The Idea of the Sikh State - Gurcharan Singh and Lal Singh Gyani

8/3/2019 The Idea of the Sikh State - Gurcharan Singh and Lal Singh Gyani

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INTROD'UCTOR,Y

This booklet is an attempt to present in a

brief 'rna ner the de mand which the Sikh people

have formulated for being given a State in their

Homeland, the Punjab. This particular ,emand,

h il h i ,I III [I Id hw ncr In its essence c s quite 0-:, nas come ' t e o

be emphasized and. put forth with full vigour

by the Sikhs allover the Punjab and outside,

and is at present the national political oblec ..

tive of the Sf ~h people. The' oackgro nd of

the Dema d its historical and constitutionalbasis and other allied matters w'iU be found dis,-

cussed at sorn length i : the course of the

teatise itself. It need 0 I y be said h. re that the

Sikhs have arrived at the objective' of d,emand ...

ing a State for themselves after 'Making tria, of

safeguards, ccmmunal settlements and various

ki -c ds of g, arantees. W"th the best of inten-

tions, constitutional safeguards and guarantees

cannot be sufficient to protect smaller peoples

thes e days a~'ai.Dst 'powerful and organ ised

majorities. W' are .living in' imes of totalmobilisation of peoples, The press ,re of majori-

ties te lls. The Sikhs ale keenlv alive, IDn the

basis of th experience of the past, to the

dangi , of living in ,I state of permanent depen-



. .

dence upon, the rule of any majorltv+-Hindu.

Mus in or 0 her'. Tbcv have, thereof e', made

up their mind nQit 'Q trust to safeguards, ,any

longer but to' carve au. a State for therns .lves,in which they ca .be independent, fee from

int - rference a " suppression and in which they

can develop thei individualit y an strength.

Democrsc as~, political system is goo

within homogeneous societies, but where perma-nent and unalterab e barriers exist, unadulterate'

democracv prove s ruinous '0 s a U g,OUPS" which

are paced permanently in a position of helpless ..

ess, For' the minotr Ies only one -em oct 'anc

safeguard is adequate, and that is that the

..majority agre to shed Its character of maiorit ,and accep a position 0 parity with the ' mu ori ..

ty . Unless 5, ch willingness is fort corning Din

'the part of~h Muslims T n tbe P u jab it ·,8

apparent t rat the Sikhs h:ave no ·eason to feel

'Th 1 ., he c : re ' , ',II! on,y atternative 'to Slue _ an ~ a ; range~me' .t is the spitting up of rne Punjab. and

carving the Sikh Stare out of its presenboundaries.

The S O h demand is not based upon tb _ spirir

of aggre ,ss~ve cor munalism, It is the only

effective' scheme for survival which t ~y can

think of in these critical : days of CO~ munal

bitt erriess a id imn inent persecu Ion an '_a' temp



mi anon 0 Tb Si,~

' e : e 0~

f rviv Ia d to give~ .l

•e

I I , t O g , atl s 1 , e, - " e - -

rop that heir sms Il voice i n no . go

mi of I, a ,- , " · f h, b~

e po e', u, g au ' , '

of ne S age in dtscosslo s

•I

enIi .,n -, ~ to-

hie aut: _0 S ta e the oppo :tunJt,

e ~ i~ra i~, e ' 0 S ,_d - "to expres

_r dj

I .C'~

suggestion '. and' or placin vo . ainousIi j., ~

."t· . e' " e C I . l' 10S -

OUR. 'ACHAN SI,NO



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I

M E '. lSA"

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Hind1

sta a d P akistIt f the es

n~-

,1 ua

omm alis

S~k" .

char.ged wit

r

•ag ~S,SIV'

'p

es aced i 3 pas Ion in W .ich

na " ~ ten

ey can 1 0 1

t "

rad po lt ca

!I ii

ell

III

X I ~ce

y for nin y

r h

corn

sen '

of rovincial ,[ITS.•

h

~ II

elV

lab;

• e t a,l ~0] ri 0Ily re r en a · ~I at erin

h pr .sid f1t ship of "lastercomrnen ed to the Shroma i

op t . L, ,. Y1 'a rs n ee5~O]tion 'was



SI lA~: ~iPatJi [ii ' i I l h ~ &c I C ~ f l S . 1 1~s'ntl~IVcIMI I_gI~2~[Ef I&1~~;sral i tsIJJ~Jh~BOrg-: ~ 1 0 .1

z

Afte iving mature and thoughtful con ..

sid srat ion to the foregoing, the Panth is

s rongry of the 0 inion hat no safeguards

and gU,3 ant es of a constitutional nature,

no weightage or p .otection, promised to t e

Sikhs by any of the maloriry communities

can be consid ered adequate to protect the Sikhs

an' '-nsu e t aeir free and urihinder , d g ow h as

a nationalitv with a distinct religious, ideo ogical,

cultural and political haracrer :

In order t -c ensu e the free and unfette red

grow - 1 1 t of the S f c h P a n t h , the Panthdemand - the splittin " up of the existing

II f ' th p i l i ' Ii h iiipro'vlnce 0,. r.r 'e . 'unja ~I,W'-_.., Its unn~a,turar

boundaries, so as to constitute' a separate auto-

nomous Sikh Sta 'e in those areas of the ICen tral,

North 'In., Eastern and South- .asn rn .unjabin, which the ave: whelm ing oar 0- he Sikh

,opulatior is concentrated and whic " because

of the propn _tors in it being iostly Sikhs; and

i- 's I, eneral character being distlnctlv Sikh. is also

"he de facto Sf' h, ' ome and the at 3, extent,rhe stat ~s nd cons iutional frame ..wrok 0 such

a Sta e being lefo be, settle '.by negotiation

betwt en the accredited representatives of the

S1h anth and the other Inter sted parties,



I C - l n " , ] Si~tli ' l 1 h o a lg } e s t ] P'flntl~l~M . II 9 I !C " ~ &1'" ! : ' .SJi ! lsi, - l h l . c r g, . ~

3

h 'i d

f th~ so .vm h

u c ' n i ' io al a ' S :1 ,

II i t " - '

, ~

h"-

d ms ill,

I

abov •tn s

II!

t 1·S ," pose a

will de" cera ic in cons it - io d wit av

anth a a ' hol .'

. ~

'. S " t _ . ~ 0 1 st I~c '. J ~ 1 e ~

tioi I , .' .he ultu _ a, " , rig" t5 h mii

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[

THE SIKH srA'TE BA,CK-OROIU, D

The demand for an B ronomous Sikh Sra '

to be carved out of the presently constituted

Punjab, which has bee ~_made by Si hs all over

·he Pun lab from 'hundreds, o f platfo ms fo a

consid table period now, may be' c, U ed r this

stage the united nationa demand of the S'kh

people. The entire force of w H I anc national

passion of the Sikha is acking it up. Th,fV are

determine, to push their objective forward

Irres ective of the sacrifices its achievement may

~ntail,

his demand "8 at [ust a cou ret -blast to

Pakis tan , as, is a leged, for t~re is no condition

attaching to its fu f i lment, ',s the S·.k shave

thought of it: for ',' ICO'- siderable time now, they

have feh hat t _ .e only way in which_.hey can

au vive is 0 have a state in which _ ey c n live

a ' grow as, a na Ion in ccordance with thei

his o leal t aditions, their inn _ 'urges nd their

political ideals. Such growth is im possible for

them SO l long 'as they I ave lying ave them the

burden of any majority Musl im < 0 ._ ,' indu~



5

hose weaker p rrners they woulc in any case

have to b e, in a la rger non-Sikh majori ty sta te,

So Pakista ',0 Akhand Hindustan, 3' fe dera ionf ~' ,. h h Id i fr con ederation, w - atever s'i,pe tne Tr» f a 0 J

the f urure is going 0take, the Sikhs cannot

v isuallze themselves in It i ' an y political situation

except one of bei -g organised in a stere of th j[

own, where t.hey can have the pow r '0 sbapethetr U fe without let oni,nd 'ance - frorn a y

commun ·,tv 0[ g -0 up .

