The Amritsar Singh Sabha (
Punjabi: ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਭਾ), popularly known as Sanatan Singh Sabha (
Punjabi: ਸਨਾਤਨ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਭਾ), was founded in 1873, "It was essentially original and Sanatan ('eternal'). The
Sanatan Sikh (a term and formulation coined by
Harjot Oberoi[1]) were the traditional Sikhs who were eventually marginalised.[2][failed verification]
Origin
A second Singh Sabha was shaped and named the
Tat Khalsa (`True` Khalsa) as a political reaction [3] to the formation of the Sanatan Singh Sabha. The Governing British Administration based at Lahore in 1879 founded the Tat khalsa.[3] This Sabha was also called the Lahore Singh Sabha (Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha).
History
The
British Raj utilized the
Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha Sikhs to apply their `divide and rule` policy,[4] which included a more reformist approach.[5] The leader of
Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha was Bhai Gurmukh Singh,[6][7] a professor and co-sponsor at the Oriental College of Lahore. Bhai Gurmukh Singh cooperated with
Max Arthur Macauliffe, a divisional judge, to undertake the translation of the
Guru Granth Sahib (finished in 1909). The western educated Sikh reformers,[8] went onto write Mahan Kosh (encyclopedia of Sikhism) and Ham Hindu Nahin (We are not Hindus).
"The British established the current Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha which reflected the views and interests of an emerging Western educated vernacular elite, including men such as Gurmukh Singh, the co-sponsor of the Lahore Singh Sabha a professor at Oriental college"[9]
On the issue of Diet, the
Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha diluted issues such as cow protection,[10] although historical Sikh figures such as
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, banned cow slaughter throughout his kingdom.[11][12][13] “The
British Raj, applies the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha Sikhs to apply their divide and rule policy which sought to negate the original Sanatan Sikhism in the name of “reform” whereas Sanatan Sikhism was inclusive, the British created
Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha is not” [14]
^
ab"As a strictly political response to the formation of the Sanatan Singh Sabha, a second Singh Sabha was formed and named the Tat Khalsa (True Khalsa) by The Governing British Administration based at Lahore in 1879."
Faith & philosophy of Sikhism, Sardar Harjeet Singh, 2009,
ISBN978-81-7835-721-8
^Faith & philosophy of Sikhism, Sardar Harjeet Singh, “A second Singh Sabha was shaped and named the
Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha as a political reaction to the formation of the Sanatan Singh Sabha. The Governing British Administration based at Lahore in 1879 founded the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha. This Sabha was also called the Lahore Singh Sabha, before
partition The
British Raj utilized the
Tat Khalsa Singh Sabhi Sikhs to apply their `divide and rule` policy”, p.181,
ISBN978-81-7835-721-8
^“However the primary other Akal Tat Singh Sabha, was founded in Lahore, and was more reformist and radical”, World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia, Page 359, 2007,
ISBN978-0-7614-7631-3
^'The British established
Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha reflected the views and interests of an emerging Western educated vernacular elite, including men such as Gurmukh Singh, the co-sponsor of the
Lahore Singh Sabha, a professor at oriental college.Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age, 2007, By Giorgio Shani, pg33,
ISBN978-0-203-93721-1doi:
10.4324/9780203937211
^"Singh Sabha movement, British Government's recruitment policy and imperial interests, all combined together, helped strengthen the self-identity consciousness among the Sikhs denying any relationship with the Hindus." Perspectives on Sikh Gurdwaras Legislation] By Surjit Singh Gandhi, 1993, New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers.
p. 28.
^“the singh sabha reformers saw themselves in the reflected face of their british colonial masters”, Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age, By Giorgio Shani, 2007, pg 32,
ISBN978-0-203-93721-1doi:
10.4324/9780203937211
^″In sum, then, the 'sikh cow' figure envisages a reconciliation of several strands of Sanatan and popular Sikh faith and practice that the Singh sabha movement had sought to suppress over the last century of religious reforms, Cultural History of Modern India, By Dilip M. Menon,
ISBN81-87358-25-4
^“Maharaja Ranjit Singh established the Lahore Darbar on Divali 1761; he demanded that Afghanistan return the doors of Somnath temple and willed the Kohinoor diamond to Jagannath Puri. When British rule came, hundreds of Sikhs died for cow protection”,Ethnic Tensions in Indian Society: Explanation, Prediction, Monitoring, By P. N. Rastogi, 1986, pg 145,
OCLC15164522
^“It was Maharaja Ranjit Singh who put two conditions for Shah Sujah, then deposed ruler of Afghanistan before he would regain his throne. They were: ( 1 ) cow-killing will be forbidden throughout Afghanistan ; and (2) the doors of the Somnath temple returned.” Minorities in India, protection and welfare by Rajendra Pandey, APH Pub. Corp., 1997,
ISBN81-7024-873-6.
^“As already said by Shri Mann, during the time of
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Emperor, the only crime which capital punishment was awarded was this cow slaughter”, Lok Sabha Secretariat, Govt. of India.
^The British Raj, applies the Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha Sikhs to apply their divide and rule policy which sought to negate the original sanatan Sikhism in the name of reform whereas Sanatan Sikhism was inclusive, the British created Tat Khalsa Singh Sabha is not. Faith & philosophy of Sikhism, Sardar Harjeet Singh,
ISBN978-81-7835-721-8