SolomonL12 at 17:40, 31 March 2026

2026-03-31T17:40:12Z

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{{short description|Weekly newspaper published from Lahore}}
{{italic title}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}

{{Infobox newspaper
| image = Khalsa Akhbar Lahore, 15 May 1893.JPG
| caption = Khalsa Akhbar Lahore, 15 May 1893. Digitized by Panjab Digital Library.
| type = Weekly newspaper
| owners = Giani Ditt Singh
| founder = Gurmukh Singh
| publisher = Lahore Khalsa Diwan
| editor = Jhanda Singh Basant Singh Maeeya Singh Ahluwalia
| founded = 1883 or 13 June 1886
| ceased_publication = 1889 (temporary) 1905 (permanent)
| relaunched = 1 May 1893
}}
{{Sikh literature}}

The '''''Khalsa Akhbar''''' ({{langx|pa|ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ ਅਖ਼ਬਾਰ}} ([[Gurmukhi]]), {{Nastaliq|خالصہ اخبار}} ([[Shahmukhi]])), [[Lahore]], was a [[weekly newspaper]] and the organ of the Lahore Khalsa Diwan, a [[Sikh]] society.<ref name="Singh">{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Jagjit |editor1-last=Siṅgh |editor1-first=Harbans |title=Khālsā Dīwān Lahore |date=1995 |publisher=Punjab University, Patiala, 2011 |location=Patiala, Punjab, India |isbn=9788173805301 |pages=481–482 |edition=3rd |url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIiE-l/page/n495/ |accessdate=15 February 2020 |language=English}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Barrier |first=N. G. |title=The Encyclopedia of Sikhism |publisher=Patiala Punjabi University |year=2004 |isbn=817380530X |editor-last=Singh |editor-first=Harbans |edition=2nd |volume=4: S–Z |pages=161–166 |chapter=Sikh Journalism}}</ref> Published from [[Lahore]] in the [[Punjabi language]] (Gurmukhi script), the newspaper was established in 1886 and functioned sporadically till 1905.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=u_AMX5RI_YUC&dq=Khalsa+Akhbar+Lahore&pg=PA72 Khalsa Akhbar, Lahore] ''Religion and Nationalism in India: the case of the Punjab'', by Harnik Deol. Routledge, 2000, p. 72. {{ISBN|0-415-20108-X}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.sikhcybermuseum.org.uk/history/SikhJournalism.htm Sikh Journalism:From 1800s to 1900s] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719174747/http://www.sikhcybermuseum.org.uk/history/SikhJournalism.htm |date=19 July 2011 }} sikhcybermuseum.org.uk.</ref> Founded by Bhai Gurmukh Singh, a professor of Punjabi at the [[Oriental College, Lahore]], who also established the ''Khalsa Press'' in Lahore, the paper was taken over by [[Giani Ditt Singh]], a scholar and a poet.<ref>[http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/00june20/edit.htm History of Punjabi Journalism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070619054930/http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/00june20/edit.htm |date=19 June 2007 }} By Harpreet Singh, ''[[Daily Excelsior]]'', 20 June 2000.</ref> It was one of the most prominent and influential Sikh periodicals prior to 1920.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Grewal |first=J. S. |title=Master Tara Singh in Indian History: Colonialism, Nationalism, and the Politics of Sikh Identity |date=March 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199089840 |edition=Online |pages= |chapter=2 - Colonial Rule and the Sikhs: (1849–1919) |quote=The most important Sikh periodicals were the ''Khālsā Akhbār'' in Punjabi and the ''Khalsa'' in English, both of which were brought out from Lahore. The ''Nirguṇiārā'' and the ''Khālsā Samāchār'' in Punjabi and the ''Khalsa Advocate'' in English were published from Amritsar.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Barrier |first=Norman Gerald |title=Religious Controversy in British India: Dialogues in South Asian Languages |date=3 January 1992 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=9780791408285 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Kenneth W. |edition=Illustrated |series=SUNY Series in Religious Studies |pages=226 |quote=Also important in focusing the issues and personalities involved in Sikh pamphleteering are articles and correspondence in the three primary Sikh newspapers prior to 1920, ''The Khalsa Akhbar'' (Punjabi, c. 1889–1905), the ''Khalsa Samachar'' (Punjabi, 1899 to the present), and the ''Khalsa Advocate'' (1903–23, then becoming the Punjabi ''Khalsa Te Khalsa Advocate'').}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Photograph of Prof. Gurmukh Singh, founder of the Khalsa Akhbar Lahore and one of the founders of the Singh Sabha movement.jpg|thumb|Photograph of Prof. Gurmukh Singh (1849–1898). He was a professor of Punjabi at Oriental College Lahore, and was the founder of the Khalsa Akhbar Lahore. He also was one of the founders of Singh Sabha Lehar (Singh Sabha movement).]]
The newspaper was published with effect from 13 June 1886 through the efforts of Bhai Gurmukh Singh from Lahore.<ref name="Singh"/> However, [[Norman G. Barrier]] claims the paper was established in 1883.<ref name=":0" /> The newspaper was founded through the joint-efforts of Gurmukh Singh, Jhanda Singh, and Ditt Singh, after the three had established the Khalsa Press in 1883.<ref name=":0" /> Maharaja [[Hira Singh Nabha|Hira Singh]] of [[Nabha State]] aided with the establishment of the Khalsa Press.<ref name=":0224">{{Cite book |last=Grewal |first=J. S. |title=Master Tara Singh in Indian History: Colonialism, Nationalism, and the Politics of Sikh Identity |date=March 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199089840 |edition=Online |pages=36–61 |chapter=2 - Colonial Rule and the Sikhs: (1849–1919) |quote=}}</ref>

