Excommunication Of Prof. Gurmukh Singh In 1887

[BenaresKaThug]

I was shocked to read that Prof. Gurmukh Singh of the Singh Sabha movement was excommunicated in 1887, because of his sacriligeous activities which where disrespect toward Guru-Ansh giving baptism to low castes and other activitties. The mata excommunicting Prof. Gurmukh Singh passed in March 18, 1887 said that Bhia Sahib showed disrespect to Guru Granth Sahib Ji, and tells that no one should associate with him or help him otherwise he will also be punished with the same treatment.

My question is why would they excommunicate a person who was doing really good work for the panth so where all these activities just made up to make Bhia Sahib look bad.

Also why did it take 108 years to finily give respect to Bhia Sahib for his great work for the Panth and revoking the mata.

[S1ngh]

Please post the copy of the mata/sandesh bearing original signatures/letterpad of sri akal takht sahib etc. Please provide sources to prove the issue before discussing such sensitive topic(s)

[singhfauja]

Prof. Gurmukh Singh's excommunication was never accepted by the Panth. It was a political ploy by the Baba Khem Singh Bedi (pro-Sanatani Singh Sabha Amritsar) group to silence and limit the parchar by his associates who were known as "Singh Sabha Lahore."

Being a direct decedent of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, Khem Singh Bedi used to sit on a pedestal and his followers would bow to him like a guru.

Even at Sri Darbar Sahib he would sit on a special cushion parallel to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Prof. Gurmukh Singh, Giani Ditt Singh and the rest of the Singh Sabha Lahore did not accept this, and challenged the pro-Sanatani Singh Sabha Amritsar on this practice.

Khem Singh Bedi persuaded the masands and sarabrahs (caretakers hired by the British) to excommunicate Prof. Gurmukh Singh. The Panth never accepted the validity of the ex-communication.

Gurmukhs such as Bhai Gurditt Singh, Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, Bhai Vir Singh Ji, and the countless others continued to associate with Prof. Gurmukh Singh Ji, and never accept the validity of his ex-communication.

Edicts from Sri Akal Takht Sahib must always be in accordance to Gurmat, and must be ratified or supported by the Panth, they can not be unanimously issued under political pressure or for personal grudge.

Similar edicts have been issued against the freedom fighters aboard the KamaGata Maru, Babbar Akalis, and many others, but were never accepted by the Panth.

[GPS]

Excommunication of Gurmukh singh was wrong.

This is also important to sate that Gurmukh singh's singh sabha played a treacherous role in siding with

British against sikh aspirations of sikhs headed by Maharaja dalip singh. He wrote a letter to british govt

in Punjab disowning Maharaja dalip singh's return to Punjab and sided with them.

For that role he should be condemned.

This has been discussed earlier here. Please see

But the fact remains that it was singh sabha Amritsar that supported plans of Maharaja Dalip singh.

It was singh sabha Lahore that passed resolution in specific disowning Maharaja dalip singh.That speaks a lot of

their traitorus attitude towards sikh aspirations.Gurmukhs ingh was acting as a spy for English terming his peopel as traitors to english raj.He demanded ban on sau sakhi that promoted Dalip's return to Punjab.What a shameful act. by him.One can never forgive them for that.Is there a reason why they did that

other than pleasing English.They could have stayed neutral.But passing a resolution was stabbing panth in the back.

I have full details about their activities backing British and calling their people who were rising for dalip singh as uncivilsed and traitors. It is a fact between two factions English sided with lahore singh sabha.

The lesser said about pseudo khalistanis the better as most of these elements are sworn enemies of Dasam pita's bani.

What a tragedy they want khalistan where they do not want any khalsa.

In matter of religion we should always side with facts and not with factions.

[singhfauja]

GPS Ji, since Punjab was under the control of the British, legally, BOTH of the Singhs Sabhas, had no option other than recognizing the British authority over Punjab.

Singh Sabha Amritsar were no rebels, in order to join Singh Sabha Amritsar and complimentary Khalsa Divan under Khem Singh Bedi, one had to swear allegiance to the British.

This is fully documented. As far as the British were concerned, a handful of people in Singh Sabha Amritsar believed in the "PIPE DREAM" of Dalip Singh's return.

Singh Sabha Lahore viewed this as an impractical exercise that would cause more harm to the Panth and instead focused on stopping the direct threat by the Arya Samajis, and Christian missionaries, and ongoing Hinduization of the Sikh community.

Just because Singh Sabha Lahor did not support the "PIPE DREAM" does not mean they were traitors. In fact, they were great visionaries, who though it was more important to fight the scourge of Brahamansim that had infected the Panth, and bring back Gurmat Rahit and philosophy. Rmember, Singh Sabha Lahore did 95% of the Sikhi parchar during the Singh Sabha movement.

You may call GurSikhs such as Prof. Gurmukh Singh and Giani Ditt Singh Ji traitors, etc, but the Panth recognizes them as true heroes and scholars who stood against the Brahmanization of the Panth.

Without them and their tireless efforts through the Singhs Sabha movement, Sikh would have continued to worship Hindu deities at Sri Dabar Sahib, and marry according to Bedi customs.

Prof. Gurmukh Singh was a true Sikh scholar, whose sacrificed and persevered for the Panth. Scholars like Bhai Vir Singh, Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, worked hand in hand with this gem, only they knew the real value of his "heera".

[GPS]

Singhfauja ji

Everyone knows Sikh rule was taken by British from Dalip singh under treachery. It was on the pretext that Punjab will

be returned to him when he became adult.

They did not honour their promise.

