THE LAHORE RESOLUTION.pdf

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CHAPTER TWO

THE LAHORE RESOLUTION--A PERMANENT CLEAVAGE

BETWEEN MUSLIMS AND SIKHS

The Lahore Resolution of 1940 had an immense political impact on the Punjab

politics. In particular, the prospect of a Muslim homeland raised anxieties for the Sikh

political leadership which by this time was dominated by the Shiromani Akali Dal.

The Sikhs from time to time had raised their demands for the protection as the politics

became more democratized. But their demands had not been fully accepted either by

the British or the Congress and merely distanced them further from the Punjabi

Muslim sentiment. The Sikh demands were weak because they always worked in

reaction to the Muslim political developments. This chapter aims to look into the

Muslim-Sikh relations in the backdrop of the Lahore Resolution up to the time of the

Cripps proposals.

The Muslim-Sikh relations had been somewhat good but the Lahore

Resolution of 1940 drew a hard-line and widened the gulf between the two

communities even in the rural areas. To theSikhs, the Pakistan scheme had ended any

possibility of settlement with the Muslims. It created a crisis in the Punjab particularly

in the Sikh politics. The Hindus adopted different styles of opposing the Pakistan

scheme from different platforms nevertheless the strongest reaction came from the

Sikh community because the Punjab, cornerstone of the Leagues plan, was a sacred

land of Sikhs. Despite their fullest endeavours, they could not find a solid scheme to

counter the Pakistan scheme. They planned resistance of Pakistan instead of making a

plan to meet the rapidly changing situations of the 1940s. In the crucial phase of the


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freedom movement, the Sikh leadership ignored all the situational realities of the day

relating to the panth, their sister communities and the turning tide of the Indian

history. This further weakened the nature of the Muslim-Sikh relationship in the

Punjab. The Sikhs by and large remained disunited, leaderless and directionless. As

far as the Sikh attitude towards the Muslims was concerned, the Sikhs continued to

portray them as the worst evil. The Akalis proved equally unsympathetic to the

Muslims whether they were Leaguers or the pro-British Unionists. They were

confused because their utmost desire was to remain with the defiant Congress but at

the same time they never wanted to lose the opportunity of the recruitment in the

army. Moreover, they did not want to surrender the benefits for their community

which the Muslims could have from the British.

The Unionist Premier, Sir Sikandar Hayat, had already assured the British of

the Muslim support in the war. And the Unionist Muslims after the Jinnah-Sikandar

Pact were technically members of the League1

at that timeas Ahmad Yar Daultana

admitted in his letter to Jinnah, I am a member of the Muslim League and my

relations of loyalty with you will always remain un-shattered.2

Under the Muslim

threat and the personal benefits, the Sikhs decided to support the British and fought

zealously in the World War I leaving behind all their homes and dear kinspersons .

According to Khushwant Singh, the main purpose of the Sikh recruitment was to arm

the community so that after the British departure they might utilize these army men as

the Khalsa fauj.3

The Hindu Mahasabha had a similar sentiment. Its Working

Committee on 22 September 1940 passed a resolution opposing Gandhian approach

on the recruitment. The leaders said that the war was a big opportunity for the

general militarization of the Hindus, and for the organization of the system of India on

sound and up-to-date modern lines, so that India be converted into a self-contained


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defence unit.4

The Sikhs and Mahasabha Hindus were united against the Muslim

League and were trying to increase their fighting strength.

Communal Tension

The communal clashes in towns such as Shahpur, Sargodha, Sialkot,

Gujranwala, and Ludhiana caused an additional setback to the Muslim-Sikh relations.

Local conflicts coincided with the constitutional deadlock between the main political

parties none of whom appeared willing to compromise. In the first week of March

1940, Dr. R. P. Paranjpye, President, the National Liberal Federation of India depicted

the deplorable political situation in which the Congress was held responsible for the

constitutional deadlock:

It shows no desire on the part of the Congress to reach a peaceful settlement of the

Indian problem. While inveighing against British imperialism and exploitation, it isblind to the dangers of a much worse imperialism and exploitationDemocracy, in

Congress eyes, apparently means subservience to the High Command and ultimately to

Mr. Gandhi. The Congress, by its methods, alienating more and more several minorities

and is working against national unityI agree in the Congress repudiation of attempts

to divide India or to split up her nationhood, but earnestly trust that the Congress will

counteract these attempts by deeds of conciliation and not merely by words of

repudiation. As it is, the Congress has contributed largely to the separatist tendencies

by antagonising the minorities.5

The Congress resigned from the ministries (22 October 1939) in seven provinces

which gave Jinnah an opportunity to gain strength in the provinces as an alternative

political force. Therefore, in the current scenario, the League had its governments in

NWFP, Sindh and Balochistan while to K. C. Yadav, Punjab and Bengal already

were his.6In the beginning of March 1940, Dr. Muhammad Alam, MLA, resigned

from the Deputy leadership of the Congress party in the Punjab Legislative Assembly

and analyzed the Hindu attitude of the Congress which was not confined to sideline

Jinnah and his party but to all the Muslims; it never acknowledged the services of

other nationalist Muslims who were compelled to desert the Congress gradually. He


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further stated that the war had made the situation very fragile and crucial therefore the

Congress must change its attitude towards the Muslim rights because soon the

situation would change in the country: The time for fighting over rights against the

British Government is soon to change into a time for distribution of rights.7

Furthermore, the nationalist Muslims kept on pressing the Congress leaders to change

their behaviour towards the Muslims. An article published in Hindustan depicts the

grievances of the Congressite Muslims:

Todaywe have issue of the Muslim inclusion in the Congress before us and amazingly

all aspects related to the issue are surfacing out time to time. To me, the severest and

the most important point is the Hindu mentality that the Congressite leadersthemselves have presented as a big psychological hurdle. In general, the atmosphere of

the daily routine work and meetings of the Congress does not attract the Muslims. For

example, our national songs, language of the proceedings, traditions, etc. were

pestering and irritating to the Muslims. And civilizationally it can conspicuously be

said a Hinduiyat. This is the root cause, which blocks the Congress popularity

among the Muslims. It is listened that Comrade M. N. Rai too has conceded the very

point.8

This was the original face of the Congress, which always made the Muslims feel that

they were inferior and aliens. On the other hand, the Sikhs were not ready to tolerate

even parleys between Congress and the League. On the League-Congress dialogue,

the Executive Committee of the Khalsa National Party in the Punjab Assembly under

Sir Sundar Singh Majithia,9

the Revenue Minister, resolved that the Sikhs

apprehensions had increased after watching the current political situation of India in

which the Sikh demands got no attention. He further elucidated that the Gandhi-

Viceroy and then Jinnah-Gandhi discussions showed that the Congress was ignoring

the Sikh claims just to pacify the Muslims because during these negotiations only the

Muslims were being considered as an important minority.10

Although the Sikhs

desired to participate in the discussions on the communal issue but as a matter of fact

the Hindu leadership and others perceived that the Sikhs could not survive without the


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Hindu support. If the Congress was satisfied, the Sikhs would have felt the same

ultimately.

At Lahore, a major clash took place between the Khaksars and the police and

caused serious bloodshed (19 March 1940). Sir Sikandar requested Jinnah to prorogue

the Leagues session but Jinnah refused. According to Ashiq Hussain Batalvi, every

Muslim house was sad and mourning the poignant incident but the Sikhs were pleased

on the police action against the Khaksars.11

Under such a stringent atmosphere, the

League held its annual session at Lahore in March 1940 in which its leadership set a

goal to achieve Pakistan before the Indian Muslims. Sir Sikandar participated in the

drafting process of the Lahore Resolution commonly known as the Pakistan

Resolution.12

The Lahore Resolution

Jinnah had declared that the Lahore League session would bea landmark in the

future of the Muslims of the Subcontinent. Distinguished Punjabi Muslim leaders like

the Premier Sir Sikandar, Khizr Tiwana, Mian Abdul Haye and Sir Shah Nawaz of

Mamdot welcomed Jinnah to the ceremonial platform of Lahore. The people in

thousands were waiting for their leader outside the Railway Station while the streets

had been decorated to show love and devotion for the League leaders.13

In his

presidential address on 23 March, Jinnah gave a complete reply to the Ramgarh

Congress session ideology by saying that the spiritual, financial, cultural, social and

political differences between the Muslims and non-Muslims were fundamental and

deep-rooted which maintained the dividing line between the two throughout the

centuries. After experiencing a close interaction of a thousand years, both the

communities never merged into each other and were still separate and distinctive.


