During the tumultuous period of the 18th century, the Sikhs faced utter persecution and huge political challenges. Various rulers and invaders, including the Mughals and the Afghans, often targeted the Sikhs. Due to this, a significant portion of the Sikhs had to abandon and move away from public life. During this period, the management of Sikh institutions and spaces, particularly gurduaras fell into the hands of udasi mahants² who did not always adhere to Sikh principles and traditions. The mahants became landlords and had, over time, accumulated wealth and property and lived a lavish, corrupt, and immoral life, which was in stark contrast to the Sikhi spirit of reflection, humility, and selfless service.

Mahant Sundar Das Udasi was one such mahant. In 1921, he controlled the Guru Ka Bagh Gurduara. Driven by personal gains and luxury, he exploited gurduara resources and devotees' offerings, leading to discontent among the Sikh community. The British colonial government's support of these mahants added to the Sikhs' concerns about the erosion of Sikh moral and ethical values and the loss of community control over these spaces. The decadent lifestyle of Mahant Sundar Das deeply troubled the Sikhs. 

To confront the Mahant, a Sikh congregation led by Sardar Kartar Singh Jhabbar and Sardar Dan Singh Vachoa reached Guru Ka Bagh Morcha. When faced with resistance from the Sikhs, the Mahant entered into an agreement with them on 31 January 1921 to avert a potential takeover of the gurduara by the Sikhs. Under the agreement, he would:

1. Serve under a committee appointed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
2. Receive Khande-Ki-Pahul (Khalsa initiation)
3. Marry and live a householder's life.

Under this agreement, a committee of eleven members was established, under which Mahant Sundar Das was to work. On 8 February 1921, he went to Sri Akal Takhat Sahib and got initiated along with one chosen woman, whom he also married. After being initiated, he was renamed Joginder Singh, and his wife Gian Kaur. He complied with the terms of the agreement for a short duration but eventually reneged on it, claiming that while he had surrendered the gurduara to the SGPC, the land known as Guru Ka Bagh attached to it remained his property. He took control of the rooms within the Gurduara and burnt down all records. Eventually, through consistent efforts of the Sikhs, the control of the Gurduara was reestablished on the condition that he would be given Rs. 120 per month as maintenance. But he never changed from inside and continued to flip-flop. 

As the Gurdwara Reform Movement gained momentum, the British grew increasingly apprehensive of Sikh activism. By early 1922, the British stance towards the Sikhs had turned less favorable. In August of the same year, tensions escalated when Mahant Sundar Das objected to Sikhs cutting firewood from the land designated for the langar (community kitchen) of the gurduara, leading to a confrontation that triggered the Guru Ka Bagh Morcha. J.M. Dunnet, the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar at the time, got an FIR (First Information Report) registered based on the testimony of Mahant Sundar Das and a few others. The local police, already sympathetic to the mahant, arrested five Sikhs on 9 August 1922 on the charges of trespassing while they were attempting to collect firewood from the Guru Ka Bagh. The following day, these individuals were swiftly tried and sentenced to six months of rigorous imprisonment.

These arrests served to spark the Guru Ka Bagh Morcha. In response to the unjust treatment of the Sikhs, the SGPC decided to dispatch a group of five Sikhs daily to collect firewood from Gurduara Guru Ka Bagh. Starting on 22 August 1922, the police began arresting Sikh jathas (groups) on charges ranging from theft to rioting and criminal trespass.

The arrests, rather than deterring the Sikhs, further spurred the movement. As the police intensified their arrests, more Sikhs joined the protest, and the Morcha gained momentum. On 25 August 1922, the gathering at Guru Ka Bagh swelled significantly to the extent that the Additional Superintendent of Police, S.G.M. Beatty, ordered a police cane charge on the protesters to disperse them. However, the government's violence, instead of deterring the Sikhs, further energized the Sikh resolve, increasing the size of the jathas.

The government took harsh measures in the face of growing Sikh resistance. On 26 August 1922, the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar issued warrants for the arrest of eight members of the SGPC executive committee. After these eight committee members were arrested, Teja Singh Samundri assumed control of the movement. He was among the founder members of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), of which he later also became the vice president.

In response to the growing movement, the government banned gatherings at Guru Ka Bagh and deployed police pickets on roads and bridges to intercept volunteers trying to reach Amritsar. Still, the groups of Akali Sikhs, donning black turbans and reciting sacred Gurbani, continued to arrive daily. Despite severe police brutality and physical suffering, the Sikh protesters remained peaceful and unwavering. This steadfast dedication drew international attention and admiration. American cinematographer A.L. Verges documented the events, creating a film captioned 'Exclusive Picture of India's Martyrdom.'

The peaceful nature of the protest and the disproportionate use of force by the government caught the attention of many. Charles Freer Andrews, a Christian missionary, educator, and activist who identified with the independence movement against the British, was another notable eyewitness who closely watched and witnessed the selfless and indomitable spirits of the Sikhs.

He wrote about the events in the Manchester Guardian in 1924. His account offers a touching insight into the resilience and faith of the Sikhs during the Morcha. He described the peaceful and prayerful demeanor of the Akali Sikhs as they endured brutal beatings at the hands of the police. He noted their unwavering commitment to their faith and non-violent response to the extreme provocation.