This feelina of th - .rrcen t need of a 5 parate

state has been growing upon the Sikhs now for

close upon two decades. A,!, long as thbureaucracy was sitting ti zht over the provincial

admirustrarlon, the p' oblern of any polit" cal

futu!le 'ad not come b . rore tbepeople so

clearly as it came when after survey of the

Simon Commission it became evident t at somekind of ccnstitutior 3 1 1 changes werle imminent,

The M uslims began to clamour . or a per ..anent.

unalterable Muslim maj ority in the future

leglsla ut e of the Punjab. In the event of [his

Muslim demand heinz accepted the Sikhs sawfor themselves a, very dark fu.rureJ for they

would never be able to make their voice effective

in the administration of t e province in which

the overwhelming majority 0 their pop lation



would reside. Th Sikhs in this situation cast

abou for some way of saf guard' ng their national

xistence ; and ca ving 1 1 n '-V I province out of the

exis lng province of tn unjab W,B the so U' ion

whic oiler d · s I and which they suggest _ , in

19]0 to Mahatma Gandhi, in 193 - 0 the

Viceroy, Lod Itwin~ and in th - same year , to

Lord Willing on. his successor, m plac ing thisproposal for the so ution of the Sikh p rob lem,

and tncide c tal v , the commu. aI p roblem of

India, a U parties arne. 0, the Sikhs wee united,

ater the same suggestion, formulated as the

Sikh demand was resented 10 the Bri ish

Government at the 2nd Round Table Con ..

fe ence by th . Si ch Delegates, Sardars Sampuran

S' , g I. a' d U jJ aI SinC1h.. This demand was

baked u by 115 signatories repres nting all

parties, interests, g cups and view..points among

,'he Sikhs The demand , thr ~fore, was at th

irne it was first made ~t demand of th ~ Sikh

I . eople as a whole,

The demand 31 t at . rase was" iowever, nor

.'0, a sec ara e Sikh Sta 'e i it for he

splitt"ng up of', unjab, so as to aliena e

so e W'est ~ n Distric with an overwh lming

Mus im majority from t _ provinc a" ~ '-0 leave



a srna ler province, a so more compact and

homog ~n_ous, f _0,. hlch rb,', pressure of a

p e manent M uslim majority 'w ould be lifted.

lt was ,this demand which ater on '.- c ,. to b

the weH"known Azad P unjab D ernand and has

been put, orward at present as the ",ernand for

_n ind .p end _n Sikh Sate.

The Si . . emand was 0 hi '.g ve V OVI IorImpracticable, It was fully in. line wlrh what

both, t ,.e British Government a ,. ~ the Congress

had a mltted in principle and later lr prac ' ice

ln so , ie parts. The Congress had alre dy

visualized the redistribution of '.be existingIndian provinces into 21 , on the basis of

language, whlle the BI'i ish Government iad on

the several DeCI SiODS ac ually shifted the

boundaries of provinces, as when E' ste n Benga l

and Assam were constituted into lone p rov ince__d the Nort ..W'estetn rontier Provin-e

Delhi were separate f om the Pun] .b, Ou

of these the latter wo chan es w e're m ad only

for administ ativ convenience, whl the par i..

ion of Bengal nd - e fo atio of, he pro-vinces of 0 Issa and Si 'were motivated by the

desire to m et t e dern nd of the nationalities

in _abiting the abov e-narned areas for .r e and

unfettt re ' growth in their ho - elands, un , mO l!



er b y 1 _ 110[ e .

Isr . leal u t

em n d r nd 31 0 [

.0 a t i t f

Th ikh d_ u r n ~

~r In

'~went he de a

· , which addle-

e ~ u a im ajo .y on t

Pu jab" T strongest and hi rer st 0 . ositiono i us p' ce 0 - . · t"' ~

ca - , f om e Sikhs, Oll of all the .0 itic II

n" I

nom 1_ ,8 a . S t ' Ie . I _ 5 l -fl· 0 .-

ated -nionis t Par - y was ins, '3 led in th . s at of

o . nm - n t i h D·, • ,e r ~ .nrial

,-to . Y t _Sik] s s ffe 'f re _i- 1 h a r ships.

T .eir Ii·o s cul u a · hrs zere n onl

-rae J t -I[ ra 0 shar h - . r ic 0 s W __

enied m J t - Y ere th w at- i

ery ltf .. a ima I, u ge,

nlabijwa; 5 ppr sse .n discourage - ; t

admi · t _at" - ' _ f _ 1 1 s si!!

1

he .

y

Mu I' . ,n, i. ·

ni h. if t

civic lghts of the Sikh .', _ .f

i b

ers

e

o

n e' of t h o



9

An ..l~ ia M usH n Lea ue. 1 1 5 was only'

symbol of the rising aggressive inten ions of the

Muslims, r hose ambition 0rule over and, 0- i..

nate ot iers was now 0 Iv too manifest. 'On the

othe h nd"he Sikhs ha ' been disiHusio· ed vith

re at '0. the Congress, the p oH ical organiza-

tion with an overwhelming Hindu majoritv in

its tanks. The 'C O gress sou c , h t to appease the

Muslims a - the cost of the Sikhs, and while taking

exception '0 the Sikhs organizing therns Ives

in self-defence, encouraged and accommodated

Musl im C 1 0 J ml nal ism. The Si I h a l t that time

felt r - h t na ional surviv J a n d an honourabl

existence (or rr em were possible only if they

could acquire i dependent po itical power" This

was possible only i. tract where they wou ld

note at the mercy of a 1[0- stitutiona majority

of any other group. In this situation erne' g _d

a fur' he step in the old Sikh demand fo r

split ing up of the Punjab, called he Aza , Pun] b

Scheme. This scheme visualized the constituting

of a new province. out of the Lahore luUundu'[

Arnbala and parr of the Multan Divisions, in

which area the S i kh s would be abl to have an

effective voice in t e :1 _ minisrr atlon. In this

area the Sikhs woul old the b I f, , I W o · - , a a n e e 0 pow r.



This scheme was pres .nted as the Sikh demand

to Sir Staflor Cripps: by the Si _h leaders inL

942, whlle reiecrins ,the ..'akistan d __Mand l

S y _ . oathy fo the S·,' aspl a ions w ,- s exp esserl

by Mr. Amry,he th -.' S. cretary of State for

I . I i~ i -ia e,'- t i ' 9 . , "A , l , left" 'r r l e re turn ofl_~ ~ _[_~ ,.1. n 'T- I - ~ -- -~

Sir Staffor Cripps from India.

The All-India Akal i Conf erence e d ~_Vahila Kalan, in Lyal pur District, in .hich Sikh

leaders from aU over India participated, passed on

- the 24th of ju V ', 1912 a esolution demanding

the readjustment of the boundaries of the Pun, ..

jab. The Working; Committee of 'the Shro-mani AkaIi Dal, the N ational political organiza ..

lion of the Sikhs,-e,manded tne establishrn -nt

of Azad Punjab by lrs Resolutlcn dar ". the 7t

J u n e , " 941 .

When the famous 'Gandhi ..R .ja Formula was

f J ated, according to: hie -, ehe Musl im aspira ..

ion for: kis an WIS to be accornmod ed, after

sepa 3 " ina the n 01n 'iI I,M .'uslim 'rna 0 ~"_ 'U an as from~ - O J _ _ ! L r ~ t:\I - ~ - ~ - ~ - , I " -J _ ~ _ I I " a ~

the ab .olute Muslin majority areas, d e Stkl

, '. t that accordina to this suggestion, t _Sikhs

woulc he divided into two one P It of hem

hotde up in Muslim Pun iab an . 't ae other in

Hindu 1 . ia , _oth dominat : by overwhelming



non ..Sikh majorities. Such a situation would put

a " end to the' integrity of tl Sikh arion for

ever. s ,y this, rlme the Feeling h' d grown onthe Sl ell ' . , . th t t ,e nation Iexistence of the

Sikhs would be S fecu rded only if they got: :

erritory in whicl th y could buil ", up political

po- er for t .ernse ves, fee both from H ' du and

lusli ,dominafons, So the Panrhic Gathering,hie,' assernb e ' at A rirsar on he 20th c ugus

19 '4' response 0. II call front M,' ster Tar'

Sinah" w Ue rejecting the Gandhi ..Raja Formuia,

made .he demand fo[, the establishment of the.