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Merely the democratic constitution could not unite them forcibly together. Binding to

such a system was an un-natural and artificial effort of the British in the guise of the

parliamentary system.14

The major portions of the Lahore Resolution are as under:

no constitutional plan would be workable in this country or acceptable to the Muslims

unless it is designed on the following basic principles, viz., that geographically

contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted, with suchterritorial readjustments as may be necessary, that the areas in which the Muslims are

numerically in a majority, as in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India, should be

grouped to constitute Independent States That adequate, effective and mandatory

safeguards should be specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in these units

and in the regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political,

administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with them15

According to Sir Craik, the resolution produced three results which elevated the

Muslims to speak more forcefully for their rights, including the status of the League,

unchallenged leadership of Jinnah and the unanimity of the Muslims on the Pakistan

demand.16

The Lahore Resolution17

was eventually to provide a rallying point for

Muslims from the majority and minority provinces who had possessed different

political interests. Its immediate impact was to invoke a hostile reaction among allthe

factions of the Sikhs.

Sikh Reaction to the Lahore Resolution

The Pakistan Resolution passed by the League provoked a new sense of rights

among the Indian Muslims by determining the clear-cut destination of Pakistan but

proved a bomb-shell to the Sikh community. Despite the rampant factionalism in

Sikh politics, all the Sikh groups were firmly united on one point, opposition to the

Pakistan scheme. To Tai Yong Tan, the Resolution of 1940 brought a colossal unrest

for the Sikh community. Their anger was genuine because it was a direct threat to the

economy, canal colony lands, religion and existence of Sikhs.18

On 24 March 1940,

Kartar Singh and Master Tara Singh led a Sikh procession in Amritsar and

condemned the idea of Pakistan. They advised the Sikhs to get ready for sacrifices


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against the Muslims.19

Sikhs were hit the most by the Lahore Resolution. The

Shiromani Akali Dal declared it out rightly a declaration of the civil war.20

Even

before the passage of the Lahore Resolution, the Sikhs had been raising voice against

the expected Muslim demands for a separate state. The All India Akali Conference

was held at Attari (15 miles from Lahore) on 10-11 February 1940 in which the Akali

Sikhs from all the parts of India participated. Isher Singh Majhail, Professor Ganga

Singh, Santokh Singh, Sant Singh, MLA, and Partap Singh, MLA condemned the idea

of a separate Muslim state. They also criticized the Unionist ministry. Teja Singh of

Akarpura said in his presidential address that the Unionist Muslims were spending the

government finances to spread Islam. The speakers expressed determination that the

Sikhs would always work to strengthen the Congress position. They also advised the

audiences to set up the Akali Fauj Centres in every village.21

To H. N. Mitra, the

Sikhs pledged in this conference that the endeavours to convert the Punjab into

Pakistan would be resisted by all possible means.22

On the question of Pakistan,

according to Joseph T. OConnell, they were even ready to sacrifice Indian

independence which was their political creed.23

Master Tara Singh argued soon after the League resolution that if the Indian

Muslims feared from the Hindu majority, the Sikhs too feared from the Muslim

domination in the Punjab.24

The Pakistan scheme created panic among the common

Sikhs and the recruitment efforts in 1940 were severely downed. Major-General

Lockhart reported that the main factor behind the Sikh reluctance to enlist and the

desertions from the army was that the Sikhs thought that if they went to the front

abroad, their property, lands and villages would be attacked and occupied by the

Muslims who desired to capture the Punjab. The Sikhs, therefore, wished to live in

India to look after their families and community and protect them from the Muslims.


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The Sikhs would be contented if the concessions were to be given to the Congress

rather than the League.25

The Sikhs were well aware of the dangers which they faced

but the situation required them to come up with remedies. Master Tara Singh himself

writes in his book that Pakistan meant Muslim Raj either in the name of Pakistan or

without it. To him, Pakistan created a new sense of prejudice in the Muslims and

increased apprehension of the non-Muslims. He further says that the rule in the

Punjab by the Unionist Muslims was enough to irritate the Sikhs but the Leaguers had

been pinching them more and more by adopting the word Pakistan.26

On 20 May

1940, 125 Sikh leaders gathered at Lahore who established Guru Raj Khalsa Darbar to

achieve an independent state of Khalistan from Jumna to Jamrud. They also planned

to have two more states including Takht Sri Hazur Sahib (Hyderabad State) and

Takhat Sri Patna Sahib. They claimed to regain the areas which had been under the

Sikh rule. In the next meeting presided over by Gopal Singh Gargaj on 23 May, the

Sikh leaders discussed the practicality of the scheme.27

This meeting was a countering

measure to the idea of Pakistan.

Pakistan Resolution and the Congress

In the practical parlance, the League had demanded Pakistan on the basis of

the Two-Nation Theory. The Times of India threw light on the League session of

Lahore and wrote that the Congress Session of Ramgarh highlighted the single nation

theory in India as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad had argued while the League retaliated

with the Two-Nation theory.28

The popularity of the League pervaded all the Muslim

minds. Raghuvendra Tanwar depicts the post-League session situation that With

every passing day after the adoption of the Pakistan Resolution the League moved one

step closer to its goal of a separate home land for Muslims.29

The sane minds could


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look into the sharply changing situation. The Times portraying importance and

numerical strength of the Muslims wrote that the course of Muslim feelings could not

be brushed aside. The other communities would have to accommodate them in the

constitutional war. The French are a minority in Europe, which does not imply that

they must submit to German domination.30

Jinnah himself asserted in January 1941

that the Muslim League now represents 90 per cent Mussalmans31

in the

Subcontinent which meant that the increased support of Muslims created more

congenial atmosphere for the League leader to continue his struggle.

As far as the British response to the Pakistan scheme was concerned, they, as

usual, favoured the united India and seemed satisfied that the Muslim demand had no

backing of the Muslim majority provinces. Lord Linlithgow32

expressing his adverse

remarks against the League and Jinnahs move wrote to Zetland33

that they could not

make a plan as an alternative to the Hindu domination.34

Zetland supported

Linlithgows standpoint by saying that he disagreed in April 1940 with the Leagues

proposal for the Indian vivisection. He said that to concede such a demand would

mean to dishonour the efforts of the British and Indians for the unity of India.35

In fact

Zetland had always been in favour of the united India. He had expressed the same in

1938 by saying that they would have insuperable difficulties in the acceptance of

any move that would result in the territorial separation from the Indian Union.36

Moreover, in 1942, Linlithgow wrote to Amery37

that it was the Hindu community

which made a mistake of taking Jinnah seriously about Pakistan, and as a result they

have given substance to a shadow.38

The Congress had many friends in England39

who always paved the way for

the Congresss popularity through effective propaganda. The press generally

supported whatever the Hindu leadership stood for. The New Statesman in 1942


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favoured Gandhis campaign and condemned the governments decision to exempt

the Muslims from the fines. Lord Huntingdon wrote in his book titled Common Sense

About India (1942) that the British should withdraw from India and surrender the

political powers to the Congress. Professor Laski through the Manchester Guardian

pressed on the Viceroy to accommodate Gandhi through dialogue. The wife of Lord

Pethick-Lawrence in August 1942 appreciated Gandhian campaign of civil

disobedience through a letter to The Times.40

All these fronts were facilitating the

Hindu struggle, even Sir Stafford Cripps, a friend of Nehru, extended greetings on the

success of Congress in the elections 1937 and latter had been continuously in contact

with him before he was sent to India in 1942.41

The Congress leadership adopted erratic attitude towards the Lahore

Resolution and the Sikhs. In the beginning, they tried to conceal their real feelings

about the Pakistan scheme but they could not help exposing themselves with the

passage of time. Sir Chimanlal Setalvad said that Jinnahs scheme would be

disastrous to the interests of all the communities equally.42

In a meeting of the

Congress in 1940, Rajendra Babu said that the recent resolution of the League meant

civil war without caring as to what his leader Gandhi was uttering in favour of the

Muslim separatist movement. In the same meeting, Gandhi had said that If Muslims

want separatism, he will not oppose.43

Gandhi in April 1940 declared the fight

against the Muslim scheme of partition through non-violent methods44

but at the same

time he conceded that all the communities had a right to demand their due political

share which suited them. Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Maulana Azad and other

Congress leaders considered that the Pakistan scheme was absurd. They believed that

the Muslim masses would never back it. The other Congress leaders expressed their

incapability to oppose it if the Muslims desired it. During May 1940, they made it


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clear that the Congress wished no use of coercion against the Pakistan demand. The

Congress did not make any formal statement or pass a resolution against the partition

scheme of the League till April 1942.45

The situation after the Lahore Resolution

shows that no community of India or Punjab including the British had any sympathy

for the scheme presented by the League. The British may have been conducive to the

Muslim rights but they showed no favour for the Pakistan idea. Therefore, the League

leadership had to plead its case on the universally accepted principle of self-

determination.

