Khalsa Vidyarthi Sabha (Sikh Students Club)

What it is: The Khalsa Vidyarthi Sabha, also called the Sikh Students Club, was an association of young Sikh men at Amritsar. The text of the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism reproduced by AllAboutSikhs says it was formed in 1891 on the initiative of Dr Sundar Singh Sodhbans and calls it the first of its kind.

What it did: Members met every Saturday, walked to Sri Harmandir Sahib and circled the sarovar singing hymns from Sri Guru Granth Sahib. They also held programmes on the anniversaries of the Gurus' lives. The same text says the Golden Temple's management least appreciated their fervour.

Key moments

• 1891: the Sabha is formed. The Encyclopaedia's entry on the Sikh Students Federation traces the first Sikh Vidyarthi Sabhas, or Khalsa Clubs, to 1888, so the sources differ on the date and on which came first.
• 5 March 1892: the foundation stone of Khalsa College, Amritsar, is laid. Teaching began on 22 October 1893.
• September 1893: at the Sabha's annual meeting the students went to Sri Akal Takht Sahib to offer ardas. Bhai Multana Singh Ardasia refused to lead it. The text gives two reasons: the students' sympathy for the Singh Sabha, and their newspaper criticism of the Golden Temple's priests.

Leaders: Dr Sundar Singh Sodhbans is the only name the sources give. No list of office-bearers was found.

Where it stands: The sources opened do not say when the Sabha ended. The Encyclopaedia says Sikh schools later had youth societies called Bhujangi Sabhas, and that the All India Sikh Students Federation was formed at Lahore in 1944 with Sarup Singh, then a senior law student, as president.