
eco nomic im pa sse ?"
15. The Disclaimer
As if out of g uilty conscience, Shri Gurbachan
Singh, soo n afte.r his a lleged complicity an d abetment
in the 13th April, 1978 carnage of Sik hs, h as now
publicly di sawowed hi s pr op heth oo d and other rilles
to be a n exclw.. ive avlar of the day and hi s appell a ti on
of eve n Godhead.
Fo r instan ce, in addition to his highl y costly
repeated publicity insert ions in the country's D ai lies,
a nd Week lies, English , Urdu , H indi on es to this
effect, he has also distributed in thousand s and sen t
round to all the Punjabi newspa pers in tlle Puniab
a nd outsid e, a printed leaflet to di sc.l aim all hi s
divinity tilles , und er t he b ea din g "WHAT IS TRUE,
WHA T IS UNTRUE?" On its p . 2, item 6 he
stales, 'My name is Gurba chan Singh . Some se lfi, h
people unll ecessarily derame me by fal sely implicating
my na me a s if] am a guru , all avlar o r a proph et.
I am sim ple Gurbachan Sin gh, beyo nd whi cb I do

16
not claim myself anything else. Nor 1 deem it
proper to do so.
And further more he , ays, " I recogni se Shri
Guru Granth Sahib aDd other religiou s blwks as
n :vealcd texts , and give equal res pect tn them all.
Not on l- that 1 would nOl Uller any disrespectful
words again st them. I al so take i t to he sacrilegiou s
to heat. any olle else doing so. J , ineerely believe in
aDd revere all the Sikh Gurus and olher religious
pre ceptors."
] 6. Wbat is Correct?
One is puzzled, therefore, I'll ascerlain whether
his earlier claim s to be an exc lu sive aVlar aDd proph et
of tbe modern world-ra th er Nirankar (God) llim self-
was correct or bis [resll di , a vowal, that he is a simple
Gurbachan Singh, is genuin e.
One is inclined to infer that just as he was
over-bearingly and ridiculou sly assumpluous ill llis
fir st fake claim, he is equally insincere and dishonest
in his disclaimer. Otherwise, if he is sincere in his
fresh stand , he must wind up hi s whole fraudulent
show, close his den se of vice, the l:lhawans, hand over
the Mandai's property of several crorcs to the
Government fOT a charitable purpose or constitute a
Trust of his own chaise and him sel f full in line with
some established and time-honoured relig.ious Order,
preferably join the original Baba DyaJ's Nil'ankar i
Darbar. He may advise his followers also to do the
same.
17. Nirankari MandaI
Some time after CO!l'fn-f~dO~V)) ' t1! i DelhihShri
Avtar Singh & Co. started and organised their rebel
and rival fact.ion, tile Nirankari MandaI. It is
virtually a family concern. In course of time , be
set up his own campus, the Nirankari Colony, in
Delhi-9.
18. Centre's Complicity
A Punjabi Weekly of Chandigarh, the
'Panjpani' in its issue of 7.5.1978 has given a stunning
background story of the format ion of the Nirankari
Mandai and its growth . The Editor has made a
firm assertion about the MandaI. It came into being
during S. Patel's tenure in the Home Ministry. Shl"i
Avtar Singh is said to have made a mutually gainful
written contract with the Government through the
Secret cell of the Home Ministry. The main terms,
it is stated, were these: Shri Avtar Singh would
spread his Mandai's activities in the Sikh-dominated
districts of Punjab. The a im of the Mandai would
be to corrupt the staunch Khalsa fervour and
character of the Sikh masses, by preaching and
practising his •Mans, Madura, Mailhan' cult among
them.
The political purposes is said to be to weaken
the Sikh urge for keeping intact their full-blooded
distinct entity in respect of separate socio-religious-
cum-politico-cultural aspects of the Sikh Paoth.
Thereby, it was meant to demolish the image, capa-
city and competence of the Sikh Panth's mouth piece,
the Shiromani Akali Oa!. The latter has ever been,
since after partition, an eye sore for the centre.
Having missed the bus III 1946-47, the Oal bas

18
continued to rightl y clamour for restorin g and
rehahilitating the Co mmunity's historic in dependant
status in the aforesaid aspects.
The Congress bosses were, as perhaps now too
some apex men of the present government are,
anxious to silence or full the D al into accepting to
abjure politics. Indeed, t here have been repeated
attempts by the Delhi demi-go ds, for instance, both
by the Congress and recently by the Janata party,
to make Akali Dal a ba ndOIl its separate political
sta tus.
Of course, to makc the Panth acqu iesce into
this position without acllieving the nal's targets, is
tantamount to obliging the Sikhs 'commit religio-
cultural-cum-polilical suicide in the present set up
of things in the counlry.
Thus, Shri Avtar Singh and his Nirankari
MandaI are said LO bave pledged for making the
Sikhs deflect from th eir Khalsa way of life and think-
ing, thereby ma king them fllrget their oistinct entity
and ultimately ma king them merge in the general
mass of the maj o rity community. Such a n arrange-
ment, Delhi seems to be ever anx ious, would perma-
nently extinguish the Oal's fiat to fight for the Sikhs'
rightful place in the country's political life.
In return for til is 'service', the Government
is said to have agreed to make availa ble craTes of
funds to Shri Avtar Singh and his Nira nkari MandaI.
it is firmly claimed by the above said Weekly tha t
the said mutual arrangement in writing is still present
in the secret cell of the Union Government's Home

19
Ministry. (See Appendix-'C') .
It is, therefore, vcry important for all concer-
ned. the Si kh Panth, th e Nira.nkari M a nd a i, and the
Union G overnment to ferret out an d un earth the said
docum ent, a nd make it public.
Presu mably, by virtue of such an existin g
agreem ent, the present apex apparatu s of Union
Government also feels committed to honour it. That
perba ps explains the PrimeMinister's consiste nt, much
too open, pro-Gurbachan tilt and his coJJcague, the
Fo reign Min ister's reported advocacy of the Niral1 kari
Baba's preaching Manav Dbarma (Human ism).
It was perhaps und er this cloak that a non-
Sikh Minister of Punjab and a veteran communalist
Newspaper proprietor of lullundur vo lunteered to
speak at t he last so-called 'M anavta Sammclan' of
the Nirankari Chie!' at Arnritsar on 13.4.78, the
massacre day of the Sikhs at tbe b ands of this alleged
killer.
And it is still fresh ill tbe Sikh's M emories tha t
some time back our Foreign Affairs Ministry had
se nt round a circular to some of our foreign embassies
to ask Sikhs living abroad to arrange Y.I.P. receptions
in honour of Shri Gurbachan Singh when he vi sited
tbere. Strong protests th en again st such a circular
by the Tehran Sikhs mu st still be there in the Foreign
Affairs Ministry'S records.
Further, in order to lend dignity and credibility
to thi s anti-S ikb Nirankari MandaI, some of th e
senior ce ntra l Ministers have been attending their
annu a l gatherings in Dellii.

20
The Sikhs are also prone to interpret even the
apparant soft corner of the Supreme Court for the
'Nirankari Baba' in the same light.
So there is a reason to believe tllat Shri
Gurbachan Singh 's daring indecent depradations
against the Sikh religion and the Sikh Panth are not
without the Centre's connivance.
19. Anti-Sikh Political Conspirary
The above referred to document plus Centres'
pro-Niraokari attitude, coupled with the communalists
taking sides with the ' Nirankari Baba' as against the
Sikh Panth and this unholy anti-Sikh alliance raising
a dust sto rm against the Akali-dominated State
Ministry to topple it down: all this, what is it if not
anti·Sikh politics?
To all intents and purposes, therefore, Shri
Gurbachan Singh 's Niraokari Mandai and his camou-
flage fraud ulent cloak of spiritualism have proved to
be more anti-Sikh political game then anything else.
Th is game is being played by anti-Sikh forces to
suppress the Sikh Panth's aspirations to re-discover
its destiny.
20. Another Stunning Disclosure
As culled from the S.G .P.C's. recently published
'White Pa per' (p. 26) there has come to light another
piece of relevant naked truth. It is a statemen t of
one Shri Satpal Baghi of Ferozepul'. It is said to
have appeared jn an April end 1978 issue of the Daily
'Indian Express', its Chandigarh Edition.
As it is in the sa id WHITE PAPER. it is being
given verbatim in an Appendix-'D' herewith as a

21
part of this booklet at the end. Its text forcefully
reinforces the version of Chandigarh's 'Panjpani'
Week ly iss ue of 7.5 .78, as referred to above under
paragraph 17. In conjunction with Appcndix-'D' ,
giving full text of Mr. Satpa l Baghi 's statement, may
be pro fitably read the 'Panjpani's' version (English
rendering of the relevant ab~tract portions ) in
Appendix-C and also S. Huk am Singh's article men-
tioned under paragra ph 21 herebelow :
21. Sardar Hukam Singh's Evidence
To further endorse this view, it would be quite
pertinent to quote Sardar Hukam Singh, Ex-Speaker,
Lok Sabha, from his recent article in the 'Spokesman'
New Delhi, in its 15 and 22 Ma y, 1978 issues. Ever
since 1947 there has been lurking an unfortunate
suspicion in Delbi's inner thinking about the Sikhs'
fidelity toward s their cberisted motherland . And
this is so despite their undeniab le historic lion's share
in sacrifices in th e country's liberation struggles. Sikh
Pantb's insistence on keeping its alJround distinct
entity intact, is another serious grouse of the majority
community's bard-boiled communalists in tbe Punjab
and else\Nhere, even in the Centre, whatever be the
complexation of the ruling party in Dellli.
In this context, it would be quite cogent to
quote Sardar Huk(l1U Singh's inferential verdict from
hi s derailed article, based on so lid factual data
adduced by him. In this ankle in two instalments
(15 and 22 May issues), captioned, 'SIKH DENIED
MINORiTY STATUS SINCE PARTITION', he
writes:

22
"Immedia tely after p~tition, the Sikh leaded
tried their bes t to assu{e tbe Indian. O:p.y.~ilJ
ment and the Congress pa-ny Ur~f'thev' did not
want any separate state, but only safeguard to
live as equal citizens, with respect and honour,
and not as underdogs of democracy··· .. . ... The
policy of the Indian Government since Inde-
pendence, whatever its complexion presented
and whichever the cloak it has worn, has been
to absorb and assimilate the Sikhs, and not to
give any recognition by which they might
further prolong their existence as a distinct
community" (The Spokesma n 15.5.78, pp. 6,7),
Sardar ji, besides giving other references has
al so copiously quoted from the communalist
press leaders of August to October, 1948, e.g.
Jai Hind, JuJlundur, 6.8.48 ; Hind Samachar,
4.8.48; The Pratap, JuJlundur 11.9.48; Tribun e,
5.10.48; the Hindustan Times, Oct. 1948, to
prove hi s main contention in nutshell, th al
" if the Sikhs desire to live in India they should
cease to think as a community. The majori ty
community is bent upon liquidating their iden-
tity by rubbin g them down and malignin g
tbem , and the Sikhs have been trying to foi l
th ose manoeu vres." ('SPOKESMAN' 22 .5.78,
p . 4.) .
Therefo re, in the context under-reference,
Sardar Huka m Singh's artic le in question is very
much wo rth reading. Its implication must be pro-
cessed th o roughly by all the conscious Sikhs, also