Sikh Strategy

The Sikhs had been complaining against the Muslim domination in the provincial

legislature and proposed an increase in their representation from time to time. The

situation became worse because the League had declared a plan to have a permanent

Muslimdomination in the Punjab. The Muslim state was not an abrupt show of the

Muslims rather this idea had been in the air since 1930, and the idea of a physical

division of the country had been underlined by the Muslim League throughout

1939.46

Therefore, the rival community was ready to fully oppose it. Demand for

division and its opposition went simultaneously as parallel forces. The prime Sikh

strategy was to show utmost annoyance through the press and public statements. A

day after the Pakistan Resolution the Akalis organized a conference at Anandpur in

which Giani Dhanwant Singh and Master Ajit Singh strongly criticized the idea of

Pakistan.47

On 27 March, the executive committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal in a

meeting at Amritsar condemned the Pakistan scheme.48

The Khalsa National Party

held a conference at Lahore on 29 March in which the idea of Pakistan was rejected.

The Revenue Minister Sundar Singh Majithia warned that the Lahore Resolution was


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fraught with grave dangers. A resolution passed at the conference expressed the Sikh

sentiments that it would be the height of audacity for anyone to imagine that the

Sikhs would tolerate for a single day the undiluted communal Raj of any community

in the Punjab which is not only their homeland but also their holy land.49

According

to the resolution:

In the opinion of the party the resolution of the Muslim League has created a situation

which may mean a parting of the ways for the Sikhs and Muslims with whom the

Khalsa National Party has been co-operating in the Provincial Autonomy regime in the

best interests of the province and the Sikh community.50

On 29 March 1940, the City Akali Jatha of Amritsar passed a resolution against the

Leagues demand for the Muslim state.51 All the Sikhs who had otherwise been

disunited were united in making statements against the Pakistan scheme. The

Communist Sikhs favoured the Muslim right of self-determination but appeared

confused in their response to the Pakistan scheme. They on 5 April arranged a

conference at Attari which was attended by the eminent leaders like Sohan Singh

Josh, Ghulam Fatima and Gopal Singh Qaumi to give a reply to the Akalis. The

conference deplored the communal activities of the organizations such as the

Khaksars and the Akalis at the same time opposition was raised to the Pakistan

scheme. Although the Intelligence reports considered it a weak counteraction to the

Akali conference of March 194052but through the speeches they had conveyed their

message to the Sikhs, Muslims and the Hindus that on the issue of the partition

scheme of the League they were with the Sikhs and Congress. They raised objections

to the Akali Dal because of its religious claims to represent all the Sikhs and its

verdict that their political opponents were traitors to the panth.53

At Pherala

(Lyallpur) on 6 April 1940, Master Tara Singh briefed the audience about the Akali

understanding on the current political scenario and the Akali policy to deal with the

situation. He said that the Sikhs were fighting a war for survival. The weak position of


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the British in the war could result in a great change in the politics while theLeaguers

had called them for the civil war. He further maintained that the British government

had discouraged the Sikhs therefore they had become religiously very weak.54

Giani Kartar Singh, the brain of the Akalis, held that the Muslim scheme of a

separate state aimed to enslave the Sikhs.55

The SGPC postulated the Sikh co-

operation with Sir Sikandar on the war efforts to his resignation from the League.56

In

an anti-Pakistan conference at Lyallpur, Master Tara Singh repudiated the ideology of

Muslim separatism.57

In a Sikh diwan at Nankana Sahib, the Pakistan scheme was

deprecated.58The Pharala Akalis Conference (Lyallpur) on 6-7 April 1940 attracted abig throng to which the Sikh leaders like Ishar Singh Majhail, Master Tara Singh, and

Kartar Singh MLA, delivered anti-Pakistan speeches with determination that the

Sikhs would forcibly resist such an idea of the Muslim state. They even demanded

that Sir Sikandar should disown the League59

to show his impartiality.

Baba Kharak Singh of the Central Akali Dal maintained that the vivisection of

India would never be allowed and the Sikhs would undermine the anti-India

campaign.60

The Sikhs expressed their anger in the speeches made in the Akali

Conference held at Hasanabdal. They termed the Lahore Resolution as the end of

peace of the region.61

On 15 April 1940, at Lucknow, Master Tara Singh, President

of SGPC, made a tirade in the UP Sikh Conference decrying the League resolution for

a Muslim state. He demanded that the UP Sikhs must not be treated as the Punjabi

Sikhs who were under the Unionist Muslims.62

He further said that the Pakistan

scheme would mean a civil war and the Muslims would have to cross an ocean of

Sikh blood63

for the accomplishment of their task. The Central Khalsa Youngmen

Union in April 1940 pledged to suffocate the Pakistan scheme.64

The Sikhs launched a

series of protests through conferences in which they condemned the Pakistan scheme


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but were silent on counter proposals as solution to the communal problem which

could be acceptable for all the stakeholders. The Sikh conferences attracted big

gathering from the rural areas who conveyed the infused anti-Muslim feelings to the

other community members. They also rejuvenated Sikh bitter memories of the

Mughal oppression and their sacrifices.

On the other hand, the League was busy to spread the idea of Pakistan in the

minds and hearts of the Muslim masses. According to the Intelligence Reports, the

League held eleven meetings at mosques in the districts of Lahore, Amritsar, Rohtak,

Jullundur, Jhelum, Karnal, Gurdaspur, Lyallpur, Jhang, Rawalpindi and Simla and

celebrated the Pakistan Day on 19 April and passed pro-Pakistan resolutions. In the

Rawalpindi meeting, Dr. Muhammad Alam declared that the Muslims were ready to

sacrifice their lives for their own cause but not for the Hindu raj.65

Master Tara Singh, always spoke in terms of sacrifice, but in resistance to

Pakistan he urged the Sikh militants to get ready for an action to block the possibility

of emergence of Pakistan.66

In July 1940, the government reports depicted the Sikh

intention that they would undermine the hopes of the Muslim self-determination at

any cost. For this purpose, they had started purchasing weapons and ammunition.

They were buying Kirpans and axes in large numbers so that the Sikhs could use them

in case of a fight.67

The SGPC and the Akali Dal organized a commemorative

ceremony for the Sikh martyrs of the Ghallughara. A gathering of 20,000 Sikhs

pledged to resist the Pakistan drive68

along with the revival of the Akali Saina (Sikh

army).69

The Muslims protested and condemned the Ghallughara Day celebrations

and warned that such activities would inflame the communal feelings in the

region.70Despite sensing the Muslim feelings, they kept on launching anti-Muslim

activities throughout the region. Another Ghallughara Conference was arranged at


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Gujarwal (district Ludhiana) on 15 June 1940. The leaders held a secret session in

which they discussed the establishment of the Sikh state if the British government

collapsed. The report informed the conference about the distrust between the Sikh

and Muslim communities in the Ludhiana district.71

Dr. Satyapal considered the

Sikhs as communalists on the celebration of the Ghallughara Day.72

The Sikhs

organized the Ghallughara days or conferences almost in all the Sikh centers and

caused friction between the two communities. Nothing was done however to stop this

communal hatred. The British government was not taking the Sikh activities against

the Leagues Pakistan scheme seriously.73The Sikh press fully participated in the

anti-Pakistan activities and said that they would never let the Muslims establish their

rule over the Sikhs. The Muslims had to face fierce hurdles.74

An array of the non-Muslim political forces was against Pakistan and

intimidating the Muslims through speeches, press statements, physical trainings and

parades. In April 1940, the SGPC held a meeting at Amritsar in which Dalip Singh

Doabia expressed that creation of the Muslim state would remain a dream for good.

He hoped that the Sikh legislators would withdraw their support from the Unionist

ministry unless its Muslim members dissociated themselves from Muslim League.75

The Khalsa Defence League was organized in 1940 under the Maharaja Patiala with

Master Tara Singh and Giani Kartar as its members. The pro-government Khalsa

National Party refused to co-operate with the Khalsa League on the inclusion of the

Akali Dal. The clash of personalities remained a permanent feature of the Sikh

politics76

despite raging campaigns against the Pakistan scheme.

In November 1940, the Sikhs came to know that the British desired to

establish an Ahmadi77

state (covering area of 10 miles) in Qadian, district Gurdaspur

which caused bitterness between them and the Muslims. A big procession of the


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Akalis passed through Qadian chanting anti-Qadian state slogans. Udham Singh

Nagoke, Parlok Singh, Teja Singh Akarpuri and many others addressed the

conference (17-18 November) held near Qadian. Parlok Singh appealed to the

government not to form an infant Pakistan in the Punjab. Nagoke spoke against the

proposed Ahmadi state and Pakistan and exhorted the Sikhs to join the Congress and

the Akali Dal. Pandit Dhirat Ram of Qadian told stories of the painful experiences of

the non-Ahmadis of the area and requested the Sikhs to save them from the cruelty of

the Qadiani Muslims.78

The Sikhs found allies in the Hindu Mahasabha. In December

1940, an Anti-Pakistan Conference was arranged under the chairmanship of Mr.