In that case it was duty of every sikh to demand the rule back. A sikh who does not do that is not a sikh.

It is on record that singh sabha amritsar passed a resolution for restoration of sikh rule to Dalip singh.

No sane person can dispute that as Thakar singh sandhawalaia put his life on line for that.

In contradiction to above singh sabha Lahore sided with Britsh over this.There is a letter from them on record.

I had great respect for Gurmukh singh. That respect vanished when i came to know about this treachery.

It is right for every right thinking sikh to call a spade a spade without indulging in factionalism.For a SIKH religion

comes first and then politics.

We have discussed this earlier and i hold this view that they played a traitorous role at a critical moment of sikh

history.

I call those as traitors who sided with Britsh against Dalip singh and Gurmukh singh is the one who did that. Let

us not drag otehrs like Bhai Vir singh ji etc in this as they were not involved.

Topic is about Gurmukh singh

[dalsingh101]

It does bring home the potential use and abuse of the Akal Takhat by political lobbies though. Was talking to some desi brothers in the Gurdwara yesterday and the said topic came up.

From what they said, they seemed to suggest that the Akal Takhat has become an extension of the SGPC, itself in the hands of Badal who was openly being called a 'quom da gadaar'.

I think when ਵਿਕਾਰ becomes rampant in institutes (whether this is the case right now is debatable on both sides), it makes Sikhs withdraw more into the personal spiritual side of Sikhi as opposed to the political?

[GPS]

Dalsingh101 ji

I think the topic does not deal with present situation.As you have brought in this subject

below is my opinion.

When Gurudawra act was passed there is no provision for the appoinment of jathedar

of akal takhat.

Anyhow SGPC became cusodian of sikh religious affairs.Thus they were the ones to appoint

jathedars. So there is an ineherent flaw therein and because of that akali party has say in this.

Taking present decisions from akal takhat excommunicating Ragi Darshan singh, i applaud akal

takhat for having done this to bring such blasphemous persons under control. They have done

nothing wrong in this.

[GPS]

Brief background of singh sabha

http://www.allabouts...n-amritsar.html

Khalsa Diwan Amritsar

Singh Sabha Reform Organisation 1883

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 I October 1873. Singh Sabhas began springing up in other places, the one at Lahore being formed on 2 November 1879. Amritsar and Lahore Singh Sabhas joined hands to evolve a common platform under the name of General Sabha set up at Amritsar on 11 April 1880.

The General Sabha turned itself on 11 April 1883 into the Khalsa Diwan, the central body to which thirty-six Singh Sabhas were initially affiliated. The Lieutenant- Governor of the Punjab and Raja Bikram Singh of Faridkot were its patrons with Baba Khem Singh Bedi as president and Bhai Gurmukh Singh as chief secretary. The Diwan addressed itself to the tasks of religious and social reform and the promotion of education. It was the first representative organization of the Sikhs and at the time of the visit to Amritsar of the Governor-General, Lord Dufferin, it presented to him on 11 April 1885 an address stressing mainly the educational backwardness of the community and seeking the means to redress it. But the Diwan suffered a setback as a schism occurred between the Amritsar and Lahore Singh Sabhas.

The Lahore group was especially critical of the way Baba Khem Singh Bedi, being a direct lineal descendant of Guru Nanak, was apotheosized by his followers and how he sat in the sangat on a special seat, gadaila or cushion even in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib for which reason the Amritsar group was pejoratively called the Gadaila Party. Opinion was sharply divided at the annual meeting of the Khalsa Diwan in April 1884 when the Rawalpindi Singh Sabha under the influence of Baba Khem Singh proposed that the name of the Singh Sabha be changed to Sikh Singh Sabha to enable non-baptized Sikhs to enroll as members.

This was strongly opposed by the Lahore spokesman, Bhai Gurmukh Singh, and the meeting broke up in confusion.

The publication in May 1885 of a book in Urdu entitled Khurshid Khalsa, written by Bava Nihal Singh, caused further antagonism between the two groups. The book contained passages against the government and in favour of Maharaja Duleep Singh who had by that time turned a rebel. To this the Lahore party objected and asked the author to withdraw the book. Gurmukh Singh as secretary of the Khalsa Diwan issued a letter in October 1885, clearing the Diwan of any connection with the publication and throwing the entire blame on the author, who had the backing of the Amritsar faction. As the differences came to a head, the Lahore group split from the parent body and set up on 11 April 1886 a separate organization called the Khalsa Diwan Lahore.

The truncated Amritsar Diwan was left with fewer than 10 Singh Sabhas affiliated to it - three important ones among them being those of Amritsar, Rawalpindi and Faridkot. A new constitution of the Diwan adopted in September 1887 failed to stem the decline; it in fact accelerated the process. Under the new scheme the Diwan split itself into two divisions - the upper house called Mahan Khand representing the aristocracy and the lower house Saman Khand representing the common people. Baba Khem Singh was president of the former and Man Singh, manager of Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, of the latter, with Raja Bikram Singh as patron at the apex. The Diwan became defunct with the establishment of the Chief Khalsa Diwan in 1902.

Source: TheSikhEncyclopedia.Com

[dalsingh101]

It is scary though because there is no transparent mechanism to ensure the Akal Takhat reflects the panth's wishes, not that of the interests of SGPC leaders.

Some funding for quality literature from that quarter wouldn't go amiss right now.

Anyway, we digress. But the lessons to learn from Prof. Gurmukh Singh are ones very pertinent to us today in my opinion. Regardless of position on Singh Sabha debate, the fact that the highest office in Sikh polity can be easily abused should not be lost on us.