Arur Singh Shergill CIE KCIE (1865 – 1926) was a Sikh magistrate and civil judge who served as the manager of Darbar Sahib and the Akal Takht, as a sarbarah appointed by the British Raj from 1907 to 1920.[1]
Arur Singh Shergill | |
|---|---|
 Shergill in 1920 | |
| Sarbarah | |
| In office 1907 – 29 August 1920 | |
| Preceded by | Arjan Singh Chahal |
| Succeeded by | Teja Singh Bhuchar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1865 Naushehra Nangli, Amritsar, Punjab |
| Died | 1926 |
| Children |
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| Parent |
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Early life and career
editArur Singh Shergill was born in Naushehra Nangli, Amritsar, British India to a Sikh family of Shergill clan in 1865.[2] His father Deputy Inspector Harnam Singh died when he was four years of age. Being a minor, his property was brought under the Court of Wards to be administered by Gulab Singh Bhagowalia and Ajit Singh Attari till 1885. He was educated at the Government High School in Amritsar.[3]
In 1888, Shergill became an honorary magistrate of second class with powers over 133 villages of Kathu Nangal police station. Later he became a magistrate of first class in 1907 for the same district. He was also the honorary civil judge in Amritsar.[4]
Sarbarah
editShergill was appointed a sarbarah by British Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar to manage Darbar Sahib and the Akal Takht in 1907.[5] In the first week of May 1905, Shergill removed idol from the Darbar Sahib and prohibited the entry of Brahmins within the premises.[6]
Subsequent to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919, Shergill honored Reginald Dyer, the general who ordered the massacre. He thanked Dyer for their protection of the Darbar Sahib complex.[7] Shergill's maternal grandson is a hardcore pro-Khalistan supporter Simranjit Singh Mann, the president of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) apologised in 2001 for the honour given to Dyer by his maternal grandfather.[8] Mann also justified Shergill's decision in 2022 by saying, "he did it to save the Golden Temple from bombing on the advice of then principal of Khalsa College G. A. Wathen."[9]
After being pressured by the Sikhs to resign, Shergill gave his resignation on 29 August 1920.[10]
Honours
editA Companion (CIE) in 1913 and a Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) in 1921, two classes of the Order of the Indian Empire were awarded to Shergill.[11]
References
edit- ^ Singh, Master Hari (1983). Agrarian Scene in British Punjab. Delhi: People's Publishing House. p. 108.
- ^ Gazetteer of the Amritsar district 1883-1884. Amritsar: Compiled and published under the authority of the Punjab government. 1883. p. 27. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Griffin, Lepel H. (1865). The Punjab Chiefs. Lahore: T. C. McCarthy Chronicle Press. p. 288.
- ^ Griffin, Lepel. H (1939). Chiefs and families of note in the Punjab Vol. 1 (1 ed.). Lahore: Government Printing. pp. 440–441. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Singh, Harjeet (2009). Faith & Philosophy of Sikhism. Delhi: Kalpaz Publications. p. 21. ISBN 978-81-7835-721-8. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Snehi, Yogesh (24 April 2019). Spatializing Popular Sufi Shrines in Punjab: Dreams, Memories, Territoriality. New York: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-429-51563-7. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Collett, Nigel (15 October 2006). The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer. A&C Black. p. 292. ISBN 978-1-85285-575-8. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Sethi, Chitleen Kaur (1 January 2017). "Pushed to the margins, Simranjit Mann carrying legacy of a lost cause". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Bharti, Vishav (16 July 2022). "Simranjit Singh Mann defends grandfather who honoured General Reginald Dyer". The Tribune. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Report of the Guru-ka-Bagh Congress Inquiry Committee. Amritsar: Indian National Congress. 1924.
- ^ Debrett, John (1971). Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. p. 2181. Retrieved 14 December 2022.