Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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P U N J VB
THE HOMELAND
OF T H E S I K H S
together with
THE SIKH MEMORANDUM
to
THE SAPRU CONCILIATION
COMMITTEE
by
HARNAM SINGH
1945
Price Rs. 2/
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I
I
1
FOREWORD
The reader will find in the pages of this book a compre-
hensive account of the case of the Sikh community in refer-
ence to the political problems that confront India to-day.
The besetting complexities of the situation are recognised
on all hands. What strikes the Sikhs as most unfortunate is
that in almost every attempt at a solution—official or non-
official—so far made, their case has not been given the
weight it undoubtedly deserves. This book is an attempt to
put the Sikh case as clearly as possible in a helpful spirit.
The book is divided into two parts.
The first part of the book gives a documented narrative
of the position, rights and claims of the Sikh community in
the Punjab—the province of their birth and history. An
account of the adjoining States, relevant to such interests,
is also included. The author has examined the population
figures in the light of the Census Reports and has arrived
at intriguing conclusions. His views should provoke a more
scientific study of the reality of Muslim claims on the
Punjab on the basis of their population strength.
The second part is the text of the Sikh Memorandum
submitted to the Sapru Conciliation Committee. It is signed
by Sikhs belonging to every school of thought in public,
(social and religious life. Never before, it can be freely
stated, has there been such unanimity of opinion amongst
Sikhs. The Memorandum is signed, as will be seen, by 18
Members' of the Provincial Legislature, by Leaders of
Shromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Shromani
Akali Dal, Central Sikh League and Chief Khalsa Diwan.
It will not be out of place to add that it is not numbers
alone that shall decide the destiny of the "Homeland of the
Sikhs". The Sikhs will, under no circumstances, consent
to live in a theocratic Muslim state, whether it is "Pakistan''
or is styled by any other name. They stand, as their his-
tory too clearly shows, for a freejmd united India where \
X
their rights and privileges are fully secured. "~~
BALDEV SINGH. J
1 Bromhead Road,
LAHORE.
15th March, 1945.
!
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PREFACE
As a member of the Sapru Conciliation Committee I
prepared the Notes that appear in the ensuing pages of this
book under the title: "Punjab, The Homeland of the Sikhs,"
for the exclusive use of the Committee. On the 27th day of
February, 1945,1 made over the Notes to Mr. K. Santhanam,
Joint Secretary of the Committee, for circulation amongst
the Members of the Committee.
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v
CONTENTS
PART I
Page
CHAPTER I. Punjab : Geographical Pqsition, Area
and Population 1
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PART
CHAPTER I
9
PUNJAB
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION, AREA AND POPULATION.
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6
whom 33,881 are Moslems. The other States in the Punjab are
Hindu States. They have very little political importance and most
of them are small Hill States in the Simla Valley. The spoken
language in the Sikh States is Standard Punjabi. The spoken
language in Bahawalpur is Bahawalpuri and the language of the
people in Dujana, Pataudi and Loharu States is a variant of
Hindustani. The Hindu States are mostly situate in the hill areas
of the Punjab and the people in those States speak PaAan— a dialect
[of the Punjabi. The people of Malerkotla speak Standard Punjabi.
From the above discussion it follows that the Moslem State
of Malerkotla and the Sikh States of Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Faridkot,
Kapurthala and Kalsia form part of the Punjab and that the
other States stand apart and are not a part of the Punjab Proper.
CHAPTER III
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9
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CHAPTER IV
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I
Total land revenue
Number paid
5. Land-revenue-payers who pay more Rs.
than Rs. 50 but not exceeding
Rs. 100 98,344 6,474,132
6. Land-revenue-payers who pay more
than Rs. 100 but not exceeding
Rs. 250 * 41,118 5,591,775
7. Land-revenue-payers who pay more
than Rs. 250 but not exceeding
Rs. 500 6,277 2,213,270
•
of the virgin soil of the Bar had passed into his veins and made him
almost a part of the forces of nature which he has conquered." The
Sikh Jat has been described in the Imperial Gazetteer of India,
Punjab, II, 1908, at page 36 : ". . . . in physique equal to
any race in the Province, strong, tall and muscular, with well-
shaped limbs, erect carriage and strongly-marked and handsome
features. They are good cultivators and make fine soldiers." On
page 20 of the same book we find : " The Sikh Jat is a better
cultivator and a better fighter than the Hindu or the Mohammadan
J at.
Mr. M. W. M. Yeatts, Census Commissioner of India, 1941,
at page 11 of his report writes : " The Punjab irrigation is by no
means ancient and, when applied, was applied not to a land with
a substantial settled population and long local practice, but to a
semi-desert. So, as it were, it started from a scratch. The Punjab
phenomena show themselves this time in Bikaner where the Sikh
has followed the water and produced a 40 per cent, increase.
Similarly in Bahawalpur."
Professor Coupland on page 84 of The Future of India says :
" The Sikhs form about 15 per cent, of the aggregate population
of the province and the states and there is not a single district of
the province in which the Sikhs are in a clear majority. But the
traditional qualities of the typical Sikh, the sturdy, free-minded
peasant-proprietor of the Central Punjab, where he owns most of
the best land, his energy and toughness and courage and the great
contribution he has long made and is still making to the strength
and renown of the Indian army give to his community an im-
portance in the Punjab out of all proportions to its numbers."
In 1940-41 the outturn of wheat in British India was 8,091,000
tons and out of this 3,390,000 tons was the outturn of wheat for
the British Punjab. The outturn of cotton in 1940-41 for British
India was 3,397,000 tons and out of this 1,215,000 tons was the
outturn of cotton for the British Punjab. The fact that the
Punjab is a surplus province producing more foodstuffs than are
required for its own consumption is well known. But nobody has
so far cared to understand who produces this surplus food for \
L
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20
Payne, in The Short History of the Sikhs, recorded: " T h e
splendid bravery and fervid patriotism displayed by the Sikhs
will always be remembered by the Britishers with admiration and
respect." Again, it was Sir Lepel Griffin who said : " I would
venture to express my conviction, which is shared by many dis-
tinguished Officers of the Indian Army, that the Sikhs, infantry
and light cavalry, when well and sufficiently led by English Officers,
are equal to any troops in the world and superior to any with whom
they are likely to come in contact." The Sikhs are rightly proud
that the traditions of the community have, in spite of opposition
from interested quarters, been maintained in this war.