23
by the weU wishers Ilf the Punjab, as well as of the
country at large. Ever,' loya l son of Mother Punjab
too must pause and co mpre.i1end Punjab's future in
the light of S. Hukam Singh's th is writing on the
wall. (See Appe ndix H)
All the sa me, Sdrda rji's write· up lends a great
credence to the assertion made by the Editor of the
aforesaid Weekly of Chandiga rh . Thus, inadver·
tently, it also lends credence to the possibility of th e
reported mutual arra ngement between the N irHnkari
Mandai and the Centre as an effective device to ' rub
down' the Sikhs, and therefore. Delhi patronage of
Sbri Gurbachan Singh 's person and programme.
22. Still More CollaboratJon
As practicall y it is a well thought out policy
of the Centre to 'rub down' the Akali Dal, ipso facto
the Sikh Panth, a not her circumstantial piece of
evidence is cited hercbclow in support hereof:
The Sikh Pa nth decimation policy is the crux
of the who le malleI' vis-a-v is the Niranka ri Mandai 's
anti Sikh activity.
The 'Punjubi San'~lchur' Weekly of Bo mbay
(its 4. 8.78 Iss ue, p. 4) al so makes a point from a
reliably qu ot.:d source in this respect. It reveals,
the Sikh Jead ~ rs arc now growing consciolls of a fact.
The Sikh s are undcr a thick cloud of suspicion at the
Cen tre, evcrsince a Home Ministry prepared and
rccorded confidential note about their political frus-
tration and hence a likely contingency of their
hobnob bing with Pakistan any time. The sa id note
is stated to have been prepared and recorded during

24
late Sardar Patel's stewardship of the Home Ministry,
soon art~r independence, just to conditioll Delhi's
recurring. po licies towards the community. This
expla in s not only the Centre's sinister device of the
Nirankari MandaI's continued patronage again ·t the
Sikhs, but a lso its continued allti-Sikh and (because
of Sikhs) a nti-Punjab trends_ There has piled up a
heap of instances of deliberate discrimination, both
agains t the Sikhs and the Punjab, ever since
J947. For example, 3rd June last Memorandum
of Punjab's Revenue Minister on the subject, su b-
mitted to the Prime Minister- and the latter's subse-
quent unceremonious rejection th.:reof -is ju st an
iI! usna tio n_
As a corollery hereof, the traditional anti-Sikh
communalist diehards of Punjab have evcr a llied
themselves with all kinds of anti-Sikh and anti-Punjab
forces. Their allout support of the bogus N irallkar is
in the case under reference, is a patent fact [Q further
amplify this point. They and their press have ill
reccnt month s, done th eir worst not o nl y to support'
the al leged killers of Sikhs, but a lso to utili se this
unfortunate episode to malign and topp le the present
AkaJi-domin"tcd co~litio n Ministry in the Punjab.
This a nti-Sikh phobia of some of om communalist
brethren is an old mental maJady of 1 heiJ"S . For
instance, one is reminded of a top class comlTluna list
lawyer Jeader of lahore to have been tbe chief adviser
of the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara Mahanl, who had
massacred abo U[ 150 innocent Sikb devotees in Feb.,
1921. The latter had gone to the Mahant to make

25
him desist from his acts of debauchery, as a custodjan
of the sacred shrine,
One is, t.herefore, tempted to surmise, just as
the Brilish Government had supported the killer
Mahant against the Sikh Panth for their imperialist
reasons then, our world-known 'morali st' Prime
Minister, and like their Lahore fore-runner, 'Hindi,
Hindu-Hindustan' neo-imperialist zea lots of today in
supporting the alleged new killer of Sikhs, might not
earn a simi lar odium ,
A top class majority community intellectual
has claimed that after independence 'Hindus are the
masters and r ulers ofIndia', It is not improbable,
therefore, that apart from the se well organised
zealots, in positions of power today, this communally
over-bearing thinking is symbo lic of a n average
politically consciolls member of the majority commu-
nity, This seems to be so inspite of the tall hypo-
critical claims to the con tra ry.
23. Sikh-Nirallkari Controversy
It is much too evident that the Nirankari
Mandai bas, eversince the aforesaid agreement, been
working heart and sou l in the direction of its under-
taking, Because of Sbri Gurbacban's openly running
down the Sikh Gurus, mimicking them and also
aping certain hi storic, esteemed Sikh personages,
ridicul ing the authority of their eterna l WORD
GURU, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, mocking at the Sikh
Conuuunity for pursuing their scrosanct usages and
tradition, for instance, Kar-Sewa, Amrit Prachar etc.
All this has enraged the :whole Sikh community over

26
the years. They have been giving such pin Pricks XI?
the Sikhs ince long.
For this reaso n, before · tg:4.L78 traged}'; there
had been a numher of earlier angry protestation by
the Sikhs against such indecent and vulgar p'ublic
blurtings of Shri Gurbachan on various occasions
and at various places in the Punjab, like Ropar,
Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Pathankot, Chowk Mehta etc.
and outside, for instance, in Bombay. The concerned
police records and court proceedings must bear testi-
mony to it in Punjab and Bombay. The Amritsar
tragedy was just a climax of all this.
24. Clash or KLling
The Anti-S ikh Press ha s been profusely publi-
cising all these months that 13.4,78 tragedy in
Amritsar was an armed attack parpetrated by the
Nihangs on the Niranka[i gathering. For this one
may refer to, for instance, a mi sleading caption under
a photo picture in the 'Illustrated Weekly of India'
of 23.4 78, p. 27, (also referred to elsewhere in this
booklet) which mistake the Weekly had to rectify
with regrets on protest from S.G.P.C., in its 14.5.78
issue, p. 5.
It is all a travesty of truth. The Nihangs or
any political Akalis were 110 where in the picture on
this occasion. It seems, the se habitual anti-parrth
publicists deliberately inducted the name of Nihangs
in this tragic episode to make it appear quite plausi-
ble, because the Nihangs are armed with traditional
Sikh Weapons, remanents as they are of Sri Guru
Gobind Singh's holy militia, analogolls to ELII'opes'

27
Knight errants of medieval ages.
The Sikhs who went to protest to the N iran-
kari Chief to refrain from insultillg the Sikh religion
and their Gurus in his public hlurtings were all un-
armed. They also bad no liaison whatever with any
partisan politics. They bad on their persons only
sheathed usual symbolic small 'kripans'.
Therefore, tbey never went with any intention
of engaging themselve s with anyone in an armed
combat. It was, therefore, the same kind of one-
sided atrocious killings of conscious protest ors, by
the se p,eudo-Nirankari killers, i.e., their para-military
Sewe Dal, as General Dyer had killed protesting
peorle in Jallianwala Bagh on the Dth April, 1919
Baisakhi in Amritsa r. The notorious Mahant Narain
Das of Nankana Sahib had also killed about 150
Sikhs on 2! st FebruaTY, 192! in a simi lar way with
the connivance of the British Government.
Tbese 13.4.78 Sikh protesters we re kept by the
police at a di stance about 300 yards frolll the ve nue
of the N irankari gathering. AmI the peo ple at a
cons iderab le distance outside the ' pandal" arc said
to ha ve heard the Nirankari chief speak on an elabo-
rate loud -speaker arrangcment in stalkd inside , exhort-
ing h is trained militia perso nnel in thcse words,
"These Sikhs think they can stop us frolll freely
carrying out our programme. Let them know today
bow mi staken they are. Time has come to be active
for Lbi s job .'·
1t is reported, at this stage a cont in gent of
their para-military force, armed and equipped with

28
rifles, acid bottles, mechanically operated poisioned
arrows etc., Jlastened to the spot wllcre the un-armed
protesting Sikhs were made to stand by the police.
With in 111 inutes they mowed down more than a dozen
of these devoted souis.
Their only fault was that tbey went there for
a perfectl y legitimate protest as said above, just as
it so often h appens, for example, ou [side the Prime
Minister's or any other Government dignitaries'
residence in New Delhi or elsewhere.
Hence it was not a Sikh·Nirankari clash but a
deliberate one-s ided massacre of unarmed Sikhs, A
reference has been made at an other place in this
book.let that, according to a front rank ex-Nirankari
veteran, tile Niran.kari chief is said to have got pre-
contemplated plan of 'teaching a lesson ' to the
protesting Sikhs.
The Kanpar Carnage
Tsn't it strange? Shri Gurbachan Singh , to-
gether with his otber associates, is facillg a lllurder
trail in a Sessions Court. But tbe G()\'crnment and
the jud ieia ry is so considerate for this alleged
murderer that he is allowed to be enlarged on bail,
without putting any re strictions and conditious on
him for obviatiqg any furtber chance of his repeating
such a ghastly contingency as tl1e one of 13.4.1978 at
Amritsar, at least as long the Court proceedings were
in progress.
Not only tbis:' Leaders of his private para-
military force, (see Appendix P.A.) who are also
alleged to be directly involved in the Amrit sar

29
massacre, are long declared absconders bearing
sizeable rewards on their heads. Is it complimentary
for the Government's forces of law and order, in fact
for the Government itself, that these alleged killers,
absconding for the las! morc than six months, si nce
13.4.78. arc still at large? It is extensively rumoured
that they are safe and enjoying in the Nirankari Baha's
own custody in h is headquarters in Dellli-9, that is,
under the Centre's own no se.
It is, therefore, wrong to infer that the se
alleged declared murder absconders are under the
implied direct protection of the centre itself?
And what is the direct sequence of the above
logic? The Nirankari baba is aga in involved, or why
not say is directly responsible for another similar set
of murders in Kanpur on 26th September, 1978, under
simiJar circumstances and fOT simila r reasons.
And one sl.lOuld believe therefore, that the
Sikh community should await a still further round of
martyrdoms for the same sacred cause as at Amritsar
and then in Kanpur, at the hands of these very
alJeged murderers, the fake Nirankaries, thmugh oul
the country with the Government's connivance.
It seems this abominable Nirankari baba is well
set to 'teach a pucca lesson' to the Sikh Panth Ullder
the Centre's OW[] patronage.
Sardar Hukam Singh's Inquiry Report
As culled from the Daily TriblLl1e of 19.10.78,
p. I, hereunder is a Copy of Sardar Hukam Singh
lnquiry Committee's report on the Kanpur Tragedy.
Though subseqllcntly the Prime Minisler has

30
remarked it is a 'one-sided' version, yet it is analog.e-
ous to tile Corrgress Inquiry Report on 1919 Jallian-
wala Bagh massacre as against British Government's
Hunter Committee's findings.
Tile accredited readers may be pleased to
make their own references from the undernoted next
to reconcile the same with the pivotal gist of the
case made ont in tile main exposition in this com-
pilation.
The Kanpur Tragedy
The three man committee appointed by the
Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to enquire
into the Kanpur incident of September 26 has expres-
sed the view that the tragedy resulting in 13 deaths
and injuries to over 40 persons could have been
averted if the police had desired so.
The Committee is headed by Mr. Hukam Singh
former Lok Sabha Speaker. The other members are
Mr. M ehar Singh Chadha, retired Distri ct and
Sessions Judge, and Mr Hazara Singh Cundoia, an
advocate of the Supreme Court.
The committee which made an on-the-spot
enquiry for tbree days in Kanpur submitted its
findings to the D. G. P. C. President Mr. JaslVanl
Singh Sethi.
The report, wllich was released to the press by
Mr. Hllkam Singh and Mr. Setbi at a news conference
said that the situation was allowed to develop
unchecked until the Sikhs reached Nirankari Bhava n
where they were trapped and then fired upon indiscri-
minately. The poLice did not have Lathis or tear gas

