ANAND MARRIAGE ACT was passed in 1909 by the Imperial (i.e. GovernorGeneral`s) Legislative Council to establish legal "validity of the marriage ceremony common among the Sikhs called Anand." The origins of marriage by Anand ceremony go back to early Sikhism. The practice which somewhat lapsed during the time of

BHAI PHERU MORCHA, one of a series of campaigns in the Sikhs` agitation in the 1920`s for the reformation of their holy places. Gurdwara Sangat Sahib, located in Mien ke Maur in Lahore district, about 15 km from Chhanga Manga railway station, dedicated to the memory of Bhai Pheru (1640-1706),

CHETRAMIAS, a cult of saint worship incorporating elements from Christianity, Vaisnavism and Sufism founded by one Chet Ram (1835-94), an Arora Hindu of the village of Sharakpur in present day Sheikhupura district of Pakistan. Almost illiterate, Chet Ram was neither a saint nor a Sufi. He was a camp follower

CENTRAL MAJHA KHALSA DiWAN, also known as the Shiromani Panth Milauni Jatha, was one of the several regional organizations that came into being on the eve of the Gurdwara reform movement of the 1920\'s. A Khalsa Diwan in the Majha area had in fact been established as early as

DEV SAMAJ, a religious and social reform society, was founded on 16 February 1887 in Lahore by Pandit Shiv Narayan Agnihotri (1850-1929). The story of the Dev Samaj is in essence the story of its founder. Pandit Agnihotri was born in the village of Akbarpur, in Uttar Pradesh, on 20

GURU KA BAGH MORCHA, one of the major compaigns in the Sikhs` agitation in the early 1920`s for the reformation of their holy places. Guru ka Bagh in Ghukkevali village, about 20 km from Amritsar, has two historic gurudwaras close to each other, commemorating the visits respectively of Guru Arjan

KHALSA DIWAN, afterwards renamed Central Malva Khalsa Pritinidhi Diwan, Nabha, was formed on 1 January 1906 at a large conclave of the Sikhs held in the princely town. The inspiration came from Tikka Ripudaman Singh (1883-1943), henapparent to the Nabha throne, who was a staunch advocate of the Singh

KHALSA DIWAN AMRITSAR, established at Amritsar on 11 April 1883 to oversee and provide direction to the work of the Singh Sabha. This reform movement had originated in Amritsar with the formation of the first Singh Sabha on 1 October 1873. Singh Sabhas began springing up in other places,

KHALSA DIWAN LAHORE, formed on 11 April 1886 by a group of Sikhs who following a schism had severed their connections with the Khalsa Diwan Amritsar. Bhai Attar Singh, chief of Bhadaur, was named president and Bhai Gurmukh Singh chief secretary. The Diwan was formally registered with the government

KHALSA DIWAN MAJHA, an association of reformist Sikhs representing the districts of Lahore, Amritsar and Gurdaspur, was set up in 1904. The Singh Sabha movement had created among the Sikhs a new consciousness for the need to reform their religious and social practices. Early in 1904, Risaldar Basant Singh of

KHALSA PRACHARAK VIDYALA, TARN TARAN, an institution established in 1906 by the Khalsa Diwan Majha. From its inception in 1904, the setting up of centres in the rural areas to conduct worship services and reform programmes among villagers had constituted a vital part of the DTwan`s mission. The new organizational

MORCHA CHABIAN, campaign for the recovery of the keys of the Golden Temple treasury, marks a dramatic episode in the Sikhs` agitation in the early 1920`s for reforming the management of their places of worship. The Golden Temple at Amritsar, which had a government nominated sarbrdh or controller to manage