2. GURUDWARA SHRI TIBBI SAHIB, GANGSAR JAITO
Jaiton is a small town in Faridkot District of Punjab. It
is located on the Faridkot Bathinda road. Gurdwara
Gurusar dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh is
located towards west of this town. Famous Gurdwara
Tibbi Sahib is located towards east of Jaiton. This
place came to the limelight during the Akali
movement Jaiton da Morcha (agitation of Jaiton). This
movement took place from 1923 to1925.
3. Ripudaman Singh, Maharaja of Nabha
• Jaiton Morcha was an Akali agitation for the restoration
of Maharaja Ripudaman Singh of Nabha (a princely state in the
Punjab) to his throne. The Maharaja had strong pro Akali
sympathies. He had supported the Guru ka Bagh Morcha. He
started donning a black turban as a mark of protest against the
massacre of the reformists at Nankana Sahib.
• His contacts with the Indian nationalist leaders had irked the
British government. He was forced to abdicate in favor of his
minor son, Partap Singh by British Government on July 9 1923.
The British officials declared his abdication to be voluntary. The
Akalis and the nationalist leaders condemned it as an act of
highhandedness of the British Government.
4. Master Tara Singh
Master Tara Singh denounced the measure and considered it
equivalent to removal of Maharaja Duleep Singh’s from the throne
of the Punjab. A committee was set up to restore the throne of
Maharaja of Nabha. People of Punjab were requested to observe
July 29, 1923 as a day to pray for restoration of the throne of the
Maharaja.
5. • The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee dispatched a telegram to Lord
Reading, the Viceroy of India on August 2, 1923, challenging the official version
that the Maharaja had voluntarily relinquished his gaddi (throne). The Viceroy was
requested to order an independent enquiry to establish the truth. Three days later,
the committee passed a resolution asking its executive committee to carry on a
peaceful campaign to restore Maharaja Ripudaman Singh back on the throne of
Nabha. A Nabha government ordinance prohibiting public discussion of the issue
was defied by the Sikhs. They started convening meetings to condemn the
deposition of the Maharaja.
6. • Following a public march, a divan (congregation) was held at Jaito (located
in Nabha territory) on August 25, 1923. During this congregation, sympathies were
expressed to the Maharaja and the government action was strongly condemned.
Nabha state authorities arrested the organizers of the divan on August 27. The
divan was originally scheduled to conclude on August 27, but the arrests made by
police provoked the Akalis to continue it indefinitely. They started a series of
akhand paths (continuous recitations of the Guru Granth Sahib). The police made
more arrests on September 14, 1923. During arrest, the police displaced the
granthi sitting at an akhand path and replaced him with their own reader,
Atma Singh. The sacrilege committed by the police created a great commotion
among the Sikhs.
7. • The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee condemned this action on September 29.
The committee declared its determination to obtain the Sikhs’ right to free worship.
• The government denied that the akhand path was interrupted. The jathas (group of
voluntary Sikhs) kept pouring in at Jaiton. The Secretary of State requested the Viceroy to
stop to the Akali operation by arrest and prosecution of all the organizers as abettors. As a
result, the Punjab Government declared both the Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee and the Shiromam Akali Dal as unlawful associations. All the 60
members of the interim Shiromani Committee were arrested on charges of treason against
the King. Akali jathas were stopped to enter Nabha territory. Volunteers were arrested,
beaten by police and left off in distant deserts areas without food or water.
8. The Martyr’s Group during Jaiton da Morcha
To intensify the agitation, the Akalis increased the size of the
jathas. 500 Akalis marched from the Akal Takht On February 9
1924. They received unprecedented welcome in villages and towns
through which they passed. S. Zimand, a New York Times
correspondent who witnessed the jatha on the march, observed
thatThe Jatha was moving in perfect order and non violence with
large crowds of public on its right and left, five Nishan Sahibs in
the front and Guru Granth in the middle. The jatha reached
Bargari (a village on Nabha Faridkot border, located at a distance
of about 10 km from Jaito) on 20 February 1924.
9. • The Nabha administrator, Wilson Johnston took position with a large force at a distance
of about 150 meters from Gurdwara Tibbi Sahib. The jatha marched towards the Gurdwara
on February 21. The volunteers refused to obey the instructions of Wilson Johnston to stop
and disperse. The administrator ordered the army to open fire. In two volleys of fire lasting
about five minutes, several volunteers died. The official estimate of the casualties was 19
dead and 29 injured. The Akali figures were much higher.
• The firing on the peaceful jatha of Akalis caused resentment throughout the country.
Another 500 volunteers Shahidi jatha left Amritsar for Jaito on February 28, 1924. It was
taken into custody on March 14. Thirteen more 500 volunteers’ jathas reached Jaito and
courted arrest. Sikh jathas also came from Canada, Hong Kong and Shanghai to join the
campaign.
10. • The Governor of the Punjab, Sir Malcolm Hailey, tried the policy of creating
a schism in the community by creating parallel Sikh Sudhar Committees
representing moderate and pro government sections. A 101 strong jatha was
allowed to perform an akhand path at Jaito. But this did not conciliate the
general Sikh opinion. It also did not affect the tempo of the agitation. On
the issue that the Akalis were allowed to perform an akhand path at Jaito, the
government was prepared to start negotiations through Pandit
Madan Mohan Malviya and Bhai Jodh Singh. But, it was adamant on the
question of making restitution to the deposed Maharaja of his state.
11. • In the meantime, the Punjab Government introduced in the Legislative
Council the Sikh Gurudwaras Bill. It was unanimously passed on July 7,
1925. After the bill was passed, Sir Malcolm Hailey, Governor of the Punjab,
announced during his speech to the Punjab Legislative Council that the
Administrator of Nabha would permit the bands of pilgrims to precede for
religious worship to Gurdwara Gangsar at Jaito. The announcement was
followed by the release of most of the Akali prisoners. The Akalis started a
series of 101 Akhand Path recitations. It was concluded on August 6, 1925.
