JOVFinlay2 at 23:27, 7 February 2026

2026-02-07T23:27:21Z

New page

{{Short description|Sikh preacher (1874–1962)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kartar Singh
| honorific_suffix = Jhabbar
| image = Photograph of Kartar Singh Jhabbar.jpg
| caption =
| other_names = Kartar Singh Virk<ref name="SP_FL_2006"/>
| birth_date = 1874
| birth_place = Jhabbar village, [[Sheikhupura District]], [[Punjab (British India)]]
| death_date = 20 November {{death year and age|1962|1874}}
| death_place = Habri, [[Karnal district|Karnal]], [[Punjab (India)]]
| death_cause =
| known_for = key figure in the [[Akali movement]]
| alma_mater = Khalsa Updeshak Mahavidyalaya
| employer =
| occupation = Religious preacher
| years_active =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| boards =
| spouse =
| partner =
| children =
| parents = Teja Singh
| relations =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Kartar Singh Jhabbar''' (September 1874 – 20 November 1962) was a [[Sikh]] leader known for his role in the [[Gurdwara Reform Movement]] of the 1920s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Agrawal |first=M. G. |title=Freedom Fighters of India (in Four Volumes) |publisher=Gyan Publishing House |year=2008 |pages=124–133 |chapter=19: Kartar Singh Jhabbar}}</ref> He is remembered for his campaign that successfully led to the establishment of the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]] in 1920.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Pandher |first=Sarabjit |date=12 January 2007 |title=Legendary Leaders |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/advertorial/article30189841.ece |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805024331/https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/advertorial/article30189841.ece |archive-date=5 August 2020 |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=The Hindu}}</ref> ''Jhabbar'' was a toponym used as his alias.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />

== Family background and early life ==
[[File:Photograph of Bhai Mool Singh Gurmula, a Sikh preacher.jpg|thumb|Photograph of Bhai Mool Singh Gurmula, a Sikh preacher that Kartar Singh came under the influence of in 1904]]
Kartar Singh was born in September 1874 to Teja Singh in a [[Virk]] family of Jhabbar village of [[Sheikhupura District]] in [[Punjab (British India)]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VpjXAAAAMAAJ |title=Kartar Singh Jhabbar |journal=Journal of Sikh Studies |volume=27 |issue=1 |publisher=Guru Nanak Dev University |year=2003 |page=104 }}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> He comes from the lineage of the Jhabbar chiefs of Sheikhupura.<ref name=":1" /> [[Maha Singh|Sardar Mahan Singh]] had attacked the Jhabbar chiefs but lost two battles to them.<ref name=":0" /> Later, Maharaja Ranjit Singh formed an alliance with the Jhabbar chiefs and Kartar Singh's grandfather Mangal Singh was in the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.<ref name="SS_Shashi1996">{{cite book|editor=S. S. Shashi | title=Encyclopaedia Indica: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh | year=1996 | publisher=Anmol Publications | isbn=978-81-7041-859-7 | page=241}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Kartar Singh was born into a typical Punjabi peasant family but grew to a tall height, over six-feet, and had a masculine-appearance.<ref name=":0" />

In 1904, Kartar Singh underwent the ''[[Amrit Sanskar|Pahul]]'' baptismal ceremony due to the influence of a roaming Sikh preacher named Bhai Mool Singh Gurmula, who administered the ''[[Amrita|amrit]]'' to him.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=Abstracts of Sikh Studies, Volume 5 |publisher=Institute of Sikh Studies |year=2003 |location=Chandigarh |pages=81}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Jhabbar had become impressed by the speeches given by Mool Singh Gurmula at Virn village, which motivated him to start working for propagating the Sikh religion.<ref name=":0" /> In 1906, he enrolled at the Gharjakh Vidyala seminary [Khalsa Updeshak Mahavidyalaya] in Gujranwala, a training institute for Sikh preachers, where he spent three years.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Sher1982">{{cite book |author=Sher Singh Sher |title=Glimpses of Sikhism and Sikhs |publisher=Metropolitan |year=1982 |oclc=11550235}}</ref> He began working as a Sikh religious preacher in 1909 and became a ''sewadar'' (volunteer) of the ongoing [[Singh Sabha Movement|Singh Sabha movement]], where he defended and pushed for [[Sikhism and caste|lower-caste]] Hindus and Muslims to convert to Sikhism.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> During an incident at Kotli Dasu Singh village, a mob of 40–50 Muslims attacked a baptismal ceremony of a Muslim who desired to convert to Sikhism, Jhabbar and his crew fended off the attackers with their staffs.<ref name=":0" /> Jhabbar travelled across the Punjab and converted persons to Khalsa Sikhism after giving lectures.<ref name=":0" /> After two months of preaching, he recruited 500 members for the Singh Sabha.<ref name=":0" /> While he was giving lectures at Gurdwara Baoli Sahib, around five to six-thousand Sikhs would gather to listen to him talk.<ref name=":0" /> Eventually, Jhabbar moved his base-of-operations to Lahore.<ref name=":0" /> In 1912, he established a Khalsa middle-school in Sacha Sauda village in the Sheikhupura district, in-which he appointed Sardar Arjun Singh as the school's first president.<ref name=":0" />