Azad Sikh State :n th event of Pakistan beingestabli hied" Thus at ast the Sikhs made he

-,rnand acco dlng tow-icb they sought to es..

tablish rnemsetves in power in areas where they

have tne overwhelming majority of their popu-

lation ~where th ir sacred places . are si .~a ed andwith which they hav - indissoluble llstOI'i al

1-

ties an associations. This political objective

caught the imagination ofb,e Sikh peop e, who

saw in this demand the only way in .,hie} ,t he

cou d survive in the midst o aggressive con ..munalisrn. The Sikh aspiration to have an effec-

rive say in the administration of th ~ Sikh part

of the Punjab is very old and roote deep in

history. Throughout the 19th century the Sikhs



.. .

hay of

e nizati n h po .

I · 01. rno re r IS. ~

1 S

li h erno atlc st te, ·• T I !II ill 1 1 - h I! f ~ 'o art: C IK - J : 0 r r e

I I C h t

em~ ~

as ~'I C l,C •

I •

ice the me ti . o. true Pa hie t] .erlf· es

Si,. . 'tate 1 1 . co. e f om ikh ,~angats '. . 0 I

ndi . h. r g at 1 n,

Th ·1. S' h Stud n ts' F . et .f' in

. . a d m " hit h· s br__.'t dohSa :0 C m O t t . ;~ , , i

demand. . e Shromani Gurdwa a P arb ndhal

C ' ass ' h 9- _ .Ie . 6 t

e d f, - . h . sta blis m " 0 ,£ h S·k

St trt m r.

he Co ,m i ~

v _ '

_.to o~-s :a

he . ,'n. _ 1 1 tl . I

clain 0 a ar

c arne Si hHomeland J

ve 0 nh ·" I tur 11I,

iveI

I-St•

0



commun Iism .. It suggests the only way in while

a smal l natio litv, ve V s nsitive and indepe - ,"

dent, can surviv ' in the midst 0 communa l mg..gressiveness wl .ich i on 'he ascendent in lodI , at

this moment of the his 0 y of OUI country. The

Sik s fin ~ that while the Musl im is. hostile a

them witt} all ' he bttter memo ies o f" the Sikh ..

. uslirn ...stru gles handed downro m history,he H indu NatilonaHsm_spc·' ' I y its Punjab

b can " has tried to disrup 'he Sikhs, to break

up their unity I nd to reab orb them into Iindu-

ism. Without political strength ' 0 minority

can su vive, especi U y ln the present ..d __ worldof total organiz tion and mobilization of peoples,

e only way, therefore" in which t' c e Sikhs can

e cape the fate of such almost: extinct- eoples as

t e arsis, the Jws, the [ains and others is tt at

they ca rve out fo r t i c , selves a state in wh"c ',they can make laws and be fret: from aggression,

The Sikhs do not seek to dominate 3 yone.

They want to est .Iish a secular democratic

state, ':in which the bulk of the Sikh poputation

'mal' be concentrated. The economic baSIS oflif in such 3; s -ate is bound to be socialistic, i ll

accordance w ith the traditions of the Sikh

society, and the inner urg, of the hardy J I self ..

r specting Sikh peasantry.



S I l A ~ : S i~ ~i- ' T 1 h ~ &clc~e'!lPI~nt l~ ] rc .~llalllin&lW W W '~ ; s ja f tl tb s ~ 1 1 ~ r a lh ~o r g~ _~! O

II,HIS ORICAL VI_ W ~''F ' HE KHALSA

The d, sire .0 " .•st in a s 'pars te in _. en de . ~t

State is" as w e hay _'se _D in the Pi -vious cha ter,

.he r action against historlcal process of t e

rise and growth of Hindu and Muslim com ..

mu -alisrn in India"~ with whrch it is not possib e

to have any truck in the pr esent . hase of Indian

- istory. It is the natural culmination of that

feeling of distinct nationhoo ~'-",which after hav-

mg rernai .ed arent for a long period has oeen

made, vocal a d self-assertive in the Sikh people.

T e B,ritishrule' has had t .e e.' ect of ki ling the

Sikh aspirarions and of emphasising their division

and sub ..division into' small castes an socia

group I thus fomenting among them petty local

jealousies and ambitions to the exclusion of

a.ny large fe,eUng of ....atlonhood, "he Sf.'. s•.

being small in . umbe shave suffered enorm.o'us ..

I· - - S I I ' · h I h ii b'In ,,·e p .ocess, ' ·,1.~' ru e over _. '_ "'D_ 3 1 .

(or over a centu y an'. a. quarter had welded the

Sikhs "no a strong co pact and ell ..knit

arlen, which f, l' I· ho ght, hoped and ac ed as

one man, '.-h -~Sikhs organi ed as "the K alsa 'I



SIlA~SI~tJi - ' i l l n a chJ}~S!lP:~Ultl~]~~1181i ! iJ lQl '~~sJa~tts !11~:alh~- -

5

acted as a distinct, separate nation o n the days of

t e Misals and : der Ranjit S i , 1 g b a d after.

The Kh IS.B is the Dame conferrer by Guru

Gobirid Singh upon a people knit togeth r by

faith in a como ron relieious Scripture and reli ..

gious pn ceptors, i a certain way of life, markedb h - iI I l ' " f ' h I!j. 1 . 0 ; hI ,v t -e I.~-stitu non 0,'" e cornrn IIn Ity J .< l tCI en or

l nga,. and a purita rical, military organizationI

and having a su feme se t of authority and

I gislation in t e A kal Takht af A mritsar .. Guru.

Har Gohind, the Sixth Guru and Guru Gobind

Singh, the Ten h Guru, who organized ° he Sikhs

fa fighting Moghal Imperialism, gave them all

the qualities and attribut s of ,8 natlorr=all xh _

makes a peop e active, alive and able to mair ...

rain a rigorous politieal character. They wer

organized as a . commo wealth bound together by

ties of religion a d of a comma , political objec-t"ve I' W 1 1 ich was successi vel y to fig tMogh a- an-

ot er .~ominatlon, to cart'y on the go ernment

in the various parts ,of he Punjab, and tater to

carve out and consolidate the Sikh, Kingdom.

The Sikh people were 3'°

first th ocratic iheir political organ iaation, submi tin' later

to the monarchical dis ensation, and now

they are organizing their na ional life

on a democratic basis like the othe Indian



SaA SlP i1 d '11 'c , o h J : e s ' , flBntl~rc[Mll': iF"~~" I 'W ¥ I w ' .s ~ m ltsi1P ~lhlDgrg

" ~

W he Ii tis - t : h•ish I

III

ru~e cam J,[

, ' pe r ia

G f t•

!O 0, ~

~e , I

,liter h of onhoc1

'I!'

"an 0 _ I a

av a l

o ~· I isti 0

al objec nv -, :-n \ 'hll

chi~t "f

,

foI

J ,

U1

slims .

ikh 'I

e 11. t

I

,.

, nl'31 '. I

as we Ias "11 fa

o ' I t, S

th y rnai tal ed i heo y

lpit Iill

om ..

t e unjab, in h

1 1 p

nat he political see

__ ~l.

"c I,

hm

las t.h

. f PI par

wi h

.,

e . tiat

ieGovernrr I 0

,.

o .0' er

heii,

.ast m .t

o re s, .

Kabu ra n ther Easte n count', 5" T -

c f the · h n · n, R it S' - , 1

a

b y

•1 '_ a

d

a

i I ~e

ce and soot I: -, ,j h G rrge



7

The Sikh de moc raric way of U fe w - s suppr .5S d,

and the Gurdwara's" cen tres of the Sik 1 1 . national

life, \ ere . laced in the hand 0" hereditarypriests" \ J V 1 Q tried as far as practicable. to dil r te

this Sikh f eling, Th Ak91 Tak]: t was no

longe' the Sf. t of the Sikh national '. iH and

Powe r . symbolized by the Panth,ut a m r,

.altar wher oflerines W·Ie n1a e. , The esul t

W,;)S that the Sikhs, became divided and disrupted

and lost all consciousness of their historical past

as a na ion. The Panth was no longer a living,

vigorous nation, but a herd of uno, ganized

people led by corrupt p Iests and hereditaryaristocrats. se Ifish tools of British Imperialism,

L he Sikh revival from this state c E prostra-

tion dalles from the gr a.t days of'the Gurdwara

Reform Movernen t. which made the Sikhs

aware after' nea I . y three quarters of a centuryof atrophied national existence, of their great

and sp lendid heritage 0' being the Khalsa" the

Pure , the' E I. c r , the band of Guru Gobind

Singh, Lord of the Hawks, It a roused in the

Sikhs the f cling that th y were me nt for ahigher destiny than that which appeared to b ,e

marked au. for them under the two ..fold

do' i ' ation of the British rule and tl eir own

p r iest-c raft, So they resumed in those critlca I



· ays the er tire consciousness, organization and

arap hernalla of co'~ plerely developed nation ..

