Khalsa National Party was formed by Sundar Singh Majithia and Joginder Singh to contest the 1937 Punjab Provincial Assembly election on the issues different from

Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Eternal Party'') is a centre-right Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are ma ...

Background

Sundar Singh Majithia and Joginder Singh were the member of

but due to differences on issues both formed the Khalsa National Party at

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

which was opened for all persons above the age of 21 years, irrespective of their caste and religion.

Organisation and issues

The Central Executive Committee was consisted of not more than 31 members, including president. In each district the office bearers were a president and a secretary and executive committee was consisting of five members which were elected by the district organisations. The five points creed of the party were *To work for the realisation of the ideals of Sikhism. *To work for attainment of Indian Independence. *To work for abolition of Communal Award *To work to unite all sections of the

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

panth. *To work for raising the social and economic standard of the masses.

1937 election

After the passing of

Government of India Act 1935 The Government of India Act 1935 (25 & 26 Geo. 5. c. 42) was an Act of Parliament (UK), act passed by the British Parliament that originally received royal assent in August 1935. It was the longest act that the British Parliament ever enact ...

, Provincial Assembly was setup in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

containing 175 seats. Khalsa National Party also contested the election and won 13 constituencies. Khalsa National Party along with Hindu Election Board joined the hands with Unionist Party and formed the Government. Under the leadership of

Sikandar Hayat Khan '' Khan Bahadur'' Major Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, (5 June 1892 – 26 December 1942), also written Sikandar Hyat-Khan or Sikandar Hyat Khan, was an Indian politician and statesman from the Punjab who served as the Premier of the Punjab, among ...

Sundar Singh Majithia sworn as minister of Development. After the death of Sundar Singh Majithia in April 1941 another Party leader Dasaundha Singh added into the cabinet.

Merger

The death of Sundar Singh Majithia considerably weakened the Party. In 1942 after Sikandar-Baldev Pact KNP leader and minister Dasaundha Singh was removed from the cabinet and

Baldev Singh Baldev Singh (,) (11 July 1902 – 29 June 1961) was an Indian Sikh political leader, he was an Indian independence movement leader and the first Defence Minister of India. Moreover, he represented the Punjabi Sikh community in the processes o ...

joined in the cabinet. In

1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly election 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

party failed to get even a single seat. After this most of its members joined Shiromani Akali Dal.K. C. Gulati, The Akalis:Past and Present.

References

{{Reflist Political parties in India Political parties established in 1935 Political parties disestablished in 1945 1935 establishments in India 1945 disestablishments in India