Anney, a Mahasabha leader, who said that the Muslims were planning to rule India

without using weapons. The Conference also condemned the Pakistan scheme.

Thousands of non-Muslims attended this Conference including Master Tara Singh.79

In March 1941, an anti-Pakistan conference was arranged at Lahore in which

the Hindus mostly from the Punjab, Sindh and NWFP participated. This was

originally conceived as purely a Hindu gathering, but the Sikhs enthusiastically joined

them because they were following the same agenda. Shyama Prasad Mukerji of the

Hindu Mahasabha, in his presidential address promised that 280 million Hindus

would be a big hurdle for the Pakistan scheme. He said that Pakistan would be

confined to the papers, pamphlets, slogans and the speeches only. He requested the

Sikhs to strengthen the hands of the Mahasabha to achieve their destination. M. C.

Khanna, a leader of the Hindu-Sikh Nationalist Party (NWFP Assembly), denounced

the Muslim state. Bhai Parmanand asked the audience to use weapons to upset the

Muslim hopes.80

The Hindus and Sikhs had joined hands with each other as usual.

According to the Police reports, Mahasha Khushal Chand Khursand was provoking

the Akalis against the Unionist government. It was also reported that Dr. Gokal Chand


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Narang, Raja Narendra Nath and Bhai Parmanand had deliberations with Master Tara

Singh and the SGPC leaders to organize Hindu Sikh Unity League under Master

Tara Singh. Its major aim was to take joint action against the Muslims in case of

attacks on the Hindus or Sikhs. The other purpose was to counter the Unionist

government and the Pakistan scheme.81 The programme of the Hindu-Sikh Unity

League apparently was a defensive plan against the Muslim attacks but observing the

Sikh and Hindu leaders statements and activities, one can easily infer that it was

being organized to perpetrate violence against the Muslims.

The All-India Akali Conference was held on 15-16 February 1941 at Rurka

(Roorka) Kalan district Jallandhar in which the Sikhs presented their demands in

detail. The SGPC passed resolutions such as the release of the Sikhs of Sargodha,

approval of the SGPC in any legislation regarding Sikh religion, introduction of

Gurmukhi and Hindi languages in schools, removal of ban on Jhatka and waiving off

tax on religious and the educational institutions. Master Tara Singh appealed to the

Muslims and Hindus to support them in their struggle for justice and religious

freedom. He further expressed that the government could infuse a sense of security

into the Sikhs by conceding these demands.82

He wrote to the Governor on 28

February 1941 that the provincial government had launched a policy against the

Sikhs.83

Governor Craik on 3 March 1941 wrote to Linlithgow that Tara Singh was

wrong if he thought that the Punjab Ministers had an anti-Sikh policy.84

Master Tara

Singh met the Governor and the Premier in a friendly atmosphere in which Sir

Sikander assured that all the possible measures would be taken to meet the Sikh

demands. Craik passed his comments through a letter to the Viceroy that Master Tara

Singh lacked the leadership qualities:


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Tara Singh cut a poor figure in argument with Sikander. He was shaky about the

facts and has no gift for expressing himself lucidly, but like most Sikhs he is

extraordinarily tenacious about his own point of view and incapable of seeing that

there can be any other.85

At Gojra, near Lyallpur, B. Singh Daler presiding over the Akali Political Conference

on 8-9 March 1941 promised that the Sikhs would launch morcha if their demands

passed at the Rurka Kalan conference were not conceded. Amar Singh Dosanjh said

that the Sikhs under the Unionist ministry were pushed to the bottom of the society. In

another conference at Chajjalwadi (Amritsar) Isher Singh Majhail, Giani Puran Singh

and Joginder Singh Shant strongly disapproved the Unionist government on the issues

ofJhatka, Gurmukhi, and discriminatory treatment with the Sikhs. The principle of

the Gandhian non-violence was repudiated in the conference.86 According to the

Intelligence Report, the Muslim-Sikh relations deteriorated speedily in the province

and the Sikhs under the fear of the Muslim attacks were putting all energies in

collecting weapons and giving physical trainings to their people in all of the Punjab

districts. The Muslims were investing their energies in the Pakistan demand while the

Sikh leadership was working on a retrograde agenda, dependence on violence.87

Even

Master Tara Singh demanded that the British should let the Sikhs and Muslims settle

their problems with weapons. In the same meeting at Amritsar, he attacked the

Unionist ministry and declared that the Unionist government was a band of the Sikh

and Muslim traitors. He attributed all the Sikh problems to the Unionist government

and indicated towards the following problems:

1. Ban on Jhatka, which was an interference with the Sikh religious affairs.2. Unionist government was working to perpetuate the Muslim dominance and

weaken the Sikh panth.

3. The immoral activities of the Muslim ministers including outraging the

modesty of Hindu and Sikh girls in College hostels, especially those in the

Medical School, Amritsar.88

He also alleged that the British government had collaborated with the Muslims to

prolong their own rule. The speakers protested against the Sikh murders at Sargodha

and Amritsar, ban on the NishanSahib, and the passive response on the issue of the


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Sikh inclusion in the expanded Viceroys Council.89

Allthe problems pointed out by

the Sikh leaders were meant to counter the Pakistan scheme. They were looking for

the British support but at the same time they accused them of working under the

policy of divide and rule. The voice for the Sikh kingdom was raised as usual, but

not as a well-worked demand.

The Nihang issue90

was another problematic area of the tension in the region.

The Nihang Sikhs were found engaged in immoral activities. They had also refused to

obey the court orders regarding ban on the Nishan sahib. Many Nihang Sikhs were

arrested in the case of trespassing Anant Rams house in Sialkot but their associates

started protesting against these arrests.91

The police got reports that in many cities like

Kasur, Gujranwala, and Amritsar, the Nihangs were strengthening their numerical

position and were involved in the illegal activities. They traveled without tickets and

terrorized the commoners at the public places through violent postures.92Isher Singh

Majhail advised the Sikhs to help out the Nihangs and store the spears in the

Gurdwaras so that they could be used when needed. He accused the Hindus for giving

money to the Akalis just for their own benefit. He said that the fight with the Muslims

was inevitable therefore the panth must increase the number of Nihangs particularly

in the central areas of the Punjab. In all these meetings, they kept on condemning the

Pakistan scheme and the Unionist ministry in the Punjab and ban on Jhatka.93On the

Nihang issue, Master Tara Singh warned his followers that the Nihangs could seize

the Gurdwara funds if they gained more strength, therefore, the Akalis must be careful

in helping them. In the meeting of the SGPC held in July 1941, the Sikh leaders tried

to arrive at some agreed action against the Arms Act and the High Court decision

against the Nishan sahib. Udham Singh Nagoke was of the view that Nihangs were

armed with spears who could be useful in clashes with the Muslims, therefore, they at


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any rate must be defended. The Sikh leaders anyhow advised the Nihangs to confine

to the Gurdwaras.94

The Akali approach ostensibly was evident by their political

activities and response to the events. Amazingly, they were not prepared to tolerate

any faction of the Sikh community which could challenge their authority in the

political, religious or financial matters. They were keener to obtain the Gurdwara

funds rather than the future of the Sikh community. They had never tolerated any

parallel leadership within the community and attacked those who stood outside their

ranks. In the Sikh Political Conference held on 29-30 May 1941, they insulted Sardar

Bahadur Ujjal Singh, MLA when he was talking about the Sikh recruitments for the

war. He was howled down by audience notwithstanding, Gurbachan Kaur who

came under escort of fifty armed Nihangs and repeated the same advice uttered by

Ujjal Singh to the same audience but nobody questioned and insulted her.95

The Akali leadership most of the time took submissive decisions which led

them to a confused policy. The Governor on 13 January 1941 wrote to the Viceroy

that Major Short, an experienced officer and Sikh enthusiast, had been in contact with

Master Tara Singh and other Akali leaders. To Major Short, Master Tara Singh along

with his lieutenants was genuinely anxious to stimulate recruitment, but they could

not do it openly because of the fear of the others who could project them as

reactionaries and supporters of Government. He further reported that the Akalis

agreed to continue the British support by supplying agents who would propagate and

make every effort for the recruitment. Short opined that the Sikh recruitment

depended on their own efforts and government could not be effective in this regard.96

In April 1941, the Daska Akali Conference was arranged in which Sant Singh, MLA,

used objectionable language for Jinnah and pledged to oppose the stunt of Pakistan at

any cost. He said that Pakistan would only be achieved over the dead bodies of the


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Sikhs.97

They shouted against the Muslim Premier of the Punjab and observed that

even before the establishment of Pakistan the Premier during his four year regime had

made the Punjab a virtual Pakistan. His policies reduced the minorities to the

drawers of waters and hewers of wood and all the important appointments were

given to the Muslims. They also maintained that Sir Sikandar had sent Feroz Khan

Noon to the Viceroys Executive Council instead of giving the Sikhs a seat in the

central cabinet.98

Many people were of the opinion that the Nihang activities had compatibility

with those of the Akalis but Kehr Singh repudiated the allegations regarding Nihangs

planning to constitute an Akali army. There were discussions about the funds required

for future defence purposes. Madan Mohan Malaviya arranged a conference at

Benares to ponder over the safeguards for the Hindus in the possible future clashes.

