Singh Sabha Movement

• The formation of the two Singh Sabha at Amritsar and Lahore in the 1870’s was the beginning of religious reform movement among the Sikhs.
• The setting up of Khalsa College in Amritsar in 1892 helped promote Gurmukhi, Sikh learning and Punjabi literature. The college was set up with help from the British.
• After 1920 the Sikh energy gained momentum when the Akali Movement rose in Punjab. The chief object of the Akalis was to improve the management of the Gurudwaras or Sikh Shrines that were under the control of priests or Mahants who treated them as their private property.
• In 1925, a law was passed which gave the right of managing Gurudwaras to the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee.
• With the aid of this act and by direct action, they freed the sacred places from the control and domination of corrupt Mahants.