31
shells, normallv used in dispersing crowds, befnre
resorting to shooting. Tile shooting was to kill and
not to disperse th e as se mbl y or protect any human
life or propert.y as almost all tIle bullets were aimed
above the hips.
Ninmkaris Armed
Preparations had already been made at Niran-
kari Bhavao where heaps of stones and brick-bats
had been collected on the Toof. These were used as
missiles as tbe Sikh procession approached the
Bbavan. Besides, the Nirankari volunteers were
armed witb lathis and firearms.
The police, according to tbe report, received
information at 8 a.l11. that a procession wa s heading
towards Nirankari Bbavan. During the hour and a
half interval it bad, no magistrate was requested to
be on the spot [lor was an y senior officer deputed to
assess the situation and deal with it. The S.H.O.
was left alone to take all the deci sions and he had
already made plans to 'shoot to kill' as was apparent
frOl'll his equipping him self and his assistants with
revolvers and .303 rilles.
The procession covered a 3-km route and
passed the road where the police stalion was situated .
The police watched the procession pass without any
hintrance and remained unconcerned.
The gates of the Bha van had been closed and
bolted from inside with only one kept open . At the
enclosure gate the proccssionists were asked not to
enter the hall. They insisted on meeting the Baba.
The stones thrown from the Bhavan forced them to

32
run helter-, ke lter but a few forced their way in. No
force was used to prevent them nor was the assembly
declared unlawful. Wilen so me had been trapped
the only opened gate was closed. There were police
inside the hall also. There were vol leys of brick-bats
thro wn by the crowd outside and a murderou s assault
on tbose trapped with the use of fire -arms, brick-bats
and Jatbis.
Th" F.I.R. filed by th e Sikhs states tl1at the
first shot was fired by Baba Gurbacban Singh . The
Sikhs fo und themselves cornered with no chance of
escape. Thlls in desperation they struggled and
fought hack.
Tl1ere was firing without warning. Every Sikh
tryi ng to flee or find shelter was chased and fired at.
The po lice appeared to be di ssa tisfied even
with this firing. A young man Mr. Manmohan Singh,
had hiddt:n himself in an adjacent bu ildin g. Two
hou rs after the firing bad stopped he came out and
lried to ride away on his scooter but was shot dead.
The pol ice did not a tlend to the wounded to
see wnether any could be saved. On the other hand,
those attempting to provide first -aid to them were
fired at. There were no Nihangs nor any other
outsider.
Tbe question of use of excessive force by the
police, the report observed, was irrelevant as revol-
vers and 303 rifles were the only wea pons they bad.

Atrocities
The atrocities committed by tbe police were

33
so terrifying that the Sikh s were completely paralysed
and could not even dare to mention them. No Sikh
dared to file the first information report. There was
a lot of delay and when ultimately it was filed, all
tbe Sikh leaders were asked to sign it so that everyone
echoed the statement exonerating the police, the
report stated.
The district authorit ies completely fo rgot that
they were tbe guard ians and the Nirankaris and t he
Sikhs were their wards. Timely steps could have
saved the Sikhs from this catastrophe.
Mr. Hllkam Singh said that the Sikh pro-
cessionists di splayed a high spirit of restraint and
sacrifice. Some of them had to make the supreme
sacrifice by braving the bullets of the police and the
Nirankaris while others were permanantly disa bled.
Two young men became martyrs, leaving behind
young widows with small children.
The committee suggested that immediate relief
should be provided to the widows and their orphaned
children brought up and compensation given to those
disabled.
Mr. Hukam Singh said the U.P. Ch ief Minister
who had strong views, was initially nelt in favour of
holding the ellqniry and tried to dissuade them from
doing so.
Mr. Sethi said he would sub mit this report to
the Prime Minister on October 21 and demand action
against the erring police officers. A copy of the
report would also be sent to the U .P. Chief Minjster.

34
Other~
Otherwise, if these p~rk had rea II}!, .<~
genuine independent religious ~t· . oQii'· tntlllltl)'.ti'ti
preach. without insulting the Sikh- reJfglbff -or tor
that malLer any otller reJlgion s, the Sikhs could have
no quarrel with them.
As a matter of fact, there is no record of Sikhs
clashing with followers of any other genuine religion .
Tilev believe in the mllxim so copiously enunciated
in their sac red scriptures Like 'Na ko bairi nahin
begana sagal sang hamko ball aa;', i.e., no one is our
enemy, WI! befriend one and all. Or "Sabko mil ham
apan kina, ham sabill1a ke sajan", i.e. , we nave be
friended all and we arc friends of all. Both these
quotation s, out of sco res of such ones, are from Shri
Guru Granth Sahib. Similarly Shri Guru Gobind
Singh exhorts his followers in this context in these
words " Monas-lei-jat Sahli Ekai hi Pahchanbo", i.e.,
Recognise yeo whole humanity as one.
Hence as a matter of practical illustration to
thi s day Siklb allover the globe easily fraterni se with
all people of the Universe. This is a part of their
character, individual, a nd Co rporate, as a result of
their Gurus' teachings. The world-revered authori-
ties like late Maharishi Aurobindo Ghosh and Prof.
A. Toynbee and scores of other eminent erudite
celebrities, fully endorse this view. For instance, one
may refer to Swami Aurobindo's 'Foundation of
Indian Culture', and Prof. Arnold Toynbees' Preface
to the UNESCO's Publication, titled "Selections from
Sikhs Sacred Writings" .

35
l-Jen ce Shri Gurbachan's impertinent claim to
be the present day Guru Nanak and 11is insult to
Sri Guru Grauth Sahib and to mock at the sacred
Sikh traditions, and p(!rsouages etc. as briefed above,
is the cause of his coming into conflict with the Sikhs
at Jarge, and not the Akalis or Nihangs alone, as is
being mischievously publicised to malign the Akali
leaders and Akali Ministers in the Punjab Govern-
ment. As for Nihangs they have been nowhere in
the picture in the sto ry under reference.
25. The Hukamnama
In the Jast resort, in view of the continued
insulting of Sikh religion, and d isruptive activities in
the organised Sikh Panth etc. by Shri Gurbachan
and his bogus Nirankari followers, the former at
long last has been obliged to proclaim his and his
followers' socio-religious bo ycott by the Sikhs. It
was in the form of a traditional Hukamnama, the
edict, issued from the highest seat of Sikh religio us
authority, the Akal Takhat on 10th June, 1978. The
Sikh Panth is an organised Guru's socio- religious
state within state. Such occasional Hukamnama in
Sikh history hitherto have been issued, both in the
Gurus' times and afterwards, to keep intact the
Pantb's integrity against any disruption.
This is, therefore, a domestic prerogative of
the Sikh Panth. None else sho uld bother his or her
head about it. If some people ha ve dODe it or are
stilj doing it, they have done so or are doing it at
thei r own risk of interfereing with the religious affairs
of the Sikh Community. The Hukamnama affects
36
none others, except tIle disruptive, bogus, Sikh-like
Nirankari Chief impostor and bis followers.
26. Study the Hukamn3lJ1a
It is Ilighly improbable that the tllOughtless
communalists and other critics of the Hukamnama,
beinfolded by their absurd prejudices and or igno-
rance, have so far studied its text in depth nor they
are conversant with Sikh history and tradition, nor
they care to know aU this. Thus they are announcing
their prejudiced judgements without any basis.
Refering to its contents in a photostat copy,
published in the official organ ali the Shiromani
Gurdwara Parbandl1ak Committee (S.G.P.c.) Amrit-
sar, 'the Gurdwara Gazettee', for June L978, the
under-noted words and a text of Shri Guru Gobind
Singh quoted therein, are very germane to the above
point: 'Khalse da vird hai', Dharam chalavan. sant
ubaran. dusht sabhan ko lIlul uparan. It TIleanS, the
Khalsa Pantll is inherently committed to further,
fOSLer and uphold the vaLues of Dharma as such,
and to stand a sentineL to safe guarding the dignity
oftbe righLieous peo ple, the saints, and to destroy tbe
enemies of these ethical values and the virtllolls
people root and branch .
Apart from Sikhism, as already pointed out,
Nirankari Mandai's 'bible', the ' Avtar Bani', down-
grades and insults the credentials of Hinduism,
Christianity and Islam as weLL It defies Avtar Singh
and Gurbachan Singh over the heads of Lords Ruma,
Krishna, and other Hindu deities, and ridicules Hindu
pilgrimage tradi tjo n, as well as insults Jesus Christ

37
and Prophet Moh am mad . The Hukamnama, there-
fore, tbough indirectly, is there to check their taking
liberty wjth the sa nctity and grace of othe r religions
also.
In a way, therefo re. over a dozen of the cream
of pious Sikhs, following in the foo tste ps of Guru
Tegh Bahadur, have laid down th(·ir lives o n 13th
April, 1978, in defence of Dha rma as such . Tha t
way, all sincere votaries of alJ re ligions and lhese
who swear by the spiritual val ues of India's anCie nt,
ethica l, eternal cul ture, mu st also own these martYI's
as their own. It follows, therefore. that al l the
followers of Hinduism, Christan it y a nd I slam. mu st
also jo in ha nd s with the Sikh Panth to boycott these
bogus Nirankaris. They sho uld all jointl y impress
upon the G overn ment t o arran ge a th onlligh en quiry
into every dewil of thi s wam-margi cult for its total
ba nning.
27. Hukamnama Safeguards O ther Faiths Also
Apart from safeg uardin g the excellencc of t he
corpora te Sikh character and system, 1here is uno lher
catholic signi ficance of the Hukamnama. Inadver-
tently , it checks the on >Iau ght of Gurbachan Singh's
wam-margi N irankarism on the essence of our proud
Indian ethico-spiritual culture . For th at reaso n it
behoves the whole lot of people wbo sear by such a
spiritual tradit io n of Mother india, most of all the
Central Government's votaries of anc ient ethica l
culture, must rather join forces wilh the Sikh Panth
to save sp iritual Indianism again st th e 'pollution of
the foredesc ribed debauch Nilallka l' ;sm.

