Themes

Morchas

From Guru ka Bagh to the farmers on Delhi's borders: the Panth's way of resisting.

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1. May 1913 to 1921The British demolish the Rakab Ganj wall and Sikhs agitate for yearsIn May 1913 the wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj was pulled down to straighten a road to the new Viceregal Lodge. Sikhs protested for years until the wall was rebuilt.
2. 1920-1925Akali movement for gurdwara reformFrom 1920 to 1925 Sikhs took their historic gurdwaras back from hereditary priests and government control through mass morchas, ending in the Sikh Gurdwaras Act 1925 and the SGPC.
3. Nov 1921-Jan 1922Keys Morcha (Morcha Chabian) over the Golden Temple keysIn November 1921 the government seized the keys of the Golden Temple treasury. Mass arrests followed, and on 19 January 1922 the keys were handed to Baba Kharak Singh at Sri Akal Takht Sahib.
4. Aug 1922Guru Ka Bagh MorchaFrom Aug 1922 Akali jathas were beaten without raising a hand; 5,605 Sikhs went to jail before the garden was leased in Nov 1922 and the prisoners freed in Apr 1923.
5. Jul 1923-Aug 1925Jaito Morcha for the Maharaja of Nabha and the Gangsar akhand pathAfter the Maharaja of Nabha was forced to abdicate in July 1923, Akali jathas marched to Jaito for two years, were fired on in February 1924, and ended the morcha in August 1925.
6. Feb 21, 1924Jaito Morcha: firing at Gurdwara Tibbi Sahib19 killed by official count; Akali figures far higher
7. Oct 1, 1953Andhra State formed linguisticallySets precedent Punjab excluded from
8. 1955; 1960-61Punjabi Suba Morchas12,000 jailed in 1955; 30,000 to 57,129 in 1960-61
9. Aug 15, 1961Master Tara Singh's fastEnded after 48 days, persuaded by mediators and the offer of a commission
10. Aug 1965Fateh Singh announces fast with self-immolation threatMaximum escalation of Punjabi Suba demand
11. Dec 27, 1966Sant Fateh Singh ends second fastEnded on assurances; Chandigarh still withheld
12. Nov 22, 1967Master Tara Singh diesEnd of Partition-era Akali leadership
13. Oct 30, 1972Sant Fateh Singh diesEnd of the Sant Fateh Singh era
14. Jun 25, 1975Emergency declaredCongress central authoritarian crisis
15. Jul 9, 1975Akali Save Democracy MorchaAbout 40,000 court arrest by January 1977
16. Mar 1977Emergency ends; post-Emergency electionsAkali-Janata victory
17. Aug 4, 1982Dharam Yudh Morcha launchedThe Akali morcha for the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, moved to Amritsar on 4 Aug 1982; arrest totals are estimated at 150,000 to over 250,000.
18. Oct 2015Bargari Beadbi: torn angs foundPanth-wide mobilisation
19. Nov 10, 2016Supreme Court opinion against Punjab on the SYL canalOn Nov 10, 2016 five Supreme Court judges held Punjab's 2004 law ending its water agreements invalid, reviving the SYL fight that began with the 1982 Kapoori Morcha.
20. Jun 1 to Dec 9, 2018Bargari Insaaf Morcha: a 192-day sit-in for justice over the 2015 beadbi and the Behbal Kalan firingA sit-in at Bargari demanded arrests for the 2015 beadbi and for the Behbal Kalan firing. It was wound up on Dec 9, 2018 as ministers announced steps, and its leaders split over the decision.
21. Sep 2020Three farm laws passedTrigger for the morcha
22. Nov 2020Farmers' morcha at Delhi bordersSinghu, Tikri, Ghazipur; 700+ farmers died
23. Jan 26, 2021Nishan Sahib at the Red FortPretext for "Khalistani" campaign
24. Oct 3, 2021Lakhimpur Kheri: farmers killed at a protest, a minister's son on trialOn Oct 3, 2021 eight people died at Tikonia in Lakhimpur Kheri after SUVs ran into protesting farmers. The Union minister's son Ashish Mishra is the main accused and was still on trial in Aug 2026.
25. Nov 2021Farm laws repealedLargest peaceful Sikh victory over the state
26. Feb 13, 2024Second farmers' morcha, Shambhu & KhanauriThe morcha returns
27. Nov 26, 2024Jagjit Singh Dallewal begins fast unto deathMonths-long fast for farmers
28. Jun 2026Punjab farmers protest power cuts and a sugar mill transfer, June 2026Kisan Mazdoor Morcha sit-ins over farm power supply in the paddy season, and a long Samyukt Kisan Morcha sit-in at Sheron against the transfer of a cooperative sugar mill.

