Arur Singh Shergill
Arur Singh Shergill | |
|---|---|
Shergill in 1920 | |
| Sarbarah | |
| In office 1 July 1902 – 29 August 1920 | |
| Preceded by | Jawala Singh |
| Succeeded by | Teja Singh Bhuchar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1865 |
| Died | 1926 |
| Children |
|
| Parent |
|
Arur Singh Shergill (1865 – 1926) was a Sikh magistrate and civil judge who served as the manager of Darbar Sahib and the Akal Takht, as a sarbarah appointed by the British Raj from 1902 to 1920.[1]
Early life and career
Arur Singh Shergill was born in Naushehra Nangli, Amritsar, British India to a Sikh family of Shergill clan in 1865.[2] His father Deputy Inspector Harnam Singh died when he was four years of age. Being a minor, his property was brought under the Court of Wards to be administered by Gulab Singh Bhagowalia and Ajit Singh Attari till 1885. He was educated at the Government High School in Amritsar.[3]
In 1888, Shergill became an honorary magistrate of second class with powers over 133 villages of Kathu Nangal police station. Later he became a magistrate of first class in 1907 for the same district. He was also the honorary civil judge in Amritsar.[4]
Sarbarah
Shergill was appointed a sarbarah to manage Darbar Sahib and the Akal Takht on 1 July 1902.[5] He was appointed by Esquire Maclagan, Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, to replace Colonel Jawala Singh.[6] On 2 May 1905, Shergill removed idols/images from the Darbar Sahib and prohibited the entry of Brahmins within the premises.[7][8] This action was supported by the Tat Khalsa faction of the Singh Sabha movement, however the Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj, and other prominent organizations contested the move.[8] There would be a petition following the action signed by around 13,000 persons dispatched to the colonial British administration requesting that images be reinstated in the precincts of the shrine.[8]
Subsequent to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919, Shergill honored Reginald Dyer, the general who ordered the massacre, with a siropa. He thanked Dyer for their protection of the Darbar Sahib complex.[9] According to Mohinder Singh's The Akali Movement, Arur Singh discussed with Dyer about the possibility of him becoming a Sikh at the siropa ceremony but Dyer declined on the basis of being unable to keep long-hair as a British official and giving-up smoking cigarettes.[10]
After being pressured by the Sikhs to resign, Shergill gave his resignation on 29 August 1920.[11]
Honours
A Companion (CIE) in 1913 and a Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) in 1921, two classes of the Order of the Indian Empire were awarded to Shergill.[12]
Family and legacy
During the Punjab insurgency, the Khalistani militant outfit Dasmesh Khalsa set on-fire the samadh of Arur Singh in Naushehra Nangli in May 1984, fired upon the complex, and issued a letter to his familial relatives warning them that traitors to the Sikhs "would not be spared".[13]
Simranjit Singh Mann is Arur Singh's grandson.[10] Shergill's maternal grandson, pro-Khalistan leader Simranjit Singh Mann, the president of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) apologised in 2001 for the honour given to Dyer by his maternal grandfather.[14] Mann also justified Shergill's decision in 2022 by saying, "he did it to save the Golden Temple from bombing on the advice of then principal of Khalsa College G. A. Wathen."[15]
References
- ^ Singh, Master Hari (1983). Agrarian Scene in British Punjab. Delhi: People's Publishing House. p. 108.
- ^ Gazetteer of the Amritsar district 1883-1884. Amritsar: Compiled and published under the authority of the Punjab government. 1883. p. 27. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Griffin, Lepel H. (1865). The Punjab Chiefs. Lahore: T. C. McCarthy Chronicle Press. p. 288.
- ^ Griffin, Lepel. H (1939). Chiefs and families of note in the Punjab Vol. 1 (1 ed.). Lahore: Government Printing. pp. 440–441. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Singh, Harjeet (2009). Faith & Philosophy of Sikhism. Delhi: Kalpaz Publications. p. 21. ISBN 978-81-7835-721-8. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Myrvold, Kristina (2 December 2024). Sikh News in India, 1864-1924: Colonial Reports on Vernacular Newspapers of Punjab Volume Two: Religious Places, Practices, and Relations. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-70708-5. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
- ^ Snehi, Yogesh (24 April 2019). Spatializing Popular Sufi Shrines in Punjab: Dreams, Memories, Territoriality. New York: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-429-51563-7. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ a b c Oberoi, Harjot Singh (15 December 1994). The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. University of Chicago Press. pp. 323–326. ISBN 9780226615936.
- ^ Collett, Nigel (15 October 2006). The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer. A&C Black. p. 292. ISBN 978-1-85285-575-8. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ a b Bharti, Vishav (16 July 2022). "Simranjit Singh Mann defends grandfather who honoured General Reginald Dyer". The Tribune. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
- ^ Report of the Guru-ka-Bagh Congress Inquiry Committee. Amritsar: Indian National Congress. 1924.
- ^ Debrett, John (1971). Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. p. 2181. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ "May 18, 1984, Forty Years Ago: Nihang Priest Killed". Indian Express. 18 May 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
- ^ Sethi, Chitleen Kaur (1 January 2017). "Pushed to the margins, Simranjit Mann carrying legacy of a lost cause". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Bharti, Vishav (16 July 2022). "Simranjit Singh Mann defends grandfather who honoured General Reginald Dyer". The Tribune. Retrieved 14 December 2022.