Summing up the causes of the success of the Sikhs in the 18th
century, Professor Gupta writes : " One cause was the tenacity
of purpose and resourcefulness of mind which made the chiefs and
troopers of that blood capable of protracted endurance and
sustained enterprize in the face of difficulties and discouragements
before which other Indians were apt to succumb with the feeling
that destiny was against them; the other, that fighting is an art,
consisting of quick observation, skill and a combination of unsel-
fishness and the habit of trusting one's comrades and leaders, they
possessed in a remarkable degree." The brave stand that a handful
of Sikhs put up against odds at the Saragarhi Fort is recent history.
Again, according to Professor Hari Earn Gupta : " The genuine
Khalsa knew no occupation but war and agriculture and hence,
hardened by bold exploit i and inured to climate, they acquired
a physique far superior to that of the general run of Indians. Their
thoroughbred looks, martial bearing and dignified appearance
could elicit praise even from their bitterest foes."
Kazi Noor Mohammed, the author of The Jang Namah, who
came in the train of Ahmed Shah Abdali in 1764 to fight against
the Sikhs, says : " D o not call the Sikhs ' dogs ' because they are
lions and are brave like lions in a battlefield. How can a hero of
the battle, who fights like a lion, be a dog ? If you cherish a
desire of learning the art of war, come before them in the field.
They will show you such wonderful feats of war. 0, swordsman t
If you want to learn the modes of fighting, learn from them how
to face the foe like a hero and know that their title is Singh, lion,
and it is injustice to call them dogs. 0, Youth ! If you are ignorant '
of the Hindi language, I can tell you that the meaning of Singh
is lion. In fact they are lions at the time of battle and when in
festivities, they surpass Hatim in generosity. When they take hold
of the Indian sword in hand, they gallop from Hind up to the
21
THE PUNJAB
EDUCATION, INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE
The reason for this is that the Muslim Schools do not make
provision for the teaching of Sanskrit, Hindi or Panjabi whereas
in all the Sikh Schools provision is made for the teaching of Persian
and Urdu. The denominational colleges in the Punjab community-
wise are as under :
Hindu .. 17
Muslim .. 5
Sikh 7
Christian .. 4
As set out in the chapter on the Punjab States, the Patiala
State is maintaining three colleges, Jind one, Kapurthala one and
the State of Faridkot one. There is one College in the Muslim
State of Bahawalpur and another College in the Malerkotla State.
The professorial staff in colleges is as under :
Hindus 795
Muslims 403
Sikhs 198
Christian 172
Parsees 1
In the Senate of the Punjab University, however, there are
7 Sikhs out of a total of 84. The total number of Sikh students
in various institutions in 1941-42 was 155,572.
Again, the spoken language of the Punj abis is Punj abi which
has always been accorded a step-motherly treatment both by the
University and the Punjab Government, so much so that the
teaching of Punjabi has been discouraged by the present Unionist
mmistry even in schools maintained and financed by private enter-
prise. It is interesting to note in this connection that in the
Provincial Budget for the year 1944-45, a sum of Bs. 30,000 has
only been earmarked for the teaching of the scriptural languages.
Under the head " Scriptural languages " are grouped Arabic, Hindi
and Punjabi. The Education Minister, in his speech on the
Education Demand, said that the sum of Bs. 30,000 would be
allotted to the teaching of the three languages referred to above
in proportion to the communal strength of the various communities
in the Punjab. The allotment for the teaching of Panjabi works
out at Bs. 6,000 per annum.
As regards industry and commerce, the Census of Factories
was taken in 1921 and the result of that Census was an aggregate
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CHAPTER VII
I
26
1762, the Temple rose from the ashes in which he had left it and
Amritsar became the acknowledged capital of an independent
v
community."*
The Darbar Sahib, as the Golden Temple is called by the Sikhs,
is a square building with a dome-shaped roof, plated with copper
'gilt. The walls throughout are of marble and are adorned with
inlaid devices of figures and flowers. Under the dome, shaded by
a gorgeous silk canopy, lies the Granth Sahib, the Sacred Book of
the Sikhs, from which the attendant Granthis read passages morning
and evening. The tank surrounds the temple on all sides and a
broad causeway leads across the temple itself to the buildings
which cluster round the tank. The most conspicuous of these are
the Akal Bungah which contains the temple treasures ; the seven-
storied tower known as Baba Atal, erected rather more than a
century ago in memory of a son of Guru Hargobind.
Facing the Golden Temple is the throne of authority known
as Sri Ahal Takht Sahib. Guru Hargobind laid the foundation of
the Takht Akal Bungah in 1607 A.D. and, seated on the Takht Akal
Bungah, the Guru told Bhai Budha that henceforth he would wear
two swords, " the one of peace and the other of war." The temple
is surrounded on all sides by Bungah or " staying-places " referred
to in the Sikh Prayer cited above.
A metalled road connects Amritsar with Tarn Taran which is
fourteen miles to the north. Tarn Taran is the chief town in the
Amritsar Majha or upland tract; but its importance is entirely
religious and centres round the sacred tank, dug under the command
and direct supervision of Guru Arjun, the Fifth Guru of the Sikhs.
The tank is 300 yards square with a marble-paved walk running
round it. Maharaja Kanjit Singh greatly revered the temple at
Tarn Taran which was built on one side of the sacred tank in 1768.
The temple is overlaid with plates of copper gilt and is otherwise
richly ornamented. The water of the tank cures leprosy and lepers
come to it even from places beyond the Punjab. A fair is cele-
brated monthly on the Amavas Day at Tarn Taran, especially in
the months of Chet and Bhadon, when large crowds assemble.
