28th July
1925 Punjab Governor gave his assent to the Sikh Gurudwara Act.
1991 Sikhs continue to be harrassed under Section 216 of the IndianPenal Code.
29th July
1873 Initial establishment of Singh Sabha in Amritsar. Singh Sabha, a reform group of Amritdhari Gur Sikhs who objectively sought the eradication of the wrong practices in re-establishing the true traditions of GurSikhism. Their initial efforts for religious propagation and education resulted in the establishment of Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Amritsar, in 1872. Sardar Thakur Singh Sandawalaia was the first chief, while the temporary offices and gathering facilities were organized at Guru Ka Bagh. The objectives of Singh Sabha, Amritsar, were to inculcate the principles of SIkh religion as preached by the Sikh Gurus among the Sikhs with a view to restoring Sikhism to its pristine purity, preach the principles of Sikh religion by word of mouth, by publication of historical and religious books, and through magazines and newspapers, encourage propagation of Punjabi, reclaim apostates and attract the sympathies of those highly placed in public adminsitration to the educational progress of the Sikhs. The Singh Sabha was to shun politics.
1984 Sardar Sadhu Singh Hamdard, Editor of Punjab’s voice, Ajit, daily newspaper, died of a heart attack. He was deeply disturbed by the Indian Army’s attack on Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar. In protest, he had returned his Padam Sri honor to the Indian government.
30th July
1822 Sangat Singh, son of Fateh Singh became Raja of Jind.
1950 Akali Dal’s working committee orders all members who defected to Congress to return.
1995 Amar Singh Ambalvi, first Vice-President of AISFF, passed away.
31st July
1788 Agreement reached between the Dal Khalsa and Maharaja Vijay Singh of Jodhpur.
1940 Sardar Udham Singh was hanged to death in London for killing Michale O’Dwyer, Governor of Punjab during the Jallianwalla Bagh massacare. A meeting was called in 1919 to protest – the arrest of Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal, two prominent leaders in Punjab at the time and – against the repressive Rowlette Act of the British Government Several hundred people had assembled at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar to participate in this protest. Brigadier General Dwyer was sent to disperse the assembly. He intially proceeded with an armoured car. However, the streets leading up to the Jallianwalla bagh were too narrow for the armoured vehicle and consequently the soldiers had to abandon the vehicle and travel by foot. Upon reaching the Jallianwala bagh, Brigadier General Dwyer opened fire on the innocent and unarmed people, killing almost all. When the firing stooped, a total of 1302 people been killed, including 799 GurSikhs. Udham Singh from Sunam (Punjab), was a child at that time, whose father was among the killed. He vowed to kill the cruel General. A subsequent enquiry was held into the shooting. As a result, Brigadier General Dyer retired, went back to England, and subsequently died six years after the Jallianwala massacre. However, The Sikh community felt further insulted, when Rur Sngh, the custodian of the Golden Temple, offered a Saropa to Sir Michael O’Dwyer, Lieuetnant Governor of Punjab. General Dwyer was also offered a Kirpan (Sword of honor) and it was qouted in the British Parliament by Lord Finlay that he had been made a Sikh.
Udham Singh came to England and spent many years of hard work planning ways to fulfill his childhood vows. It is said that Udham Singh took up work in Sir Michale O’Dwyer’s residence in England, who was the Governor of Punjab during the Jallianwala massacre. Udham Singh worked there for sometime and therefore got to know Sir O’Dwyer very well. Seezing an opportune moment Udham Singh gunned down Sir O’Dwyer at a public meeting in England as he stood to address the gathering.
1st August
1863 Maharani Jind Kaur, mother of Maharaja Dalip Singh, passed away in Kaesington, England and was cremated in Nasik Nagar on the outskirts of Bombay, India. She was arrested by the British government in 1847 and imprisoned at the Shaekhpura fort. After numerous efforts, she managed to join Maharaja Dalip Singh in England. She was by Lord Dalhousie as “the only woman in the Punjab with manly understandings.” Jind Kaur was daughter of Sardar Manna Singh Auhlakh, a resident of village Chandh, district Sialkot, Tehsil Jafarwall. She was wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and mother of Maharaja Dalip Singh. Once the British government gained control of the Khalsa Raj’s affairs, she was initially kept under house arrest at Saekhupura and subsequently jailed at Chunar fort (U.P. district Mizapur). However, she escaped in a beggar’s attire and reached Nepal, where she lived with dignity. In 1861, Maharani Jind Kaur reached England to visit her son Maharaja Dalip Singh, where she died on Aug. 1, 1863 at the age of 46. Her body was brought back and cremated in Nasik Nagar, on the outskirts of Bombay.
On March 27, 1924, Maharaja Dalip Singh’s daughter, Bamba Dalip Singh, brought the ashes of Maharani Jind Kaur from Nasik Nagar and buried it next to Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s samadh. Sardar Harbans Singh Rais of Atari performed the last rights (antim Ardas) on this occasion.
1944 The Working Committee of the All Parties Sikh Conference met at Amritsar. It held that the C. Rajagopalachari’s formula “was mainfestly unfair and detrimental to the best interests of the country and the Sikh Community.” It regarded Gandhi’s approval of the same as “breach of faith” on the part of the Congress leaders and violative of assurances to the Sikhs “at its Lahore session in 1929”.
1980 Khalistan Flag Hoisted for the first time. The Sikh Youth Organisation, Dal Khalsa, hoisted the flag of Khalistan at the very spot where 13 GurSikhs fell martyr while defending the Guru Khalsa Panth against the Nirankaris, on April 13, 1978.
2nd August
1764 Baba Budha Singh Ji relinquished control and bestowed the control of Sirhind to Baba Ala Singh Patiala.
3rd August
1977 Kartar Singh Khalsa Bhindrawalia was seriously injured in a car accident.