It was a weekly [[newspaper]] of the Khalsa Diwan society being published in [[lithography]] and in [[Gurmukhi script]]. Its first two editors were Giani Jhanda Singh [[Faridkot, Punjab|Faridkot]] and Sardar Basant Singh. Another editor who worked on the paper was Mayya Singh.<ref name=":0" /> Later on, it was handed over to [[Giani Ditt Singh]]. The newspaper became a champion of the reformist elements of the contemporary Sikh society.<ref name=":0" />

In the 1 January 1887 new-year issue of the newspaper, it stated the following regarding the management situation of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, being one of the earliest precursory voices of the [[Akali movement|Gurdwara Reform movement]]:<ref name=":02232">{{Cite book |last=Grewal |first=J. S. |title=Master Tara Singh in Indian History: Colonialism, Nationalism, and the Politics of Sikh Identity |date=March 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199089840 |edition=Online |pages=86–103 |chapter=4 - Master Tara Singh in the Akali Movement: (1920–3) |quote=}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=We appeal before the Khalsa community and the Government ... that the present committee for the management of the Golden Temple is neither based on the principles of the Khalsa Panth nor on Government legislation ... The administration is not supposed to interfere in religious matters.|title=Khalsa Akhbar|source=1 January 1887 issue}}

The newspaper continued to be published until 1889. After this, its publication stopped for sometime due to a legal libel suit filed by the [[Amritsar]]i party regarding the publication of a play called ''Swapan''.<ref>[http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/literature/dittsingh.html Biography of Giani Ditt Singh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202203143/http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/literature/dittsingh.html |date=2 February 2019 }} sikh-history.com</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20091003215302/http://www.esikhs.com/articles/giani_ditt_singh.htm Giani Ditt Singh Biography]}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

It resumed publication again on 1 May 1893 with [[Giani Ditt Singh]] as its editor. An experienced scholar and an expert in debates and discussions, he entered into many heated debates with representatives of [[Arya Samaj]]. The revived paper had around 1,000 subscribers.<ref name=":0" />

Giani Ditt Singh was an excellent writer of [[Punjabi people|Punjabi]] prose and poetry and wrote many of his editorials in verse. He was the right-hand man of Bhai Gurmukh Singh and one of the pillars of [[Singh Sabha]] Lahore. He died in 1901. After him, Sardar Maeeya Singh Ahluwalia became the editor of ''Khalsa Akhbar'' and continued until 1905. The newspaper ceased publication in 1905 after the dissolution of Singh Sabha [[Lahore]] and due to some other reasons.<ref name=":0" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/mainpage.jsp?CategoryID=5&Searched=Khalsa+Akhbar&typebox=1 Issues preserved and available for online viewing by the Panjab Digital Library]

[[Category:Defunct weekly newspapers]]
[[Category:History of Sikhism]]
[[Category:Sikhism in Lahore]]
[[Category:Weekly newspapers published in India]]
[[Category:Defunct newspapers published in India]]
[[Category:Punjabi-language newspapers published in India]]
[[Category:Mass media in Lahore]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1886]]
[[Category:Publications disestablished in 1905]]
[[Category:1886 establishments in India]]

Khalsa Akhbar - Revision history

SolomonL12 at 17:40, 31 March 2026