Amritsar is the cradle of the Sikh Faith. Lieut.-Colonel Malcolm
on page 86 of Sketch of the Sikhs, writes : " During the dark days
of Mir Mannu, some performed the pilgrimage in secret and t
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In the town of Eminabad, Gujranwala District, a Sikh temple,
the Rohri Sahib, commemorates the penance of Baba Nanak when
he made his bed on a heap of stones. It was at Eminabad that
the Guru attacked the citadel of caste exclusiveness and preferred
to dine with Lalo, a carpenter, to dining with Malik Bhago, an
aristocrat of that place. Says Cunningham in The History of the
Sikhs : " I t was reserved for Nanak to perceive the true principles
of reform, and to lay those broad foundations which enabled his
successsor, Guru Gobind, to fire the minds of his countrymen with
a new nationality, and to give practical effect to the doctrine that
the lowest is equal with the highest, in race as in creed, in political
%
rights as in religious hopes."
The town of Sialkot contains the shrine of Baba Nanak. The
rt
shrine is known as Baba Di Ber.
•
The Darbar Baoli Sahib, a
covered well, was erected by a Kajput disciple of Baba Nanak and
is held high in religious consideration amongst the Sikhs."*
The story is that Guru Nanak once came to Hassan Abdal.
The Mohammadan shrine of Baba Wali Kandhari crowns a preci-
pitous hill about one mile east of the town. The Guru asked the
incumbent of Baba Wali Kandhari, which then possessed a spring
for water, which was refused. As a punishment, the Guru caused
the water to spring up at the foot of the hill instead of the top.
The rock bears the mark of the Guru's hand, whence its name of
Panja Sahib.
There are important Sikh shrines situated within the municipal
limits of Lahore. The Shahidgunj, situated close to the railway
station, has been the cause of considerable bitterness between the
Muslims and the Sikhs of the province in the last decade. The
institution is known as the Shahidganj because it was here that,
during the regime of Mir Mannu, Governor of Lahore, large numbers
of Sikhs were brought in chains and executed. It is further marked
by the mausoleum of Bhai Taru Singh, " who was required to cut
his hair and to renounce his faith, but Taru Singh would yield
neither his conscience nor the symbol of his conviction, and his
real or pretended answer is preserved to the present day. The
hair, the scalp and the skull, said he, have a mutual connection ;
the head of man is linked with life and he was prepared to yield
his breath with cheerfulness."f His ribs were broken, wrists were
strained, joints grew loose, blood gushed out at many places and
* Imperial Gazetteer, PiiDJab, P a r t I I , page 88.
•j" Cunningham : History of the Sikhs.
29
several bones cracked. For his again refusing the change of faith,
his hair with skin was scraped off his head. Taru Singh's half-dead
body was made over to the Hindus who took him to a dharmasala
where he passed away after lingering for a few days. His remains
were cremated in Shahidganj outside the Delhi Gate.
The Gurdwara Dera Sahib, situated near the Lahore fort, is
sacred to the memory of Guru Arjun. Guru Arjun was required by
the Emperor Jehangir to alter and rewrite some texts of the Granth
Sahib. The Guru replied, " The Granth Sahib has been compiled
to confer on man happiness and not misery in this world and in
the next. It is impossible to write it anew and make the omissions
and alterations you require." On hearing this, the Guru's enemies
concluded that he would yield to no ordinary threats ; so they put
fetters on him and began to torture him in various ways. They
poured burning sand on him, seated him in red-hot cauldrons and
bathed him in boiling water. The Guru bore all this torture with
equanimity and never uttered a sigh or a groan. He was given
another opportunity to rec ^ nt and comply with the demands of the
Emperor. He replied, " Oh fools, I shall never fear this treatment
of yours. It is all according to God's Will; therefore, this torture
affordeth me pleasure. " The Guru died in June, 1606, and his
body was cremated at the place known as Dera Sahib Gurdwara.
Thousands of Sikhs go to the shrine every day, morning and evening.
In the city of Lahore there is another temple called Janam
Asthan*, Chuni Mandi, the place where Guru Ram TSs was born.
Professor Gupta, in History of the Sikhs, 1739—1768, gives an
account of the capture of Lahore by Sardars Gujar Singh, Lehna
Singh and Sobha Singh on the 16th May, 1765. Says he : " The
troops of the three chiefs, on entering the city, began to plunder.
The zemindars of the neighbouring villages also began to sack it.
Chaudhri Rupa, Lala Bishan Singh and Maharaj Singh, the grand-
sons of Diwan Surat Singh, Mir Nathu Shah, Hafiz Quadir Bakhsh
and Mian Mohammad Ashiq and other grandees of the city led a
deputation into the fort and, in the course of an interview with
Sardars Gujar Singh and Lehna Singh said : " This City is called
the Guru's cradle." If you ruin and destroy it, you, too, will derive
no profit and advantage." The Sardars accordingly shut all the
city gates and issued a proclamation that, whosoever would
oppress the subjects, must be punished.
* Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion, Vol. V, Page 93.
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*India s Problem of Her Future Constitution, Pages 16 and 17
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CHAPTER IX
The first census of the province was taken, on the night between
the 31st December, 1854, and 1st January, 1855, for British terri-
tory only, on administrative grounds. The population of the British
Punjab was again enumerated on 10th January, 1868, under the
orders of the Financial Commissioner. Again census was taken in
1881 for the Punjab, including Punjab States, when for the first
time, the operations were carried out on a scientific basis with due
attention to detail and a mass of information was collected on
various subjects connected with the growth of population, its
intellectual development and its religious and racial distribution.
Ever since 1881, census operations have been undertaken regularly
every ten years.
The dates of the other census operations are as under:
26th February, 1891.
1st March, 1901.
10th March 1911.
18th March, 1921.
26th February, 1931.
1st March, 1941.