Before leaving to join the Benares conference, Master Tara Singh talked to the Akali

leaders to seek comments on a Hindu proposal which was to offer Rs. 500,000 for the

Hindu protection against the Muslim attacks. The leaders suggested that the

Shiromani Akali Dal and the Hindu Mahasabha should be given equal share of the

money. They also urged him to consolidate the organizations such as Akali Saina and

Ram Saina.99On 2 November 1941, the Akhand Hindustan Conference was arranged

by the Hindus and Sikhs in which Master Tara Singh through a resolution declared

that he disliked the Khalistanscheme as he did regarding the Pakistanscheme. The

Hindu and Sikh leaders also advised the audience to give unconditional support to the

British in the war so that they might reject the Pakistan scheme.100

It is not amazing in the perspective of the leadership-crisis in the Sikh

community that the Akali leaders were accepting money from the Hindus and using

the Gurdwara funds against the Muslims. Some of the Sikhs talked of the Sikh state


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while Master Tara Singh vividly declared that Khalistan meant as much of a betrayal

of the Indian nationalism as the League had done by demanding Pakistan. To meet the

Pakistan challenge, the sole solution the Sikhs found, was the strategy of violence and

joining hands with the Hindus. InAjit, Master Tara Singh wrote that Sir Sikandar was

the worst enemy of the Akali Sikhs. He disclosed a violent plan to occupy Lahore in

1940 after the expected defeat of the British in the war. The Sikh Jathas had been

deployed on the appropriate places from where they could easily capture Lahore.

Master Tara wrote that they did not arrange for guns because during attack it was

quite easy to snatch ammunition from the police stations. The surrender of Lahore

could establish the awful authority of the Sikhs which would make further plan very

easy.101

L. V. Deane102

filed a report on the Sikh politics on 13 January 1942 observing

that the Sikh political parties were working on the traditional lines. The pro-Unionist

Khalsa National Party was not still organized at the grassroots level. It had very little

hold on the Sikh masses. The Central Sikh League which associated itself with the

All-India Sikh League too had no reliable workers. Giani Sher Singh had deserted to

seek refuge under the SAD just to save himself from prosecution for embezzlement.

The Central Akali Dal aimed to damage the position of the SAD. Though it demanded

inclusion of a non-Akali member in the Viceroys Executive Council but as a matter

of fact it had no constructive programme for the Sikh community. When the Kirti

Kisan Party was banned, the Punjab Kisan Committee emerged and tried to work on

the communist lines but it enjoyed no popular support and was confined to the

specific areas of the province. The Sikhs were represented in the Punjab Communist

Party but like other Kisan organizations the government action made them

unimportant. The Sikh element in the Congress also had little importance in the Sikh


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masses. The Akali Dal was a well entrenched party and had firm control over the

Gurdwara funds but had no agreed programme for the Sikhs. The Akalis opposed the

non-violence principle of Gandhi but even then they could not sever their uneasy

association with the Congress at the same time they favoured the Sikh recruitment in

the British army. The Akalis had been raising their voice against the Unionist ministry

on the points of the Pakistan scheme, pro-agriculturists policy, jhatka, Muslim

favouritism in the appointments, Sikh seat in the Executive Council and ban on Hindi

and Gurmukhi in the primary schools. The report further said that the Akalis had no

solid programme to pursue.103

The Akali party faced dissension between Giani Kartar and Udham Singh

Nagoke on the presidential nomination in 1942. Seeing this friction, Master Tara

Singh ended this fight by forwarding his own name as the president of the SAD. In his

brief speech, he said that although the Akali Dal was not allowed to join the Khalsa

Defence of India League but even then they would favour the Sikh recruitment policy.

He also declared that the Sikhs would support the Congress policy of complete

independence.104

The Akali leadership felt that Sir Sikandar wanted the British-Sikh

relations to be bitter and unfriendly.105

The CAD arranged a conference at Muktsar,

district Ferozepore on 13 January in which Baba Sohan Singh, Rais of Muktsar,

accused Master Tara Singh and his associates of misusing the Gurdwara funds. The

conference passed a resolution against the Pakistan scheme and ban onjhatka. On 21

January 1942, speaking to 5,000 people in a conference of the SAD at Chheharta

(Amritsar district), Mohinder Singh Pihariwala declared that the Sikhs were

confronting the issue of Pakistan, Jhatka and Punjabi language. The speakers

criticised the British and demanded a seat in the Executive Council for the Sikhs.106

Sometimes, the Akalis joined hands with the other forces just to create problems for


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the Unionists. For example, the small traders were at protest against the Unionist

government on the issue of tax. The Akali Dal took up the issue because they had

connection with the trading classes but more to weaken the Unionist government. The

Akali Dal provided them jathas and other support while Shah Nawaz Khan of

Mamdot asked in the meeting of the League Provincial Working Committee at Lahore

on 15 February for action against the leaders who were participating in the beopari

agitation. Nevertheless, this point was not conceded as many Leaguers pointed out

that the Muslim shopkeepers were also affected by the Sales Tax Act. The Congress

and Ahrars joined the Akalis in the on-going agitation of the small traders.107

On 26 February, a meeting of the Working Committee of the All-Parties Sikh

Conference was held in Lahore which Sardar Baldev Singh presided over. Through

the resolutions, the leaders demanded formation of a national government at the

centre with acceptable Sikh representation. In another resolution, they appealed to the

Congress to honour the Ravi pledge of 1929 (Lahore). They also constituted a

committee which met on 28 February and wished to send a deputation consisting of

Master Tara Singh, Sir Joginder Singh and Baldev Singh with 12 other leaders to

convince the Sikh masses of the Punjab to be united to cope with the critical political

situation. In another conference, the speakers condemned the Unionist government

while various irresponsible speakers recited poems vilifying the Unionist

Ministry.108

Master Tara Singh presided over a secret meeting of the Akali Dal

which suggested various changes in the sums of Akali Daland the SGPC so that the

balance of the SGPC could be maintained properly as required by the Gurdwara Act.

Master Tara informed the activists that he had given a task through a circular to all the

Gurdwaras of the Punjab for raising the Sikh volunteers so that they could be called to

Amritsar whenever required. The volunteers would maintain their distinguished status


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with yellow coloured uniform, called Shahidi Wardi. Through a letter, he also

conveyed the Sikh sentiments to Leo Amery, the Secretary of State for India (1940-

45) against the Pakistan scheme and Jinnah, and put up a demand for formation of a

national government at the centre and consultation with the Sikhs on any

constitutional move in future.109

Giani Kartar, MLA, in another meeting at the Akali

Diwan (Amritsar) assured the British of the Sikh military support but in return

demanded an assurance for the Sikh rights.110

In an Akali conference held at

Anandpur (Jallandhar), the speakers like Ganga Singh Badal, Achhar Singh, Giani

Mehr Singh, Professor Ganga Singh and Labh Singh addressed the different sessions.

The huge gatherings listened to their leaders who declared that the Sikhs would never

support the British in the war. They gave a verdict that the supporters of the Khalsa

Defence and the British were not the real Akali Sikhs. Baldev Singh said that the

Unionist ministry was a staunch anti-Sikh coalition.111

Master Tara Singh was present

in the session but he did not reiterate the Akali policy of the British support in the

war. Baldev Singh was an important ally of the Unionist and British government but

he too posed as an opponent to the government.

At the Doaba Diwan, Giani Mehr Singh spoke out against the principle of non-

violence and appreciated Sobhash Chandra Bose. He also suggested the Akali Sikhs

to establish their own rule with the help of weapons. The communal disturbance

would be the best opportunity to materialize this dream. At Baba Nath Singh Shahid

Akali conference (Sialkot) on 15 March 1942, Santokh Singh urged the need to

manage wheat supply to the Sikhs in the villages. He held the Punjab government

responsible for the wheat shortage. Sardar Gurmukh Singh, MLA, condemned the

idea of establishment of a Muslim state and asked the British to approve the demands

sent by Master Tara Singh to Mr. Churchill. Gopal Singh Qaumi spoke to a Sikh


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against all promises. They kept on reminding their past services but could not spell

out what exactly their demands were.