I ood, They were running ,3 kind of p arallel

Government in the form of the Shrornani

Ourd, ara P,arbandhak Committee. which issued

commands and or inances, 0 ganized [atha ~

fought the bureaucracy and through its actions

galvanized the entire S~kh people with a powerfu]

feeling of their aroused nationhood. The Sikhs

recalled and revived the ent ire .atrern of their

national Ufet which had been given to them

when Guru Gobind S i gh h d ere" re the

K halsa.

The Kl' Is is ssei i l t v ; a olitical con ..

c priori, a fusion of the people, into a nation

on t e basis of re igion a conquest not political,

but: spiritual, .hrough conversion to faith. Assaid above, < h e Sikhs were kept busy through

bureaucratic and i perial stic tactics '\ Ith petty

objectives and little 1 0 c @ 1 and clannish disputes,

so that they almost complete ly lost sight of their

conce p ion from the sword of Guru GobindSingh as a separa tel inde end en t natio n ~'and of

th ," r glorious istory as ,[I conqu r ing , dominating

people, once a t suprernelv important facto' n the

aisro y of ndia. A great ieople began to look



upon Yhems lv s a s , : sect, a ' 'fI'f off-shoo of

Hinduism, a r form move men. , I and ' rus for a"

long period the p ople e I" Iost ir the

wildern 'ss Such , E l l I', t· ,I 5 ' range p anks pi v eby history, hen grea movements sweeping

along with the majesty of rivers 3. e suddenly

lost in the sands of arrested riatlonal growt t

The _, indus of th .9th cent- y turn' d the

defeat a d misery 0 Sikl s to thei ow . acco nt.

Hindu propaganda spread t' e view rr t the Si ths

we -e Hindus, an so great w rs the confusion of

hought that so m ~ny Sikhs lost along with theirfeeling of na tionhood, even the f ai t of their

ancestors, Lit L _ '3 .S d ne at t h e time by the

Sikh 1, aders ''0 co ibat 'this evil, L , - te r J i: '. the

20th century, wi h the ns of the C ong ess as

th dom inant fo rce on the Indian politic 1 scene,emerged rh cone p jon of the ,~India Nation"

of which all Hindus" Mu~U ,.s, Sikhs an others

were component groups and WI re to be styled as

mere ~'conlmun'ti s ' '. rom this feeling of

ein --, a com ._un ·ty the Sikl,s h rve take n v', I Ylong to emerge, The KhnJ sa of Guru Gob' c d

Singh the Co rnonw alth 0 the Elect, the

e .stwh ile conquerors and rulers of the Punjab ,

Ka hmere , Peshawar a. d ower Ttbcr , tl e people



20

\V 0 alon in]n ia 1 ad deve oped all he

disi lnct atr: ibut '5 of na io l ood, rind bad l ived

3S It! ration "'Iere con' ent ro be sty led as a U com ..

01 nitv l' and fie ega e '0 a very back seat in deed

O n this group of communities. The Sikl shaves

however, now emerged from the illusion of

beins B community, foster e d by t'lelust or

domination of Hindu : ajo "ity and have formed

the true conception of their status and have

accordingly demanded a National State for

_hernsel yes.

Thi ' the Sikhs are demanding only in the

areas in which they ar as a matrei of fact

already serr ed for centuries, in which the land,

the cultura and educational ent rp Ise is

predominantly rhcits, and over which thl Y

would also be rul ing had not an a " en bureaucracy

urnped up so '_ any distinct nationality areasO n t o one admini trative unit called 'the Punjab.

,such is t' e historv of t o fortunes of t '

Sikhs as a na (on. Their history marks them our

as a sepa. at . nation who ,I '. .loped and stamped

hemselves on the pages of history i n . 3l manner

alto ether differen J v from any other people, for

example, the Marhatas. The history of nations

is a contin ious process, arid national conscious ...

eS5, suppressed sometimes has been known '0



2

ii

In

•ihma . . . . 0

hII S~1 !I i

i

S · hn artP -o K ar

•

J

=

"In-

ill 1111

or_kin -



l ' 1 n " l 1 ,_iPfl~1~1 ~I c~d:est 'P,a:nt~jutM 1B O lW - t l G f ' 'W 'W 'n [S~9nL:5l1fh~'org." ~ . ~

2 ,1

even after hundrec s of years of foreign

do inatton a id disn emb ~rment. That i s , what

is happening at ... sent to the Hin .us, who afterabout a thousand V I a s of f oreig domi nation

are emerging as a Rashtra or Nation. Th

nationf}l~IOW h of the Sikhs has remai ed

suppressed only fo r abou - 7 5 , vears, w en ,they

allied under the impulse of the GurdwaraReform Movement, an, revived the submerged

pattern 0 their national U fe and aspirat on.

At prese t to a Sikh there' never i any doubt

that he belongs to a difierent nationlity from

that to which" for example, a Hindu belor gs,

As soon as one UI s Sik] ~ one is a changed

person, His group ..consciousness undergoes a

change. Conversion to Sikhism i s , nor a mere

incident ln his life; it is a comple e transform ...

arion of outlook and pcrsonaliry, One's hot es

an aspi ati ns, one's enti -e p : ttern I O f life, on's

political ideals- wal acquir a new synthesis ,o f

which the componen elements are the istinc

five Si!kh way of lif and the Sikh feel ~na of

onenes ; 5 a arion all over he world, irres-

pective of the country where any Sikh may at

the mo . ent be residing. Every Sikh. and every

Sikh atone, is a member of the Commonwealth,



IIH1~: i P 4 1 til - 'iIlh~ecIC~=~!l.s~ntl~]Vc~llaliliJl&l '~mSJantl l lprafh~ B o r g~ I I oO j

z z

t_e Khasa, subject to the social, religious and

. olitica . i eals issued from che Akal Takht, the

Sikh sc: of spiritual and temporal authority.

This exclusiveness, ar d this strong ie~Jing of

oneru ss as 3 grou . \-vl lch overrides al] distinc ..

tions of irth , on icile, social status e c. J is

. hat has given (he Sikhs t at fe ling of na ion ..

hood which has characterize their outlook and

be' .aviour all through the', history



I'V

THE KHALSA A ~.ATION

Modern pol i t icn theory Iavs owna number

of t ests fo judging o a t group whether it is

genuinely a nation or not. In 8 , c l m atters. as

t .Iedete: 'mination of the nationhood of a groupof people, ulti rnatelv no Ja\V5 can be of any avail,

-

be cause the appea l in such cases U . . s sol, If to the

force of rh w in ,of the roup to be accepted in

a certain character by the rest of tl e world. Inhe las r sort the ap eal lies to the inherent

st ength of co . ic r i onin a group a d its p owe

to 1 ave its claim admi tted One st eng nation

or group of na ions might accord recognition to

the natio al character of One group and might

withhold the same ecognirion from ano her,

t]ough sim ilar g roup , accordingly as it might suittheir conv nience. S O t the ~. I .re fac t t at the

nationa character of a group is dispured I y some

n: tion or nations, does ot necessarlly invalida _ e

the c laim of he former ; it only shows that such

claim might be inconve ient to ot ers. Ulti-

rna -ely streng t ~ and will alone wiU , e errnin .

the issue, The rebel provo rices of North

America wer recognized as a save' fg nation

by the F rench K i gc om irnmediar I, after the



51lA~Si~ t J i - ' i I lh~&IC:~~11~llntl~11;M I I- 9 1 1 2 i - Ii l& ' [~~;5jl~tSJll~3Jh] B o r g

24

(0_ clusio 1 of the \Va" 0 .ependence wlrl

Great Bri am, whi! such recognirio has belen

wirh held by the Allied nnrions uptil the pr sent

ti I r 0 1 1 1 1 the eople o f Indonesia who aT. a

. istinct nation. situan I - ' "way fr th main

Ian in r e s a, and .isro r ically nO I p arr of any

larger nation. Whmch proves rhar sue, recov-

nition 'is a '3 tt er of conve ni nc and force.