38
28. Private Army
The S.G .P .c. has recently published a 4-page
folder, titled 'Private Army of Sant Nirankari
Mission.' According to this the Nirankari MandaI
maintains about 7,000 strong militarily trained
militia. The recruitment thereto is said to be country
wide. The force is a paid one and regularly ranked
and uniformed on a military pattern . There is a
Commander-in-Chief, a Deputy Commander-in-Chief
and down tile rungs, there are other military·like ranks
at th~ lowest stage being ordinary sepoys and other
ranks (ORS).
Their recruitment age ranges fr om 16 to 40
years for males and 12 [0 30 for females, preferably
unmarried young girls. The force is made up of city-
wi se and region-wise recruited units, their strength in
each case being Nirankari population-wise and
importance of a place or a region. Training duration
for neo-recruits; is three man Ihs, as per a well planned
schedUle. The force is called the 'Sant Nirankari
Seva Oat' (S.N.S.D. ). 11 is planned, controlled and
supervised in every detail by the regularly. constituted
'Nirankari Seva Dal Board.'
It was the S.N.S.D. personnel who moved
down the 13 Sikhs, the martyrs and grievously injured
about 80 others on the last Baisakhi day, 13-4-1978,
in Amritsar. Earlier, besides about half a dozen
other places in PunJ3b, they bad already indulged in
a similar action in Bombay too fO( similar reasons.
A noted writer, Mr. Balwant Gargi, stales
about the S.N.S.D . in a Nirankari Mandai publication
39
of his, the 'Nirankari Baba' pp. 72, 73 li ke this: "the
first time 1 attended a (Niranka ri) Smagam two years
ago on the the Dchli's Ram Lila Grou nds , 1 was
startled to see an arm y of uniformed so ldiers, cont-
rolling traffics and conducting participants. A white
turbanned senior official wearing epaulettes and
leather cross belts commanded them with a whistle".
Tllis is a brief description of Gurbachan's para-
military force maintained for atrocious actions like
the tragic one, recently enacted in Amri tsa r o n
13-4-1978.
Some Cogent QueTies
In relevance to tbe 'Sant Nirankari Seva Da l',
a nlisnoroer indeed, and its heinou s activities, plus
other unpalatable facts stated in this narration vis-a-
vis the Government's administ rative obligations, here
are a number of cogent queries of a responsible
citizen for the Governm ent to answer:
(i) Isn't it probable that apart from reponed non-
cooperation of tbe Debli Police with the Punjab
Police, the Ia.tter were also afraid of se rvin g
arrest warra nts on the 'Nirankari Baba' in hi s
DehIi citadel and llis other aIJeged murder
accomplices, beca use of the baba's these S.N.
S.D. hideou s scntinals? In tbis way, process
of law was trifled with, seemingly by this
Nirankaci militia.
(ii) If tbe Government has so far taken no cogni-
zance of this S.N.S.D's. activities and its sup-
ereme Commander, th e baba, wha.t inference
the ' Secular' Administratio n would like the

40
Slkh Panth in particula r a nd the other peace
lov ing citize ns in general to draw from thi s
kind o f its gross adm inistrative delinquency?
(iii) How is it th a t the Government's law and order
age ncies to ok no notice of the Nirankari
C hiefs's earlier such vio len t ac tio ns a t a number
o f places in the Punjab an d outside, in order to
proper ly bridlin g him befo re permitting him
to convene hi s gathering in Amrit sa r on
U-4-1978 ?
(iv) Is it not the obligation of the Government even
now to take the public at la rge into its confi-
dence as to what was the inventory o f the
po lice wilh regard to the weapons and casks
of whisky erc. recovered in a police resea rch
of th e Amritsar Nirankari gat hering camp and
its B hawan, ca rried on immediately afrer tbe
13-4-78 tragedy? With informatio n about th e
licenses of the armoury items used -ill the sa id
carnage.
(v) AlJd is it not th e height of the Governments'
callou sness and disregard of the precious
humalJ li te, that it aUow.:d the Ni ra nkari Chief
carryon his condemnable programme of his
Amritsar gathering o n 13-4-1 978 for hours even
after the massac re th a t day? And is the
Government not still more se riously account-
able be fore tbe people, th a t il not only allowed
the C hie f an d his a Ueged murder accom plices
and other pa raph e rna ti a t o safel y esca pe to
D ehli, but also some Government officials

41
having pmvided him escort for a safe run-away?
Isn't it not a Government's virtual abetment in
tbe alleged crime?
(vi) Isn't it with a sinister purpose that the Govern-
ment induc ted quite a few Nirankari I .A.S. and
other senior officers in Sikh garb into the
Punjab administration?
For all such queries to answer satisfactorly the
ball is certainly in the Government' s court for clear-
ance.
A major slaughter was long contemplated
One of the front rank veteran ex-Nirankaris,
Nirankari Mandai 's senior ex-preacher, has disclosed
another startling fact. ]n llis recent Punjabi publica-
tion (p. 61) 'Sam Nirankari Mandai di Haqiqat ' (i.e.,
Reality of the Nirankari MandaI), S. Ujagar Singh
Josh Aoandpuri has revealed Nirankari Chief's long
contemplated scheme of a major slaughter of Sikhs to
teach them a lesso n, in order to make them abandon
their protests against his in sults to the Sikh Gurus
and the Sikh religion. Isn't it also pitiable that the
Government's concerned machinery has bee n careless
about such hideou s designs of Ius against the Sikhs?
29. Naqli Nirankari Nihangs
Shri Gurbachan Singh has also created a contin-
gent of imitation Nihangs, a militant Sikh sect. This
contingent is created and kept for a few probable
purposes. One is to utilise their serv ices along with
the fore· described para-military Nirankari Seva Dal
on occasions like the one of 13-4-1978 Amritsar
carnage_ Second, to use i.t to create a camoufla ge

42
scene of an Akali-Nihang atlack on them (the NiraJ:t-
karies), as an anti-Nihang or Anti-Akali publicity
stunt, when it suits their purpose.
For inslance, they got published an identical
misleading picture in the 23·4-78 'J!lustrated Weekly
ofIndia' (p. 27) to publicise as if Akali'(Nihangs) had
attacked them in Amritsar on 13-4·78. On S.G.P.C's.
and other Sikh s' stlbsequently pointing out this
mistake. the Weekly had to publish the necessary
correction in its 14-5-78 issue on p. 5, with an expre-
ssion of regrets. There can still be another fraudulent
purpose; as if Nibang Sikhs, known to be a sect of
staunch militant SikJ1S of pristine Khalsa faith, are
also their followcrs.
Thus all kinds of frauds seems to be another
article of faith with the NirankaTi MandaI.
To authenticate the above statement regarding
creation of NaqLi Nirallkari Nihang contingent, a
group photocopy of such mim'c Nihangs taken on the
26th general Ni ra nkari gathering, and one more of
such illlitatio n Nihangs practising a mock fencing
game is in the 'Sant Nirankari' Punjabi Monthly for
December, 1973 p. 21 (See Appendix F).
30. Status of Amritsar Martyrs
This brief narration would be incomplete with-
out clarifying the status of the 13-4-1978 Amritsar
martyrs jn tile Sikh world, as heores hereof.
There should be no doubt about it that despite
their deep anguish, the whole Sikh Panth is genuinely
proud, lhe,e martyrs together with Sardar Darsban
Singh Pheruman's ma tc hless deed of October, 1969,

43
have added another modern golden chapter to the
vast proud record of Sikh martyrs in history so far.
In what great esteem the whole Sikh world
holds these ne w ma rtyrs, it would be evident from the
unanimous reso lutio n on this tra gic event, a~ passed
in the AII·World Sikh Convention , held un de r the
auspices of the supreme statutory Sikh religious body,
the S.G.P.C. Amritsar on 17-5-1978.
Also how even the Sikh Dh ar ma Brotherhood
(Los Angeles, U.S.A.) of the Western Hemisphere
Neo-Sikhs, ha ve reacted to thi s carnage of Sikhs; for
all thi s see Appe ndix 'G' . Representatives of the
Brotherhood participated in th e 17-5-1978 Convention
also.
Is it a Religion?
The country's Prime Minister and vest of hi s
co-thickness seem to be very much at pains to make
the people believe that this fraud of Nirankarism is a
full fledged faith and its followers mu st enjoy a right
of worship as they like.
In !Iris context there is a pertinent question
diforcing this hot issue from the current politics it
has gOt to be aca demicall y investigated whether
Gurbachan's Nirankari Mission is at all a faith of any
distinct identity meriting such a privilege. For thi s a
panel of competent religions scholars of Hinduism,
hlam, Christianity and Sikhism, which faith these
people demigrate, mu st sit together to fix a common
yard stick of credenti als of an acceptable religion and
academjcally map it out on that. Of all the people,
let our esteemed Prime Minister him self take such an

44
initiative.
Otherwise such fake and mushroom growth of
these so-called, faiths , panesitic demonstration are
sure tn mak" our cherished Mother India a hell to
li ve in and make a mockery of an ethical sacred heri-
tage before tbe world at large.
31. Inquiry, A Mllst
The fore-narrated facts warrant an immediate
forthright Governmental inquiry into the Nirankari
Mandai's aJl'airs. It is sure, as a result, some solid
material will come on the file, to make it necessary
for the Union Government not only to ban the
Mandai itself, but al so prescribe their ' AVTARBANI'
and other spurious literature.
By the way, like the Nirankari MandaI, an
enquiry and an identical action is also called for
agaimt the activities of quite a number of otber such
pseudo-religious agencies in the country. There has
cropped up a mushroom growth of such counterfeit,
parasitic cults and regressive elements in the land .
They are threatening the full-blooded modern , onward
march of tl1e nation. They a re badnaming I ndia in
the whole world. Quoting an eminent writer, Sri
Dinanath SidhalJtaJankar, from the April, 1973 issue
of a Hindi Monthl y, the 'Jana Gyan ' (p.30), a
'WHITE PAPER', recently published by tbe S.G .P.c.
states in this context ou p. 16 as follow;; :
"there is a deluge of bogus gods incarnate and
hypocrirical gurus in India these days. Curren-
t lv, there are over two hundred and fifty per-
sons thriving in India who claim to be gurus or
45
gods - incarnate. Some of them stake the
claim that they are ihe supreme god, Vishnu,
others procla im that they are the gods of gods,
Siva and still others asser t that they are incar-
nations of R ama Chandra, Lord Kri shna or
the Final Incarnation, heralding the End of
World, Immaculate Kalki."
What a tama sha of India's proud ancient
culture?
Hence a high level inquiry into the affairs of
tIle Nirankari Mandai and other such fake religious
mountebanks and agencies of its kind is imperative in
the nation's interests.
By tbe way, any well-meaning Government of
India, would beartil y appreciate the S.G.P.C's. recent
great labour of love in publishing a lot of literature,
bearing on the da rk image of this bogus Nirankari
Manda I and its Chief. These small, bandy publica-
tion s in English and Punjabi have revealed the MandaI
and its apex steward, inside out, whole of its ugly
picture.
Normally, a really people's Government in the
interests of the country at large, and in the light of
what is being stated in this booklet, would heartily
welcome such a labour of Jove, in order to readily
use it for putting its Central Bureau of Investigation
(C.B.I.) on the MandaJ's track to apprise the Govern-
ment in due course of what is what in this camouflage
of a pseudo-spiritual fraud.
Otherwise, as in case of the bogus Nirankari
MandaI, an unhealthy impression is gaining ground

46
amongst the people that as it serves its sinister ulterior
motives in particular contexts, the Government itself
is interested, even in creating and patronising such
disruptive forces for the sake of 'Divide and Rule'
purposes.
On the contrary, according to a recently
reported version of our Honourable Foreign Affairs
Minister, the big wigs of the Central Government
have been attending the annual gatherings of the
Nirankari Chief in Delhi. Their so doing is tant-
amount to giving credibility and respectability to
tbis bogus conglomeration. And what does this kind
of patronage mean? Nothing more or nothing less
than this that they bless N irankari Mandal's anti-
people and anti-rei igions activit ies and its Chief's
blasphemies, for instance as contained in the under-
noted versions about him in the Mandai's periodical,
the 'Sant Nirankari' issues. It says, in the darkest
bour of the present black age (ghar Kaliyuga ) the God
Himself, the 'spiritual emperor', in the garb of Baba
Gurbachan Singh, is delivering humanity across the
horrible ocean (of sin) with his all encompassing
personality ( Vairal Raap) May 1964 issue, p. 24.
His father , Shri Avtar Singh, too had claimed
like this. 'Allah has returned to earth, accompained
by God, with (Lord) Rama also under his (Avtar
Singh's) garment. God, has Himself descended on
earth', (ref. The 'Sant Nirankari' May, 1964 issue,
p.9).
Again in August, 1972 issue p. 17; "To-day
in the Bharat land of 23 crores of Gods a all Gods,