The analysis of the Muslim League position set out in the
preceding chapter discloses that the Muslim League claims the
Punjab to be the " Homeland of the Muslims " on the mere strength
of Muslim numerical superiority in the population of the Punjab
as evidenced by the census reports. The non-Muslims in the
Punjab, however, challenge the correctness of the census figures
and they contend that the Muslims do not form the majority of
the population in the Punjab.
Sir Colin Garbett, who joined the Indian Civil Service in 1905
•and, except for an interval of seven years during the tVar of 1914-
18 and its aftermath, served in the Punjab till the close of 1941 in
Friend of Friend, at page 221, writes : " Again, with a considerable
strain on language, the leader of the Muslim League insists that
Muslims constitute a 'Nation' and are something apart from the
37
38
rest. Some thought, some conviction has stirred him ; though his
expression of it seems unfortunate. But whether the expression
is accurate or not, this much is apparent and important that,
speaking in the name of ninety millions, he denies identity with
the remaining three hundred millions. i
Not that these figures can be taken as exact, for none who*
saw the last census at work could trust its results."
Mr. M. W. M. Yeatts, C.I.E., I.C.S., Census Commissioner, India.,
at page 9 of this Eeport, says : " 1940-41 saw also the political
influences on the census." At page 23 of his report we find : " The*
increase is by no means uniform, although a greater figure than for
the previous decades is practically universal. Rates are noticeably
larger in the north than in the south and have tivo distinct peaks in
the extreme west and north-west and in the east. In fact, we have in
the Punjab and Eastern Bengal two swarming areas." A priori',
therefore, there is good ground for doubting that the census^
figures possess the accuracy which is claimed for them.
In the Punjab, including the States, the Muslims have been
returned as under in the various census operations :
1881 47.58 per
1891 47.39 per
1901 49.61 per
1911 51.07 per
1921 51.05 per
1931 52.04 per
1941 53.22 per
For want of sufficient detail it has not been possible to obtain
correct figures of the first two censuses which were taken cursorily.
The population of the Punjab in 1901 was 24,367,113 and in 1911
the population of the Punjab was 23,791,841. The first decade
of the 20th Century, therefore, showed a distinct decline in the
population of the province, but, during the decade, the percentage
of the Muslim population rose from 49.61 per cent, to 51.07 per cent.
The Superintendent of Census Operations, 1911, at page 97 of his.
Report, gives an explanation of this rise in the Muslim percentage :
" The members of the depressed classes, i.e., Chuhras, Sansis, etc.
who did not profess to belong to Islam or Christianity, were
returned as Hindus in the three previous censuses and similar
instructions were issued in the recent census. Nevertheless, a
number of Sansis and Chuhras residing in Mohammadan villages
39
*
40
Sikhs 31,855
Subsequent to the census operations of 1931 electoral register
•community-wise were prepared for the Punjab Le
lative Assembly. The Amritsar City Electoral Reg for the
Muslim community bore 21,223 The Amritsar City Hindu
Electoral Reg recorded 23,050 voters. The Amritsar City
41
42
The report of Mr. Yeatts makes out that the figures of the
various communities in the Punjab and Eastern Bengal are not
reliable. In the Punjab the Census operations were conducted
with the Unionist Ministry in power and under the direct super-
vision of Khan Bahadur Sh. Fazal Ilahi, Superintendent of Census
operations, Punjab, The enumerators and the office staff of the
44:
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CHAPTER X
47
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4.8
But the Sikhs are more concerned with their position in North-
West India than in India as a whole, and it is the prospect of a
Musi m, not of a Hindu Kaj, that alarms them. Their reaction
to Pakistan, as conceived by the Muslim League, is the exact
counterpart of the Muslim reaction to a union of India as conceived
by the Congress. Just as the Muslims, remembering the Moghul
Empire, refuse to be subjected to a permanent Hindu majority of
an all-India Centre, so the Sikhs, remembering that, only a century
ago, they ruled the Punjab, refuse to become a permanent minority
in Pakistan. Thus, when Sir Stafford Cripps submitted the British*
Government's proposals in 1942 to the various party leaders, the-
Sikh All-Parties Committee was the first to reject them on the ground
that the option of non-adherence to an all-India constitution was
to be exercised by majorities in the Provinces. ' Our position in
the Punjab" they declared, * has been finally liquidated. . . .
Why should not the population of any area be given the right t o
record its verdict and to form an autonomous unit ? . . . .
We shall resist by all possible means the separation of the Punjab
from an all-India union."
El Hamza, in Pakistan—A Nation, observes : " Sikhism is>
a compromise between Hinduism and Islam. Guru Nanak, t h e '
great Punjabi pacifist, first preached the Sikh religion and won
adherents in the area around Amritsar. To-day Sikhs are found
all over Pakistan and as Professor Lyde points out, give a distinctive*
tone to the country. By the census returns of 1931 there are four
million three hundred and thirty-six thousand Sikhs living in India-
More than ninety-five per cent, of the total Indian Sikh population
lies within Pakistan.
Taking India as a whole the Sikhs form less than 1.3 per cent.,
of its total population. Evidently so smal] a minority can exercise
no appreciable influence on the cultural and political development,
of the great sub-continent. It is most unlikely that in a closely-
federated India the Sikhs will be able to preserve their cultural
and religious identity against the pressure of overwhelming numbers..
However, in the event of Pakistan becoming independent, Sikhs
will be in a different position. They will be an influential
minority of landholders constituting about nine per cent, of the
population. National self-determination for Pakistan will mean
national self-determination for the Sikhs and there will be
no further danger of their being swamped by overwhelming millions
of alien rice-eaters. An independent Pakistan will not only be
49
one of the greatest Muslim Powers, she will also be the only Sikb
Power in the world ; and it is for this reason that the Pakistani
Muslims look to their Sikh brethren for co-operation in their efforts
for liberation of the Fatherland."*
Professor Sir Hassan Suhrawardy, writing on the Indian crisis,,
says : " The difficulty in implementing the scheme of Pakistan in
the North-West Block lies in objections recorded at Delhi in March,
1942, to the Cripps Proposals by the spokesmen of the Sikh com-
munity. It numbers in all 5.7 millions. The total population of
the Punjab is 28J millions, comprising 16J million Muslims and
three million Sikhs. It may be pointed out that most of the Sikhs,
of the Punjab live in the area south-east of a line following the
Sutlej River up to Ferozepore, and from there the railway line
passing by Amritsar and Gurdaspur to the River Ravi.
