The Akali Movement was started in the Punjab after the Ghadar Movement in 1921 and continued upto 1925. Following were its main causes:
- The management of the Gurudwaras was in the hands of the Mahants. They were squandering away the income of the Gurudwaras in luxurious living. The Sikhs did not like this.
- The English were backing the Mahants. The English had committed several atrocities on the members of the Ghadar Party, 93% of whom were the Sikhs. It had a deep effect on the minds of the Sikhs.
- The Sikhs were dissatisfied with the Act of 1919. Whatever was given to them by this Act was much less than their expectations.
Main Events Or Main Morchas:
1. Nankana Sahib incident: The Mahant of Nankana Sahib Gurudwara was a very characterless person. A peaceful jatha of the Sikhs was sent on 20th February, 1921 to oust him from the Gurudwara. The Mahant meted out a very harsh treatment to the jatha. His vagabonds attacked the Jatha. Bhai Lakshman Das, the leader of the Jatha and his companions were burnt alive.
2. Problem of the keys of the treasury of Sri Harmandir Sahib: The keys of the treasury of Sri Harmandir Sahib were with the British Government. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee demanded the keys from the government but it refused to hand over the keys. The Sikhs made demonstrations against this act of the government. It made many Sikhs prisoners. The Congress and the Khilafat Committee also supported the Sikhs. At last, the government was forced to hand over the keys to the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee.
3. ‘Guru Ka Bagh’ Morcha: Gurudwara ‘Guru Ka Bagh’ is situated in Amritsar district. This Gurudwara was in the hands of a characterless person named Mahant Sunder Das. Shiromani Committee sent a jatha under Dan Singh on 23rd August, 1921 to take over the control of the Gurudwara. The police arrested the members of this Jatha. This incident enraged the Sikhs all the more. They began to send more and more Jathas. These Jathas were badly treated. Their members were beaten with lathis and were dragged by their hair.
4. Panja Sahib incident: The Sikhs decided to send a Jatha by train to participate in Guru Ka Bagh Morcha. The Sikhs of the Panja Sahib (Hasan Abdal) (now in Pakistan) requested the Government to stop the train at Panja Sahib so that the members of the Jatha might be served food. The government turned down the request of the Sikhs. At this, two Sikhs named Bhai Karam Singh and Bhai Partap Singh laid down before the train and sacrificed their lives.
5. Babbar Akali Dal: The Sikhs established Babbar Akali Dal in August, 1922 to fight against the British rule. The most prominent leader of this Dal was Jathedar Kishan Singh. His violent acts created a wave of terror in Punjab. The Government succeeded in capturing many Babbar Akalis with the help of the army and 91 Babbar Akalis were tried. Babbar Akalis like Kishan Singh, Dharam Singh, Dalip Singh, etc. were sentenced to death.
6. Jaito Ka Morcha: The British Government dethroned Maharaja Ripudaman Singh of Nabha without any faulf of his in July, 1923. Shiromani Akali Dal and all the patriotic Sikhs decided to hold a meeting in Gurudwara Gangsar (Jaito) against the Government. A Jatha of 500 Akalis set out for Gangsar on 21st February, 1924. It faced the British army at Nabha. The Sikhs were unarmed. Consequently, more than 100 Sikhs were martyred and about 200 Sikhs were injured.
7. The Sikh Gurudwara Act: The Punjab Government passed the Sikh Gurudwara Act in 1925. According to it, the task of administration and care of the Gurdwaras came into the hands of the Sikhs. Gradually, all the Sikh prisoners were released.
Thus the Sikhs made great sacrifices in the Akali Movement. On the one hand, they freed the Gurudwaras from the clutches of the Mahants who were the puppets in the hands of the English. On the other hand, they lighted such a fire against the English which continued burning upto the attainment of independence by India.
