Write the two causes of emergency of akali movement?
Answers
Explanation:
Gurdwara Reform Movement
variously known as Gurdwara Reform Movement or Gurdwara Agitation is how Sikhs' long-drawn campaign in the early twenties of the twentieth century for the liberation of their gurdwaras or holy shrines is described. The campaign which elicited enthusiastic support, especially, from the rural masses, took the form of a peaceful agitation-marches, divans or religious gatherings, and demonstrations for Sikhs to assert their right to manage their places of worship. This led to a series of critical episodes in which their powers of suffering were severely tested by government suppression. In. the event, Akalis, as the protesters were known, succeeded in their object and the control of the gurdwaras was vested through legislation in a representative committee of the Sikhs. The State, under Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), had forborne from interfering with the management of Sikh shrines. It endowed the more prominent
among them with land grants and other gifts but let the control remain in the hands of sectaries such as Udasis, or hereditary officiants, who had assumed charge of them generally since the days when Sikhs under pressure of Mughal persecution had been forced to seek safety in remote hills and deserts. A kind of professional coenobitism, contrary to Sikh religious structure, had developed over the generations. Some of its sinister aspects became apparent soon after the fall of the Sikh kingdom. Most of the clergy had become neglectful of their religious office. They had diverted ecclesiastical assets, including lands, to their own enrichment, and their lives were not free from the taint of licentiousness and luxury. The simple form of Sikh service had been supplanted in the shrines by extravagant ceremonial. This was repugnant to Sikhs freshly affranchised by the preaching's of the Singh Sabha. The puritan reaction through which they had passed led them to revolt against the retrogression and mal administration of their holy places.
Their central shrine, the Golden Temple at, Amritsar, was controlled by the British Deputy Commissioner through a Sikh manager whom he appointed. There were idols installed within the temple precincts. Pandits and astrologers sat on the premises plying their trade unchecked. Pilgrims from the lower classes were not allowed inside the Harimandar before 9 o'clock in the morning. This was a travesty of Sikhism which permitted neither caste nor image worship. Vaguely, the feeling had been prevalent among the Sikhs since almost the advent of the British that the administration of the Harimandar at Amritsar was far from satisfactory. The religious ritual practised ran counter in many details to the teachings of the Gurus. One audible voice of protest was that of Thakur Singh Sandhanvalia, who was a member of the Sri Darbar Sahib Committee in the seventies of the last century. The Khalsa Diwan, Lahore, at its session (6-8 April 1907), proposed that the manager of the Golden Temple appointed by the government be removed and a committee of Sikh chiefs appointed in his place. Likewise, the Khalsa Diwan, Majha, meeting at Tarn Taran on 10 April 1907; had recorded its concern about the management of the shrine.On 12 October 1920, a meeting of Sikh lower castes, sponsored by teachers and students of the Khalsa College was held in Jallianvala Bagh At Amritsar. The, following morning some of them were taken to Harimandar, but the priests refused to accept karahprasad they had brought as offering and to say the ardas on their behalf. Their supporters protested. A compromise was at last reached and it was decided that the Guru's word be sought. The Guru Granth Sahib was, as is the custom, opened at random and the first verse on the page to be read was: