Sardul Singh Kavishar (1886–1963) was an Indian newspaper editor, and a major figure in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

. Born in

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 ...

,. ''forwardbloc.org''. Retrieved 20 June 2021. he was the second president of the

All India Forward Bloc The All India Forward Bloc ( AIFB) is a Left-wing nationalism, left-wing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a Political faction, faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose, and was strongest ...

Education

Educated in Lahore, Kavishar began his public career in 1913, when he launched the English-language newspaper ''Sikh Review''. An early article in the ''Sikh Review'' criticized the demolition of an external city wall during the construction of New Delhi, as the wall had been part of a historic Sikh

gurdwara A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and rel ...

. This led to widespread

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 ...

agitation until the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, at which point that particular issue was considered to be of lessened priority. After the war Kavishar renewed his calls for action, with the result that he was expelled from Delhi. He moved to Lahore and began another newspaper, the ''New Herald''. In 1919, he was arrested and imprisoned for writing against the

Rowlatt Act The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, popularly known as the Rowlatt Act, was a law, applied during the British India period. It was a legislative council act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on 18 March 1919 ...

. He was also the founding member of

Central Sikh League Central Sikh League was a political party of the Sikhs. It was founded in Amritsar on 19 December 1919. The First Leader/President was Sardar Bahadur Sardar Gajjan Singh. History The main objectives and aims of the league were the attainment o ...

Call to rebuild

In 1921, he issued a public call for 100 Sikh volunteers to rebuild the gurdwara's demolished wall, at the cost of their lives if need be. 700 volunteers (including Kavishar himself) turned out. However, before they could leave Lahore for Delhi, word arrived that the Delhi city government had rebuilt the wall. The next month, he was arrested, charged with

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

, and imprisoned for four years for having written about a massacre of Sikh reformists.

Congress

In 1933, he became acting president of the Congress after his predecessor was arrested for participating in

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

. In 1935, he openly opposed the Congress's participation in the Government of India Act, and in 1937 chose to resign his membership in the party after they accepted office in the provinces where they had earned a majority.

Subhas Chandra Bose

In 1939, he joined

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

's ''

'' faction; when Bose left India in 1941, Kavishar became the Bloc's president. As a result, he was arrested, and imprisoned for four years.

Split

When the All India Forward Bloc split in 1948, soon after it had been reorganized, Sardul Singh Kavishar sided with the

anti-Marxist Criticism of Marxism has come from various political ideologies, campaigns and academic disciplines. This includes general intellectual criticism about dogmatism, a lack of internal consistency, criticism related to materialism (both philosoph ...

group led by R.S. Ruiker. At its conference, Kavishar was elected president of Forward Bloc (Ruiker). Soon thereafter, as Ruiker's party dwindled, Kavishar retired from active politics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavishar, Sardul Singh 1886 births 1963 deaths Punjabi Sikhs All India Forward Bloc politicians Indian independence activists from Punjab Province (British India) Politicians from Amritsar 20th-century Indian politicians Writers from British India