Sardul Singh Kavishar (Aged 77) was born in 1886 in Amritsar, Punjab, India. He received his education in Lahore and began his public career in 1913 with the launch of his English-language newspaper, the Sikh Review. In one of his early articles, Kavishar criticized the demolition of a historic Sikh gurdwara’s external wall during the construction of New Delhi, which led to widespread Sikh agitation. However, the outbreak of the First World War temporarily shifted attention away from the issue.
After the war, Kavishar renewed his calls for action and was expelled from Delhi. He then moved to Lahore and started another newspaper, the New Herald. In 1919, Kavishar was arrested and imprisoned for writing against the Rowlatt Act, and he was also a founding member of the Central Sikh League.
In 1921, he called for 100 Sikh volunteers to rebuild the demolished wall of the gurdwara at the cost of their lives if necessary. 700 volunteers turned out, but before they could leave for Delhi, they received word that the city government had already rebuilt the wall. Kavishar was arrested the following month, charged with sedition, and imprisoned for four years for having written about a massacre of Sikh reformists.
In 1933, Kavishar became acting president of the Congress after his predecessor was arrested for participating in civil disobedience. However, in 1935, he openly opposed the Congress’s participation in the Government of India Act and, in 1937, he resigned his membership in the party after they accepted office in the provinces where they had earned a majority. In 1939, he joined Subhas Chandra Bose’s All India Forward Bloc faction and, when Bose left India in 1941, Kavishar became the Bloc’s president. This led to his arrest and imprisonment for four years.
Kavishar was elected president of the Forward Bloc (Ruiker) but eventually retired from active politics as the party dwindled. He passed away in 1963.
Sardul Singh Kavishar
(1886 – 1963) – (Punjab)
Sardul Singh Kavishar (Aged 77) was born in 1886 in Amritsar, Punjab, India. He received his education in Lahore and began his public career in 1913 with the launch of his English-language newspaper, the Sikh Review. In one of his early articles, Kavishar criticized the demolition of a historic Sikh gurdwara’s external wall during the construction of New Delhi, which led to widespread Sikh agitation. However, the outbreak of the First World War temporarily shifted attention away from the issue.
After the war, Kavishar renewed his calls for action and was expelled from Delhi. He then moved to Lahore and started another newspaper, the New Herald. In 1919, Kavishar was arrested and imprisoned for writing against the Rowlatt Act, and he was also a founding member of the Central Sikh League.
In 1921, he called for 100 Sikh volunteers to rebuild the demolished wall of the gurdwara at the cost of their lives if necessary. 700 volunteers turned out, but before they could leave for Delhi, they received word that the city government had already rebuilt the wall. Kavishar was arrested the following month, charged with sedition, and imprisoned for four years for having written about a massacre of Sikh reformists.
In 1933, Kavishar became acting president of the Congress after his predecessor was arrested for participating in civil disobedience. However, in 1935, he openly opposed the Congress’s participation in the Government of India Act and, in 1937, he resigned his membership in the party after they accepted office in the provinces where they had earned a majority. In 1939, he joined Subhas Chandra Bose’s All India Forward Bloc faction and, when Bose left India in 1941, Kavishar became the Bloc’s president. This led to his arrest and imprisonment for four years.
Kavishar was elected president of the Forward Bloc (Ruiker) but eventually retired from active politics as the party dwindled. He passed away in 1963.
News