Ghadar Party
Founded	1913
Dissolved	1919
Preceded by	Pacific Coast Hindustan Association
Ideology	Revolutionary Socialism Indian Nationalism
Official colours	Red, Saffron and Green

The Ghadar Party (Punjabi:à��à��à�� à��à��à��à��à��, Hindustani: à��à��à��à�� à��à��à��à��à��à��, Urdu:ø�ø�ø� ù�ø�ø�ù�ی) was an organization founded by Punjabi Indians, primarily Sikhs,^[1] in the United States and Canada with the aim to liberate India from British rule. The movement began with a group of immigrants known as the Hindustani Workers of the Pacific Coast.^[2]

After the outbreak of World War I, Ghadar party members returned to Punjab to agitate for rebellion alongside the Babbar Akali Movement. In 1915 they conducted terrorist activities in central Punjab and attempted to organize uprisings but their attempts were crushed by the British Government.^[3] After the conclusion of the war, the party in America split into Communist and Anti-Communist factions. The party was formally dissolved in 1948.^[4]

[edit] Background

The economic downturn in India during the early nineteenth^{[dubious ' discuss]} century witnessed a high level of emigration. Some of these emigrants settled in North America. These included Punjabis as well as people from other parts of India. The Canadian government decided to curtail this influx with a series of laws, which were aimed at limiting the entry of South Asians into the country and restricting the political rights of those already in the country. The Punjabi community had hitherto been an important loyal force for the British Empire and the community had expected, equal welcome and rights from the British and Commonwealth governments as extended to British and white immigrants. These laws fed growing discontent, protests and anti-colonial sentiments within the community. Faced with increasingly difficult situations, the community began organising itself into political groups. A large number of Punjabis also moved to the United States, but they encountered similar political and social problems.^[5]

Ghadar di Gunj, an early Ghadarite compilation of nationalist and socialist literature, was banned in India in 1913.

The Ghadar Party, initially the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association, was formed in 1913 in the United States under the leadership of Har Dayal, with Sohan Singh Bhakna as its president. The members of the party were Indian immigrants, largely from Punjab.^[5] Many of its members were students at University of California at Berkeley including Dayal, Tarak Nath Das, Maulavi Barkatullah, Kartar Singh Sarabha and V.G. Pingle. The party quickly gained support from Indian expatriates, especially in the United States, Canada and Asia.

[edit] The word "Ghadar"

Ghadar is an Urdu/Punjabi word derived from Arabic which means "revolt" or "rebellion." As Kartar Singh Sarabha, one of the founders of the party, wrote in the first issue: "Today there begins 'Ghadar' in foreign lands, but in our country's tongue, a war against the British Raj. What is our name? Ghadar. What is our work? Ghadar. Where will be the Revolution? In India. The time will soon come when rifles and blood will take the place of pens and ink."

[edit] The Ghadar Newspaper

Ghadar Newspaper (Urdu) Vol. 1, No. 22, March 24, 1914

The party was built around the weekly paper The Ghadar, which carried the caption on the masthead: Angrezi Raj Ka Dushman (an enemy of the British rule). "Wanted brave soldiers", the Ghadar declared, "to stir up rebellion in India. Pay-death; Price-martyrdom; Pension-liberty; Field of battle-India". The ideology of the party was strongly secular. In the words of Sohan Singh Bhakna, who later became a major peasant leader of the Punjab: "We were not Sikhs or Punjabis. Our religion was patriotism". The first issue of The Ghadar, was published from San Francisco on November 1, 1913.

Following the voyage of the Komagata Maru in 1914, a direct challenge to Canadian racist anti-Indian immigration laws, several thousand Indians resident in the USA sold their business and homes ready to drive the British from India. However, Hardayal had fled to Europe concerned that the US authorities would hand him over to the British. Sohan Singh Bhakna was already in British hands, and the leadership fell to Ram Chandra. Following the entry of Canada into World War I, the organization was centered in the USA and received substantial funding from the German government. They had a very militant tone, as illustrated by this quote from Harnam Singh:

No pundits or mullahs do we need

The party rose to prominence in the second decade of the 20th century, and grew in strength owing to Indian discontent over World War I and the lack of political reforms.

Ghadar activists undertook what the British described as political terrorism, but what was revolution to most Indians.^{[citation needed]} Ghadar activists were responsible for bombs planted on government property.

In 1917 some of their leaders were arrested and put on trial in the Hindu German Conspiracy Trial in which their paper was quoted.

The Ghadar party commanded a loyal following the province of Punjab^{[citation needed]}, but many of its most prominent activists were forced into exile to Canada and the United States. It ceased to play an active role in Indian politics after 1919. The party had active members in other countries such as Mexico, Japan, China, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Malaya, Indo-China and Eastern and Southern Africa.

