Sadhu Singh Bhaura ( pa, ਸਾਧੂ ਸਿੰਘ ਭੌਰਾ) (6 June 1905 – 7 March 1984) was a Sikh missionary who served as the 21st Jathedar of Akal Takht from 1964 to 1980.

Family background and early life

Sadhu Singh Saini was born on 6 June 1905, at Chakk No. 7, a village in Saini Bar region of Lyallpur district (now in Pakistan). His father was Bhai Ran Singh and mother Mai Atam Kaur. There were about 15 exclusively Saini or Shoorsaini yaduvanshi kshatriya owned villages in Saini Bar settlement and all of them had relocated there from Doaba and Gurdaspur region. The villages were named as Chakks and each Chakk had number allotted to them in official records, though some of them were named after predominant clan names or village head, examples being Chakk Naura-Bhaura and Chak Bhola. Chaudhari Bhola Ram

Saini Saini () is a caste of North India who were traditionally landowners (zamindars) and farmers. Sainis claim to be descendants of a king, Shurasena, as well as of Krishna and Porus, and to be related to the ancient Shoorsaini clan,'' "The Sain ...

of Chakk 178 was the

Zaildar Zaildar was the title of the grand jagirdars (landlords) of the area, who were in charge of a Zail which was an administrative unit of group of villages during the British Indian Empire. The Settlement Officer, with the advice of the Deputy Co ...

of the entire Saini Bar region in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad) district of British Punjab. During the partition of

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 ...

, his family migrated from the Saini Bar settlement of

Lyallpur Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...

to east

. He was highly educated and he could speak and write 7 languages, namely Hindi, English, Urdu, French, Arbi and Punjabi. He always encouraged everyone to do the highest level of education. He loved music as well and got his eldest daughter to master in Sitar from Lucknow university. His youngest born Dr. Balbir Singh Bhaura who is an eye surgeon in Jalandhar presently, runs a free eye camp every year on the death anniversary of his father.

Political background

After matriculating from Khalsa High School, Lyallpur (where

Master Tara Singh Master Tara Singh (24 June 1885 – 22 November 1967) was an Indian Sikh political and religious figure in the first half of the 20th century. He was instrumental in organising the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee and guiding the Sikhs d ...

, later a leading figure in

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

politics, was the headmaster), he joined police service and served at Quetta from 1923 to 1925 before resigning to take part in the Akali agitation for Gurdwara reform. From 1926 to 1928, he studied at the Shahid Sikh Missionary College, Amritsar, to train as a missionary. From 1928 to 1964, he headed the Sikh preaching centres at Aligarh and Hapur, in Uttar Pradesh, where he is said to have initiated nearly half a million persons according to

Sikh rites The Sikhs engage in various rites and services. Some Sikh rites are meant to be practiced in a ''gurdwara'' congregation, while others are practiced at home or in other contexts. Ardas ''Ardas'' is a formal prayer recited at the end of most Sik ...

, among them mostly Vanjara Sikhs of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. He was a member of the executive committee of the

Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali 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 many ...

from 1955 to 1960 and took part in several of the political agitations launched by the party. He was Jathedar of Takhat Sri Kesgarh, Anandpur Sahib, from 1961 to 1964.

Elevation as Jathedar of Akal Takht

In 1964, Sadhu Singh Bhaura was elevated to the position of Jathedar of Sri

Akal Takht The Akal Takht ("Throne of the Timeless One") is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikhs. It is located in the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India. The Akal Takht (originally called Akal Bunga) was built by ...

, the highest seat of religious authority and legislation for the Sikhs. He attracted wide public notice when, on 10 June 1978, he issued a hukamnama or edict calling upon all Sikhs to boycott socially the neo

Nirankari Nirankari ( pa, ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰੀ, ''lit.'' "formless one") is a sect of Sikhism.Harbans Singh, Editor-in-Chief (201Nirankaris Encyclopedia of Sikhism Volume III, Punjabi University, Patiala, pages 234–235 It was a reform movement found ...

sect. In 1980, Jathedar Sadhu Singh Bhaura, in an effort to avert a vertical split in the Akali Dal, formed a seven member committee of senior party leaders to function as collegiate executive, but soon after himself resigned on health grounds and retired to live with his sons in Jalandhar where he died on 7 March 1984.

References

*Dilgeer, Harjinder Singh, The Akal Takhat. Jalandhar, 1980 *Sukhdial Singh, Akal Takhat Sahib. Patiala, 1984 {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh Bhaura, Jathedar Sadhu 1905 births 1984 deaths History of Sikhism People from Faisalabad Sikh missionaries Punjabi people Indian Sikhs Jathedars of Akal Takht