47
Baba Gurbacban Singb ha s apearcd. In negation of
temples, mosques anJ Gurdwaras, be is re-making
men (out of beasts) through his spirit ual ceUs
(Nirankari Bhawans)."
In July, 1973, together with his fami ly members,
he visited Europe on a pleasure trip. His 'Sant
Nirankari' edilOr had printed an account thereof,
under the headline 'CHRIST AGAIN TO EUROPE'
and in January, 19n his vi sit to Denmark was
reported in the same magazine under the headin g,
'GOD IN COPE NHEGEN'.
The,e arc just a few illustrations of the
impostor, Shri Gurbachan Singh's numerous such
idiotic but blasphemous ontbursts. It seems, there-
fore, our Central Government dignitaries are patro-
nising and boosting thi , kind of a mountebank
against the great Sikh Panth, for reasons no'v known
to every conscious Sikh.
rf they neglect to hold a thoro ug inquiry into
his tomFooleries and ban his MandaI's activities, it
wi ll confirm their malafides vis-a-vis the Sikh Panth.
This free play of the MandaI is also polluting the
rich spiritua l heritage and culture ofIndia, of which
our top Government .Ieaders are so proud.
Crux of the Wbole Trouble
All sa id and done and frankly speaking, crux
of the whole present trouble between the Sikhs and
the bogus Nirankari 's is reduced to this. TJle bogus
Nirankari anti-Sikh movement has been initiated and
patronised by the Centre for cowing down the Sikh
Panth in their di stinct religio-cultural-cum-political
48
aspirations. Amp le factual material has been adduc-
ed in this compilation to support this contention.
32. References
In order to compile the foregoing brochure,
entitled "GENESlS OF SlKH-N lRANK ARI
TUSSEL," a va ried list of references have been
consulted. Of th~m, about a score are S.G.P.C's
rec~ nt small pamphlet publica tions in English, Hindi.
and Punjabi. Of these some titles are: (Eng lish)
Nirankari Mandai's Challenge to Sikhism , Sant
Nirankari D a l, A Challeng.e for Indian Society by
Dr. Fauja Si ngh, Head of History Department,
Punjabi Universit y. Patiala; A WHlTE PAPER;
NIRANKARJ'S PRIVATE ARMY; Why the Amrit-
sar Martyrs sDcrificeci them selves, by the American '
Sikh Dharma Brotherhoo d ; (Punjabi) Nirankari
MandaI da Sikh Dharam n u Challenge ; Naq li
Nirunkari Babe da Chhal ·Nataki Gian ; Naqli
Niranl\ari To le cia Paj ughar giya; Naqli Nirankari
mal vich shrab Kabab (beef plus P ork) di KJ1UlIh;
Naq li Niran.kari cia Khuda vi Naqli le Jhutha
Hai ; Naqli Nirankari Babe da Jhu tha Sapashti-
karan; Naqli Ni rankari M a t cle Hindu Dharam
Virudh hamle, by Dr. Mohan Lal Sandal, Amritsar;
(Hindi). Some extracts from Avtarbani (pp. 158,
\ 86, 193, 203, 237, 243, 246) publisbed by Sikh
Dharam Parchar Sabha, Ludhiana; Gllrdwara
Gazette, official organ of S.G.P.C., May, June and
JUly. 1978 iss ues; Takht Sri Haz ur Sa hib, Nanded's,
official organ 'Saci1 Kl1and Patta r's' issue for July
1978; 'NaqIi Nirankari' book of Giani Partap Singh,

49
ex-Jathedar Sri Akal Takht and Editor 'Gian Arnrit'
Monthly, 5th edition of 5-6-78; Nirankari Mandai Di
Haqiqat' by a veteran ex-Nirankari, Sardar Josh
Anandpuri; Original Nirankari Darbar's Hukamnama
issued in January, 1955; Kendri Singh Sabha's book-
let; 'Sach Kithc Rai'?; writer's two book-lets
'Genesis of Guru Granth Sahib' and 'Guru Tegh
Bahadur, Tbe Martyr; Gleanings from tbe Nirankari
Mandai's Literature 'Avtar bani' 'Nirankari Baba
Yug Purush, the 'Sant Nirankari' magazine etc.
NOTE -The abbreviation of S.G.P.C. in the
foregoing narration st~nds for "Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee" Amritsar, the supreme statu-
tory religious body of the Sikhs.
33. The Finis
It is hoped this booklet will dispel the mis-
givings in all the honest quarters. Instead, it is sure
to create bealthy understanding of the iss ues under
references. A great misunderstanding has been created
by the fake Nirankari, Shri Gurbachan & Co., plu~
his allies, the traditional anti-Sikh communalists and
their press, against the Sikhs and their leaders,
through a vast network of a misleading publicity, up
and down the country, even abroad. If it does, the
purpose of this labour of love, will have been served.
Such an understanding on the issue in question will
help the ends of national cohesion.

50
Appendices

APPENDI X A
(Ref. pamgmph 12)

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APPENDlX B
(ReI'. paragraph 12)

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52
APPENDIX C
(See paragraph 18)

The 'Panjpani' Weekly or 7.5.1978, p. 1


1239, Sector 34-C Chamligarb
(Translation or relevant abstracts)
Headlines
Because or suspect mala fides or Sikh., the most serious
conspiracy against the m during the last 30 years, being uncovered
for the first time . The Nir;1nkaris arc given an assignment to
~h:Jpe a new Sjkh religjon which \\lill forego its sovereign entity.

Maill Article
This h as been the orller o f tlle day dur ing t he last 30
years that there has been a mushroom growlh of all so rts of
modern sajnts. gurus. ri shis etc. Their main concern is to create
their Own deras, ashrams, colonies et:.: ., publicise their personal
selves, amass wealth and lead, enjoy a proll.igate life, full of
pleasures and luxuries ..... . (Baba) Gurbacllan Singh has topped
them a ll. Arter the last Baisakhi massac re in Amritsar he is
the topi:; of the day and very st ar tling facts about him have
come to light.
( Ill th is) a most surprising inforn1<ltlOn has come out from
a cent per cent reliable source of t he Union Home Ministry,
who naturally wants to keep anonymous and is sure of the
custody of the relevant reco rd . Th is document make it clear
that there is a secret agreement between the Union Government
and the Nirankari Mission, by v irtu. of the which the Mission
is said to have received crores of I"und. I"rol11 the Government.
This contract is >uid to have been made during lale Sardar P atel's
st ewardship 01" the Home Mini. try.
This agreement was based on a repo rt said to have been

53
prep3red by the Min o rit~es' Secret Cell of the Min istry. It is
reported to be t o the ciTeel t;,at in the North , Ab lis (i.e . the
Sikhs) could any time pose a threat to th e country's so lid arity,
by hobnobbi ng with Pakistan.
Hence in o rder to wea ken them , it is said to have been
m ade out in the repo rt, it wo uld be desireable to help people
like Baba Avt ar Singh (Gurbachan Singh's r" ther) . Such people
could wean away the Sikhs from their spirit or sovereign entity
and ultimatel y make them amenable t o be a part o r Hindus, it
is said to have been cl ai med in the said report.
As per th is reported mUI.ual agreemellt the Nirankari
Mission was committed to give an annual account of its
achievements (to the Go vernment) through a secret agency, it is
said.
It is said. it is there ill the secret ce ll file that such annual
accounts (of th e M ission's achievments) We re found to be satis-
factory . In lieu the reof enormous fumls were paid every yea r
to the Nirank .. ri Mi ss ion ~ it is mentioned.
It is claimed, very trustworthy (an atic and a ble men we re
put illcbarge of this Minoritie's Secret Cell. whose runction has
been to convey exaggerated and co loured o pinions to tlle G overn-
ment against the min ori ties . On the bas ;. of these very officers'
reports , it is said, the Central Governll1el~l dig11itades subse-
quently beg.111 to att en d Nirankari fun ctions. in order to impart
to them cred ibi lit y and respectabil ily in th e people's eyes. Also,
a frer thi s, the Foreign Minjst ry began to in struct its roreign
missio ns and embassies to arrange V.T.P. rece ptions ill honour
or the Nirankari leaders and otherwise be helpful to them during
the ir foreign tours, it is claimed by the Weekly. Even Sikhs
li vi ng abroad, were specia ll y instructed by the Ind ian E mbassie s
to accord befitting receptions to th e Nirankari leaders, which the
former took. very ill.

1\ is also asserled in Ihe sa Id Weekly that as a part of' the


fulfilment of th e Nirankarj MiSsion" s comm it ment . it a lso

54
nlanagi!d to induct its own trustworthy agents, LA.S. and or
I.P,S. or Secret Police officers, more particularly in the Punj ab.
And that in case of such appointments the Home Ministry has
been making speelal recommendations on the plea that those
appointees being Nirankaris, would be specially useful to the
Indian G overnment . The Weekly states that at present there
are many Nirankaris, particularly in the Punj ab's C.LD.
bepartment. (On the Weekly's p. 5, col. 4, last paragraph)

The above referred to sour-ce oflnformatiun is confident


~hat the record under reference, in the Home Ministry's Minorities
Cell, cannol be removed or· dessroyed as a number of anti-
N irankati Officers (in the said Cell) are quite vigi lant about it.

In tbeend the Weeklyexborts the Akali M.Ps to manage


to unearth this record and get it placed on the Lok Sabha
·Speaker's Table, by which they would be best serving the cause
of Sikhism.
(TraJ1Slated by tlle writer of this brochure)
APPENDIX D
(See para 20)

Another Stunning Disclosure


Quoting from the S.G.P.C's recently published ' WHITE
PAPER', p . 26. here under is another startling revel'!lioll on the
point made out by one Silri Sat pal Baghi of Ferozepur i n an
April . 1978 i<stle of the Chand igarh's eililion of the ' Indian
Express' daily:
"The genesis of the real trouble between the Nirankaris
and Akalis goes back to the YC'lrS whell Mrs. Indira Gandhi
headed the Union Government. She wan ted to weaken the
Shiromani Akali Dal but found that Akalis could not be brought
to heel. She thought of all . Ieabo rate plan to strengthen lhe
Nirankari sect 110t onl y in Punjab but throllghout lhe country
and abroad also. Ollic ial patronage was « tended to the
Nirankans much to tile chagr in of AkaIis , who have a\w<.lYs
co nsidered. the Nirankads as heretics.
In ptlrsuit of this policy of di vide and rule, Mrs. Gandhi
personally ga ve clea rance for a diploma tic p~lssport to be issue
to the Ni rankari Chier a nd 1ne Ind ian High CommiSSioners and
Ambassdors abroad were 'instructed to SI10 W him respect and
regard. This was meant t o help the sect to improve its image
and increase its fo llowing abroad .
Durin=- Mrs . Ga ndhi's regime. the Nirankaris \vere known
to be receiving financ ial help from secret Government funds,
not open to aodi t or scrutiny by Parl iament.
During the Emergency the recalcitrant attitude of the
Akalis further annoyed Mrs Gan<lhi and Mr Sanjay Gandhi .
EIl'orts for bui lding a p,"rallel org.:lnisatioll among the Sikhs of
Punjab as a counterblast to the Akalis were intensified. At

56
the instance of Mrs. Gandhi, the Congress regime began giving
greater official patron age to the Nirankari Sect. Mr. H. S.
Chhina I.A .S ., a staunch Nirankari, wa; appointed Chief
Secretary to the Punjab Government in J 976.
As a result of open official patronage and support, this
sed got a cO ll sjderab le boost within the administrative set-up
of the Punjab Government. Mr. Chhina appointed Mr. Niranjan
Singh r A.S. as Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur. Mr.
Niranjan Singh tried his best to enlarge the field of operation
of the Nirankaris. Tt is during this period that the Sant 01'
13hb dranwale took up the challenge.