Popularity of SAD and League

At Fatehgarh Sahib (Sirhind) in the Patiala Sate, the Sikhs gathered to

commemorate the murder of the two young sons of Guru Gobind Singh by the

Mughal governor of Sirhind where Giani Kartar and S. Kartar Singh115

expressedthe

strong support for raising the Sikh living standard in the Patiala State. Later on all the

points mentioned by the speakers were published in a pamphlet to emphasise the

demands. The Sikh leaders hoped that His Highness would win the Sikh hearts by

appointing a Sikh as his Prime Minister. They demanded 60 per cent share in the State

services, changes in the management of the Gurdwaras and Sikh shrines with their

properties under the jurisdiction of the Gurdwara Act. Voice was raised for Gurmukhi

to be declared as official language and its compulsory study for the Sikh youth. They

asked for a Legislative Assembly in which the Sikhs should constitute a majority.

These demands were unanimously passed by the Sikh Dewan at the Annual Shahidi

Dewan held on 26 December 1941 and endorsed by the Amritsar meeting of the Akali

Dal held on 19 and 20 January 1942.116

Through such demands, the Akalis tried to

interfere in the Princely States affairs. No doubt, protection of the Sikh rights was

their duty but at this crucial time they should have avoided opening more fronts to

remain focused on their core issues.

The Police report of 31 January 1942 reported about the period from October

to December 1941 accepted the SAD as the most popular party at that time among the

Sikhs.117

The appointment of Jogindar Singh as the Chief Minister of Patiala

strengthened the Akalis who were gratified with a strong hold on the affairs of Patiala


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and other Sikh states.118

Unlike the Akalis, the Leagues ideological and constitutional

performance gained profound support of the masses who seemed fully prepared to

play their due role in the political activities. According to the Intelligence Report, the

Punjabi Muslims had full devotion to the League for its constitutional attitude while

they disliked the Congress.119

The Punjab Students League held the Pakistan

Conference at Batala on 27 February 1942 in which Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, MLA

(Central), Sheikh Chiragh Din and Professor Dildar Khan appreciated Jinnahs

leadership and pledged to support the Pakistan movement.120

The League declared

that the 23rd March should be celebrated as the Pakistan Day with full zeal. The

Intelligence Reports revealed the high graph of Jinnahs popularity among the Punjabi

Muslims and the leaders in the Ahrar Working Committee meeting at Lahore

expressed the opinion that Jinnah was working for the Muslim interests and the Ahrar

leaders could never be effective among the Muslim public if they denounced Mr.

Jinnah and the Pakistan scheme.121

The leadership of Jinnah and the Pakistan

demand had stricken from a common person to the Unionist Premier, Sir Sikandar

who expressed his views in a public gathering that he had not been against the Lahore

Resolution which ensured a peaceful life for the Hindus and Sikhs in the Muslim

majority region. Raja Ghazanfar Ali said that the Premier could never part with the

League.122

The Pakistan scheme of the Muslims and the anti-Pakistan or anti-Muslim

outbursts of the Akai Dal popularized the two parties in their respective communities.

The political and religious organizations, hierarchy and the ministers could feel this

profound change in the political domain. The Unionist Muslims sometimes sided

openly with the Pakistan scheme which caused uncertainty in the minds of their Sikh

and Hindu allies in the Assembly.


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Muslim Preparations

The word protection remained very popular during these years and different

parties publicly passed resolutions for recruiting volunteers in the name of

protection. In a meeting of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema at Amritsar, Maulvi Abdul Hanan

and Maulvi Baha-ul-Haq Qasmi criticized the British for not training and arming

Indians. In a Working Committee meeting held at Lahore on 19 March 1942, the

leaders advised their workers to raise volunteers for self protection.123

The Khaksars

decided the same in an Amritsar meeting that they must work under Hilal-i-Ahmar

and volunteers be raised to protect thecommunity in times of internal unrest.124 In

Sheikhupura district, Maulvi Zahir Niaz Begi lauded the Muslim state and enrolled

1,000 Muslim National Guards who were given training in lathi fighting.125

The

Sikhs, Hindus and the religious parties of the Punjab felt the necessity to organize the

masses for self-protection. This sense of insecurity and mistrust of other communities

presented a woeful picture of the Punjabi society as the British rule drew to its end.

The provincial authorities seemed ineffective in this regard. All the communities were

scared and felt insecure from the other communities. According to the Governors

report:

No communal incidents of importance have been reported. As indicated in theforegoing portions of this report, fears of internal unrest and feelings engendered by the

conflicting constitutional claims of rival political parties have combined to heighten

communal unrest and mistrust. One result of this has been a tendency to revive

volunteer organisations, the advertised objects of which are invariably innocuous,though rival bodies show little disposition to accept them at their face value. The ban

on uniforms and military drill prevents these bodies being organised on a directlymilitary basis, butAkali efforts to organise the Sikh community clearly contemplate a

resort to violence in certain circumstances, and contribute to intensify communal

suspicion.126

Though, the Muslim National Guards, Sheikhupura collected the Muslims for the

training but it cannot be generalized that this organization had become strong enough

in all the areas of the Punjab. Yet much was required to popularize it.


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Muslim-Sikh Tension

Although the Punjab government tried to restore peace but the Muslim-Sikh

riots continued. The year of 1940 produced nothing good in this regard and clashes

took place during the Moharram processions. The communal uneasiness furthered

when a communal fracas between the Hindu Jats and the Muslim Kamins broke out

on 7th

April, 1940 in Lahara, district Rohtak. The next year showed unchanged

trends in the communal relationship as numerous riots occurred on 14 March at

Amritsar and in May and June at Bhiwani district Hissar. Mian Iftekhar-ud-Din,

President of the Punjab Congress, organized a unity conference to restore peace and

invited the League, Akali and Mahasabha leaders but it produced nothing beneficial

regarding the communal harmony. Mohaya writes that the Punjab had ranked as a

province in which public peace was in serious and constant danger from terrorism.127

Communalismwas not confined to the physical clashes on the roads but was

prevailing in the institutions and other departments as well. The Sikhs had been

claiming that the Unionists had appointed the Muslims on all the key posts to relegate

the Sikhs to an ineffective position. But a Muslim newspaper retaliated with accurate

figures that the non-Muslims were ruling in the Forest Department with a high

percentage which was against the Muslims.128

Such kind of differences did not fare so

badly for the future as did economic boycotts and rumours of armed assaults. The

Muslim-Sikh tension arose in district Gujrat and both the communities started boycott

of each other but the situation settled down as the Muslims and Sikhs agreed to end

the boycott at Ala village. In Gujranwala, tension arose when the Sikhs celebrated

Ghallughara Day and the Muslim residents protested against the Sikh speeches and

asked the Muslims to prepare for any emergent situation. The tension was furthered


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when a rumour pervaded that the Muslims would attack the Sikhs on 31 May 1940.

Nevertheless, the Deputy Commissioner called the leaders of both the communities

who promised to maintain peace in the area.129

In the same city, the Muslims

protested against the orders issued by the DC which irked them. He had filled the post

of the Civic Guard with a Sikh candidate while the Sikhs made only one percent of

the total population.130

The Muslim-Sikh tension proved pernicious to the communal

harmony of the region. Through an editorial, a Muslim newspaper pointed out the root

causes of the Muslim-Sikh tension and wrote that during the Muslim rule, the Sikh

sacred places were insulted while the Sikh rule was recalled as Sikha Shahi which

meant authoritarian and insulting rule to the Muslims. Their holy places were insulted

and the Muslims could not sayAzan in the Sikh dominated villages. The Sikhs and

Hindus were the same as they inter-dined and intermarried. The Hindu Mahasabha

considered them as co-religionist and the Akali leaders strongly supported the Sikh

separation from the Hindus in the religious identity but were ready to work closely

with the Hindu Mahasabha where it made strategic sense. The editorial continued that

the Sikhs wanted to take a big portion of the Punjab and gift it to the Hindus. The

paper further questioned as to why the Sikhs demanded a Sikh state if they were

actually Hindus. They ought to join Pakistan if they were a separate nation. They were

opposing the partition of India as well as demanding the same.131

The initiation of the

Sikh province could be a supportive demand for the League but the painful aspect was

that the Muslim-Sikh understanding was dwindling day by day.