'' The Sikhs are a virile race with a fine spiritual background.
They have played a gallant part in many wars, and it is expected
that they will show the characteristic clear thinking and broad-
mindedness of brave people. The original spiritual Revivalist
Movement of Gum Nanak has unfortunately assumed a political
character in later years, and it is one of the tragedies of history
that there has been antagonism between the Muslims and the Sikhs-.
when there is so much common in their spiritual background and
faith. It is for the leaders on both sides to find the compromises
and concessions which will enable them to successfully work the
scheme. It seems to me a concession to the combined Sikhs and
/ Hindus of a fifty-fifty representation with the Muslims of the Punj ab-
would be a good gesture.
'' In any case, if, after careful consideration, the Sikh Community
are not satisfied that, with the constitution of the North-West
Dominion under the Pakistan Scheme, their present influential
position in the Punjab and the whole of India will be much im-
proved, they could form an enclave to include the maj ority of the
Sikh population and, by treaty rights, safeguard the interests of the
majority living outside the enclave."
There is a wealth of literature on the Muslim League Resolution
and various publicists have given their own viewpoints on the point
involved. Sir Stafford Cripps, on his return from India to England,
*The population figures given by Hamza proceed upon the Census of 1931.
50
'
51
\
52
What will be the rights of a citizen of Pakistan ? What will be
the duties of a citizen of Pakistan ? Will Pakistan be theocratic
5J
oi temporal %
57
58
59
A—INTRODUCTORY
The position of the Sikhs in India is so unique that it is im-
possible to find even a distant parallel to it. They are six million
in population, out of whom over four million live in British India,
and thus, on a population basis, they constitute the third largest
community in British India, the other two being Hindus and Muslims.
But their political, historic and economic importance is out of all
proportion to their numbers.
2. The rise of Sikhism was coeval with the emergence of the
Moghal power in India in the fifteenth century, till by the end of
the seventeenth century, after having tried all peaceful and legiti-
mate means of persuading the aggressive Muslim conquerors to
let them and the Hindus live a life consistent with their self-respect
and dignity, they constituted themselves into a military and militant
organisation called the Khalsa. Throughout the eighteenth century,
they faced a relentless war of extermination and faced it so well
and heroically that it is impossible to find a comparison in the
whole history of mankind, where a weak and oppressed people
resolutely stood in dignified protest against the greatest Empire
of the times, and carried the torch of resistance and revolution
from generation to generation till, by their matchless sacrifices and
super-human determination, they emerged as the foremost political
power in Northern India. The Empire they built was destroyed
by the diplomacy of the British aided by the fatality of circum-
stances, in the middle of the nineteenth century, but even their
worst enemies will not assert that the Sikhs surrendered abjectly
to the British, or laid down arms without a struggle.
3. Since the annexation of the Punjab with British
India, the Sikhs have played a most noteworthy part in the making
of the Punjab of to-day, and have made contributions towards
the defence of India, and towards its economic and political life,
which are out of all relationship with their small numerical strength,
63
64
but which are in keeping with their historic role in the political
and cultural life of India.
4. The Sikhs are admittedly the best agriculturists and
colonists in India, and on account of their efforts in this direction,
they are known as the makers and sustainers of the agricultural
Punjab. No other community can even remotely compare with
the Sikhs as the creators of the food reserves of the Punjab, and
therefore of the whole of India. It is significant that only those
' districts and regions of the Punjab, which are mainly cultivated
by the Sikh farmers, are the surplus food districts, and they are,
therefore, primarily entitled to the credit of having helped the whole
of India out of the recent food crisis. I
> /
65
67
thirty thousand while the Sikhs have not been given even a sing
though they number over sixteen thousand
In Sind, the census figures show that the Sikhs are over-
thirty-one thousand strong though, as a matter of fact, they number
in lakhs. A large majority of the.non-Muslim population of Sind
is Sikh in religious profession and outlook. Anyhow, they are a.
growing minority and they own a considerable amount of a
cultural and urban property in the province. It is unfair to deny
them any representation whatever in the Provincial House.
The treatment meted out to the Sikhs in respect of allocation
of seats in the Council of State is also demonstrably unjust in so-
far as only four seats out of a hundred and fifty have been given
to them. Similarly, only six seats have been allocated to them in
the Federal Assembly. In the Minority Pact, arrived at in London
at the time of the Bound Table Conference to which Pact the Sikhs-
were not a party, five per cent seats were allocated to the Sikhs
in the Federal Legislature. In the Allahabad Unity Conference
in 1932, it was unanimously decided to give fourteen seats to the
Sikhs in the Federal House out of a total number of three hundred
but the British Government, for reasons best known to them, have-
failed to recognise the Sikh claim. There is no justification for
discrimination between the Sikhs, the Europeans, the Anglo-
Indians and the Indian Christians in the matter of allocation of
seats in the Council of State and in the Federal Assembly.
WOKKING OF PKOVINCIAL AUTONOMY IN THE
PUNJAB AND THE
11. The Communal Award transferred all power into t h e
hands of a Muslim majority, calling itself by the name of
n
Unionists
68
Kegime by making all the key posts, that fell vacant or were
vacated, a monopoly of the Muslims. Now almost all the key
positions in the various departments of the Provincial Administra-
tion are held either by Europeans or by Muslims, a few still remain-
ing in the hands of the Hindus. The Sikhs have been designedly
excluded from effective participation in the administrative machinery.
