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The Babbar Akali Case Judgement: From Liberation of Gurudwaras to National Liberation
The British indoctrinated Indians with their philosophy and culture through education. By the 18th century, our cultural identity was suppressed. The Mutiny of 1857 was a revolt against suppression of our cultural identity. After the mutiny, the Babbar Akali movement was resurrection of the same spirit for ousting the British from India and achieving the target of self-rule of Indians (Swaraj). It was not confined to the Punjab, but its impact on the political scene of the country was so great that the British government was shaken. The inflammatory and seditious speeches and poems aroused hatred against the tyrant rulers. The movement was anti-imperialist and aspired for Swaraj. Shivaji floated the ideal of Swaraj for getting rid of the aliens. The Babbar Akalis revived the revolt from Punjab and merged into the liberation movement. The Guru-Ka Bagh Morcha and other peaceful Sikh agitations spread as a revolt against the exploitations and tyranny of the British. This was a second mutiny resurrected on the soil of Punjab. It put the British government on red alert. The toadies (jholichucks) were scared of reporting to government officials against the Babbar Akalis. Each leaflet. written in strong and contemptuous terms, was seditious and inflammatory in tone tending to bring forth the government and the Europeans into contempt. These leaflets, speeches, and poems were printed from August 29, 1922 to May 21, 1923. On the basis of cases of conspiracy against the government, the judgements are summarised at some length above prove beyond a shadow of doubt the existence of a dangerous revolutionary conspiracy that aimed at the ultimate subversion of the British rule and the establishment of Sikh Raj in the Punjab and Swaraj in India. The propaganda of the conspirators consisted of appeals made to religious feeling of the Sikhs and representing the British government as tyrannical and oppressive. For punishing the Babbars, the Penal Code devised three forms of punishment: death, mutilation and fine. The primary target of the rebels was not the sycophant, they sought to inculcate hatred against the government to ferment sedition and create terror against the zaildars, lambardars and other toadies, who in turn were were scared of the Akalis. "Kishan Singh does so holding a unsheathed sword in his hand and threatens the jholichucks that they would be reformed by the sword if they do not abstain from bringing about the arrest of the sewaks like himself". The Babbar Akali’s object was to achieve life of self-dignity and freedom. They were out to rebel, spread fire and sword throughout India. Kishan Singh, one of the Akalis, started a paper, Babbar Akali Doaba, which was distributed in villages and circulated among the troops to spread disaffection among them and incite them to mutiny. The Babbar Akalis got inspiration from Sri Guru Granth Sahib. On page 113, Kabir’s hymn is quoted from Sri Guru Granth Sahib: "`85 he who fights and dies for his faith, will be considered a hero". This is the concept of Sikh martyrdom for which the fifth and the ninth Gurus offered supreme sacrifices for the sake of truth. It may be pointed out that the Babbar Akalis did not believe in ahimsa (non-violence). "Non-violence is referred to as having ruined the country and is being quite unsuited to the Sikh temperament" (p.114). It is contrary to Gandhi’s concept of Ahimsa. Guru Gobind Singh said that sometimes violence is necessary to restore justice and peace. It was a similar line of thought that was adopted by Bahgat Singh when he dropped a bomb in the Central Assembly Hall to make the deaf hear the siren of revolution. He stormed Parliament to accomplish his target. This book is of archaeological significance for the researchers of the national movement of Independence and the contribution of the Babbar Akalis to the liberation of India.
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THE
book is based on a manuscript procured from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Museum
at Khatkar Kalan, Nawan Sher, Punjab. It records judicial judgement of
the first and third Babbar Akali conspiracy cases which were tried
towards the end of 1921 and the beginning of 1922. CAH Townsend,
Commissioner of the Jalandhar division, states that when he came back to
Jalandhar on May 15, 1923, the situation was tense because of the
outrages committed by the Babbar Akalis. The manuscript records:
"In this report reference is made to a conspiracy having been
formed for murdering government officials and Europeans and inciting the
Army to mutiny."