chandigarh

Updated: Jan 11, 2020 22:23 IST

Hailed as ‘likeminded’ by Punjabi Leftists for the past several decades, Ghadar Party heroes, including its founder chief Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, finally found place at the Central Sikh museum in the Golden Temple complex on Saturday.

Portraits of Ghadar movement heroes were installed in the museum after more than 100 years of the foundation of the Ghadar Party. The party, an Indian revolutionary organisation, was founded in 1913 primarily by Indians of various faiths, most of them Sikhs.

Fighting for librating India from the British rule, the party had bases in United States and Canada. Though portraits of a few Sikh freedom fighters, who remained in touch with the movement, were already there in the museum, this is for the first time that portraits of a large number of prominent Ghadarites were installed there.

Besides Bhakna, portraits of 17 other Ghadar movement heroes — Mewa Singh Lopoke, Balwant Singh Khurdpur, Bhag Singh Bhikhiwind, Bibi Harnam Kaur, Batan Singh Dalel Singh Wala, Principal Teja Singh Mastuana, Babbar Karam Singh Daulatpur, Ishar Singh, Uttam Singh Hans, Bir Singh Bahowal, Jagat Singh Sursingh, Karam Singh Jhingar, Ram Singh Dhuleta, Jawand Singh Nangal Kalan, Kartar Singh Nawan Chand, Shaheed Batan Singh Kahri and Safa Singh Bilga — were put up in the museum

GLORIFIED AS ‘GREAT SIKH WARRIORS’

They were glorified as ‘great Sikh warriors’ and ‘martyrs’ of the community during a religious function organised by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to install their portraits at the museum in the presence of its president Gobind Singh Longwal, kin of Ghadarites and Sikh leaders, including MP Sukh Dhaliwal from Canada. The portraits were unveiled by Giani Gurminder Singh, granthi of Golden Temple.

“This is a historic day as we are witnessing ‘ghar vapsi’ (homecoming) of the movement that was separated from Sikhs, with installation of the portraits of Ghadri Babas. Today, an honour has been provided to Ghadari Babas that they were Sikhs, not comrades (communists). Most of them were amritdharis. They got the honour which they deserved for the sacrifices they made for freedom of the country,” said SGPC chief secretary Roop Singh, addressing a gathering at Bhai Gurdas Hall near Golden Temple, after the installation of the portraits.

“The Congress used to term Ghadari Babas as ‘communists’ not ‘Sikhs’. However, the Sikh historians have brought the reality to fore that they were Sikhs and religious by nature. They also fought for their Sikh identity apart from freedom,” he said.

Prominent among those came from Canada with a 50-member jatha were Balbir Singh Nijjar, president of Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Surrey, and Gurwinder Singh Dhaliwal, president of Ghadar Memorial Society, Canada.

WILL PUBLISH HISTORY OF GHADAR MOVEMENT: LONGOWAL

“We will publish the history of Ghadar and Babbar Akali movement to create awareness in sangat,” said Longowal.

Asked about the reason behind delay in recognising the Ghadarites by Sikh institutions, Ajmer Singh, a Sikh thinker and historian who authored books on the movement, said, “I don’t know why the recognition was delayed, because Baba Visakha Singh, one of the ghadarites, had served as jathedar of Akal Takht. Their distance from the Akali leadership after the Partition may be the reason behind it”.

Rajinder Singh Rahi, another researcher of Ghadar movement history, said, “Actually, the SGPC never realised the contribution of the Ghadari Babas who had earlier played active role in the religious sphere. For example, Baba Bhakna was authorised once to select members of the SGPC. Anyway, it is good that current leadership of the SGPC took this decision”.