History
Urban Legend:
Master Tara Singh's Kirpan
Dr Bhai HARBANS LAL
My attention was recently drawn to a misleading reference to Master Tara Singh, which I find surfaces again and again, and strangely remains uncorrected, to the point that it has become an urban legend.
It is the story describing the Sikh politcal leader during the upheaval of the 1947 Partition of Punjab, by stating what sounds like a fact:
"On March 3, 1947, he unsheathed his kirpan and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans in front of a volatile crowd."
In its repeated re-telling, it gets further embellished with the allegation that Master ji then proceeded to tear the Muslim League / Pakistani flag on that day.
This legend is oft cited as a key conflagration point for the inter-communal riots which were the hall-mark of the Muslim League's campaign to carve out a Pakistan at all cost, and the general mayhem that followed.
I am deeply concerned over the oft-repeated relating of this event and the reliance then placed on the misinformation as if it is a historical fact.
I was assured by Master Tara Singh himself that this story was incorrect, and that the press had distorted the reporting of that event. Later, others confirmed what Master ji told me.
Let me explain.
Soon after Partition, the Goverment of the newly-minted India wanted to impose a ban on carrying weapons in East Punjab. That would include Sikhs and prevent them from wearing or carrying the kirpan, their article of faith.
We Sikhs immediately protested against such a banning of the kirpan. To underline our protest, we intiated a campaign asking all Sikhs to carry the kirpan and court arrest if necessary.
At that time, I asked Master ji if I too should wear a kirpan as part of this protest, keeping in mind that though I am a Sikh, I am a sehajdhari and do not display the external indicia of a Khalsa Sikh. He replied in the affirmative and asked me if I owned a kirpan. When I told him I didn't, he asked his brother to fetch a particular kirpan.
This happened at his Putlighar residence in Amritsar. I was then a student of Pharmacy in the Medical College and the Khalsa College at the time. I had elected to reside in the Sikh Missionary College complex during those days.
When the kirpan was brought to Master Tara Singh, he very kindly and ceremoniously presented it to me, saying that I should feel free to carry it in public. Which I did for a while. I felt flattered and honored to receive this gift from the Sikh leader of the time.
It was, of course, a three-foot long, full-size kirpan with a special etching on it. When I showed it to Sardar Rawel Singh, then the General Secretary of the SGPC, and told him about my carrying the kirpan in public, he supported it too. He thought that Master ji was expressing his great admiration for me by gifting a treasured possession to me in this manner.
Master ji then told me that the kirpan he gave me was the one he had carried in Lahore on March 3, 1947 - which, he added with a smile, was supposed to be the one he had allegedly unsheathed to tear down the Pakistan flag. It was then that he told me that no such thing had occured. He had indeed held the kirpan in his hand, in the manner in which orators then did, while he gave his passionate speech, but had not, by any stretch of the imagination, done anything to insult the Muslim League flag or even touch it in any manner.
The story had been made up by politicians with vested interests with the goal of inciting the populace, and picked up and carried thereafter by overzealous news reporters. The story was even promoted by some of Master ji’s own Akali followers who erroneously felt that it would promote their cause of opposing the creation of Pakistan.
Master ji did not desire to flare up animosity among the religious communities, least of all between the Muslims and Sikhs. It was in the interest, however, of the Hindus to take this fib all the way because it would achieve what they desperatelt desired: to put a wedge between the Muslims and Sikhs and push the Sikhs into the "India" camp.
After my conversation with Master ji, as described above, I confirmed Master ji’s disclaimer with two other colleagues from the All India Sikh Students’ Federation ("AISSF"). They were in Lahore and were eye-witnesses to the event in question.
Long thereafter, during one of my trips to Pakistan, I met a grand-daughter (I think, though I am not entirely sure of the exact relationship) of Sir Khizr Hayat Khan Tiwana in Lahore in 2006. She seemed to know me from the days of AISSF, but I did not recall meeting her then. We talked about Sir Tiwana resigning from the Unionist ministry and the riots that followed. She also told me that the press reports of Master Tara Singh tearing the Pakistani Flag or the flag of the Punjab Assembly were incorrect.
My account should put to rest the erroneous reporting of Master Tara Singh’s purported inciting of the Sikh-Muslim riots in 1947.
May 31, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), May 31, 2012, 9:58 AM.
This misconception was deliberately propagated and sadly continues to this day. Thank you, Bhai Harban Lal ji, for reminding us that it was no more than propaganda.
2: Gurjender singh (Maryland, U.S.A.), May 31, 2012, 11:53 AM.
