Politics of Partition of the Punjab

Politics of Partition of the Punjab

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 The beginning of twentieth century is marked by hectic political activities both at the national and provincial levels which gave new complexion to the Indian politics. One of the most striking features of this period was the process of maintaining communal identities which was gaining force simultaneously with the growth of nationalism in India. The term politics has broad connotations. Politics of the Sikhs as a minority community in a plural society like India cannot be dealt in a narrow sense. The Punjab was one of the last regions to come under British rule so political consciousness started late in the Punjab in comparison to other places.

Reform movement among Sikhs started after establishment of colonial rule in form of conscious about separate identity from Hindus and gasp for so called purification of Khalsa Panth from so called Brahminical influences, all customs and traditions related to Brahminical practices meant to be purged through Singh Sabha in 1880’s, the reform movement got more intense after first World War. Gurdwara reform movement begins for liberation of the temples from the British control for the purpose Central Sikh League was formed in March for looking after the religious places of the Sikhs. The Shiromani Akali Dal was founded in December 1920. The Gurdwara Reform Movement played very important role in establishing separate identity of the Sikhs in Punjab.

Khizr Hayat Khan Tiwana was put in a tough position after the 1946 elections when the majority of Muslim Unionists defected to the Muslim League, leaving just nine Unionists in power. Khizr Hayat Khan Tiwana sought to put together a coalition of fifty one Congress and twenty three Sikh legislators in spite of the Muslim League's resistance. His administration failed to get off the ground and was short-lived. The outbreak of racial violence spread over the whole province of Punjab. The violence in Rohtak was taken extremely seriously because of its connections to similar incidents in western Utter Pradesh. In order to address the problem, the Unionist government introduced the Punjab Public Safety Ordinance in November, 1946. There was a feeling of civil war at the time in the Punjab. The Rashtriya Swayam Sevak, National Guard and Akali Sena were private armies formed by the Hindu, the Muslim and the Sikh population. The government reinstated the Criminal Law Amendment of 1908 after outlawing both the Hindu Rashtriya Swayam Sevak and the Muslim League National Guard in January 1947. Mr. Attlee was successful in persuading the Sikhs to join the Congress party in the Interim government. The Muslim League calls for ‘Direct Action’ on August 16, 1946 and the savage riots which followed that call in Calcutta, Dacca, Noakhali and Bihar once again prompted Sikhs have understanding with the Congress.

In order to set up a Constituent Assembly, the Cabinet Mission sought to establish an interim administration in the Punjab that would include the Muslim League, the Congress, Sikhs, and other ethnic minorities. They were immediately faced with opposition because, despite the presence of a powerful minority like the Sikhs in the Punjab, they grouped Punjab along with the North - West Frontier Province and Baluchistan. The Punjab question got linked up with the all India question and Muhammad Ali Jinnah preferred to opt out of the Congress Assembly over Congress insistence on the sanctity of the rights of the Sikhs.

The Sikh population in the Punjab was much less in comparison of the Hindus and the Muslims but it had rapidly increased in comparison to other communities. The Hindus were also in minority in the Punjab. The number of Hindus had further decreased mainly due to a sizable number of conversions to the Christianity and the Sikhism.  The Muslims were in majority in the Punjab. Increase in the Muslim population resulted in the decrease in the Hindu population. It was one of the main causes of conflict between Hindus and Muslims in the Punjab.

In response to missionary hubris that dismissed all religions except Christianity as primitive, the Singh Sabha Movement helped modernize the way Sikhs thought by not only stressing the importance of rational thought and behaviour in accordance with Sikh scriptures but also by preparing them for the future.  Sikhs in the Punjab did not revert to Hinduism due to the efforts of the Singh Sabha Movement. Many Hindus in northern and western Punjab and Sindh converted to Sikhism, underwent Sahajdhari Sikh baptization, and finally joined the Khalsa.

The Sikh population in Punjab was profoundly affected by the Singh Sabha Movement. The educated class people believed that socio religious reformation in the Punjab was not possible without making the people aware of their cultural heritage. Sikhs with higher education flocked to the Singh Sabha movement. The Singh Sabha Movement of Punjab stayed away from politics in favour of advancing socio-religious development and sharing of knowledge. The social and religious ills that had crept into Sikh society were wiped out by socio religious movements. The rise of nationalism in the country, the influence of the nationalist press and the increasing political unrest in Punjab at the turn of the twentieth century all played an important role in rising unrest among the populace and prepared the ground for the forthcoming Akali struggle against the Mahants and other vested interests in the Sikh shrines as well as against British imperialism in Punjab.

The Singh Sabha aimed at reforming the Sikhs of the numerous abuses that had crept in the Sikh fold during the period it exercised political authority during the misl and Ranjit Singh’s period. The Sikhs, influenced by Hindus in the 150 years after Nanak had died, had adopted a number of harmful practices. The reformers of the Singh Sabha advocated that the Sikh people be recognised as a unique religious community apart from both the Muslim and Hindu faiths.