Did RSS save Darbar Sahib?

An objective analysis of the infamous Darbar Sahib incident during the March riots.

Introduction

Of late, the alleged account of RSS saving Darbar Sahib during the March riots of 1947 has become more popular amongst Hindutva circles. The origin of this account is found in the 2002 book Partition-Days: The fiery saga of the RSS. Earlier this year, this book gained traction through an article by Arun Anand, where he cites the book to claim that the RSS had selflessly saved the Darbar Sahib from any danger. As a result, this narrative has become more common on social media. My article attempts to counter this narrative whilst comparing it to other accounts of the March riots.

The backdrop to the March riots of 1947 started with the Muslim League opposition of Khizar Tiwana, as the Premier of Punjab. Since he was staunchly opposed to the creation of a Pakistan, the Muslim League saw him as an enemy and chanted slogans against him in protest. This opposition had turned from a peaceful protest to one of violence, in just a month. Sometime in late February, this protest resulted in a Sikh constable being beaten to death.

At this point, Master Tara Singh described the Pakistan demand as communal and had threatened with a counter to direct action if any more violence ensues, through the use of Sikh jathas. On the 2nd of March, the Premier of Punjab, Khizar Tiwana, finally resigned. The Muslim League celebrated this as a victory day, whilst Sikhs and Hindus vehemently opposed them. The discontent between both groups finally reached a boiling point, culminating with riots in the beginning of the March. This is when the alleged incident of RSS saving Darbar Sahib is said to have happened.

A view of Darbar Sahib, after the communal riots of March 1947

The account of events given by Partition-Days

The account on the Darbar Sahib incident is found on Chapter 6 of Partition-Days. The chapter begins with a lacklustre defence of how the Amritsar RSS organised themselves, as a reaction to discrimination by local Muslims. It goes on to describe how tensions between Muslims and Hindus got enflamed, leading to riots in the beginning of March.

Later, it reveals that on the 6th of March 1947, the Muslim League sought to target the Krishna textile market and Darbar Sahib. The logic here is that since most Sikh jathas had left to celebrate Hola Mohalla at Anandpur Sahib, the Muslim League used it as a pretext to attack Darbar Sahib as it would be vulnerable. However, they were reportedly stopped in their tracks at Krishna textile market by a group of RSS swayamsevaks, with Bijli Pehalwan playing a major role. In case of further attack, the RSS had deployed 75 swayamsevaks to ‘save’ Darbar Sahib.

The map of Amritsar used by the book to show the alleged skirmish between only RSS swayamsevaks and the Muslim League

In 1982, a Sardar Harbans Singh submitted a letter to Punjab Kesari, which is the source material behind this saga. It talks about a Muslim League crowd advancing towards Darbar Sahib, on the 4th of March, and claims there were only 100 Hindus and Sikhs there, with kirpans and guns locked in a store room. Instead of waiting for police guards, RSS swayamsevaks would allegedly defend Darbar Sahib for six hours. Afterwards, it goes into a separate tirade over Dal Khalsa, mentioning Sikhs and Hindus can never be separated whilst misquoting from the book ‘The Golden Temple, Amritsar’ by Dr Ganda Singh and Prof Puran Singh.

Comparative analysis with other Partition accounts

Ishtiaq Ahmed, author of The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed, observes how the resignation of Khizar Tiwana and subsequent Muslim League celebrations had resulted in communal riots. The book utilises two main narratives in this segment of the March riots in Amritsar: one of Khawaja Iftikhar, author of Jab Amritsar Jal Raha Tha (When Amritsar was burning) and one of Gurbachan Singh Talib, author of Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab.

Iftikhar notes how on the 2nd of March, Master Tara Singh gives the call to counter against the Muslim League; this is also corroborated by A.N. Bali. By the 4th of March, Akalis had gone around beating drums in the main square of Amritsar, chanting slogans opposing the formation of Pakistan. This culminated with Sikhs and Muslims fighting in the Gol Hatti square and armed Akalis fighting against the Muslims of Mahan Singh Gate. On the 5th of March, Udham Singh Nagoke and the son of Bijli Pehalwan would lead an assault from Darbar Sahib.

Talib notes how the situation in Amritsar was controlled and not of much note compared to other areas in Multan, Rawalpindi and the rest of erstwhile West Punjab. On the 3rd of March, the rioting started with the formation of a Muslim League committee. By the 5th of March, any danger from the incident at Darbar Sahib was averted due to Sikhs and Hindus both.

Among the other viewpoints gathered in Ishtiaq Ahmed’s book, Ripudaman Singh, Professor V.N. Dutta and many others agreed that on the 4th of March, Akalis started beating drums in the main squares of Amritsar to resist the Pakistan demand. Professor V.N Dutta seems to also specifically mention Udham Singh Nagoke among Akali leaders in the March riots. Both Iftikhar and Talib’s account seem to mention Hindus and Sikhs both being present during the riots.

Alongside this, Chhanda Chatterjee, author of The Sikh Minority and the Partition of the Punjab, mentions how Udham Singh Nagoke, Ishar Singh Majhail and Sohan Singh Jalal Usman opposed Pakistan to a crowd in Amritsar of around 20,000. Meanwhile, between 5th and 8th March, Jathedar Mohan Singh addressed a crowd of 15,000 at the Hola Mohalla fair, at Anandpur Sahib.

The main leaders of the jatha shown, from left to right: Udham Singh Nagoke, Ishar Singh Majhail, Master Tara Singh, Darshan Singh Pheruman and Jathedar Mohan Singh

Conclusion

None of the accounts seem to mention the role of only Hindus without also mentioning that Sikhs was there at Darbar Sahib also. The account of Partition-Days seems to have completely erased the role of Sikh jathas, headed by Udham Singh Nagoke, as a concerted effort to eulogise RSS swayamsevaks. Before this incident, in an interview with the New York Times, Master Tara Singh had previously disclosed that Sikhs already had a private army. Thus, Sikh jathas there were already armed and didn’t need RSS swayamsevaks to complete their duties by ‘saving’ Darbar Sahib as Sardar Harbans Singh wrongly notes. The most feasible conclusion here seems to be that Udham Singh Nagoke and Bijli Pehalwan worked together to prevent Muslim League violence and moreover, the situation was of little note compared to violence in Rawalpindi and the rest of West Punjab.

It’s no surprise that this was posted in the Punjab Kesari, the newspaper founded by Lala Jagat Narain. It should also be noted Punjab Kesari was the very same newspaper that after Operation Bluestar, spread the false rumour of there being naked women in Darbar Sahib. The letter by Sardar Harbans Singh was written in May 1982, not even a full year since the death of Lala Jagat Narain. Punjab Kesari had quite obviously adopted an anti independent Sikh identity point-of-view. In its bid to promote any Hindu-Sikh brotherhood, it outright falsifies information. Conclusively, the undertone of this letter becomes all the more apparent, when viewed with a historical lens, in its attempt to reject the existence of an independent Sikh identity.