His eyewitness accounts and interactions with the Sikhs give a powerful narrative demonstrating the extraordinary Sikh mettle. Andrews' perspective as an outsider offers a unique view of the Sikh struggle. Here are a few of his quotes about the Sikhs during the Guru Ka Bagh Morcha:

"We met on the route a band of hundred Akalis in black turbans, who had marched that morning from Amritsar after having taken the vow at the Golden Temple that they would not commit one single act of violence, either by word or deed. I was to see, later on, how faithfully they kept that vow."

"There was a light in their faces as they spoke to me, which betokened joy. I was especially struck by the look of devotion in the face of a Sikh lady of middle age who accompanied us. I can only describe it by saying that she looked, in her quiet devotion, like a picture of the ‘Madonna.’”

"It was a sight which I never wish to see again, a sight incredible to an Englishman. There were four Akali Sikhs with their black turbans facing a band of about a dozen police, including two English officers. They had walked slowly up to the line of the police just before I had arrived, and they were standing silently in front of them at about a yard's distance. They were perfectly still and did not move further forward. Their hands were placed together in prayer, and it was clear that they were praying."

"Then, without the slightest provocation on their part, an Englishman lunged forward with the head of his lathi, which was bound with brass. He lunged it forward in such a way that his fist, which held the staff, struck the Akali Sikh, who was praying, just at the collarbone with great force. It looked the most cowardly blow as I saw it struck, and I had the greatest difficulty in keeping myself under control. The blow which I saw was sufficient to fell the Akali Sikh and send him to the ground. He rolled over and slowly got up once more and at once faced the same punishment over again."

"For when one of the Akali Sikhs had been hurled to the ground and was lying prostrate, a police sepoy stamped with his foot upon him, using his full weight; the foot struck the prostrate man between the neck and the shoulder."

"I saw with my own eyes one of these police kick in the stomach a Sikh who stood helplessly before him."

"I could see the beating itself. There was not a cry raised from the spectators, but the lips of very many of them were moving in prayer."

"I can only describe the silence and the worship and the pain upon the faces of these people, who were seated in prayer, as reminding me of the shadow of the Cross. What was happening to them was truly, in some dim way, a crucifixion."

"One thing I have not mentioned which was significant of all that I have written concerning the spirit of the suffering endured. It was very rarely that I witnessed any Akali Sikh, who went forward to suffer, flinch from a blow when it was struck. Apart from the instinctive and involuntary reaction of the muscles that have the appearance of a slight shrinking back, there was nothing, so far as I can remember, that could be called a deliberate avoidance of the blows struck. The blows were received one by one without resistance and without a sign of fear."

"The vow they had made to God was kept. I saw no act, no look of defiance. It was true martyrdom for them as they went forward, a true act of faith, a true deed of devotion to God."

Such persistent resistance and resilience of the Sikhs ultimately bore fruit when Sir Edward Maclagan, the Lieutenant Governor of Panjab, visited Guru Ka Bagh on 13 September 1922. He ordered the beatings to stop, acknowledging the severity of the situation. This intervention marked a turning point in the Morcha. However, mass arrests, imprisonments, heavy fines, and property seizures were still used to suppress the Morcha.

In October 1922, discussions were held between the Governor General, Lord Reading, and the Governor of Panjab to seek a resolution. Sir Ganga Ram, a prominent retired engineer, was crucial in resolving the issue. He secured a lease for a substantial piece of land from Mahant Sundar Das on 17 November 1922, allowing Sikhs to access it.  This resolution effectively brought an end to the Guru Ka Bagh Morcha.

Subsequently, the Panjab Government ordered the release of Sikh prisoners on 27 April 1923, officially concluding the Morcha.

The Guru Ka Bagh Morcha was not merely a struggle for a piece of land but a reaffirmation of Sikh principles and an assertion of their rights. It is an enduring symbol of Sikh resilience and a sense of autonomy, which left an indelible mark on the broader freedom struggle in the Indian subcontinent. It demonstrated the power of nonviolent resistance, unity, and unwavering faith of the Sikhs, which many from the freedom movement against the British occupation later emulated. 

The Sikhs’ commitment to preserving their heritage and autonomy and reclaiming their institutions and community spaces is a testament to their determination. The movement also served as a precursor to subsequent Sikh struggles to reclaim gurduaras from mahants, colonial authorities, and the larger independence movement in the sub-continent.

References

¹   Mahants, originally the superior of a maṭh (monastery) or any other similar religious establishment. In the Panjab of early Sikhism, its characteristic usage referred to the leaders of Nath monasteries. The term acquired a distinctive Sikh application during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a period during which many Sikh gurduaras passed into the hands of hereditary controllers. These men, who became virtual owners of their gurduaras, were known as mahants. Many of them were not initiated Sikhs and as a class they incurred considerable odium as self-seekers who exploited popular devotion for personal gain. They became the prime target of the Gurdwara Reform Movement during the early decades of the twentieth century and were eventually expropriated by the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925. As a result of the misdemeanors of the mahants, the term was sullied beyond redemption in Sikh eyes. The word is still used to designate the superiors of Udasi akharas (a place of religious or physical practice with facilities for boarding, lodging and training), but its expulsion from orthodox Sikh usage seems plainly to be permanent. -The Encyclopaedia Of Sikhism, Punjabi University, Patiala.

²   An ascetic sect founded by Sri Chand, the son of Guru Nanak Sahib.