KHALSA CENTRAL COUNCIL

KHALSA CENTRAL COUNCIL, a society formed in Lahore in 1933 to safeguard the interests of the Sikhs, had a very short career. The occasion for the formation of the Council arose when Giani Sher Singh and Master Tara Singh, two prominent Sikh leaders of pre-partition Punjab, openly confronted each other soon after the announcement by the British government of the Communal Award (1932). The Sikhs deplored the Award as it did not meet their political aspirations.

A Sikh organization called the Khalsa Darbar representing all sections of the Sikhs to launch an agitation against the Communal Award was formed, but it was soon plagued with group rivalries. Leaving the Khalsa Darbar, Giani Shcr Singh and his supporters held a meeting in the Bradlaugh Hall, Lahore, on 28 September 1933 where they formed the Khalsa Central Council, on the lines similar 10 those of the Khalsa Darbar. The new organization comprised three sub organizations called the Khalsa Akali Dal, the Khalsa Missionary Society and the Khalsa National League.

According to the constitution of the Khalsa Central Council, these bodies were to spread Sikh religion, organize the Panth for its political advancement, work for the freedom of the country, and carry on a campaign to have the Communal Award scrapped. The membership of the Khalsa Central Council, mostly owing allegiance to Giani Sher Singh, primarily belonged to upper and middle class Sikhs. Master Tara Singh`s group, however, continued to hold sway over the Sikh masses and the Khalsa Central Council ceased to exist without leaving any perceptible mark on Sikh affairs.

References :

1. Caveeshar, Sardul Singh, The Sikh Studies. Lahore, 1937
2. Gulati, K.C., The Akalis: Past find Present. Delhi, 1971