What a rare and revealing naked tnltll? Doesn' t it


fully co!lfirm the 'Panj panj's' vcrsi on in its 7.5.78 issue?

57
APl>fND1X E
(See para 26)

Hukamnama 10 June, 1978 of Sri Akal Takhat,


Amritsar
Re-an Edict to the Sikh World for socio-religiolls
boycott of the Naqli Nirankaris
'rhe,.e is but ONE G od ; the whole .cOGmos is His manife,tatiol\
VICTORY TO HIM
'Hail , THE TIMELESS GOD , Stand by us'
EDICT OF
SRI AKAL TAKHT SAHIll
' Vi ct o ry to the kit chen cauldron and the Sword,
1 his exalta tio n is recei ved from Guru Nanak-GuTu Gobind Singh'
"Sal v.tion of the whole Khalsa world lies in accepting
Ihe Orders o f Timeless Lo rd AI mighty, The TIMELESS GOD
is all Merciful , AND u nder Hi s Decree was o rdai ned and
manifested into this tllliver,. the aLi-beneficent Order of Sikhism
lor the deliverance of mank i:ld ; as sha ped by Guru Nanak to
Guru Gobind Singh . And it is Ihe Khalsa's co mmilment to
foste r a nd further religious values a nd exalt the righteo us people
and also to destroy the enemies of both these, root and branch ,
For sometjrr.e past ll1ere has appeared a mo vement in
Delhi , under the title of the 50-called Nirankaris, of which
Gurbachan Singh is the leader. His aim is to dem olish the
religiollS and Illora l values. But besides this, he is specia ll y
and v igoro usi y vitia ting the Sikh doc trines. usages and grandeur.
Because of this . there have o'.curred serious cla shes .at a number
o f pla ces in the ,·ountry. Ar.d ror lhis very re ason , a nllmber
of Sikhs got n,arlyred or grievously injured on the last Bai,akhi ,
13 April 1978, in Sri Aillritsa,. .

58
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These enemies or Dharma and Sikhism miscall themselves
as Nirankaris and their leader Gurbachan Singh cl ajms to be
God incarnate. These people consider physical luxurie s, com-
forts and pleasures as the aim of .human lifc. D isavowing
their Lith in the ' SARDA GURU', the DIVINE WORD, as the
spiritual ENLiGHTENER, which is the apex of a Teligious
doctrine, they pre~t(;h the worship of the physical form of gurus.
They oppose the spread of moral values on the plea that vice
and vutue are nonsense con cept s of man. This preaching of
theirs is a grievous attack on aU the religious and moral codes
of the world, The Panth cannot but accept this chal lenge,
Therefore, under the seal and authority of Sri AKAL
TAKHT, tbis EDTCT is issued to all the men and wOJnen of
the Sikh fraternity and other men of religion that they should
oppose this organisation of enemies of religious. values and
otherwise harmful to mankind , by all possible and legitimate
means , It should. not be allowed to spread and expand in society
and in the w0r1d , The Khalsa Pantil must cut off all worldly
relationships, m ;~ trimonial and s'Jcial , with such misled Sikhs,
who have become Nirankaris and with their leader , G tlrb~lchall
Singh ,
This is the EDlCT of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Whosoe;er
abides by it will be honoured in this world and the next.
The Guru has ordained :
"Worship only the Timeles God ;
follow the WORD alone; and
Envision the Guru in tne
body corporate of the KHALSA."
SEAL OF SRI AKAL TAKHT
Dated , 28 Joth, 579 NANAK ERA
10 JUNE, 1978
Sd/ - Sadhu Singh
Jathedar
Sri Akal Takht, Sri Amritsar

60
APPENDIX F
(Ref. paragraph 29)
Naqli Nirankari Nibang

61
_ ql- i ani ari iban
APPENDIX H
\Refer to paragraph 21)

In the main body of this compilation, there is a particular


emphasis on a point Deducing from the Centre's initiative of
starting and patronising the fake Nirankari movement as a
means for rubbing off the organised religi,)-cultural-cum-political
separate entity of the Sikh Panth , there is an inescapable
inference . After successfully manoeuvering to rope in the Sikhs
not to insis t o n securing any independent territorial St 3 tU5 during
"The Great Di vide", the Delhi authorities of independent India,
have ever been iII-at-ease to cold-shoulder the Sikh community's
aspirations to rehabilitate and maintain their separate histodc
entity.
In this very context here is a brief recount of facts,
enumerated by Sardor Hukam Singh , ex·Spe"ker of the Lok
Sabha, as to how the Celltre has beell consistantly apathetic
t owords the Sikhs anxiety, even for a minority status and rights,
ever since 1947.
This article of Sardarji in two consecutive i!lst alments
in the 'Spokesman' Weekly, New Delhi , its 15 and 22 May, 1978
issues, may be usefully and profitably read in conjunction with
the contents of Appendices C and D herewith:
SIKHS DENIED MINORITY STATUS SINCE PARTlTION
Now a mjnority commission has recently been announced
by tbe Janta Government. It is composed of one Parsi
(cbairman), ol1e Muslim and one Christian.
The Sikhs reel prc-plexcd as to why no Sikh has been
included. There have appeared articles in lhe Sikh press;
resolutions bave been passed by representative bodies; deputatioos
bave been led; and pleadiJlgs done, but to no effect.

67
Our Mu:;lim brClhren a re net yel· s3tisfied with having a
reprcsentatlOn only. They want chairmanship. The Sikhs
onl y have desired reprcsellution. They are not worrieJ aboll t
the chainnanship . Tbey would not e'CIt aspire ro r th a t. But
alJ prote~talions~ supplications, petitions and ple~tding s, however
prolonged, well·argueJ or reaso ned have been answered-in s imp le
'No'. Ihe highest authorities would n0t <Idd a third Jetter, mlleh
less a second word.
This is natural to Cause disappointment, btlt there should
not he any Sllrprise. The policy of [11dian goverl1ment ~ since
independe r. cc , whatever Hs .:omplexioll presented Hnd whichever
the cloak it ha.) worn, has been to a bsorb and assimi h t e the
Sikhs, 311d not to gjve any recognition by which they migl1t
further prolong their existence as:l di:-: tinct community. 111erc
has always been lurking fear that th e Sikhs migbt so me day ask
for the exercise or self-determi !lation and a separate homehJ..nd.
Lord Mountbatten and his staff c<llloeived this idea . ale.·td the
lndian rulers against suo:b :J. poss ibi li ty. and created r~ ~u s ab0ut
such an eventua lit y. which have been hauntlJlg tile minds of the
majorily community.
Scon after partition ) i l was believed that Mountb3.ttell
had suggested to Nebrll th at the Sikh s shall bave t o bekcpt
u nder watdl, as they have failed misecclbly in politic.,1 parley,
to gel anything and so they were :lure to feel frll :)tr L\ l~U wilen
the conseqllen ... es of p~ut i tion b(:comc known to thC lll. The
Gover!lo r·Ge~:eral expre5~cd .his Views thtH, arter lll.igr:.!ti.Jll. (here
was pro ba bility 0 1 Sik h concentr" ti"n in East PUl\j .. b ~ Ild a
pc; s~ibili1y of their <.iema il dlng a home b lld Wl1i(.. h could be
diffi cult to dcn y. Whethe r this was all ora l IJlk , or any part
wa s redlH.:cd in writ ir g, no one c(Juld say . "But strong rumours
were afl o at in know ledgeable circies ab0 ut thi s suggestion. In
such c ircll.ill slunccs, direct ev idence is not possibl e to dig out,
but indi c~lt ion:; of such th inking troub ling th e mind s or G ovel'I1·..> r
Gener3 1'~ colleagues cUn be traced in "Miss·ion wjth
Moun tbatlen" .

68
"If pa rtit ion has: lne8nt incr.eased cc.onomic sacrifice fi,\r'
" .• " - ' . I
the Sikh" it also enta ils politica l drmcei1tr.tiu n. py ing within
easy reach of Delhi. they may cOI\i'(l J'i:;t._ afler ' the mi g ratw~ ,
some fiJIy percent of the' to tal P<lPU\;tl;,1!.ll OfI I he oew·Mslj'liil.litb
(Mission p. 71-12 , Sept. 23, 1947).
" In formed obse ners see in th is :;itll Htion all the ingrcuients
o r a Sikh naljonalist ll H.\ e n1ent, anJ ton~jder that already the
sol\ltion~ "",·hith has becn moted of creating, a new Inctian pro vince
o f Sikhi, tan, fail s to measure lip t o Sikh demands" (Missio n
P . 172).
Thi s fear of political : oJ1ceJl1rtltio ll and the preSC:ll:e or
" all the ingredient's o f a Sikll national movement" lurked in the
mint!:' c'f the Ind iar! leaders 311d the same influenced the po licies
Df the govenllllcnl , rc~ultjng in discriminatio n r-Igainst and
Sl!5pk ion abo\lt this ll1 ill('li ty .
1l,at such '",s Ihe actual tlunking of the t op brass
becomes clea r fro m th e open ~tatcments o f Pandit Nehrll. sl anted
Jec!arations o r San.h r Pme !. and frank enunciation. or Dr.
AlI1 bedk ar.
Whe n in early Februa ry, 1948, Sardar Ajit S ingh Sa rh adi,
along wjth another rriend , who was intimate with Dr. Ambedkar,
approHchcd the Mi nister tn tell the tale or w('e, at Ihe bell est
of Sbirornall i Akal i Dal , and narrated (h a( the Sikhs h,"l been
the grcate&t sufferers of Part ition. Dr. A lll bcdkar disclosed wJ, at
he thought about it. ReplyiJ1g to the Sikh friend Dr. AI11bedkar.
mude ouf:-
1. "rn the entire united ·Punjah, you were 1.3% or t he
population;
2. You were at the mercy of the two co mnnlJlities;
3. You played an equal role ...... bul politically you were
nowhere;
4. Today after this mi£ratioll . though fo rced , yo u Sikhs h;:we
beell the greatest gainers;

69
5. Your comnnl1lhy .. . has come t o be in majori ty in the S Dt.
Sikh St utes ...
6. You are likely to be in majority, or a re already in majority
in eight Distr icts of Jullundur Division.
7. H ere is an area o f nearly fifty thousand squ are mi les,
whore yo u will be in majority.
8. YO\lr community, fo r once in the Jlistor y of 400 years,
has a homel and;
9. Hereafter you have a territory with majority. You have
a language or your own, tradH ions: hist ory and heroes.
You have got a religion . commo n hom! among YOllrselves.
and by all cannes of nationshood , yo u are a people h ~i vjng
a h o meland ; and yel teU me thaI yo u have ; " Jr"re"
terribly ...
The concludjng porlion of Dr . Ambedkar w,"
1110re
frightening . The Sikhs had never thougM or even imagined On
th ese lines, but the Central Government -it can never be co nceived
that what Dr , Ambedkar W<LS expressing to his Sikh frie nd was
his own exclusive v iew, not held in CO mJl10 n wHh his colleagues
in the government inc luding Nehru and Patel-was suffe ring from
the fear of SikllS e«fc ising the righl of sc\f·determination and
even opting out of Ihe uni on. Dr . Ambedkar illade no sec ret
of these fears , and explicitly observed ;-
" }j islory dep icts that s ufferings h ave always been under-
go ne fa I' such objecti ve,. How long would a ny party in Jndia
be able 10 crush you or tfeat you badly when you ha\'e gal a
territory or you r own, whic h on the admitted and ac..:epted
principles of selr-de te rmination , can opt out if the exigencies
of time and situa lion demand . ( Punja bi Suba by Aj it Singb
Safhadi, p. 146, 147).
\\lhat the act ual pos'jtion emerged after partition is thus
stated.
In partition parley;, "at Ieas't one minority (Muslims)
had wo n everything it bad hoped for. The loa ders or the Muslim