Also in this theme

• All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF)The Sikh student federation formed in 1944. Led by Bhai Amrik Singh until he died at Blue Star in 1984, it was banned in 1984, split in 1986, and joined the 2013 Geneva petition on 1984.
• AmritsarThe Sikh holy city, founded by Guru Ram Das in 1577. Home of Sri Harmandir Sahib, Sri Akal Takht Sahib and the SGPC; scene of Jallianwala Bagh (1919) and Operation Blue Star (1984).
• BBaba Kharak SinghPresident of the SGPC and leader of the Keys Morcha (Morcha Chabian), 1921 to 1922; president of the Central Sikh League
• BBaba Wasakha SinghGhadar Party leader; builder of the Stockton gurdwara; Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib (1934)
• ABhai Amrik SinghPresident of the All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF); Damdami Taksal leader
• GBhai Gurbaksh Singh KhalsaSikh activist from Kurukshetra; led hunger strikes for the release of Bandi Singhs
• BBhajan LalChief Minister of Haryana (1979 to 1986 and 1991 to 1996)
• ChandigarhPlanned city and Union Territory, the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana since 1966. Its transfer to Punjab, demanded in 1978 and promised in 1985, has never happened.
• Darbara SinghCongress Chief Minister of Punjab, 1980 to 1983; Rajya Sabha member 1984 to 1990
• DDeep SidhuPunjabi actor and activist; founder of Waris Punjab De
• Did the Akali leadership invite or accept the army action of June 1984?Some Sikh voices say the Akali leaders invited or helped the Army in. The record shows talks until late May, the leaders inside the complex, and a disputed charge that they surrendered.
• Does Article 25 of the Indian Constitution treat Sikhs as Hindus?Explanation II counts Sikhs as Hindus for one sub-clause only, yet Sikh bodies see absorption. The text, the Hindu Marriage Act, a 2002 Commission's advice to delete it, and the Panthic answer.
• Government of IndiaThe Union executive under the Constitution; its Punjab record runs from the 1966 reorganisation and Blue Star through the 1985 Accord to the farm laws.
• Gurdwara Rakabganj SahibGurdwara beside Parliament in New Delhi where Guru Tegh Bahadur was cremated in 1675; scene of the 1913 to 1920 wall agitation, the 1 November 1984 siege and, since 2017, the Wall of Truth.
• IndiaThe republic Punjab has belonged to since 1947. About 20.8 million Sikhs, 1.7 percent of its people, live in it. The Panth's disputes with the state run through this history.
• Is the Anandpur Sahib Resolution a secessionist document or a federal demand?The Government of India called it secession in 1984, then signed a 1985 accord recording that it sits inside the Constitution. The texts and the Sarkaria referral show what each side relies on.
• JJagjit Singh DallewalPresident of BKU (Ekta Sidhupur); convener of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political)
• JJathedar Jagdev Singh TalwandiAkali Dal leader; former president of the Shiromani Akali Dal and of the SGPC
• Jawaharlal NehruFirst Prime Minister of India, 1947 to 1964
• JJoginder Singh UgrahanPresident of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan); farm leader in the 2020 to 2021 morcha
• KK. M. PanikkarForeign Minister of Patiala and later Dewan of Bikaner; member of the States Reorganisation Commission, 1953 to 1955; ambassador to China, 1950 to 1952
• Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM)Punjab farm-union platform convened by Sarwan Singh Pandher. It held Shambhu and Khanauri with SKM (Non-Political) in 2024 and 2025, and led the June 2026 protests against the power utility PSPCL.
• LLakha SidhanaFarmers' protest activist; SAD (Amritsar) candidate for Bathinda in 2024
• LLal Bahadur ShastriHome Minister of India, 1961 to 1963; Prime Minister of India, 9 June 1964 to 11 January 1966
• LudhianaA major city of Punjab, founded by the Lodis in 1480. Gurdwara Gau Ghat marks Guru Nanak's visit, the Akalis met here in 1965 and 1978, and trains were attacked near it in June 1991.
• MMahant Narain DasUdasi mahant of Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib; convicted for the massacre of 20 February 1921
• MMahatma GandhiLeader of the Indian National Congress
• Master Akali DalThe part of the Akali Dal that stayed with Master Tara Singh after Sant Fateh Singh set up a rival Dal in July 1962. It lost the January 1965 SGPC elections, 45 seats to 90.
• MMaster Sundar Singh LyallpuriAkali pioneer, journalist and founder-editor of the daily Akali
• MMaster Tara SinghSGPC and Shiromani Akali Dal leader; Sikh spokesman at Partition; leader of the early Punjabi Suba demand
• Nankana SahibGuru Nanak's birthplace, once Talwandi Rai Bhoe, now a district in Pakistan's Punjab. It holds Gurdwara Janam Asthan and was the scene of the Saka Nankana Sahib massacre of 20 February 1921.
• NNarendra ModiPrime Minister of India since 26 May 2014; Chief Minister of Gujarat 2001 to 2014; leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party
• NNavreet SinghFarmer from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh; died at ITO, Delhi, during the 26 January 2021 tractor rally
• Panja SahibGurdwara at Hasan Abdal in Pakistan with the stone bearing Guru Nanak's handprint; scene of the 1922 train sacrifice of Bhai Pratap Singh and Bhai Karam Singh; a Baisakhi site for Indian pilgrims.