== Political career and activism ==
In 1919, he and other Sikh leaders was arrested for anti-Government protests following the [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre]].<ref name=":1" /> He was awarded a death-sentence in the [[Cellular Jail|Andaman jail]], but was later released after the announcement of the royal [[clemency]].<ref name="SS_Shashi1996" /><ref name=":1" />

In the 1920s, Kartar Singh led the [[Gurdwara Reform Movement]], which aimed at transferring the control of Sikh gurdwaras from traditional clergy ([[Udasi]] [[mahant]]s) and Government-appointed managers to the [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]] (SGPC). In 1920, a [[jatha]] (volunteer group) led by him seized the control of the Babe di Ber gurdwara in [[Sialkot]].<ref name="Mohinder1988">{{cite book|author=Mohinder Singh|title=The Akali struggle: a retrospect (Volume 1) |year=1988|publisher=Atlantic | page = 20 | oclc = 59911558 }}</ref> He also played an important role in the SGPC's takeover of the [[Harmandir Sahib]] (Golden Temple), the holiest shrine of the Sikhs. He further helped the Akalis seize the control of [[Gurdwara Panja Sahib]] ([[Hasan Abdal]], November 1920), Gurdwara Sacha Sauda (Chuhar Kana, December 1920), [[Gurdwara Sri Tarn Taran Sahib]] (January 1921) and [[Gurdwara Guru ka Bagh]] (near Amritsar, January 1921).<ref name="SP_FL_2006">{{cite journal |url=http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2326/stories/20070112002712000.htm |title=Legendary Leaders |author=Sarabjit Pandher |volume=23 |issue=26 |journal=Frontline |publisher=Kasturi & Sons |year=2006 |page=392 }}</ref><ref name="MLP_1968"/>

In 1921, Kartar Singh was arrested for protesting against the [[Nankana massacre]], and again in 1924 for taking part in various [[Akali movement]] demonstrations. He was released in December 1928, because of poor health. He and his associates were involved in securing for SGPC the possession of properties attached to various gurdwaras, in accordance with the [[Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925]].<ref name="SP_FL_2006"/>

== Later life and death ==
After the [[partition of India]] in 1947, Kartar Singh migrated to Habri village of [[Karnal district]] (in present day [[Kaithal district]] of [[Haryana]]). He was engaged in resettlement of refugees,<ref name="SP_FL_2006"/> and died in Habri, in 1962.<ref name="MLP_1968">{{cite book|author=M. L. Peace|title=S. Kartar Singh Jhabbar, the spearhead of the Akali movement|year=1968 |publisher=Peace and Rattan Kaur | oclc = 1676116 |page=115 }}</ref>

==Film and Literature==
Kartar Singh Jhabbar was shown in a Punjabi movie [[Saka - The Martyrs of Nankana Sahib]] where [[Mukul Dev]] was shown doing his lead role and the entire movie was based on Saka Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Reform Movement

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Fateh}}
[[Category:Indian Sikh religious leaders]]
[[Category:People from Sheikhupura District]]
[[Category:Sikh politics]]
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:1962 deaths]]

Kartar Singh Jhabbar - Revision history

JOVFinlay2 at 23:27, 7 February 2026