->Kvwiki1234: /* Partition of India */

2021-12-12T07:46:06Z

Partition of India

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{{short description|Sikh political and religious leader}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tara Singh
| image = Master Tara Singh.png
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1885|06|24}}<ref name="britannica"/>
| birth_place = [[Rawalpindi]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British India]] (present-day Pakistan)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1967|11|22|1885|06|24}}<ref name="britannica"/>
| death_place = [[Chandigarh, India]]<ref name="britannica"/>
| nationality = Indian
| other_names =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
[[File:Tara Singh 1985 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|150px]]
Master '''Tara Singh''' (24 June 1885 – 22 November 1967) was an [[Indian People|Indian]] [[Sikh]] political and religious leader in the first half of the 20th century. He was instrumental in organising the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee]] and guiding the Sikhs during the [[partition of India]], which he [[Opposition to the partition of India|strongly opposed]].<ref name="KudaisyaYong2004">{{cite book |last1=Kudaisya |first1=Gyanesh |last2=Yong |first2=Tan Tai |title=The Aftermath of Partition in South Asia |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-44048-1 |page=100 |language=en |quote=No sooner was it made public than the Sikhs launched a virulent campaign against the Lahore Resolution. Pakistan was portrayed as a possible return to an unhappy past when Sikhs were persecuted and Muslims the persecutor. Public speeches by various Sikh political leaders on the subject of Pakistan invariably raised images of atrocities committed by Muslims on Sikhs and of the martyrdom of their ''gurus'' and heroes. Reactions to the Lahore Resolution were uniformly negative and Sikh leaders of all political persuasions made it clear that Pakistan would be 'wholeheartedly resisted'. The Shiromani Akali Dal, the party with a substantial following amongst the rural Sikhs, organized several well-attended conferences in Lahore to condemn the Muslim League. Singh, leader of the Akali Dal, declared that his party would fight Pakistan 'tooth and nail'. Not be outdone, other Sikh political organizations, rival to the Akali Dal, namely the Central Khalsa Young Men Union and the moderate and loyalist Chief Khalsa Dewan, declared in equally strong language their unequivocal opposition to the Pakistan scheme.}}</ref> He later led their demand for a [[Punjabi Suba movement|Sikh-majority state]] in [[East Punjab]]. His daughter, the Indian journalist and politician [[Rajinder Kaur]], was killed by Sikh militants in [[Bathinda]].<ref>[http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/pre_member/1952_2003/r.pdf Rajinder Kaur, Dr. (Shrimati)]. Rajya Sabha Council of States</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/rajinderk.html|title=Dr Rajinder Kaur (1931–1989)|publisher=Sikh history|access-date=7 May 2014}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Singh was born on 24 June 1885 to a [[Khatri]] family in [[Rawalpindi]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]] in [[British India]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030822/main7.htm| work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)]]| title=Ranjit Singh's statue unveiled in Parliament House| date=21 August 2003}}</ref> Later he became a high school teacher upon his graduation from [[Khalsa College, Amritsar]], in 1907. Singh's career in education was within the Sikh school system and the use of "Master" as a prefix to his name reflects this period.<ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=Tara Singh |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tara-Singh |access-date=27 July 2016}}</ref>

== Political career ==
Singh was ardent in his desire to promote and protect the cause of Sikhism. This often put him at odds with civil authorities and he was jailed on 14 occasions for civil disobedience between 1930 and 1966. Early examples of his support for civil disobedience came through his close involvement with the movement led by [[Mohandas K. Gandhi]]. He became a leader of the [[Shiromani Akali Dal]] (SAD) political party, which was the major force in Sikh politics, and he was similarly involved with the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]] (Supreme Committee of Gurdwara Management), an apex body that dealt with the Sikh places of worship known as [[gurdwara]]s.<ref name="britannica" />

=== Partition of India ===
{{Main|Opposition to the partition of India}}
As with other Sikh organisations, Singh and his [[Shiromani Akali Dal]] (SAD) condemned the [[Lahore Resolution]] and the movement to create Pakistan, viewing it as welcoming possible persecution; he thus [[opposition to the partition of India|strongly opposed the partition of India]], saying that him and his party would fight "tooth and nail" against the concept of a Pakistan.<ref name="KudaisyaYong2004"/>

=== In independent India ===
Singh's most significant cause was the creation of a distinct [[Punjabi language|Punjabi-speaking]] state. He believed that this would best protect the integrity of Sikh religious and political traditions. He began a [[hunger strike]] in 1961 at the [[Golden Temple]] in Amritsar, promising to continue it to his death unless the then [[Prime Minister of India]], [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] agreed to his demand for such a state. Nehru argued that India was a secular country and the creation of a state based on religious distinction was inappropriate. Nonetheless, Nehru did promise to consider the issue. Singh abandoned his fast after 48 days. Singh's fellow Sikhs turned against him, believing that he had capitulated, and they put him on trial in a court adjudged by pijaras. Singh pleaded guilty to the charges laid against him and found his reputation in tatters. The community felt he had abandoned his ideals and replaced him in the SAD.<ref name="britannica" />

The linguistic division of the Indian state of Punjab eventually took place in 1966, with the [[Hindi]]-speaking areas redesignated as a part of the state of [[Haryana]]. Singh himself died in Chandigarh on 22 November 1967.<ref name="britannica" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051127052932/http://allaboutsikhs.com/person/mastertarasingh.htm Gateway to Sikhism: Famous Sikhs:Master Tara Singh]
*''Heritage of the Sikhs'', by Sardar Harbans Singh
*[http://sikhtimes.com/bios_082103a.html The Sikh Times - Biographies - Master Tara Singh: India Finally Pays Tribute]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060510120617/http://www.sikhpoint.com/religion/sikhcommunity/mastertarasingh.htm Bhai Maharaj Singh Ji]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060413213546/http://www.punjabheritage.com/sfk.htm The Punjab Heritage THE STRUGGLE FOR KHALISTAN]
*Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, SIKH TWAREEKH (Sikh History in Punjabi in 5 volumes), Sikh University Press, Belgium, 2007.
*Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, SIKH HISTORY (in English in 10 volumes), Sikh University Press, Belgium, 2010–11.
*Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, Master Tara Singh's Contribution to Punjabi Literature (thesis, granted Ph.D. by the Panjab University in 1982).
*Durlab Singh, Valiant Fighter. 1945.
*Manohar Singh Batra, Master Tara Singh, Delhi, 1972.
*Jaswant Singh, Jeewan Master Tara Singh, Amritsar, 1972.
*Master Tara Singh, Meri Yaad, Amritsar, 1945

== External links ==

*[http://www.saadigitalarchive.org/entity/master-tara-singh Master Tara Singh materials in the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)]

{{Sikh politics}}
{{Sikhism}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Tara}}
[[Category:Sikh politics]]
[[Category:Indian Sikhs]]
[[Category:Chandigarh politicians]]
[[Category:Shiromani Akali Dal politicians]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Punjab (British India)]]
[[Category:1885 births]]
[[Category:1967 deaths]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of British India]]
[[Category:People from Rawalpindi]]
[[Category:Scholars from Chandigarh]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian politicians]]

Tara Singh (activist) - Revision history

->Kvwiki1234: /* Partition of India */