70
League. and the leaders o f the Co ng ress had wo n, in one case,
not all that they had hoped for, but in the fin al analy. is, 1110re
than eithe r held expected ." (Last Yea rs, Page 18.1).
Naturally H Jinn ah was over-whelmed wllh his success .
Congress, on the other hand, was crestfallen, and rather as hamed
at having lost its fight fo r an untli vided Indi a." ( Mission, 183)
" The Sikhs had lost everything they valued . their homes .
their property, irrigated rich lands . anti t heir holy pl aces (p .184).
The Sikhs realised no one seemed to care v~.ry much what
happened t o mino rities solongas lile Congress and the Muslim
League were satisfi ed . Jinnah proba bly did not care, while
N ehru and Patel wert: not particuLirly ;nte rcsteu" ,
Immediately after partit io n. the Sikh leaders tried their
bes t to aSSure the Indian Govt!rl1 mcnt an.J the Congress Party
tha t thcy (SikhS) did not want a ny sepa ",!e Sta te, bUl only
sa feguards to live as equal citizen ~, wi th fl.'specl and honour,
and nul as underdogs or democracy .
1. O n 20 9.47 . on be ing as ked by Pa ndit Nehru, Master T ara
Singh. crest-fa llen as never be fore, rep lied. in the negat ive.
He di d ne l ".k even fo r any linguist ic adj ust men t of
boundar ies (C urzon to Nehru by Durga DilS) .
2. On 28.9.47, Masler Tara Singh promi5ed : " We shall
continue to suppo rt the Congress and the unio n go vernment
in its task o f reconstruction (India'S Mino rities, Govern-
ment of lndia , Minist ry o f Info rmation and Broadcasting).
3. The same day . addressing a press conference. Master
Ti:! ra Singh made it clear that t'a bogie of Sikl1 State in
PIlJ1ja b is bei ng conjul'ed up by the Pakistan propaganda
machinery in o rder to create tii!\scntions between Hindus
and Sikhs .. ." he emph asised lhal " Hindus and Sikhs
will rise and fall together. "
4. In Oct ober 1947, S.A .D . Presiden t Gian Ka rt ar Si ngh.
addressing a press conference in Jullunduf! declared th at
the Sikhs wo uld no t ask for any separale re presentation

71
if suil " hie safeguards were provided for (Punjahi Suba by
Ajir Si l\gh) .
5. On 17 March, 48 , the Shi ro mani Abli D" I direcled the
A kQI i leg islatl rs , clc(.:teo on co mmunal elettorates by
fi ghtiJlg aga inst the Congress in 1945 , to 1111!rge in the
Congress IcgislariH' part ie~. both at the l:c rllre and in
r..II1j ab. thus ctT.:c ing Ihcir separate ent ity ,,"d distinct
politi " ll identity.
6. On 24.4 .48. spe31dng in the ",nual "on fl're nce of the Sikh
Students Federatio n. M aster Tara Singh sla l<(\ Ihat the
Sikhs wanted io preserve their identity and sclf-re;pect..
The H indu should rea lise that the elimination of Sikhs
wotli<1 be harmful to the Hindus themselves.
7. Lord Mountbatten Jskcd whclilcr Sikh motive "w:.ts the
objective to set up a Sik h St ale" , Mr. V . .p . Menon
rep Ucd. "No Politil'ully, th ey had lost a ll and had not
e'en gained lull undur d ivision (M ission p. 160. Sepl. IS,
1947)" .

"While the Si kh I""ders are at grea t pains to descrihe the


Hin dus /IS th eir brothers, there are not many outward. signs
of hrN hcrl y love . and Tara Singh has been almost equally
vehemen t in his di ss:1ti~fad i oJl wi th the East as with the \Ves t
Punj ab Governmen t :' (Mi ssion. 23 .9.47 , p . 171).
I n s pite of his d isillusiollillent. M aster Tara Singh we nl
on making his attempts to persuaue the Hindu l~adel'S: to bel ieve
th at Ihe Sikhs only wanted safeguards against any tyranny or
d iscriminalio n, ,\nd Ilot an y sepa rate st ate. But the Congress
lUld go t scared of possible conce'l ltra ti on of Sik hs AS conceived
and imagi ned by the MOUiuba ttcll. Sec retari ale (Mission p. 17.1-
172) 'lila fi rmly believed and horribly fear<d by the I ndian
leader>, as disch»eo by Dr. Al1Ibedkar, who had e~visaged Ihc
impossible eventuality of Sikhs legitimately gett ing a separ:ne
~t atc o n th e pri nciples of self-determination with a chance of
their ('Ip ting oll l of Indian Union .

72
If Dr . Ambcdkar's think ing be acccpled as the mirror of
Indian leoders' mind, ,nd there is no reason why we should not,
thell a.11 subsequent policies 0[' djscrimin:ltion againsl S-ikhs,
assaults o n PUlljabi language, disowning of mother ton~ue by
Pu nj:' bi }I-i lldus, suspicio n abou t patriotism of Sikhs as expressed
not me,eJy by Jan Sangl' an.d Arya Samaj but a lso by Nehru,
Patel and o ther top brass, reductio)l of Sikh representation in
army si nce partition, and misreprese ntation or evell a <.: ryof
anguish into a fis ~ipal'ous tenden cy can well be undcrsh10d and
apprc~ialeu .

ll1cse suspicio ns. entirely unfoundeu, remait)~d the basis


of the governme11t polit: ies and commun al Hi clu m~ijQrily'~
be haviour towards the Sikhs. The tlllxi<'ty of the H i .<lus tn suck
back the Sikhs into their OlTIfi!V\.WOtlS belly was ano\.her factOr
that influenced the formulatioll or policies of the govern,nent
and lhe attitudes of the comnHllla lists. When the Sikhs were
"a l great pains to describe the Hinous as hrolhct's"; what was
the response from the other side 1 It is an amuzing tale.

I. Wilen the Sikh, had thrown their lot with Hindus, and
Master T"ra Sillgh had dodared unequivocally that the
Sikhs did not wanl lilly separate sta te but would rise and
fall with Hindus, even, then Durga Dass suggc'ted to
Nehru to cl1quire froln Tara Singh wl'lcthcr he wanted
Khalistan. In that Sitll3tion and under those circumstances
such a suggestion was adding insult to injury . Hut the
amazement was th at Nehru had himself put this question
to Tara Singh a day earlier, and the latter. "crestfallen
as never before", had replied ill the negative . This was
nothing but humiliating a faJlen friend. and di:-;gracing a
betrayed mir.ority.
2. A deputation of Hindu leaders, soon afte r partition, in
Sept. 1947, waited on Nehru and urged upon him against
letting the Sikh problem assurne serious proportions,
wnile the Sikhs we re giving pledges that there was nO Sikh

73
problem at all. Thi, was a nother instance of mani pulated
suspicions to deny justice to the Sikhs.
3. Mahatm a G andhi , in his post- prayer speeches, began
denouncing lhe Sikhs as " mad a nd drunkards" during
August and September 1947 when Sikhs were arriving in
India. hav ing lost everything that they valued. These
prayer speeches migh t h.ave comforted the Muslims in
India and pacified thei r rage agaiJlSt Hindus, but infuriated
Pakist an is already there a nd other Muslims migrating
from , or li ving in India against the Sikhs.
4. On Sept. 7, 1947, in regard to suggest ion of MOllntbatten
for banning kirpan carried by a Sikh . uNehm and l'aiel
stood firm ahout the Sikhs. and there is to be a ban on
aU weapons." '- 1 will "ot tolerate D elhi becoming another
Lahore", P atel dedared and Nehru added: ,, \ am clear
in my mind , kirpan may have to be ta ken away."
(Mission page 153).
5. On August 5. 1947, Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan demand-
ed "tha t the Sikh leade rs be arrested ... " It was oot done
because "to stop Sikhs now, it would have been necessary
to arrest the whole community" (Last Yea rs p. 227)
otherwise the Congress leaders did not demu r.
Thougb the :
(i) demands or J irmah and Liaqua t for the immediate
a rrest of Sikh leaders ;
(ti) the suggestions to disarm tbe Sikhs and impose a ban
on Kirpan ;
(iii) the wi lling preparedness of Nehru and P otel to ban
Kirpa n;
(iv) the slanderaus vituperation of Ga.ndhiji during his
prayer speeches, immediately aftel recitations fro m
Gita, K oran and Bible, calling Sikhs mad and
drunkards. letting Don-Sikhs imbibe hatred and ill-
will against the Sikh s.

74
CO'uld not materia lise into a speedy and effective punish-
ment of the Sikhs, as Mr. Ienkins, the retiring Governor of
United Punj ab, Mr. Mlldie and Mr. Trivedi , the Governor-
designate of the West and East PUlljab respectively, unanimously
expressed fears thaI any anion taken at that moment would
exasperate the Sik'hs and goad them to desperate actions, wbich
would defeat the very objective or protecting the Muslims.
Yet all these moves had the cumu lative effect of formu la-
tion of a policy to be fo llowed by the centra'l and Punja b
governments in respect of dealing with Sikhs . Tilis pol icy found
expression in the issuance of u directive by the Punjab governor
to all district magistrate; to keep a strict watch on the Sikhs,
as. according to this policy letter daled 10.10.47, these were
likely to commit crimes aga inst the life and property of the
peaceful citizens.
How the Sikhs were being forced out of West Punjab was
~vidc"l by the letter sent by Governor of West Punjab, Mr.
Mudie, 10 Iinnah dared September 5, 1947 :
" I am telling everyone tbat 1. do not care how the Sikhs
get across the borders ; the great thing is to get rid 0 f
them as soon as po SS ible."
Thus driven and haunted out by West Punjab. received
with suspicio n and kept u.nder watch in the East Punj a h, dis-
-cr.iminated against in every walk of life, the Sikhs felt bewildered.
Whe.ll the spirit of Ule East Punjab government policy letter
permeated into the minds of tl1e :;cr.'ices, which were already
communal, and fo rmed 90 per cent of the atlministrat ive machi-
nery, the fate of Sikhs in services became unenviable. And
when the religious sermons or Gandlliji, denol,""ing U,e Sikhs,
reached every home through broadcasts, the Sikhs began to be
.Iooked upon as criminals.
Where was the comfort to be found, the Sikhs wondered.

their [u.ture when they heard *.