Law s and principles rniht be interpreted anapplied in this or that way accordingly as it 'may

suit: the big er ,of the partner" as almost all the

rules of international law are.

But even accord ing to 'he recognized princi ..

pes of political theory, tie Khalsa is anation, and few lean be proved 0 be such w·, h

a better or his.toric I y sounder claim, I-de-

termini g what constitutes a nation Doctor 'Ii .: •

Ambedkar has analysed the nation 1 feeling very

pointedly and lucidly, t h u s : 1 I I I I i i I I I I i i i I

I , j Natioriali 0 y is a social feeling. It' s a fee ..

in ' o f a corporate sentiment of oneness which

makes those who are charged ~rith it f·el that

~hey are kith nd kin. This ationa] (eel' g is a

double ..edged feeling. I is at once ae,el·fig 0

feUowship or 01 e S own kith and kin and the

ti..f ellowship feeling fO I rhos w ho are not

one's own kith '8nd kin. t is a feeling of ,~~on ..

I ciousness of kind" which 0. tl e one hand binds,



581n~Si~tJ i om , c T 1 h ~ &h J } = S ! l PI~ntl~l~M I 1 9 1 1 I iJ tR l c ~ ~ ; s ja ~ b S J I 1 ~ l a i h ~ B Q r g

)

togethe those who have it, so st onglv that lt

o .erri des all differences arising out of economic

conflicts or social gradations and, on th other

severs them {rom those who are riot of th . 'j

kl d 1 ! It is a longing or .0b · I O 'n to any 0 h c

This is the essence of wh t is . ailed :'

n tioriality and national feeling "'

Ifwe app ly his

veryclear and

indisputablv

correct est to t.e S 'kh pee 1 e , - . e D _ n d chat the

c aim . of the Sikhs [0 be considered a distinct

nation or national group J disti _ct both {rom the

'indus and the Mus ims, carmot be disputed,

T," e Sikhs feel as one, 9S belonging one to an ..

other, and as being dis tirict from every othersocial group, Hindu, Musl im, Christian or other.

This feeli g is S,Q strong that in the most solemn

moment of their life, a _ the time of offerie g. . d i l l ' " Imorn.ll·n - an _ evell1n~g p,_.a.yers l In congregarton,

a n Sikhs everyw _ ' e all over h world recallt _ c sacrif ices and bra v ' deeds of a I Sikh martyrs

an ' sufferers in rh caus of their fai[h~ and callmoreover, Divine Grace on all unernbers of (he

Khalsa everyw he-e. ,hes,e a _' th noble words

oft he Sikh ,ria yet :__"""",.

uMay Divirie protection ext nd wherever

the Khalsa esides :

May the supplies and swords of the Khalsa

be in the ascendant;



May he sraytng p lac sand - anners of the

Khalsa be er rnally I I ssed."

he Khalsa f .els as one ~ the Khal '3, has a

con' iOUSl ess of kind. which m kes lim call to

ind in his dailv ravers not only his feHows

livins in h" present, but also thos of' he ast,

aer I~S thus cementing feeling of 0 eness

among all Sikhs, which has existed 11 t rough

history a f eling which.xclues effecr.nvely allorhe s rOI beinz mernbe -'S 0 the Khalsa Com-

monwei Ith, unless they get iniriation into it

, hrough conversion, an I which rna es th Sikh

on to be of his own g cup and iot of any a hie.

This feeling"s so strong that two Sikhs, how ..

ever dissi HaT in tl eit outlook, soc ia l glade an -

habits , win be drawn to each othe 'much more

powerfully than ei her of them would eel

drawn to a t non-Sikh of his ow n cl~ss, pro: inc

or orofession, This'eHng is powerful and

vocal, and it stamps t r e Sikhs, ,ffectively as a dis-tinct social group, efusinz ' ,<0 be merged inro any

orhe grou ',.0 to be co ~sider d as a ar er

arger whole in which hey might fig re as a

at re com' u[ ity.

Why the distlnct and separate national charac ..ter of .he Sikhs ls so often los. sight 0 , is be...

caus racially most of the Sikhs ielong to the

very sam e cast's and sets into hicl he Hindus



are d iv ided, Ther is :1 . s' mblance, i,some

cases C ose, between cettain Sik] am I' ndu cus ...

toms, bu t this esern bla .c .e an . E I p p a en t affi n i t v

is '. ue to .h. ope arion of sev r 1 SOCi9 and

econornic factors, which due to th difficult cit..

cumstances through which the Sikhs ha>~_to pass

r ight f om the incept ion of the Khalsa, could

r ro t ]» effecrtvely C hecked. A s the Khalsa had tOI

fight the Musli i who was he co mon enemyboth of the Sikh and Hindu, th . re remaine

a sy - pathy and feeling even of kinship betwee

= h e Sikl ana the I· i.U J which tended very

of en to emphasize the points of resernbl: .nce

between the two peoples. As he Sikhs have had

o 60'ht for their very . 'istence since the founda ..

tion of the Khalsa, conversion ·0 S' ..- ism re-

mained very often incornple tie and all the ariel s

and social laws of t c Sikh Commonwealth, en...

ioined by Guru Gobi ~_"~Singh, could not be

I.

nfo rced . In the confusion that e . .isted allalong since the 18th century" many of the Sikhs

earned on a pre arious existence, and l ived o '

the safe border ..I nd between being taken for

Sikhs 'OI Hindus as the occasion might require.

Thus occurred that state of affairs in which the

.,xc usiveness of the Khalsa. W3.S VI - y often not

emnhastz ed in emote villages and by semi ..lgno-

ran' preach ['5 of Sik :lLSn1, But t. e awakened

Sikhs always acted as he Khalsa - a dis .inc



people~ an .'he mar orr l odox among the

Hindus hay _ -alw ys . irher fo ' ghthe Sikhs, as

an alie n people. O[ have tr ied to induce th em to

revert to Hinduism on the specious plan _hat

they are only a sect or a _ form movement within

Hinduism -, othing provokes the Sikhs so

mUC"1 as t .is description of the Sikhs as merely

Hindus. Sikhism in its origi . ~ far from b eino a

move. ent within Hinduism W; 5 , revoit againsti t. T osc who have atte pted [his l ine of argu ..

meat) have always receive ,a stern rebuff at tl e

hands of the Sikhs, 'The Sikhs r ig ,tly regan

any Hindu atte npt t a . erger as a subtle and

extremely dangerous attack on their integrityand autonomy as a people, superficial resernb-

anee earn p r 'O v,· the S ikhs to be , ind . c any

more' " an such esernblance can, prove the Nazi-

ryans to be such .

.,' tem p ts, i~ht be made to be ittle rheSikh clam. to b,e co nsidered a ation 'y .oint-

ing our that. the Sikh have so far not c la imed

vocal y that they are' nation. Such arsuments

are f utile, fo r the fact that up till a p ar ticu] r

moment a g oup did ot ha e sufficie t con ..

sciousness of tts exclus iveriess a d was co er t

to be described as a co rn m uni [y} is no bar agai nst

· ts c iJU ing itself a t nation a te hat. Histo y

shows that the Sikhs were conceived as a no ton



~the Khalsa ·by Guru Goind Sin'gh, and have

acte " an '. orzanized themselves as such th .euah..

out ,t'he two and a half centuries of t 1 1 eir

us tory, Th e form of Sikh addres to th e oeop l

congregated for social put poses is nKha~sa , j ' [ , ' ,

or (lOY e of the Eh~(:t". In th is very form of

address, there is that feelins of exc IU ' iveness,

that feeling of oneness Uas a people ,. distinctfrom any others, that deterrn ins ticn to remain

one) which stamps and characterizes a nation.

What is lr, we may ask, that constitutes 3

om tion in the final analvsis ? Race? language?

