9 August 1922[EoS]
Guru ka Bagh morcha
Police arrest five Sikhs for cutting firewood for the langar on land at Guru ka Bagh, which the mahant claims as his own. The SGPC sends volunteers to court arrest, and police beatings of unresisting men draw wide attention.
Guru ka Bagh, at Ghukkewali about 20 km from Amritsar, has two gurdwaras marking visits by Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji and Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. Mahant Sundar Das agreed in January 1921 to serve under an SGPC committee, but later claimed the attached land as his own property. After the arrests of 9 August 1922, the SGPC sent batches of volunteers each day to cut wood.
From 25 August police used lathis against the gathering, and warrants went out against SGPC leaders. A council of action under Teja Singh Samundri took over. Black-turbaned volunteers kept coming and were beaten to the ground. The English missionary C. F. Andrews saw this on 12 September and sent a report to the press.
Sir Edward Maclagan visited the next day and the beatings stopped, though mass arrests continued. The dispute ended when Sir Ganga Ram leased the land from the mahant on 17 November 1922 and let the Akalis use it. Prisoners were released under an order of 27 April 1923. SGPC records say 5,605 Sikhs went to jail in the course of the campaign.[EoS][EoS]
Dates in the sources
- 1922-09-17: Two Encyclopaedia entries use the figure of 5,605 differently. The Akali Movement entry gives 5,605 arrested and 936 in hospital by the time police withdrew in mid-September 1922, and says the Akalis gained the land. Guru ka Bagh entry gives 5,605 as the SGPC's total for the whole campaign, which it says ended with a lease to Sir Ganga Ram.[EoS][EoS]