History of Punjab

Guru Granth Sahib/Adi Granth: Adi Granth literally means”the first book”.This is the early compilation of the Sikh scripture by Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru in 1604. This Granth is the Holy scripture of the Sikhs.The original copy of scripture called Adi Granth compiled and authenticated by guru Arjan dev still exists today and is kept at Kartarpur which is a town about 15 km northwest of the city of Jalandhar.

Compilation: He got the Adi Granth written by Bhai Gurdas. Guru Arjan gave the copy to Bhai Bano for binding. He took it for binding to Lahore and on the way prepared a copy. This is known as Bhai Bano’s copy. Guru Arjan got the original after binding.

Banda Bahadur: Born at Rajouri as Lachman Dev. Renounced the world and become an ascetic by the name of Madho das and settled at Panchayati near Nasik.Met Guru Gobind at Nanded and became his spine and offered him as a slave(banda) and was called Banda bahadur.Sacked Samana ka puri and Gandhara.

Gurmattta: Gurmatta or guru’s decision is a special resolution passed by the commonwealth of the Sikh community.when Sikhs organized themselves as Dal Khalsa.The decisions of Dal Khalsa were taken by durum atta, literally meaning advice of the guru.

The Sikh Misls: The word MISl means equals in 1748.Jassa Singh Ahluwalia took over the command of Dal Khalsa. To pacify the warring Sikh fractions he divided the territory of Punjab into many parts.

Faizalpuria or Singhpuria Misl: Founded by Nawab Kapur Singh a Jat from Faizalpur who was an undisputed Sikh leader from 1734-48 A.D.The Misl’s important possessions were Jalandhar and Patti. It was annexed by Ranjit Singh in 1816 A.D.

Misl: Shahr Rahon Phillaur etc. and was annexed by Ranjit Singh in 1809 A.D.

Ranjit Singh And The Sikh Empire: Ranjit Singh was born in Gujranwala into the family of Sandhawalia sikh clan who was sukerchakia misleaders. As a child, he suffered from smallpox which resulted in the loss of one eye.Ranjit Singh was crowned on April 12, 1801, to coincide with Baisakhi by sahib Singh Bedi a descendent of Guru Nanak. In 1820 he annexed Hazara in 1823 Hedefeeated a large Afghan army at Nowshera, on the banks of the Kabul river. Thus Ranjit Singh put an end to more than a thousand years of Muslim rule.

Various Movements Related To Punjab: Nirankaris Baba Dayal Das(1783-1855) was the founder of this movement of purification and return in the 1840’s he called for the return of Sikhism to its origins and emphasized the worship of God as Nirankari(formless).

Ratan Chand: younger brother and successor of barbara Singh also established new centers and appointed birds(leaders)for each congregation or Sangat.

Singh Sabhas: Amritsar Singh Sabha Shaken by namdhari unrest, the speeches Shraddha Ram of Arya Samaj and by Christain conversions, a small group of prominent Sikhs decided to form the Singh sabha of Amritsar, Which held its first meeting on 1, Oct 1873.

Lahore Singh Sabha: Soon the Amritsar Sabha was emulated and rivaled by a new organization, viz.the Lahore Singh sabha, which held its first meeting on 2 Nov 1879.The later was led by prof.Gurumukh Singh and Bhai Ditt Singh.

Other Sabhas:In 1880 a general sabha was founded at Amritsar to provide a central organization for all Singh sabhas on 11April 1883 this was renamed the Khalsa Diwan Amritsar.It included 36 to 37 different Singh sabhas as well as the Lahore association.

Arya Samaj: It was founded by some Dayanand Sarasvati at Bombay in 1875.The most distinctive feature of Arya Samaj was the Shuddhi movement which means the reconversion of those Hindus who had once been willingly or forcibly converted into other religions but were now willing to come back into the fold of Hinduism.

Dev Samaj: It was founded in 1887 at Lahore by Shiv Narayan Agnihotri. It emphasized on the eternity of the soul, the supremacy of the Guru, and the need for good action. It called for an ideal social behavior such as not accepting bribes, avoiding intoxicants and non-vegetarian food, and keeping away from violent actions.

Ahmadia Movement:It is also a Qadiani movement.It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(1837-1908)at Qadian in Punjab towards the end of the 19th century.

Akali Movement/Gurudwara Reform Movement: This movement came into prominence in the 1920s.The main aim of the alkalis was to purify the management of the Sikh gurudwaras or shrines by removing the corrupt and selfish mahants from them. Their movement led to the enactment of the new Sikh Gurudwaras act by the British in 1925.

Punjabi Suba Movement: In the 1950 and 1960 the nationwide movement of linguistic boundaries in 1956, At that time Indian Punjab had its capital in Shimla and through the vast majority of the Sikhs lived in Punjab they still did not form a majority.

Dharam Yudh Morcha: In August 1982 the Akali Dal under the leadership of Harchand Singh Longowal launched the Dharam Yudh Morcha or the “battle for righteousness.The goal eas the fulfillment of demands based upon the Anandpur sahib Resolution which was adopted by the party in October 1973 to raise specific political, economic, and social issues.The transfer of the centrally administered city of Chandigarh to Punjab.The transfer Punjabi speaking and contiguous areas to Punjab.Protection for minorities residing outside Punjab but within India.