A continuous stretch of territoryi AU these p., r-

h'e \IiJ but no aU these alone .. There are separate

. atioris in existence, belong! g to the same

[ . c ia l stock. There are distinct nations speaking

the same langu3, e a- surely as there are nations

of which the varlous component parts, speak

different languages, T\\10 or more nations can

live in a state of pet petual conflic within the

same te .ritotY!I and many ultimarely br ak up

to found separate states (or therns .Ives.

Ultimately what makes of 3 group a nation

is the will to be one" Win in man is son thingsupreme, which ri es above lW$' , divisions and

barriers. This will is a splritu I urge, an impulse

to form a wholev a union. '[1 def iance of the

whole worl - on the basis of common history

and a certain way of l i f .



30

W'hen the K ' , halsa t _ o ' 01: iii S ris !lIto ...- Q -~ " J. , I!L was not

merely that a new sect was added to the large

number of .ell ious sects already i existence

in India. What happe led v 3S that c new out-

look, a new way of life, were -OIn he founda ..

tions of ,3 . iew nution were la id. which was to"

play important part in the history of the

. u njab an of its neighbouring Jands..t doesnot detn ct from the charact r of the Khalsa as

a t nation hat it took its rise as the result o fconversion to 3 religious doctrine. Nations are

not formed only on a secular . 1 gal, geographical

or econo mic basis. What makes a nation. i.s the

con tin uatio n . of a tr clition, W aich keeps the

eopl e one, But sometimes in history the will-

of one man forees a new unity, a - ew group,

which . ight cut across already xisrtnc tOU ,S

an t svste . . 5 As a resul t o· a ew idea an orga ...

ruzntion may come to . xn . e , and nligb,t O' ive bh hto a nation. Of I.. OU se, son1e ideas rove still ..

born, at d the organizations sle t up as at suit of

- em r laps int ... the g DUpS out of wh ch they

are bar 1. This is what happen d to th - sect or

K bir and to v .rious other sets in t· e" istorvof . ndia. But the idea of Guru Gobind Sin

\lV3S living, and it took root, t be arne the SOl tee

of .. w life, a new organization an· a new people

who became one so ffectively thar the y would

e··use to marc: with any other group. A Sikh



when he gets converted to Sit hismv vows a

renounce his previous a. C . strv, his lineal ties"

his cast .. and his previous faith. Thus, h .beco es

m rnbet of a n w ati n, the Khalsa, and lives

and ac ts as such. Thus we have i .n the Sikh c o - -

version an instance of the creation of a new

nation, w hich is as s u o ely a genuine nati on '· S

any w hich might claim to be sue] on geographi ..cal , ethnic 0r ot her basis.

Convlcrions and faith are the greates ties

which bind rna . to man. A na ion h ld roger ,eI'

by bond of a common f f . ith and outlook is a

nation in virtue of ve y strong and natural f es

indeed and, ust be taken to be such I . spe ciallv

if i ts unity has stood the 8tresses 0 history,

Re nan, the Or a . Political hilosopher describes

th recess which welds a people together

into E l l n atio ,and this process is 3~ plica - 1·. so

close! y 0 the . ikhs as if it 'lad been enu ncia tido urpose to prove their claim to nationhood.

Says Renan :

UA nation is a Iivl n sou J a spi ritua] priociple.

wo hings, which in trut h ..r but one, consti ..

ture . is sou', th is sp ir itual p r inc ip le . One is inthe past, the o t her i. the present, One is ,1 e

co . mon posses" ion of a t·ch hcrit ge of e' 0-

ries ; the: other is the- actual consent, t e desire to

l iv together , the . i ll 0 pres rve worthily the

und 'vide inheri (nee w icl has I een hand-



e

0\'

ant ~ glory.-

+ thes for h

al i - : r J ay b

g l it thv c

com ttl ' t c r - 'n t ;

do 0 et r, 0 ,0

ik .ain, sue t l 1 con (fa

fort

m 'k i'g0

e " . ~u •.

n has t 3 in eri ta C 0 flo a' ·- , r r, 0 e

h ted, i e futu "__lik ideal t ·alizec ·

ve u ff' red, I[ _~ -I j0i.:,.,a d 1 0' e

I these hinzs ar r 1 . ri· re

S'-0 1~los · a .' '] n" , ~, '.".

a, 0 onde this -. s· g. The Sikhs r aa ion ' r ci e y of os ssi: a r

heritag 0 10-ies ,h II ,r.i.:' th ~-

s n to ' 1 1 r, or : ; I - om and of fight

for 1 e fa ith of t c_ ' G ut ,_ " t : is " vi teo" S ' -h

tnar a U he S " _ 's eye 'h : - . om n

ne uniti 0' . h 0, h r such as the au

0 hey put in ·

v 0 t "OU P or go. s n r [

T'o 1 1 a e 0 ~-0 ~ , l 0 ,.·e ill tea,s t c 1~."~' '

" l in h l' e ent ; _IV on.e tit "1~gS

10 e t er , to' iII t 0 _ 1}2.1 _ ~

B " " .. -ch aret~ asi hi'__nat 0 n y I " S I •

he i h ~ have erno _5 of - hi ir _orl 5

o .hul a _ r ec tlon, 0

I0' . a i . t ion



lf~tog -~,

at· ]

h

I

U liviii

tn, . II!

Ion ! 3 S 1 ro II ,

.- II

-0 1 c r [ V e r -w I eII

-

10 ~IO'g t

S . ong e I • of. '. iona

, cc pit .0 " the '. 1 a l s o ~ r 'hi b ls I _ I ie ut a

ow d an in. a me fa .

~tic .

- o liti 1 SC '

, at .h.c , 0 ,I

will

(Vi I V [0 ,_ S .

m _ e ev

li~

-wh ,e , : a '

ath r

_- g, f veca

'om

as, ' ses

st tus .f oeing

Is . ih iIi

CIO .

h -

i is ultlmat I y

'nc' _" _ Y

peo] I

h.' 1

O. 5 C a .mc,

son nd aug ter of Gu

a

hom i A n dp

on lit ca

C IV ' to

conv ted ih of 30 her' as e i n at

. .

r!l rill

. ut ' Ir l _ 3 ,

0, oirit

be 0 b n

Go inc s · ~gh a

() ty s

ill

1

han



ilJn~;·Siplltli ' [ 1 1 1 1 0 Gld}_,~l~ , I ; n t h j ~ . c tM,qllli~IJ~t',"w.ww~~S!l l : ts ! l l~a11~

34

Hindu of his ow . caste would be. This is a

very revolutionary fee ing in Indian society.

0-· e of the two tests of nationhood is whena nation conti nues to hold together as one in

spite of being subjected to a political and other

cr isis. Says , Sidgwick , in a passage which applies

verv comp let - l y to SOl e of the 'g rea te st suffe rin gs

in Sikh history" I' What is reall y essential to

the modern conception of a state which is alsoa nation is near y that the persons (omposing"t

should have, generally speak ing , a consciousness

of belonging to one ~nother, of bein - members

of one body, over and above what tbey derive

from the fact of being under one Government,

so that if their Gov'ernment were des tro yed b jJ

war ' or revolu tion . they would s tiii tend to hold

firmly together, When they have this cO,l$cious ..

t1,ess., we' regard them as [orming a UNation Hi

whatever else the,Y lack."

Consider carefully the last words of th e above

quo arion. Holding f irmly together, in spite of

the destruction of their Governmen t is the test

by which we (9. conclude the exis renee of the

stron g indissolu ble bond of na no nhood. The

Sikh people have stood this fierytrial"n thecourse of their history. Tyra n r a f t e I tvra n r in

the 18th century attempted to ex erminate the

Sikhs. to break up rhei r cen tral organiaatton



30_

•

.he

~- r

the

I d

ati J peri I

n orde the ac of the Sik ~8 bell- g

1 1 . uot h, ' g

.' a ve ty cornprehe , Ive p ra ·ng

o h sur 0 n ti nahty,' or

e ' n Ii l' I( , re g ' '

dra n tog ' [h. l in ' d togc tl I r byy c

of mII

c -

r t ' - I In s ghe ' i se d r t,·o S

ther is also hat ense of com. uni ty wof ~ '.

