100 years of Saka Panja Sahib: A look back at a significant chapter in Sikh history

The first centenary of Shaheedi Saka (martyrdom massacre) of Sri Panja Sahib is set to be marked in Pakistan today.

The large-scale event including the commemoration at the Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib will be jointly held by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Evacuee Trust Property Board at Hasan Abdal city in Pakistan’s Punjab.

On Saturday, a one-hour ‘kirtan darbar’ was held at Hasan Abdal railway station in Rawalpindi.

But what happened in October 1922? Why is it a significant chapter in Sikh history?

Let’s take a closer look:

The background

As per Indian Express, the event occurred in the backdrop of the Guru Ka Bagh Morcha.

At the heart of the dispute was Amritsar’s Gurudwara Guru Ka Bagh and the arrest of five Sikhs who axed trees from its land to use as wood for cooking langar in August 1922.

As per Sikh Encyclopedia, the Gurudwara Guru Ka Bagh, Amritsar, was not under the control of the SGPC.

Instead, Mahant Sundar Das, who was backed by the British government, who claimed the gurudwara and its 524 kanals of land.

The British arrested the Sikhs for ‘stealing wood’ from gurdwara land, and the SGPC responded by sending Sikhs to fill voluntarily fill up the prisons.

The British in turn began thrashing the protesters mercilessly, so much so that the SGPC set up a temporary hospital for the injured near the Guru Ka Bagh Morcha site.

According to Sikh Encyclopedia, those taken prisoner were sent to distant jails by train after being tried summarily.

The Sikhs would offer food to these prisoners at railway stations.

It was one such train that left Amritsar on 29 October, 1922  that would go through Hasan Abdal the next day with its final destination being Attock Fort that became the focal point of the story.

What happened?

The tale of what occurred on 30 October, 1922, at the Hasan Abdal railway station, near the sacred shrine of Panja Sahib, has been passed down generations.

Several Sikhs blocked the railway track at Hasan Abdal Railway Station in order to stop the train carrying Sikh prisoners.

The Sikhs wanted to serve the prisoners ‘langar’.

However, when they approached the station master, they were informed that the train would not stop.

To register their protest and outrage, the Sikhs led by Bhai Pratap Singh and Bhai Karam Singh lay down on the railway tracks.

The Sikhs refused to move even as the train approached quickly.

By the time the train driver slowed down it was far too late.

The train injured 11 people before it finally came to a halt – Bhai Karam Singh and Bhai Partap Singh sustained grievous wounds and died the next day.

As per Sikh Encyclopedia, their bodies were taken to Rawalpindi and cremated on 1 November, 1922.

These men have since been hailed as martyrs, with a three-day religious fair in their memory being held at Panja Sahib from 30 October to 1 November every year until Partition.

Visa controversy

Unfortunately, a controversy flared up before the centenary.

Hindustan Times reported that 40 of 157 members of the Sikh jatha of the SGPC were denied visas by Pakistan including

• Three SGPC members (Satwinder Singh Tohra, Khuswant Singh Pannu and Ajmer Singh Khera)
• Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) granthi Giani Gurminder Singh
• Heads of two Darbar Sahib Hazoori Ragi jathas (group of traditional gurbani musicians)
• SGPC additional secretary (dharam parchar) Balwinder Singh Kahlwan
• Additional secretary Bijay Singh
• Pilgrimage department in-charge Rajinder Singh Rubi
• Dhadis (ballad singers)
• Kavishers (Sikh preachers who recite historic poems) and
• Two Sikh preachers.

Rubi told  Hindustan Times Pakistan was eagerly awaiting the Hazuri Ragis and other preachers, but that this turn of events had left them disappointed.

Still, over 200 Sikh pilgrims including 40 from the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee visited Hassan Abdal on 28 October.

They also visited Lahore and other gurdwaras in Pakistan, including Nankana Sahib.

The pilgrims reached Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border checkpoint on 28 October.

They will return to Amritsar on 2 November.

With inputs from agencies

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