The Sikh personnel in the Government Services in the pro^ &
16. What the Sikhs have suffered in the Punjab has been
the result of a deliberate and designed anti-Sikh policy with a view
ultimately to eliminate the Sikh community from an effective
voice in the life of the province. In provinces other than the
Punjab, the Sikhs have suffered from various handicaps owing to
the emergence of uncontrolled provincialism in some cases and
owing to the lack of an effective voice of protest on the part of the
Sikhs in other cases*.
The Province of Bombay is the only province in India in which
the Sikhs are forbidden to keep and wear kirpans* over a certain
length. Even the Congress Ministry could not see its way to re-
dressing this serious religious grievance of the Sikhs.
In the Central Provinces and Berar, the Congress Government
placed an arbitrary ban on the carrying on of business in the
province by contractors who did not " originally " belong to that
Province. This was done obviously to disqualify the Sikhs from
pursuing their lawful avocations in that province, as a large number
of contractors were Sikhs.
* Kir pan means sword. Vide Maoauliffe : The Sikh Religion, Vol. V,
Page 95 and 5 Lahore 308 D. B.
72
In the Province of Assam, over four thousand Sikhs live
from times immemorial. They speak Assamese and observe the
customs and manners of the Assamese. They and their forebears,
were born and brought up in Assam and are, therefore, as good
Assamese as anybody could be. With the inauguration of Pro-
vincial Autonomy, any Sikh who applied for entry into the public;
service in the province was required to prove that he was not a
/
Punjabi and, in practice, before such proof was forthcoming, the
job went to a non-Sikh Assamese.
The Sikhs have built up a successful bus-service business in
Calcutta and, more than once, attempts during the past years
have been made to oust them from their lawful avocations.
In the Province of U. P. both the interim and the Congress
Ministries discouraged the spread of Sikhism in the Province by
state action, particularly by denying scholarships and other faci-
lities to children belonging to the scheduled castes, whose parents
embraced Sikhism. The Governor's regime has now righted this
wrong.
In the Province of Sind, more than once, attempts have been
made to debar the Punjabi Sikhs by legislative action from acquir-
ing landed property iii the province.
In the N. W. F. P., no grant was at all made either
to a Sikh or Hindu educational institution and the notorious
circular dated the 11th October, 1937, laid down that no
institution would be given educational grant unless it adopted
Urdu as the medium of instruction, although the mother-
tongue of the Hindus and the Sikhs and many Muslims in the
province is Punjabi. This ministry also passed Hue Marketing Act
which gave only twelve per cent, representation to the traders on
the Marketing Committees which, in practice, meant less than
twelve per cent, representation to the Hindus and the Sikhs and
eighty-eight per cent, to the Muslims, notwithstanding that most
of the traders in the province are non-Muslims. In the appoint-
ment of Extra Assistant Commissioners and Tahsildars, Sikhs and
Hindus were scrupulously ignored and it was admitted on the floor
of the Assembly that the share of the Sikhs and Hindus in the pub-
lic services was reduced from twenty-five to seven per cent, in
education and fourteen per cent, in other branches of the adminis-
tration. In the state educational institutions in the province,
text-books prepared by the Jamiat-ul-Ulema were introduced.
73
To eliminate the representation of the Sikhs and the Hindus in the
local bodies completely, the nominated element was altogether,
abolished without providing any representation for them. Arbitrary
restrictions on access to and worship in the Gurdwaras sacred to
the memory of Guru Nanak in Peshawar were imposed.
GRIEVANCES AT THE CENTRE
17. Prior to the Gurdwara Reform Movement of 1919—25
the Sikh representation in the Indian Army was twenty per cent,
but, thanks to the clever manoeuvring of Mian Sir Fazl-i-Hussain,
the Gurdwara Reform Movement became a protracted affair and
the Sikh appeared to the Britisher a rebel. The result was that
the Sikh representation in the Army was cut down substantially.
In the recruitment to the non-military central Indian services, the
Sikhs received no better treatment. In the 1934 Service Award
the Sikhs were lumped with the Anglo-Indians, Indian Christians
and Parsees for whom eight and one-third per cent, share was
reserved. This was perhaps deliberately designed to affect the
Sikhs adversely in the central services, for the Sikhs could not be
expected to compete favourably with the advanced communities
like Anglo-Indians, Indian Christians and Parsees while the
Hindus and Muslims were permitted to compete only with their
own co-religionists. This has resulted in a very meagre repre-
sentation of the Sikhs in these important services. Under the
Central Government, in the Secretariat, Federal Public Service
Commission, the Federal Court, the Income-tax Tribunal, in the
Railway Board and many other boards and committees appointed
' f from time to time the Sikhs find no place. This has adversely
affected the Sikh position in the administrative life of the country.
When the Railway Department was under a Muslim Executive
Councillor, he forbade the sale of jhatka meat on railway platforms.
The Postal Department, even^in the Punjab, discourages by all
possible means the use of the Punjabi language and Gurmukhi
script, and the All India Radio even at the Lahore Station treats
I the Punjabi language with contempt.
B—CONCILIATION COMMITTEE QUESTIONNAIRE
18. In addition to the other fundamental rights which may
be incorporated in any future constitution of India, the following
fundamental rights should be incorporated in the constitution
with the specific aim of affording protection to and preservation
of certain inalienable rights of the Sikh community :—
74
PART I—FUNDAMENTAL EIGHTS
(i) Free profession and practice of religious faith is guaranteed
in India. Untouchability in any shape or form shall
be deemed repugnant to the fundamental policy of the
State.
(ii) The preparation and use of jhatha meat shall be freely
allowed and that jhatha meat shall be treated on par
with Jialal meat.
(Hi) No law shall be enacted and no executive order given
to restrict in any manner or to any extent whatever,
the manufacture, sale, the keeping and the wearing
of kirpans by the Sikhs.