. .I

I



tio . of ~co m ' ' nts or suffe •ngs

t S J - C 0 c n

ha~ts 0 ho h commo id aIs

an

II

a ' ' . ese '1' el ~i _ ,ts are

nd hoi the member, of the, gre e

er : 1 e m es 01 OTe ",.- jJ absen

e ch cas I th < test. i at m srel» m ny

re J ho.s 1~D ' ac

I

lh c 'cludi11 0

s t s ~e

e r y cleat I nIi

IC O on

g part of the above uoration,h ie .ikh ~ F , 0

impl .•

om on 0, l~

commo lit rature,c l ' - _ : 1 1 co r b ~ eom . o~ rg ta

make the Sikhs into wh r acco din' t. Sta ,",

_ C ' O 1 e ,: tien, at i ~' -i c i C ' _ n y I 0 " ,

S 8 Ico uni ty of Ian '_g. r tend ory J 1 e - ,I. 0 ·

li' _- ad" sychologlcal m e..up man if es ted ·n a

f 1 "ommunitv I C l'

The Sikh ·s, own .0 posses" a character

raIii III

g _

a e11 1

"I'



3 7

i'.,ibed a great sp ir i ual gospel , ight be

expected to posses · Of th various ingr edients

o nationhood the S ilhs possess quite a large

b ,~ d ~h d~ ~n m e 1, sa stro n~ a)e } 'ree t· at . tsruptrve

orces 0 arlous kinds have ' not succeeded i"

making the Sikh sentiment of nariont ood

unstrung, The Sikhs still think, fee and spire

as one, visual ize t emselves facing the future asa sin le unit, anxious to preserve their sin loess

and " nity i'a world which ' rhey feel us ostile

.0 1 : : ieir way I f life. To de yo t e Sikhs,

ther fo 'e, the right to call hemselves a nation

on the groun .. 0 - their nOI: posssesing patch of

rerritcry, wnere they rtu ht be aving an

overwhelmi g ..iajority in,e popula iori,

and on the score of heir resembling the Hindus

in ce ta in r es _eets, is u nj ust and only strengthens

'he suspicior 0 t e Sikhs t. at the rnaiorities

want to k eep them mder t~.eir thumb somehowo other.



v

TH ~HOME FOR] THE KHALSA

~.he Sikh nation han been roused .a natlona

cor sciousnes and now claims rerritory O n whichit may be able to live in peace, free from

poli1l:i'caI pressure and inti rf rence and to develop

in accordance with its own id als and u . 'f::;,.

The Sikhs are numerically a small nation. about

six miilions, and of these about four and a half

millions reside in . he P njab. The four million

odd Sikhs have expe ienced that to ive with

_..onour and self ..re peel has been rendered impos ...

slble (0 them by their nei hbours, The Muslims

who wish to do inate the unjab, have a tacked

. he reliaion. cult: r and the civic an' political- ights of the Sikhs through [be Muslim domi ..

natec Gover' merit 0 the Unionist Party which

ulec over the Punjab {or 9 years fro. 1937 to

19,.6 . The Sikhs f eel that under Musl i

dom i . a ' ian they would find life intolerable asth,ey found i t ear' ier under the Moghuls, and so

they have expr ssed their .i1 not to go into he

projected akist n of t 1 e lv t uslim League con-

c pti 0 I nor 11:0 remal inside the f ron' iers of

the present Muslim ..dominated Puni b.



The Hi dU5~ on the at -r hand have tri""

to absorb the Sikhs. They have let .Ioose a

terrific vo urn _ of p op aganda 'to coerce . heSikhs into eff ci_. the separat. and hlsro jcally ..

evo ved f atures of their n ..tlonhood, an have

tried to make the" lose rl eir Sik consciousness,

A small p eop le such as the SIkhs are, fir d that

in the face' of-his dou.ble atta k, one Trorr the.

the Mus im sid _ ad t e other ft'orn he Hin '-,

aide, their very ' su vival is t eaten ·c , in these

tim s when the technique of propaganda is so

well. develop ed, an, the pr ssure of majorities

tells so heav I y U 0-- the existence of the

minorities. So, in s ,,',talarm of being suppressed

and disintegrated, the Sikhs have fo r the firstII d d f II III iIttme rna: e B . .ernan ..~ rot aer , - R given a territo

ir which t ey lea . Ive safe from at ck, and

were··h y cat maintai -, th eir national exis ..

renee and self-re p, ct. The Sikh cas: fo r

self-preservation I as so far . 'one l b y efault in

at b,e"n clearly and] properly C" esenred, It Is a

ve V ' serious isue" A small people a'· dy, sel ...

reliant, superb in character, sp e d id in ideals

= ls in a . danger virtually' of _eing effaced. A nappea is made to 'the nations a ake up the

cause of the Sikhs and to arbitr: te . nd arrange

t .ings so as to guarantee t e tkh a tolerab e

existence in the' corner ahe globe which e



has occupied for centurf s, a d whieh Is is by

Ighr of domicile) associa Ion : nd development.

The' robl m of doing ju tic to the Sikhs is

, very urg nt proble · Th'e Sikhs are a highly

ener iric and vir ile eopl v hose contribution in

war an, ~pac _ is many imes heir ' umer ica

s rengtn, I f you look for a people reso rceful,

fea ess, se lf- sac r lfic in .un h]ghly self ..respecting,

here you have one. The Sikhs have fougbt a dwi hstooc the mighty power of the M U D ' h a I s ;

hey have stuck to the faith of trie i ances-

tors in f ce of the blocdiest religi ous pe secution

the world as known; they have fought a hand-

ful of the', -gains ,'f3VY odd in the 18thand 19th centuries an not: only orotected the

lives and honou'r of the people of ,ndia from

Af,han violation but a..so es ablished a powerf u]

rule dispenstn ood Goverrn enr in accordance

with the standards prevailing that time. InBri'[i ' h .ines tn e S : 'k ns have _on the, hig I 'a t

praises and none higher than they+-fcr their

p rowess ln th - fie . They ave t u V ' ived i the

pirit of t '~'pro .necv of their Guru, '-.'-'0 said

"hat 'h e ha . m de them in' 0 hawks, w ~Owoulc

fig] .. a d as i ,hig'· 'Tl ey a~ a people" w ho oro-

duct; in spite of their small num ,IS, th e major

p ar" of the tic' harv 'sts < 1 0 he P unjab. The'

S' hs are by f 3' he b st agricul urists in Indi



SIlA~ SlpatJ i <iii 'iIlh'a ~hJ}~S~l;I~ntl~]Vc~1191l!in&l'~~;SjaRbs!11~~fh~BQr- .

and the most enterprising coloni rs. 'T ey have

esta blis ied more schools and col! _ges than the

Muslims who are numerically so many tirnestheSikhs, Thy have overthrown, the fi st in ndla,

a corrupt priesthood, a dege ner te aristocracy

3 .d the obsolete medieval apparatus of social

Iife~ such as pu dah an, other baneful customs"

They are a people among whom the vices of civi ..

Iization are at [he minimum, a people among

who th'f're ate no beggars, no prostitutes! no

parasites and among whom, the state of general

physique ismuch . igher tha arnon any' other

people of In" ta, They a 'e extremely liberal and

tolerant in their outlook and have never perse-

cuted for reli .Ion in the c ays of ti eir rule. I I : is

o preserve this fine peop e f om effacement that

appeal is made to recognize their status as 3 nation

an to admit thel - claim to a land w hich is already

in their possession as its principa inhabitants.Not to admit their .demand would be the height

of inju ice; it wou be to imperi] 'their' v 'ry

existence as a people. Such, an act would have

rhe eff c t of forc i - g a bitte r , d5pe r.a~fight for

existence on the Sikhs against those under whos

rule they might be sought to b'e place d.

The Sikhs are getting veryday more appre ..

hensive that the question of 'heir future might

be hrown overboard and Great Brlra in and the



- 2

. ~ ~

.l~ri y r

s tt'I, m n

for h m .,

in In

Ii ill

_ i o J _ nsir -

l y .

..: ,",' 0'. d r 0 a·

II

1 sra ces

isme b ..

of 0,'

a of

e st n ". t r in tion -0

te .0 _ ' e1v s

11

e

II



43

t

what ,. re aU h ' bee. giv n to a . [a geu be

of nationalities,though

unl app i ly anumber"

I

illremain w itch ore suppressed uncle the name of

co .imunities, colonies, trusteeships ee,.

