The Chief Khalsa Diwan is a 117-year-old Sikh organisation, which is the central Organization of various

Singh Sabha The Singh Sabha Movement was a Sikh movement that began in Punjab in the 1870s in reaction to the proselytising activities of Christians, Hindu reform movements (Brahmo Samajis, Arya Samaj) and Muslims (Aligarh movement and Ahmadiyah). The movem ...

s spread across

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, India. Unlike the

Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; "Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee") is an organization in India responsible for the management of Gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the unio ...

, the Diwan is an apolitical body and only concerns itself with religious, educational and cultural issues. At present, the Chief Khalsa Diwan Charitable Society runs * 48 schools * 3 colleges * Orphanages * Old age homes * Khalsa Advocate - newsletter * Hospitals and clinics The organisation was founded with the active efforts of

Bhai Vir Singh Bhai Vir Singh (5 December 1872 – 10 June 1957) was an Indian poet, scholar, and theologian of the Sikh revival movement, playing an important part in the renewal of Punjabi literary tradition. Singh's contributions were so important and in ...

History

The Chief Khalsa Diwan was established in 1902 and setting up the

Central Khalsa Orphanage The Central Khalsa Orphanage, also known as the Central Khalsa Yatimkhana, is an orphanage for boys in Amritsar, India, established in 1904 by the Chief Khalsa Diwan. It is located on a plot of land covering five acres and has a secondary school, s ...

was one of its first tasks. The orphanage opened on 11 April 1904. As with other Sikh organisations, the Chief Khalsa Dewan strongly opposed the partition of India, which many Sikhs thought would create an environment of possible persecution.

Presidents

* S. Sunder Singh Majithia (1967-1982) * S. Sujan Singh Sadana * S. Kirpal Singh (former M.P.) remained the president for 17 consecutive years until his death, without any selection (through election), because of his goodwill with other members. * Charanjit singh Chadha * Dhanraj singh * Dr. Santokh Singh * S. Nirmal Singh (2019 - 11th March, 2022) * Dr.

Inderbir Singh Nijjar Inderbir Singh Nijjar is an Indian politician and the MLA from Amritsar South Assembly constituency. He is current President of Chief Khalsa Diwan. He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. MLA The Aam Aadmi Party gained a strong 79% majority in ...

(15th March, 2022 onwards)

Honorary secretary

* S. Sant Singh * S. Bhag Singh Ankhi * S. Santokh Singh Sethi * S. Narinder Singh Khurana * S. Swinder Singh Kagthunangal, former M.L.A. (current) * S. Surinder Singh, (Rumalaye Wale, current)

Local committees and presidents

The Chief Khalsa Diwan Charitable Society has numerous branches, each autonomous but directly responsible to the Diwan Headquarters at Amritsar. *

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 Indian census, 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the ...

* Tarn Taran

References

External links

* {{Sikh politics Sikh organisations Organizations established in 1903 Organisations based in Punjab, India Amritsar 1903 establishments in India