Sikh Preparations for Violence

The Police reports verify that the Khaksar activities added to the Sikh fears

and in response to this they were arming themselves against the Muslims. They held


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meetings in Mandirs and Gurdwaras and advised their communities to organize the

defence bodies at mohalla level.132

The Sikhs under the Akali patronage were proudly

involved in the violent activities. The Akali Dal had the militant offshoots which

practiced Gatka (wielding a stick in a fight)and physical exercises. On 3 March 1940,

the Akalis held a meeting at Lahore where the leaders condemned the ban on the

Akali regiments.133The members of Akali Sena of Tarn Taran were fully engaged in

practicing Gatka.134 The Police reports informed the authorities that Teja Singh

Akarpuri and Isher Singh Majhail were preparing a scheme which would assign every

Gurdwara Committee to plan a programme for the physical training of 20 to 50

Akalis. These trained Akalis would extend training to the rest of the Sikh community

in the Punjab. Every trainee would be given Rs. 10 with the facilities of food and

accommodation. The report further revealed that they had planned to encourage the

Akalis to procure arms smuggled from the North-West Frontier Province.135Master

Tara Singh explained in a conference at Pherala that the Khaksars by show of their

military strength in the bazaars were busy to overawe the people. The government

took action against these activities very late and banned drill which was not a correct

decision. The action was taken observing the Sikh force in the Attari Conference. He

motivated the audience to continue strengthening the Akali Fauj by increasing its

number and practicing Gatka daily.136

In July 1940, a Hindu from Dera Ghazi Khan

disclosed under the Rawalpindi Police custody about his provincial Hindu gang which

had planned to kill the Muslim leaders. In January 1941, the Delhi CID arrested a

fully armed Sikh band. During enquiry, Gyani Rattan Singh revealed that they had

smuggled arms from the NWFP and aimed to snatch weapons from the guards. The

Sikh preparations against the Muslims were going on in all the corners of the

country.137

The Governor during the second half of May 1942 presented a very


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serious state of the rearmament. According to the report, unlicensed fire-arms had

been abundantly obtained in the province. The CID arms staff which was assigned the

duty to disarm the people found about 1,000 fire-arms in the Hissar district in a few

weeks. It was further informed that the illegal weapons in Hissar had been obtained

from the States of Patiala and Bikaner.138

On 15 April 1942, the Hindu and Sikh

locals gathered at Rawalpindi and decided to take arms for protection against the

activities of the bad characters. It was accordingly decided to distribute tridents in

every mohalla for this purpose.139

The rural Punjab remained peaceful but the conferences were mostly attended

by the rural Sikhs which was to have negative implications for its continued

tranquility. The Akalis stepped up their efforts to secure rural support. After

discussions on the current situation, the Akali leaders met in Amritsar (3-5 May 1942)

and decided to launch propaganda in the rural areasthrough theDadhi Jathas.140

The

Hindu allies of the Sikhs were equally engaged in such activities. Dr. Gopi Chand

disclosed that Gandhi was sure of the victory of the Axis powers and the Japanese

invasion of India after the rainy season. To him, it would be the best time to start civil

disobedience movement. The Congress also continued its workers physical training

particularly the use of lathi fighting. A lawyer Sham Lal at Hissar supervised this

training. Fifty-six volunteers from the towns of Ferozepore, Fazilka and Abohar also

joined this training plan.141

The Akalis were increasing their violent activities day by

day. They were intimidating even the other Sikh parties. It was reported that the

Akalis used force in preventing the other Sikh parties like communist Sikhs and the

Central Akali Dal from propagating their agenda in the Sikh masses. They also

pressurised the Jallianwala Bagh committee not to allow the Central Akali Dal to have

a meeting in the Bagh. On 13 July 1942, the Akalis tried the Kirti Kisan workers to


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abandon their meeting at Guru ka Bagh. The meeting was held away from this site in

which the speakers used rough language for the Akalis.142

The murder of a Sikh, Autar Singh in Sargodha, badly affected Muslim-Sikh

relations and the Unionist government showed biased reaction in the administrative

measures.143

In all the conferences since the murder, the Sikhs condemned the district

and provincial authorities and held protests in all parts of the Punjab. The Hindus in

general and the Hindu Mahasabha in particular worked in Lahore to collect more

funds and volunteers to protect Hindus and Sikhs. It added tension immensely to the

decaying Muslim-Sikh relations.144 In a conference, Master Ajit Singh, Secretary

General of Shiromani Akali Dal, issued a circular that the Sikh community should

observe 28 July as the Autar Singh Shahidi Day. The Akalis decided to inaugurate atraining camp at Chheharta (Amritsar) in September. The trained Sikhs were supposed

to open new camps in their native districts. In a conference on 17-18 July 1940, Isher

Singh Majhail maintained that the Sikhs were not safe in the Punjab districts

administered by Muslim Deputy Commissioners. He said that the hooliganism was

increasing in the Muslim areas.145

The members of the Akali Sewadars and Akali Saina carried on the exercise of

Gatka in the areas of district Amritsar according to the Police reports.146An Akali

Diwan was organized at Ugoke near Sialkot on 22-24 October 1940 in which Master

Tara Singh emphasized that the Sikhs must join the army with an objective that they

were not supporting the British but to militarize their own community.147

The

speakers at Diwan (Amritsar) held on 30-31 October 1940 condemned the Pakistan

scheme and advised their fellow Sikhs to strengthen the Akali Saina and learn how to

use weapons.148

A similar message was conveyed by Master Tara Singh in Lahore on

30 May 1941 in which he said that the Unionist government was purely a Muslim rule


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in the province therefore the Sikh Gurdwaras needed attention for protection

particularly where the Sikhs were in acute minority. Giani Kartar emphasized that

they must train the community by organizing the Akali Saina and Akali regiments at

all levels. Tara Singh announced the deployment of 1,000 Akalis on the Lahore

Gurdwaras and urged to mobilize the community against the ban onJhatka.149

The Sikhs preparations were copied by the Hindu communal organizations. In

a conference, Jugal Kishore Birla agreed to the views of Dr. B. S. Moonje that the

Arya Vir Dal members should be trained on the lines of the Akali Dal. Sant Singh,

MLA said that Pakistan was not possible until the Sikhs were alive in the country.150

The Punjab Hindu Students Federation arranged an anti-Pakistan meeting at Lahore

on 10 May 1942 in which Master Tara Singh said that Pakistanreflected the policy of

Aurangzeb and was to be put to an end by the Khalsa. The audience burnt a paper

named as the Pakistan scheme.151

The anti-Pakistan Sikh conferences were very

provocative for the Muslims. The Akali Sikhs and the Hindu Mahasabha propagated

for their joint gathering at Sultanwind (district Amritsar) on 13-14 June 1942 while

the CAD planned to hold an anti-Pakistan conference in Lahore on 17-18 June. The

Intelligence reports observed that these conferences have evoked Muslim

resentmentand relations between the two communities are likely to become

increasingly strained if such plans mature.152

Astoundingly, the Sikhs were setting the house on fire wherein they were

residing. Attempts to improve communal harmony were meager and unimportant. The

Unity Conference was a good step in this regard but disappointingly it could not fill

the gap created by the communal animosity and suspicion. In July, the Majlis-i-Ahrar-

i-Islam arranged a Unity Conference at Sialkot in which Hindu, Sikh and Muslim

leaders shared goodwill for each other. But it generated controversy over the Pakistan


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scheme and by condemning the idea of the Muslim state Daulat Ram Bhatia said that

the Pakistan idea was being encouraged by the imperialist government. Sheikh

Hissam-ud-Din criticized the British policies in India. Sardar Mangal Singh called for

communal calm and reiterated that the Pakistan issue could be settled after the British

departure. Sayed Ataullah Shah Bhukhari frankly admitted that harmony could never

be achieved because hatred was very deep rooted. He, as evidence, quoted that

Gandhi refused to eat food prepared by Muslims and.Sikhs were collecting arms

in order to establish their own rule.153During this time, communal relations were

deteriorating.

In May 1941, the Sikhs took out a procession in Sargodha in commemoration

of the Guru Arjun Devs martyrdom. This city had already experienced tension

arising from the procession routes. Once again the Jama Mosque was on the Sikh

procession route. The procession was crossing the Mosque area when Dalip Singh a

notorious local agitator, incited the Sikhs who started playing music. The next day

3,000 Muslims gathered in the Mosque and showed their annoyance over the irritating

and insulting behaviour of the Sikhs.154

In June, the Muslims of Amritsar who

gathered in Khair Dins Mosque spoke against the discriminatory behaviour of the

Municipal Committee Amritsar and accused that the officials had dismantled the

Muslim buildings while they had not removed even a brick of the Hindu and Sikh

houses.155The Sikh political parties were staging protests against Pakistan and the

Unionist government by arranging conferences all over the province.156All of them

expressed stereotyped points, generally condemning the government on the issues of

Jhatka, Gurmukhi, ban on Kirpan, biased treatment towards the Sikhs, the League and

the Pakistan scheme.


