Gurudwara Rakab Ganj, which PM Modi visited, sparked an anti-government agitation 100 years ago
An excerpt from Harjot Oberoi’s forthcoming book ‘When Does History Begin: Religion, Identity, and Narrative in the Sikh Tradition’. Gurudwara Rakab Ganj today. | Sidheeq / CC BY-SA 4.0
The “Gurdwara Rikabganj agitation” of Delhi exactly a hundred years ago shows some quite startling parallels with the farmers’ agitation currently roiling New Delhi. As today, the earlier agitation was primarily by Punjabis and Sikhs against autocratic rulers in the capital oblivious to their sensitivities. As today, the ruling regime’s first response was to spread misinformation, demonise the protesters, and suppress the agitation by misguiding the public about their real intention.
It was in the Jat Gazette that he wrote: “People describe the farmer as the Lord of Grains (Annadata), but no one sees whether he himself eats or not. It is the biggest wonder of the world that the one who produces remains hungry. I tell the Rajas and Nawabs and all types of governments of Hindustan to not harass the farmer to the extent that he stands up… Other people break the law when they get angry with a government, but when the farmer would get angry, he would not only break the law, he would also break the back of the government.”
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When SAD stood for Pathans
Though it was the period when all communities were catering to their interests only, Master Tara Singh decided to sent an Akali Jatha to Peshawar in support of Pathans, who faced British atrocities during the Civil Disobedience Movement. Master Tara Singh left for Peshawar on May 10, 1930, with 100 Sikhs. He was arrested in Lahore whereas other members of Jatha were beaten with sticks to stop their march to Peshawar. While Master Tara Singh was in jail, he was elected SGPC president.
Nehru Committee and Communal award
The Simon Commission had noted that it was an injustice with Sikhs that Muslims got 30 per cent seats in Uttar Pradesh despite in legislature with their 14 per cent population where as Sikhs could get only 18 per cent seats in Punjab against 13 per cent population.