The Sikbs' heart pulsated with feaL..an.d , aJlprehensions about
b6't1 ···deda'r.ii\~ 4lf some

' :15
membe rs in~ide the I.:o nstllucn t assembly that " there was 110
minorities now " and the loud shouts of ' H indi' , ' Hi ndu ' ,
' H indu!-lan' in th\,.' :- trcels, giving evide nce of wha t was to come.
The ':OOlIl1UI1:tI Hi ndu press. Wl1ich do m ina ted the fram ing
of H indu o pin io n, lu ving bee n rreed fro m t heir fig ht agaj :it
Muslims, now dir l'c.: tc~ 1 their machines 01' virulent p ro pag '. m.h .
against the helpless Sikhs . Any soher voi ce. such a' . 1\0 pa tri o ti c
Indinn Sh Lluld dc ny the paten t rea lity th a t the pvl itil"a l fl.!clbgs
of the Sikhs h:' ve (Wf"J1 grieVD l1sty o lttr~lged ... \V;.s igno l'e J . The
H ind u comtnllt1:Llii-1 ·t t'i ed to ridicul e and revile thc Sikh ::- .
Thc adv i,·c 0(" NM ak Chand Na z th at "to ridil ul e this
psy':ho l" gy of th " Sikh, (that t hey had hee n betrayed from e,"c ry
side) o r to look dow!1 0 :1 it. is no t good politks o r Cle war ning
of Dr . A lnb..:d J...a r tl!~\t the minorit ies in rndia ·· bl.!ve loy:'! lly
accepted the rule or the major ity. whi ch is. b:lsil..·aJi y a (.'omlDunal
m ajo rit y and no t a po liti ca l m ajor ity. It is ror th e nElj ,)rity to
realise its duty not to di scriminate against \l1i !~ OT iti ..::. " (C . A .
Deba tes Nov. 4. 1948)-,, 11 were denied . Th, vernacu lar p ress
bad started 11 calculated c.:um paign or vilificatiol1 ag.ahist. t:iL' SIkhs
since fhe- d ~ty of parl itio,~: the y h.lVC Hot only m!l intaillcd it.
rather t hey have tl.cceleratcd th.: mO VCI11CIH .
D r. Ambcdk a r declared that no mi no ri ty h,)d a:,kcd fo r
p a n hion nfrcr A ug ll ~ l 1947: Pa rel .:oncf'ue,d th tlt :V{U:Il.:'i Tanl
SiT1gh .h as u!>sureo rtJl I coo peration lO the Union Gove rnmen t in
its task of reconstru ctioll: Neh r u ,,,Jmittcd that T dra, Shgh bad
declined to seek any separa te s la te ; Giani Kartar Si :1gh e ndorsed
t ha t t he Sjkh:, \\'ol,ld not :.sk 1'0 1' any ~ tate if sa:cglla rd:; were
given ; S.A . D . t!1i~ 'lNI \he S.kh Icgh la.tors to .1 °;/\ C(lngl'c;s, an d
th~y did mrrge \!v: fl1M." h L';-' to lose any di:;tin.: t ideii t ity: but,
inspire of all l lll :,. the Punj a b vt:rn ac.: ular p ress cont inued a
systematic l'a mpai~n nr vilificatio n t hus. :

" The ;"ur would be : H ow much of the East Punj ao


should So to the H il,dll; and how 111l1oh to the Sikhs"l Berore
we c.:a n decide th is, we !iohall ha\e to find out the (ow l popuhnio n
of the Ea::.t Punjab nnd then dwidt, it ill proportion 10 t he rl)pu~

76
"ltiOn of the two com'l1ullities". (The Jaj Hind , Juilulldur,
6 Aug.u' t, 1948).

" jl' tl,i" province is to become the homeland of the Sikhs


(no S!k ll had asked "for homebo-,d), then all Hindus li ving here
should be lolel so. Those. who want to shift further inl<l nd . will
tlo ~O. Those, ",,·110 deciui! to stay hel c, will know uJlder what
c ir CU 111S\UI1'.e~.. they arc to live here.'" (Hilld Samachi:.II", 4[;1 Au g'~:-il
1'J4g) .
"Outward ly he (Mas ter Tara Singh) i5 A,h'o':II ti nng a
sq:,,:; ate p:-ovinee fN t.he fUJ1ja bi'spc(. kirg people, but really
J1C is fi:lvoudrg the en~. bljsJlIl ejJ or a Sikhistan in bet\o,.·ccn
Hh',tius Ul jl and Pak istun ,: ." (!vIili.tp). How thi s inwardly in Tara
Sil og h wrr~ x-rnyed by t he editor is not t",ld when Nehru l,:t(1 bee n
expre~~l y I cp :icd ry Tru'3 SiP!!h that the latter wanted to Jive
"'ith Hh,du:-. ar,d \1.!d no desire for a !-.e p<.lrale Slate.
The Prat ap or lullundur was forthright : fI [ want to
"dd ' l".s the Akali rrien,js tllat the way they a rc treading, leads 10
Tu :·kbt c. n .. . " (pr,""p, J UllU",ItIT 11 -9- 1948).
This viliriC'ati vll was
l'\0t contined to the vernacular p;-ess
ak'lllc. 1l1e English dai1k ~, wi th communal edj loTs~ did no t lag
h~hi. ld. The ~T lib une' in its Ieatk:r or Oct. S1 1948, commen teu.
" 1l ,";is ol, ly yc~ te rday th a , we drew atlentiln to the
dangers uf l,!iHlcrs (Ta ra S.i1'lgh. i.H\J others) narr0wing their minds
and giving 1.0 lhcir l'or..l mU:1ity or their provinl:e - the aliegianL'e
that they owe to thei r ~ tale..'·
This could mean th e t " Sikh could not be a ll I lldi"n. He
had chose bC l\VCCIl the tWo. This editor believed '-SikJtislll"
1()

anu "Patriotism" were illt.:ol11pa tiblc,


The 'Hindustan Timc~!, whkh representee! the Government
point of view normally. wro te in the leader of October, 1948 ;
-'11" th o :i~ , \\- \10 nrguc On tIle HI1Cf, or i\!(aste.r Tar~1 Singh
believe that by 11'J:UL!lg togelher as a community they L'(\11 hope
to estab1ish thei"r (:ommuna \ dominum:c the re is no roum for such
parties with in the (nd ian UJllOil."

77
The uniformity orlanguage and the identity of thought at
the same penod of time is very significant. The ( Prat~p' wrote
that Tara Singh's wa y leu to Turkistan. 'Tribune' reminded
Sikh leaders of giving a l1egience LO community . ~He thought
Sikbisll1 and palliotism incompatible. 'Hindustan Times' said
if Sikhs wa nted to hold together as a community there was no
place for them in the union. The uncerto ,le is the same. 11' the
Sikhs desired to live in fndia. they should cease to think as a
cornm.Jnily.
This was the real crux of the Sikh problem that has baffled
solution d'uring al1 these years. The m i.ljority commun ity is bent.
upon liqlddating their identity, and the Sikhs have been~ trying to
foil those manoeuvres.
Let us trace the sequence of manoeuvres that were adopted
to de"y safegunrds to the Sikhs, which the leaders h ad been
asking for.
With the setting up of consti tuent asscJnbly, "when the
qllcstion arose whether adtdt franchise should be introduced,
M au lana Azad advocated its deferment for 15 years, Dr.
Rajendra Prasad and Nehnl plumed for adult franchi se as an act
of fait.h.. The vote favoudng it was carried amidst a<.:c1amation'l.

Dcfeated in his first endeavour , " M:lUlana Azad wanted


reservation of seats fOT the Muslims and other minorities within
th e framework of general electorates. Patel opposed such safe-
guards. Nehru left it to P"tel to jump the hurdle as chairman
of the advisory committee ."

Patel hil11selfwas against any safeguards; Nshru left it to


P atel to achieve his objectives . How deftl y Patel discharged
this assignmeJ1t is a revealing process-taking a step; giving One
shock, making a ha lt to let that be absorbed; atier some time
administeri llg: another. then t:1kiug resp i te~ but meanwhile persu-
ading. JTIu"'-loeuvring anti e ven coercir:g a few members to espouse
his cause and help him 1113rd1 further reach his goal. Ultimately
he aelljeved his goal. Christians helped; Muslim> were helpless;

78
Sikhs were ,·oerced."',,1 the S';hcdllied Castes and Anglo-Indians
had secured what they wanted - Scheduled Castes taken out of
the list of minorities a nd mo.<do part of !-findus.
The Anglo-lndi,\1;s were especially lucky. They were
favoured be('~ lIse the English interceded for them, and tbe Indian
leaders were impatient to get power whatever the cost.
How the fears of Sikhs ronccntrating and of carving out a
homeland for themselves, and even the VIsionary pl1antom of their
opting out , influenced the leaders in their actions and attit udes
can be judged from wha t follows :
Tn pursuance of pura 20 of Cabinet Mission Pbn of May
16, 1948, an advisory comnlitt.,;e rO T minorhies was constituted
under the chairmanship of Sard ar Patel on J anuary 24, 1947.
There were six Sikh s-Sardar Baldev Sing'h, Sa rdar logendra
Singh, Sardar Partap Singh Kairon , Sardar Ha rnam Singh,
Sa rdar Ujjal Singh and Gia ni Kartar Singh induded ill the
co mOl ittee of 50 .
Sardar Baldev Singh was a minister and took no part.
Soon after the constitut ion of the adv isory committee, Sardar
Hamam Si ngh became a judge of the high court: Sa rdar Jogendra
Singh could not take any inte rest ; Partap Singh concentrated
his energies on cOJ1 soEdating hi s power in Punjab Congress,
Sardar 'Ujjal Singh and G ian i Kartar Singh , though diverted to
Punjab Assembly, did not participate in advisory committee
p[Qceedings but had ceased to be member o f the constituent
assembly. Hukam Singh and Bhupinder Singh Mann were sworn
in on April 10, 1948, as members of the assembly but were
never included in the advisory committee which took all decisions
and which were to be approved by the Assembly at the instance
of Sardar Patel.
The Advisory Committee recommended:
1. Elections on joint electorates, with reservations of
seats acco rding to population .
2. No reservation in cabinet, but conventions to be
created for adequate representation o f minori ties.

79
3. In services, claims of minorities to be kept in view .
4. An officer to be appointed by the President at We
centre, and by each Governor for his state to report
to tbe legislatures about the \vo rking of the safeguards.
The advisory committee submjtted a supp lementary report
regarding Anglo-Indians and providi ng for spcdal concessions .
In the rep OTt of 8th August, 1947, the case of Sikhs was
held over in view o f the uncertainty of the position of the Sikhs
pending tile Radcliff Award . But when this report was considered
in the constituent assembly on August 27, 1947, the awaTd had
been announced on August L7 , the movcmCllt from West Punjab
of Hindus and Sikhs had begun, but the relat ive proportion of
Sikhs and Hindus could only be kll.oWll after migration wcs
completed . There were fears that the Sikhs :'may comprise,
after the migratio]1, some fIfty per cent of the h.l tal population
of the new East Punjab" , the leaders felt concerned more for the
Hindus, and turned the deferred case of the safeguards for til"
Sikhs (a minority) into an issue of East Pnnjab (a state). For
this manoeuvre, Mr. K . M. MUTIsm moved an amendment
approved by constituent assembly on August 27 (C.A.D . August
1947 , p . 246).

" In vjew of the special sjtuat.ion of East Punjab , the Whole


question relating to it would be considered later."
\Vben a Mus'l1m member raised a point of order bow can
a questioll of minority (Sikhs) be cOl1verted into a question of
territory (East Punjab), he was over-ru led by the President that
there Were other minorities also in East Punjab. It was Hindus
alone, beside the Sikh minority. This became evident that the
change was intended to protect Hilldus if by chance according to
misapprehensions thus entertained, the Sikhs became a majority
in East Punjab."

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