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Demand for Sikh State

The sentiments of the Sikhs were at boiling point after 23 March 1940 under

these stringent conditions some Sikhs spoke out for a separate homeland. To Anup

Chand Kapur, the Akalis at Attari (district Amritsar) soon after the League resolution

demanded Khalistan extending its boundaries from the river Chenab to the river

Jamna.157

The Khalsa National Party on 29 March 1940 demanded to restore the

Punjab of Maharaja Dalip Singh to the Sikhs.158

A Guru Raj Khalsa Durbar was

organized in a meeting at Amritsar on 19 May 1940. Its main objective was to take

the Punjab back from the non-Sikh rulers and to convert it into a Sikh state between

the river Jumna and Jamrud. Baba Madan Singh Gaga and Jagjit Singh, Editor,

Khalsa Sewak, were the eminent members of the committee to materialize this

scheme159while Dr. V. S. Bhati, a Sikh from Ludhiana, put forward a scheme of

Khalistan, a buffer state between Pakistan and Hindustan. It would consist of the Sikh

districts and states and function under Maharaja Patiala. Furthermore, a sub-

committee was approved and assigned to work on the scheme. But Master Tara Singh

strictly condemned such seceding sentiments among the Sikhs.160

To Anup Chand,

Dr. V. A. Bhatti through a pamphlet also demanded Muslim areas running through

Bahawalpur, Sindh and Rajputana enabling the Sikhs to have an outlet to the Gulf of

Cutch.161

The scheme on which the Akalis laid stress continuously was the Azad Punjab

scheme but it had to face severe criticism and opposition. The Governor in the

fortnightly report for the first half of December 1942 portrayed that the Akalis did not

seem much active in propagating the Azad Punjab scheme. The Hindu Mahasabha

leaders clarified their position by saying that they had a principal stand against the

Pakistan scheme therefore they were also opposed to the Azad Punjab scheme. The


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scheme could not gain unanimous opinion of the Sikhs who remained divided. Master

Tara Singh and other leaders toured the western Punjab but could not secure favour

with the exception of the central Punjab. The All-India Sikh Youth Conference held at

Lahore supported this scheme but with an amendment. They opined that the scheme

should have the approval of two-third of the Sikh community. The Central Akali Dal

and Namdhari leaders also opposed the scheme. The Akalis decided to hold a

conference at Bhiwanigarh in Patiala State to prepare the panth to follow their

decision but success could not be expected for this scheme.162

Though they avoided

using the term Azad Punjab scheme, they pursued it persistently by demanding re-

demarcation of the Punjab boundaries.

Master Tara Singh strode very carefully. He declared that the Sikhs would not

demand Khalistan if the Muslims abandoned Pakistan.163

This attitude appeared

vacillating to those outside the community and did not convince the British for

consideration of the Sikh demands.Other Sikh leaders however continued to talk of a

Sikh state. In 1942, Sardar Kirpal Singh Majithia declared that they desired to

establish the Sikh rule. The Working Committee of the Central Akali Dal was

organized in Amritsar on 2 April 1942 in which the party reversed the core policy and

issued statement in favour of the partition. Baba Kharak Singh rejecting Cripps

proposals said that India was going to be partitioned in near future and the Sikhs had a

right to demand a separate Sikh state extending from River Jhelum to River Sutlej if

the division was inevitable.164

The report said that the Sikh leaders were uncertain

about how to block the Pakistan scheme. They also doubted, whether Khalistan would

be the best alternative for the Sikhs or not. On the other hand, the Khalsa Youth

League was propagating for Khalistan.165

On 2 May 1942, at Amritsar, Master Ajit

Singh declared that Khalistan would be achieved with the help of sword. In the


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Working Committee meeting of the Central Akali Dal at Lahore, Bakhshish Singh,

editor ofKhalsa, called to launch a movement for the attainment of Khalistan.166

The

police report said that Master Tara Singh also discussed the issue of the partition and

the Sikh rule in the non-Muslim minority areas with Vir Savarkar, the Mahasabha

leader.167

According to the police report, the Akalis demanded the Azad Punjab after

the Sikandar-Baldev Pact (15 June 1942).168

The Akali conference was held in Kot

Moman (district Shahpur) on 2-3 October 1942 in which Dalip Singh of Sargodha

opposed the Pakistan scheme and said that the Sikhs desired no Khalistan. Giani Sher

Singh approved the Sikandar-Baldev Singh pact and demanded the re-demarcation of

the Punjab in which no community would be in an utter majority.169

Baldev Singh

expressed his fury against the Pakistan scheme and said that he would prefer slavery

to the partition. Giani Sher Singh elucidated that if the idea of Pakistan was

materialized, they would establish Khalistan. In November 1942, a Gurmukhi poster

was displayed with the signature of Bhagwan Singh which demanded the revision of

provincial boundaries of the Punjab. Sardar Kartar Singh, an Advocate from Patiala,

and Professor Ganga Singh emphasized the need for re-demarcation of the provincial

boundaries to establish the Sikh rule.170

The lack of vision and disunity was profoundly affecting the Sikh politics.

According to an Intelligence report, Master Tara Singh refrained from personal

discussions with Jinnah171

while it was an undeniable reality that nothing was possible

without negotiations on the conflicting issues. As a matter of fact, Tara Singh

possessed no political and constitutional arguments on which he could face Jinnah, a

staunch constitutionalist. Disunity overwhelmingly gripped the Sikhs and the leaders

could be distracted by trivialities. Sant Singh, an MLA resigned from the All Parties


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Sikh Conference in 1942 just because his name was not included in the Sikh

delegation which was to meet the Cripps Mission.172

Congress and Sikhs

The Akalis differed from the Congress on the issue of support for the war

effort with the government, but expected support from the organization in their anti-

Pakistan stance.173

The myth that the Sikhs were their saviours was retained and

projected by the Hindus. The Congress had included the Sikh members in the

Congress Working Committee more than their proportion. Sardar Sohan Singh Josh,

MLA, in a Congress meeting, necessitated a volunteer corps to counter the communal

organizations.174The Congress continued brainwashing the Sikh leadership and the

masses that only the Congress could save their interests in the on-going struggle for

freedom and on the issue of Pakistan.175

In such an uncertain situation, the Sikhs were

struggling for the rights without any agreed voice. Some Muslims perhaps under the

stress of the communitarian dominance tried to show their balanced position on the

Muslim and non-Muslim issues and criticized the Congress, League and Akalis

equally. On 20-21 September 1940, they arranged an Azad Khyal Muslim Conference

presided over by Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah. He objected that the Congress

claimed to be a secular party but the communalist Akali Sikhs were speaking against

the Muslims from the Congress platform. He further said that Master Tara Singh and

the Maharaja of Patiala had planned for the Sikh raj in the Punjab. He also

complained that the Congressite Muslims had lost respect either in their own

community or in the Congress circles.176In this way, the nationalist Muslims within

the Congress were raising voice against the Hindu leadership on the issue of the Akali

Sikhs.


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On the other hand, the Sikhs continued their submissive allegiance to the

Congress. The CAD condemned the Akali-Unionist pact of 1942. Sardar Mangal

Singh, MLA appealed to the Sikhs to resist this pact. He went to Wardha with

suggestions for the Congress Working Committee members that the Punjab Congress

should be given under the leadership of Baba Kharak Singh after the betrayal of the

SAD. The Intelligence report concludes that both the SADandCAD did not want to

lose the Congress support. The leaders found themselves helpless in the political

arena without the Congress.177

The analysis proved true because Master Tara Singh

had to request Vir Savarkar to convince the Congress leadership to avoid attacking the

Akalis. The Akali leaders also laid stress on the Sikhs to join the Congress in large

numbers to influence the decision-making strength of the party.178

Sikandar and Pakistan

The Unionists Muslims and non-Muslims pretended to be above all the

communal differences but one can observe through the Punjab Assembly debates

wherein the Muslims seemed scared to discuss the Quranic verses because it might

create religious tension. Discussing the Primary Education Bill, Chaudhri Shahab-ud-

Din, the Speaker, had to interfere in the debate with the following remarks:

What I said was that it would be enough to say that according to Islam purdah isnecessary and must be observed and that this Bill should not interfere with it. But to

quote Quran Sharif and translate on the floor of the House might, as already stated, result

in unpleasantness. I do not wish the Quran to be discussed and criticized. 179

The Leagues political activities were irritating for Sir Sikandar. Feeling himself

sandwiched between the League and the non-Muslim allies, he tried to wriggle out of

the situation but his efforts came to naught. He was to maintain his coalition

government and confidence of Jinnah simultaneously. The Premier was obliged that

Jinnah had never created problems for him even over the issues of the Khaksar-Police

clash in 1940 at Lahore. Sir Henry Craik wrote to Linlithgow on the wise leadership


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of Jinnah that he did not provoke clash between a government headed by a Muslim

and the League. He not only facilitated the Punjab ministry but also secured the unity

in the League circle. He further wrote that through his wisdom, Jinnah increased his

influence over Leaguers in the Punjab.180

Sir Sikandar had to appease the Muslims

by presenting himself a pure Muslim leader and, on the other hand, opposed Jinnah to

pacify the non-Muslim allies as he did in a speech at Lyallpur. While addressing the

Pakistan Conference arranged by the students, he portrayed himself as a pure Muslim

by saying that he prayed five times regularly

Documents

THE LAHORE RESOLUTION.pdf