Gurudwara reform movement was started, during the period of 1920-1925 A.D., to remove occupation of Gurudwaras of Punjab from the clutches of Mahants. This movement is also known as Akali Movement because Akalis made possible to remove Mahants from Gurudwaras.
Akali Dal started many morchas for making Gurudwara reform movement successful. Brief description of some of these morchas is as below :
1. Morcha of Nankana Sahib: Mahant Narayan Dass of Nankana Sahib was a characterless person. One peaceful Jatha reached Nankana Sahib on 20 February 1921 A.D. to remove him from the Gurudwara. This Jatha was badly treated by Mahant. His goons attacked the Jatha. Leader of Jatha Laxman Singh and some of his supporters were burnt alive by the Mahant.
2. Morcha of Keys of Treasury of Harmandar Sahib: Keys of treasury of Harmandar Sahib were with the British. Shiromani Committee demanded those keys but British denied to hand over keys to them. Sikhs protested against British for their denial of handing over the keys. Many sikhs were arrested by the British. Congress and Khilafat Committee supported the British. So finally the British handed over the keys of treasury to the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (S.G.P.C.)
3. Morcha of ‘Guru Ka Bagh’: Gurudwara ‘Guru Ka Bagh’ is situated in Ajnala sub-division and around 13 miles from Amritsar. This Gurudwara was under possession of Mahant Sunder Dass who was a characterless person. Shiromani Committee sent a Jatha under the leadership of Daan Singh on 23rd August 1921 A.D. to take over the possession of this Gurudwara. Members of this Jatha were arrested by the British. Sikhs got furious with this. They started sending more and more Jathas to Gurudwara. These Jathas were also badly treated. Its members were even canned by the police.
4. Incident of Punja Sahib: The Government decided to send Sikhs arrested in ‘Guru Ka Bagh’ Morcha to Attock through railway. Sikhs of Punja Sahib urged the government to stop train at Hassan Abdal so that arrested Sikhs could be given food. But Government denied that request. Then Bhai Karan Singh and Bhai Pratap Singh jtood in front of train and got martyrdom. Except the martyrdom of these two Sikhs, body parts of many Sikhs were cut down.
5. Jaito Morcha: In 1923 A.D., the British dethroned Ripudaman Singh, the ruler of Nabha, without any reason. Shiromani Akali Dal and other patriot Sikhs decided to hold a big rally at Gurudwara Gangasar (Jaito). On 21st February, 1924 A.D. a Jatha of five hundred Akalis started for Gurudwara Gangasar. They had to face British army when they reached Nabha. The Sikhs were unarmed. Consequently, more than 100 Sikhs achieved martyrdom and about 200 were injured.
6. Sikh Gurudwara Act: In 1925 A.D., the Punjab Government passed the Sikh Gurudwara Act. According to this Act, the management of the Gurudwaras came into the hands of the Sikhs and the government released all the Sikhs from the jails in due course of time.
So, the Sikhs made many sacrifices in the Akali movement. On the one hand, they saved the Gurudwaras from the Mahants who were puppets in the hands of the British and on the other hand, they created a spirit of hatred among the Indians against the British which continued till the achievement of independence.