(iv) The State shall recognise the inalienable right of the Sikh
community as such to the ultimate ownership, direction
and control of all Sikh Gurdwaras, shrines and religious
endowments "and the control and management of
such institutions shall vest in the Sikh community in
accordance with its declared will as expressed from
time to time, collectively or regionally.
(v) The State shall protect the maintenance intact of all
Gurdwaras, shrines, religious institutions and the
endowments attached to them as a fundamental right
of the Sikh community as a whole, and none of the
endowments or properties attached to these instituftions
shall be resumed or acquired by state action and the
State shall not create, by financial assistance, or
otherwise, any endowments or institutions out of taxes
and proceeds not specifically and exclusively collected
from the members of the religious*' community for the
benefit of which such new endowments, etc., are sought
to be created. Vice versa, no person may be com-
pelled to pay taxes the proceeds of which are to be
appropriated in payment of purely religious expenses
of any religious community or endowments of which
he himself is not a member.
(vi) The right to employ the mother-tongue for social and
cultural intercourse and for the conduct of the ad-
ministrative business in the region in which it is
dominantly spoken shall be the primary right
constitutionally guaranteed.
*
75
it) The right to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly,
freedom of meetings, freedom of street processions and
demonstrations, freedom of press and propaganda must
be guaranteed as a fundamental right.
(viii) Liberty to establish and change one's place of dwelling
is guaranteed in India. No person may be deprived
of this right save by the courts. Restrictions may
also be placed upon this right by other authorities for
reasons of public health, in such cases and in such
manner as may be prescribed by law.
{ix) Freedom to choose one's occupation as well as to originate
enterprises or industries of an agricultural, commercial,
industrial or other nature in all parts of India is
guaranteed irrespective of the province of one's
domicil.
c) That the public officials may not be provisionally re-
moved from office or permanently retired or transferred
to any other post with a lower salary save in accordance
with and in a manner determined by law and that
every penalty inflicted on a public servant must be
subject to appeal and the possibility of revision by an
authority different from, unconnected with and in-
dependent of, the punishing authority. Unfavourable
entries may not be made in the personal files of public
servants unless those public servants have been given
the opportunity to reply to them and public servants
must be given the right to examine their personal files.
xi) The State shall not adopt or encourage any measure or
policy*designed or calculated to further the imposition
of any allied, artificial or alien language on any people
other than the language which is demonstrably their
mother-tongue and except as a secondary and sub-
sidiary language.
(xii) All communities shall have a right to establish and
maintain educational, charitable, religious and other
institutions with full liberty to impart instruction in
their own mother-tongue. Such institutions shall
receive grants-in-aid from the State on a uniform
basis. The existing grants-in-aid to denominational
institutions shall not be reduced.
76
(xiii) The State shall make adequate arrangements in all
educational institutions, maintained by the State and
local bodies for the instruction of minorities through
the medium of their mother-tongue and their special
script, if any.
(xiv) The Constitution shall guarantee the Punjabi to be
the court and the official language of the Punjab with
option to the various communities to use Urdu or
\ Gurmukhi script.
(xv) The Constitution shall provide that no bill, motion or
resolution shall be introduced in the Legislature which
is opposed by three-fourth members of Hindus or the
Muslims or the Sikhs or any other minority in that
Legislature. Provided further that in the passing of
any bill, motion or resolution affecting exclusively a
single community, members of other communities-
shall not have a right of vote.
20. The fundamental rights which are incorporated in the
Constitution should be enforceable by a court of law and any person
or group of persons may lodge a suit against the State for such
enforcement. And such of those rights whicn are not justiciable
can only be enforced by effective political power and by providing
special machinery such as the Minorities Commission referred to>
hereunder.
21. With regard to the steps which are necessary to secure
an adequate share and equal opportunities in the legislatures,,
executive governments and the services, etc., the demands of the
Sikhs, in so far as the Punjab is concerned, are : That no single f
community should enjoy an absolute majority in the Legislature-
The allocation of seats should be forty per cent. Muslims, thirty
per cent. Sikhs and thirty per cent, other non-Muslims. This
proportion must also be reflected in the composition of the executive
government as well as the services and this must be guaranteed
by Statute. The minister for Law and Order should always belong:
to a minority community.
22. An independent Minorities Commission, to deal with
such rights and matters as are not enforceable by a court of law r
is extremely desirable. This commission may be appointed b y
election through specially set-up electoral colleges, the qualifications-
prescribed for candidates for election to be fixed on a fairly high
77
standard with a view to ensure the return of suitable persons with
approved ability and integrity. All the recognised communities
shall have equal representation on this commission. .
23. With regard to the advancement of backward classes
such as the scheduled castes, aboriginal tribes, the Mazhbi Sikhs
and the Ramdasia Sikhs we suggest that these classes should be
provided with special educational facilities and also facilities to
enter public services with the proviso that such facilities shall also
be available to any of the members of these castes or tribes who
have embraced Sikhism.
PART II
•
78
A and dying together, while in the former case, a small compact
I community is divided into almost two equal parts, each going into-
two independent sovereign states.
26. We have been asked as to whether we have any views
to express in case the Pakistan scheme is imposed on us by an
authority whose power we cannot hope to challenge successfully
and which may be the British Government, or the agreed will
A of the Hindus and Muslims of India. In that case, we would insist
on the creation of a separate Sikh State which should include the
substantial majority 'of the SiklT population and their important
sacred shrines and historic Gurdwaras and places with provision for
the transfer and exchange of population and property.
PART III
PART V
(d) In the Punjab Assembly Sikhs should have thirty per cent,
of the total number of seats and the Muslims should have forty
per cent, and the other minorities including Hindus thirty per cent.
