Akhar Seva of Humanity

Akhar Seva of Humanity is a non-profit based in Bangalore and Mumbai that works with Sikligar Sikhs. The Hindustan Times described the Sikligar in 2013 as Sikhs who follow Guru Nanak, keep their hair uncut, speak Sikligari rather than Punjabi, and descend from a tribe of ironsmiths from Marwar. It reported that after the British banned arms manufacture following the 1857 uprising many lost their livelihood, and that the community had long had little access to schools or gurdwaras. The fullest published account of Akhar Seva is that report from Jalgaon district in Maharashtra, republished by SikhNet.

What it did, as reported in 2013

• Education, housing and religious learning were its three fields of work.
• It helped residents of the Tamapur dera build a cluster of 30 brick-and-cement houses, replacing tin huts, and had begun building concrete homes for families in Chalisgaon.
• At Bhusawal it offered free after-school tuition and taught young people to read the Guru Granth Sahib. The paper said children there were taking over the duties of priests in their gurdwaras.
• It trained a 23-year-old woman to teach at the dera school in Bhusawal.

The report named Kulwant Singh as president of its Mumbai chapter and did not name a founder.

Where it stands today

No later independent report on the organisation has been found, so its present programmes are not described here.