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 with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. Born in

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 ...

,President Sardar Sardul Singh Kaveeshar
''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 nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. The party re-established as an independent political party a ...

Education

Educated in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, Kavishar began his public career in 1913, when he launched the English-language

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

''Sikh Review''. An early article in the ''Sikh Review'' criticized the demolition of an external city wall during the construction of

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 ...

, as the wall had been part of a historic Sikh

gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

. This led to widespread

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 ...

agitation until the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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 Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. 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 that applied in British India. It was a legislative council act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on 18 March 1919, indefinitel ...

. 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. The main objectives and aims of the league were the attainment of Indian ...

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 and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...

, 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, professed refusal of a 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 called "civil". Hen ...

. 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 nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperia ...

'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 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 Indian Sikhs All India Forward Bloc politicians Indian independence activists from Punjab (British India) Politicians from Amritsar Punjabi people 20th-century Indian politicians Writers in British India