Some people in our count ' ' ' I talk of safe ..

guards, guaran ees and welghtsge (0 protect

the culturaland othe f"ghts of [he minoritf s.

Th: Sikhs have no illuslona abou t the value

and fate of such" safeg ards ' given by a power-

fully orga :lised majcritv. ,.hey C O " , be violated

at will, a . d the minorities are helpless atth,e

me - c y of t- e rna ~oritv lw hie with its resourc 51

ca ., always disrupt and disunire the minority,and render it Incapable of concerted actio ~

Therefore, the Sikhs have dec ided once fo r all

not to rely on ny C safeguards ' guaranteed by

wharever powe r II

Mode r n nolitlcal the ry has, recogniz ed in

practice the pr inciple of provid L g na ional

States to .he v rlous nationali ties ' f tei the

first world war rhegr,ear Aust ian} , Tu .kish and

Russian em - ires were broken up, and a large

number of national stat ~S created ir order togive an opportunity to ,t e various nationalities

composing Europe to ive in acco dance \v:th

their best interests and traditions. Some of the

riew national s ares [ user at \ ere ~Po and,

Cz e c ho ..Slova k i J Y ugos lovi a, Rumania , A 1JJst[~,



44

Hungary and Bulgari I. On an ertimate it is

found that whe eas in 'he pre ..war Europe of

191', t ere were alrogether 23 states, the Trea y

of Versailles divided Europe into 65, States, The

J ews , wer prornissed a nat ional home in their

sac red land . ,I,estin,. Th under yiog idea of

all these c- anges and declarations was to give to

every nat ion a fair opportunity to dere m 'C 1 ,

lrsown d .sti y and to ive in accordance with "ts

best interests. The S"khs demand nothing more

t an se f-derermination ; no hins more than tha

th ,-'conscience of the war d be wi h hem in

implementing' heir declared will,

The e are other insta ces of 'the oundaries

of the states and province's havirig'been changed

in t Ie Interest of giving 5 1 If-determination and

.iving space ,-'0 various narionaliti eS[I Tile Union

of Soviet Socialist ." public is a confederation

of Natio . a t States, each wi h its own language,

culture and traditions, developin~ free fom

outside inter! erence a or g , t e line Q - the

genius of its people. The Sikhs have a culture

a , said earl ier, 3 way of life and attachment for

.heir hearths an . hot ., ·n th· Punj ab ,a Ieelinaof deep revere ce fo, their sacred sh .ines which

are sea ttered all over h ·sa· All c h i 5-

vari OUlS features of their nat ional . life neec to be

protected . . preseT" ed , and the only' way to do



SlAt ~ipalilJi 11h8G~~;~$t : a ~ n t l m l ~ cM il l,almtte1''~li[SI~rlft5ill~~~~org- -

so is to a low to the Sikhs a 'homeland a .d

a state in the ,8 . ems '_ here they ore already

se ttled.

."'hat air - :5 do he Sikhs claim as their

homeland and state ] The answer to such a

question Is V(!''[y s imple and ned not cause any

detail d controversy, Th Sikhs do not clai '

fori

hernselves : ,ny area, like the Jews claimiogP 'al'E :s ine, where they ar as a matt r 0 fact

not settled, and into whicl they are to be

introduced as irnrnigran S :~nd tnt u ers The

Sikhs on the othr band, make a very ' fair and

e uitab ,e c aim, In the i ' - iterest of sel f-preser-

varion and r u n order to escape the fate D a

helpless people g - aduaUy ffaced .rom the face

of 'the earth ' hrough 'the pressure of pe securing

, aio ities, th dema d the right to .atablish

themse 'vies as th,e gO Y erning group, along with

other groups T n a democratic, syst:em~, in suchareas as .hev are already occupying and wh lchhave a vital relation with Sik] History and UPOQ

which the Si ch cnarac r is s amped. The

question will natural y be asked, is here a Sikh

Zone or a Sikh Ia,ndJ

and if so.W

aere ? Theanswe I S , U Yee, there' is one, and it is a broad

and compact area of which the C -, tal Punjabis the nucleus" ,'I

The C ntral P, njab with he Divisions of



Lahore and jullund 1[", with p arts of the Ambala

and Mul tan Div! ions, wl tb tl e area comprised

. ~' the Sikh State- and M a erkotla and with cer ...

rain of the HiH Areas in be No th an i North-

East is what may be caned (he " Sikh Zone ".

T ie grea teachers ~nd martyrs, the great heroes

and nation..builders of this area have een [he

SIkh Gurus and the Sikhs. This area has bee"

devel op ed by the Sikhs through ag icultutaenter arise ~,the land- owners and p rop erty ..owners

of tilts area a e Sikhs; the educat ional institu-

tions in this area are Sikh; the Iiterature and

language of this area is Sikh; about more than

80 per cent of the total Sik h population of tie

Punjab' centred in this area.

The traditions, culture and, hie most charac ..

reristic feature's of this area. are unmistakahly

S i k h j B S , anyone can see. The historv of this

area tor the past .hree centuries, is the historyof the Sik s.. There is 8 1 chain of sacred Sikh

Gurdwaras studded throu hout [his area, Q' jQ

standing at i ts frontiers, almost gird" n it

a ourid, and prole airnin ~ it to be the Sikh cradh

and ho neland, Towards ne e of ~t, in tue

north is Gu:dwara Babe di Be . i ' Sialkot, towards

the west is Nanka a Sah b J the birth place of

Guru Nanak, the founder of the S" h eligicn :

towards the sout ..west is Mukatsar, h i r , e Guru



Gobind Singh fought his great battle against

the Moghul : towards the . ast is Anandpur,

Guru Gob"nd Singh's own Capital, and in the

extreme south is Sis..Ganj in D lhi, he place of

martyrdom of Guru Tegh Sa adur , the father

of Guru Gobin Singh. In the heart of r is

area are th Har imandar 10 Golde Temple of

Amrirsar , the .ecca 0- the Sikbs and the

Aka Takht the Seat of Sikh authority. ,Alittle apart are Tarn Teran and Bhai P,eIU and

hundreds of other sacred Sik sh ri nes, Ris b t

in Lahore, the capital of the Punjab. are Dehra

Guru Arian, the place where the fifth 'Guru

became a m artvr, andt

h. Gu rd waras of BaoliSahib and the' [anarn Asthan, the Gurdwara of

the sixth Guru, the Shahid Gan] and so many

,0 her Gurdwaras.

It is in this land, which - vi rtue of proprie-

torship, development, historic ..associations and

religious sanctity, i lready belongs to the Sf hs,

where the Sikhsw ish to 6nd saf e ho ne J

frelf from interference. The Sikhs own more

than a quart r of the one hui dr d t cuss id

square miles of the and of the Pi niab. Insidethis area which is their hom ela l' "moat of this

land H ies. The Sikhs ar claiming I in asking

for this area, no more tl a vhar belongs 'to

them even by the r iaht of private p operty.



.1 V.

I s i 'I

e. , fo•

t i e conscu nCI_ 0

d , . " . c e .i,c an

'. ie thin b ,_ re closlng « own T h - Si . h t

af" as said e rl ier, ' Hb ra l-m i , " , .-ulcran .

reup e, orr ,[ .' gasp _I0-Gu uN ' nak 8Joa Gur:

God d Sil1gl t, ach '8 them th, r . Them" 0 ities '

rhich ' i l e left ,c- ithin t'- e propose S i "

Srai 1:, ave, oth in to f ar . T h e Sikhs" " U

. ro ect he essen ti: valuab ',.elerne ts of rr eh

cul ..T'S a' while giving them fre dom 'an,

O ~ en ' .v ' . I I l I , ' _ , I ~ , ' , ·a d .~I t _ h " . " [0 .x...I IS 1 f'r ._,~1 , ' - _ i ' · ' . . J ..~ I~

e ie ce I~,C[l, ha y and conteut d life.

The Idea of the Sikh State - Gurcharan Singh and Lal Singh Gyani

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Transcript of The Idea of the Sikh State - Gurcharan Singh and Lal Singh Gyani