I t will be seen that by this arrangement the Muslims still remain
a majority group although they will not be in absolute majority
against all other communities combined. The Muslims can have
no objection to the proposed allocation of seats, especially when
they object to the Hindu domination at the Centre. In case the
81
IMuslims agree to this proposal in the Punjab they shall have
made a good case for the abolition of the Hindu majority at the
'Centre. The Sikhs demand seven per cent, of the total seats in
the Central Legislature. |
In the N. W. F. P. the Sikh seats should be equal to the Hindu
seats with a minimum of 10 per cent, as the Sikhs have played and
are playing an important role in the life of the province. The
great Generals of the Sikhs Sardar HARI SINGH NALWA and AKALI
PHOOLA SINGH, died fighting in this province while defending the
gates of this country. The Sikhs have got their sacred Gurdwaras
in this land. The Community, therefore, deserves special con-
sideration.
In the United Provinces the Sikhs should be recognised as a
separate community and should get at least one seat in the Council
and five seats in the Provincial Assembly with its present strength.
Further they should be given concessions and facilities similar to
those given to the Backward Classes. Similarly, in Assam, Bengal,
Bombay, Bihar and C. P., each, Sikhs should have at least one
seat reserved for them. In Sind at least two seats should be
allotted to them.
No amendment of the Constitution, once enforced, should be
made without sixty per cent, votes of the members of the important
communities in each Legislature for the amendment. For this
purpose and for all other purposes, the Sikhs shall be treated as an
"important community.
PART VI
PART VII
•
82
Governor-General at the recommendation of the popular Parties;
and the Executive Council may remain responsible to the Crown for
the time being but the convention may be established, as was done-
in the provinces, that the Governor-General would normally accept
the advice of his Councillors. The conduct and operation of the
war should continue tc*be the responsibility of the Commander-in-
Chief but all other matters under the purview of the Government
of India should be entrusted to the Executive Council and the-
individual members.
PART VIII
ARMY
SERVICES
In the Central Services and those recruited on an all-India
basis, the share of the Sikhs should be defined. By the Award of
1934, the share of the smaller minorities is fixed at eight andj
one-third per cent. The Sikhs do not get their legitimate share \
out of this portion. I t is only just and equitable that this eight
and one-third per cent, should be split up between these minorities-
according to their population and importance and the Sikh share
should in no case be less than five per cent, of the services.
*
LOCAL BODIES
A formula should be devised for the adequate representation
of the minorities in the local bodies and for their share in the Services
under those bodies.
SIKH UNIVERSITY
The Sikhs are anxious to establish a University of their own
at Amritsar on the lines of Aligarh and Benares Universit es. The*
Punjab has at present only one University at Lahore. Even on
educational grounds there * is need for another University. The
84
Sikhs demand that Government should encourage them by the
grant of a Charter and financial assistance to realise their natural
aspirations in this respect.
The following have signed the Memorandum •
1. Master Tara Singh, Amritsar.
2. Sardar Sampuran Singh, M.L.A., Lahore.
3. Giani Kartar Singh, M.L.A., Lyallpur.
4. Sardar Surjit Singh Majithia, Amritsar.
5. Rai Bahadur Sardar Basakha Singh, New Delhi.
6. Sardar Bahadur Sardar Jodh Singh, Principal, Khalsa
College, Amritsar.
7. S. Kartar Singh Campbellpuri, Advocate, Lahore.
8. Sardar Lai Singh, M.L.A., Ludhiana.
9. Sardar Swaran Singh, Advocate, Jullundur.
10. Sardar Modhindar Singh Sidhwan, Ludhiana.
11. Sardar Bahadur S. Boota Singh, Sheikhupura.
12. Sardar Harcharan Singh Bajwa, Sialkot.
13. Master Sujan Singh, Sarhali, Amritsar.
14. Sardar Santokh Singh, M.L.A., Amritsar.
15. Sardar Bahadur Sardar Ujjal Singh, M.L.A., Lahore.
16. Sardar Jogindar Singh Mann, M.L.A., Sheikhupura.
17. Sardar Pritam Singh Siddhu, M.L.A., Ferozepore.
18. Sardar Balwant Singh, M.L.A., Sialkot.
19. Sardar Sodhi Harnam Singh, M.L.A., Ferozepore.
"20. Captain Sardar Naunihal Singh Mann, M.L.A.,
Sheikhupura
21. Sardar Gurbachan Sinsh, M.L.A., Jullundur.
22. Sardar Sher Singh, M.L.A., Montgomery
23. Sardar Ajit Singh, M.L.A., Multa
24. Sardar Prem Singh, M.L.A., Gujrat.
25. Sardar Jagjit Singh Mann, M.L.A., Sheikhupura.
26. Sardar Indar Singh, M.L.A., Gurdaspore.
27. Sardar Sahib Sardar Tara Singh, M.L.A., Ferozep
28. Sardar Ishar Singh Majhail, Amritsar. \
/
APPENDIX "A"
The Conciliation Committee Questionnaire
ADOPTED AT THE MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE,.
AT DELHI, ON 29TH, 30TH AND 31ST DECEMBER,
1944
PART I
V
86
•and north-east, comprising six provinces, namely, Sind, Baluchistan,
the North-West Frontier Province, the Punjab, Bengal and Assam,
.subject to territorial adjustments that may be agreed upon, as
indicated in the Lahore Resolution " ?
(b) If you are agreeable to the establishment of such an inde-
pendent state, (i) on what principles should its territorial adjust-
ments and boundaries be determined and (ii) what machinery
would you suggest for such determination ?
Do you consider that a plebiscite should be taken to decide
whether an independent state of Pakistan should be established,
and if so (i) should it be taken in the province?, mentioned above
as they exist at present or after territorial adjustments ? (ii) What
-should be the electorate, method and machinery of such a plebisicite ?
2. In case there are to be two independent states in India,
do you consider it necessary to make arrangements and devise
machinery for the administration of defence, foreign affairs and
like matters of common interest, and if so, indicate the nature
of the requisite arrangements and machinery.
3. In case you do not agree to the Muslim League claim for
Pakistan, what alternative scheme would you suggest ?
• PART III
PART IV
•
88
PART VIII
1. In the event of failure to agree on the part of different
communities, would you suggest that His Majesty's Government
should frame and enact a constitution for India, or what other
course would you suggest ?
>
M
p»