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.