"On March 3, 1947, he unsheathed his kirpan and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans in front of a volatile crowd." I used to heard this phrase about Mater Tara Singh ji often but never read it in any book. Thank you, Dr. Harbans Lal ji.
3: N. Singh (Canada), May 31, 2012, 12:25 PM.
So it would appear that this strategy of deliberately propagating misinformation about the Sikhs has been used by the Hindus and the media since pre-independence and is nothing new! They are the masters of deception and cunning, That is their legacy to the world.
4: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), May 31, 2012, 12:43 PM.
I have heard about that incident as well. I believe it is usually linked with the butchering of Rawalpindi Sikhs by Muslims in retaliation for what Master Tara Singh had allegedly done. One thing I always found interesting when reading history texts is the fact that Master Tara Singh's alleged actions are given more weight than the massacre of innocent Sikhs which followed, almost as if it was an inevitable outcome of his actions. Historical revisionism has not been too kind to us Sikhs.
5: Harpreet Singh (Delhi, India), May 31, 2012, 3:22 PM.
How much Sikhs have suffered and suffering due to rumours as also mis-reporting of facts/incidents but we will never attempt to tell the world the true picture but instead spent our money on unproductive things. As in the Indian context no news channel, no TV channel, no informative programmes/talks by reputed, educated, true Sikhs like S. Bhagwant Singh Dilawari, Dr. J. S. Neki, etc. on religious channels, no scholarship/incentive for Sikh students joining media courses, etc. Most tragic thing is that most of us now do not follow the way prescribed by gurbani.
6: Raj (Canada), May 31, 2012, 11:55 PM.
Thank you, Bhai Harbans Lal ji, for clarifying the historic mistake exaggerated by the "Mahashay" group of newspapers of Lahore. They glorified this incident by calling Master Tara Singh "mard-e-kaum" or some crap like that. Anyway, you should compile your articles into a book. I printed your Haripur Hazara articles and sent them to my teacher and aunt in India, who grew up in Haripur. She misses the city even today.
7: R. Singh (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada), June 01, 2012, 1:59 AM.
I have often thought that what Master Tara Singh allegedly did was very irresponsible. I am glad that the record has been set straight by Bhai Harbans Lal.
8: Gurbir Kaur (United Kingdom.), June 01, 2012, 5:13 AM.
Many thanks.
9: Ishtiaq Ahmed (Pakistan), June 01, 2012, 10:14 AM.
To go into a denial mode nearly 65 years later of one of the most central incidents in the partition of the Punjab can only be regretted.
10: Ravinder Singh (Mumbai, India), June 02, 2012, 11:42 AM.
I think it is high time that the Sikh, Muslim and Hindu communities of the subcontinent come together and erect a monument, accepting the fact that the violence of Partition was a crime against God, religion and humanity.
11: Bikramjit Singh (London, United Kingdom), June 03, 2012, 5:59 AM.
I am glad that Bhai Harbans Lal has laid this particular piece of propaganda to rest. This incident has been used to justify the massacre of thousands of Sikhs and Hindus in the Rawalpindi area few days after the supposed incident took place. There is a dire need to keep a watch on books and television documentaries made about Partition. One documentary shown on British TV a few years ago presented these massacres as a attempt by Muslims to strike first after they had seen Sikh preparations for a coming civil war! I am glad to see that Ishtiaq Ahmed in his new book accepts that the Muslims were the first to use large scale violence to achieve their political objectives. It is ironic that Master Tara Singh is blamed for an incident which is then used to justify the violence that caused the deaths of scores of his close relatives as well as the burning of his ancestral village.
12: Guravtar (Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.A.), June 03, 2012, 11:41 AM.
Excellent piece of accurate history. Master Tara Singh did give a passionate speech while holding the sword in his hands (as was the traditional way of carrying it). It followed a parade (jaloos) by the Sikhs shouting slogans against the Partition of the Punjab. Is that speech recorded or available anywhere, other than in the newspapers of the time? [EDITOR: Does any one have the text of the speech? Please share.]
13: Amarjeet Singh (Napier, New Zealand.), June 03, 2012, 11:38 PM.
This "urban myth" was probably cooked up to portray Master Tara Singh as a "true Sikh" in Hinduvata terms, depicting him as a sworn and eternal enemy of Muslims. A very good way of hiding the doings of Sucha Nand, Gangu Brahmin, Nehru, Gandhi and Sardar Patel.
14: Ramesh Handoo (Delhi, India), March 12, 2015, 2:54 PM.
Thanks for this clarification about Master Tara Singh and putting to rest the deliberate distortions put forward by those who only wanted to manipulate support for the Partition of Punjab and the subcontinent, and secure Sikh support for a newly-created India.