[edit] Members of the Ghadar Party

• Maulavi Barkatullah
• Kartar Singh Sarabha
• Baba visakha Singh
• Harnam Singh Tundilat
• Harnam Singh Kahira Sahira'
• Harnam Singh Saini
• Sohan Singh Bhakna
• Lala Har Dayal
• Tarak Nath Das
• Pandurang Sadashiv Khankhoje
• Ganda Singh (Phangureh)
• V. G. Pingle
• Bhai Randhir Singh

[edit] See also

v ' d ' e Indian independence movement History Colonisation – East India Company – British India – French India – Portuguese India – Plassey – Buxar – Anglo-Mysore Wars – Anglo-Maratha Wars (First – Second – Third) – Polygar War – Vellore Mutiny – First Anglo-Sikh War – Second Anglo-Sikh War – Rebellion of 1857 – British Raj  – more Philosophies and ideologies Indian nationalism – Swaraj – Hindu nationalism – Gandhism – Satyagraha – Indian Muslim nationalism – Swadeshi – Socialism – Khilafat Movement Events and movements Partition of Bengal – Revolutionaries – Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy – The Indian Sociologist – The Sedetious conspiracy – Champaran and Kheda – Rowlatt Committee – Rowlatt Bills – Jallianwala Bagh Massacre – Non-Cooperation – Qissa Khwani bazaar massacre – Flag Satyagraha – Bardoli – 1928 Protests – Nehru Report – Purna Swaraj – Salt Satyagraha – Round table conferences – Act of 1935 – Legion Freies Indien – Cripps' mission – Quit India – Indian National Army – Tiger Legion – Bombay Mutiny – Coup d'État de Yanaon – Provisional Government of India Organisations Indian National Congress – All-India Muslim League – Anushilan Samiti – Jugantar – Arya Samaj – Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh – India House – Berlin Committee – Ghadar – Home Rule – Khaksar Tehrik – Khudai Khidmatgar – Hindustan Republican Association – Swaraj Party – Indian Independence League – All India Kisan Sabha – Azad Hind – more Social reformers Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – Rahul Sankrityayan – Mahatma Jyotirao Phule – Gopal Ganesh Agarkar – Shahu Maharaj – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar – Dhondo Keshav Karve – Vitthal Ramji Shinde – Mahadev Govind Ranade – Swami Dayananda Saraswati – Ramakrishna  – Swami Vivekananda – Swami Sahajanand Saraswati – Vakkom Moulavi – Vinoba Bhave – Baba Amte – Ram Mohan Roy – Gopal Hari Deshmukh Indian leaders and activists Puli Thevar – Yashwantrao Holkar – Rahul Sankrityayan – Swami Sahajanand Saraswati – Tipu Sultan – Veerapandiya Kattabomman – Sangolli Rayanna – Baba Ram Singh – Mangal Pandey – Veer Kunwar Singh – Rae Ahmed Nawaz Khan Kharal–Ž – Rani of Jhansi – Bahadur Shah Zafar – Swami Dayanand Saraswati – Bal Gangadhar Tilak – Gopal Krishna Gokhale – Dadabhai Naoroji – Bhikaiji Cama – Shyamji Krishna Varma – Annie Besant – Har Dayal – Subramanya Bharathi – Lala Lajpat Rai – Bipin Chandra Pal – Rash Behari Bose – Chittaranjan Das – Bidhan Chandra Roy – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan – Maulana Azad – Ashfaqullah Khan – Ram Prasad Bismil – Chandrasekhar Azad – Rajaji – Bhagat Singh – Sarojini Naidu – Purushottam Das Tandon – Alluri Sitaramaraju – M. Ali Jinnah – Sardar Patel – Vakkom Majeed – Subhash Chandra Bose – Jawaharlal Nehru – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – Allama Mashriqi – Akkamma Cherian – Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai – Kotwal Dhan Singh Gurjar – more British leaders Robert Clive – James Outram – Dalhousie – Irwin – Linlithgow – Wavell – Stafford Cripps – Mountbatten – more Independence Simla Conference  – Cabinet Mission – Indian Independence Act – Partition of India – Political integration – Constitution – Republic of India

v ' d ' e   Sikh politics   Organisations Ghadar Party – Shiromani Akali Dal – Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee – Haryana State Akali Dal – Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) – Shiromani Akali Dal (Longowal) – Shiromani Akali Dal (Panthic) – Shiromani Akali Dal (Democratic) – All India Sikh Students Federation – Rashtriya Sikh Sangat – Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal – Khalsa Raj Party – Punjab Janata Morcha – Punjab Rights Forum – Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi – Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee Leaders Master Tara Singh – Sardul Singh Caveeshar – Bhagat Singh – Baldev Singh – Swaran Singh – Jagjit Singh Chauhan – Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale – Amarinder Singh Events Punjab State Agitation – Anandpur Resolution – Khalistan movement – Operation Bluestar – 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots   Portal:Sikhism

[edit] References

• Strachan, Hew (2001), The First World War. Volume I: To Arms, Oxford University Press. USA, ISBN 0199261911 .

[edit] External links

• Important Documents of the Ghadar Movement
• Ghadar: The Indian Immigrant Outrage Against Canadian Injustices 1900 - 1918 by Sukhdeep Bhoi
• The Hindustan Ghadar Collection. The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley