Navyug Saffuwalia

“Whatever we did, it was not meant to save our lives. We had reformed the enemies of the Panth and those who had deceived and harmed it. Our brothers were fighting a peaceful battle. We have fought battles as were fought by Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib and Guru Gobind Singh Ji. We have done nothing against the tenets of Sikhism. When our Gurus did not care for their lives, who were true emperors and masters of the two worlds, what concern could the death have for us….” Statement attributed to Kishan Singh Gargaj, published March 1925 in the Babbar Akali paper Pardesi. Jathedar Kishan Singh Gargaj, son of Fateh Singh (1886 - 1926) of Birring, Jalandhar, formerly a soldier of the 35th Sikhs, emerged as one of the principal leaders of the Babbar Akali movement. Active chiefly in the Doaba districts of Punjab, the Babbars organised militant jathas, struck at British government informers and collaborators, and circulated clandestine literature challenging colonial authority. He was executed at Lahore on this day in 1926; his last rites were performed at Gurdwara Sri Dehra Sahib, the place associated with the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji in 1606, linking the event to more than three centuries of Sikh martyrdom tradition. The remains of Gargaj and his comrades - Dharam Singh of Hayatpur, Dalip Singh of Dhamian, Babu Santa Singh, Nand Singh, and Karam Singh - were placed on display for antim darshan.

The Babbar Akali movement was a short-lived daring militant offshoot of Akalis (1922-1926). Formed by WW1 veterans and Ghadar Party members, it fought valiantly against the Mahants and the British. Kishan Singh Gargaj Master Mota Singh Karam Singh Daulatpur Rattan Singh Rakkar