• PParkash Singh BadalFive-time Chief Minister of Punjab; patriarch of the Shiromani Akali Dal
• PPartap Singh KaironChief Minister of Punjab (1956 to 1964)
• PProfessor Sahib SinghSikh scholar and teacher; author of Gurbani Viakaran and Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan
• PunjabLand of the five rivers, divided in 1947 and again in 1966. In Indian Punjab Sikhs are about 58 percent of the people, the only Indian state where they are a majority.
• Qaumi Insaaf MorchaSikh-led protest movement holding a continuous sit-in on the Mohali and Chandigarh border since 7 January 2023 for the release of the Bandi Singhs and justice for the 2015 beadbi cases.
• Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM)The platform of farmer unions that led the year-long 2020-21 protest at the Delhi borders. It split over politics in 2022 and again in 2024, and a rival wing now leads the MSP agitation.
• FSant Fateh SinghAkali leader and holy man; leader of the Punjabi Suba movement; head of the Akali Dal that controlled the SGPC from 1962
• HSant Harchand Singh LongowalPresident of the Shiromani Akali Dal (1980 to 1985)
• JSant Jarnail Singh BhindranwaleHead of the Damdami Taksal; Dharam Yudh Morcha leader; killed in Operation Blue Star
• SSardar Hukam SinghAkali leader, Constituent Assembly member, editor of The Spokesman, Speaker of the Lok Sabha 1962 to 1967
• SSardar Sewa Singh ThikriwalaFirst president of the Punjab Riyasti Praja Mandal; Akali leader of Patiala state
• SSardar Teja Singh SamundriAkali leader, founder-member and vice-president of the SGPC; builder of Sikh schools
• SSarwan Singh PandherGeneral secretary, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee Punjab; convener, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha
• Shiromani Akali DalThe Sikh political party founded on 14 December 1920 as the Akali movement's task force. It led the morchas and the Punjabi Suba campaign and is now split into rival factions.
• Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)The elected body that runs the historic gurdwaras of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, born of the Akali reform movement of 1920 and governed by the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925.
• SialkotPakistani border city where Guru Nanak met the Sufi Hamza Ghaus under a ber tree; its Gurdwara Babe di Ber was the scene of the first agitation to reform shrine management, in 1913 to 1920.
• Sidhu Moose WalaPunjabi singer; Congress candidate in the 2022 Punjab election
• SSir Malcolm HaileyGovernor of the Punjab (1924 to 1928)
• SSmita NarulaHaub Distinguished Professor of International Law, Pace University; human rights scholar
• Waris Punjab DeThe Punjabi Sikh organisation Deep Sidhu founded in 2021 and Amritpal Singh took over in 2022. Its leader won Khadoor Sahib from jail in 2024 and has been in custody since April 2023.
• Was Operation Blue Star unavoidable, and why was it timed for the Shaheedi purab of Guru Arjan Dev?A last resort and a coincidence of dates, says the government. Near-settlements, Army officers who called it unnecessary and pilgrims in the complex, says the record. The sources side by side.
• Was Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale a separatist who demanded Khalistan?His recorded words: Khalistan not asked for, not opposed, and accepted if Delhi gave it. What the speeches, reporters and the Anandpur Sahib Resolution show, and what each side says.
• Was the 2020 to 2021 farmers' protest a 'Khalistani' movement?Officials said Khalistanis had infiltrated it; the reports cite no evidence, the Red Fort flag was a Nishan Sahib, and Sikh bodies say it was about the laws. Bhai Ajmer Singh says why Punjab rose.
• Was the Punjabi Suba demand linguistic or religious?The 1955 Commission read it as a communal demand in language terms; Akali leaders said language only. The census, their own history and Bhai Ajmer Singh's counsel show what the record supports.
• Was the Rajiv-Longowal Accord a betrayal or a lost opportunity?Signed July 1985, never fully kept: Chandigarh did not move. Its negotiators blame Akali rivals; the 1986 Sarbat Khalsa called it a breach of trust. What the text and record show, and each answer.
• Who was behind the 2015 Bargari beadbi and the Behbal Kalan firing?Three agencies gave three answers on who did the 2015 Bargari beadbi; the charges over Behbal Kalan are denied. No court has decided. The record in order, and the Panthic answer.
• Whose capital is Chandigarh?A Union Territory since 1966, claimed by Punjab and Haryana. The Centre promised it to Punjab in 1970 and 1985 but tied it to land for Haryana. The record in order, and what each side says.
• Whose water is it? Punjab's river waters and the SYL canalHaryana cites the 1976, 1981 and 1987 shares and three Supreme Court rulings; Punjab and its Panthic bodies cite riparian right and falling water. The treaty, tribunal, courts and the Panthic answer.
• Why are Bandi Singhs still jailed after completing their sentences?Life terms with no end date, remission by discretion, and a Centre, state and UT chain of who decides. The 2019 promise to free eight, the named cases, and the Panthic answer.