What is the Chief Khalsa Diwan?

A non-political Sikh organisation founded in 1902, it is registered as the Chief Khalsa Diwan Charitable Society in Punjab

Early years

SINGH SABHA Lehar, a Sikh movement, started in Punjab in the 1870s to stop British efforts to spread Christianity in colonial India. This movement transcended into Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD) under the tutelage of Bhai Vir Singh (1872-1957), a prominent Punjabi litterateur. He was never a member of the organisation, but gave ideas and donated money

THE CKD was central to the movement. Its primary aim was to safeguard spiritual, intellectual, moral, social, educational and economic welfare of the Sikhs as well as their political rights

Contributions

THE CKD pressed for the Anand marriage act, which was passed in 1905. It took part in the Gurdwara reforms movement and made efforts to promote Punjabi literature, publishing magazines and books

THE ORGANISATION runs 47 schools affiliated to the CBSE and ICSE; two management and technology institutes, a school for preparing Sikh preachers; a coaching centre; a nursing college; an orphanage; two old-age homes; two hospitals; a sarai or inn; and a gurdwara in Punjab SHAHEED UDHAM Singh, who killed General EH Dyer for ordering the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, lived in Amritsar’s CKD’s orphanage

Different from the SGPC

SHIROMANI GURDWARA PARBANDHAK COMMITTEE is an elected organisation under the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925. Hence, the Union government has a say in it. Its primary task is to manage historic Sikh shrines in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh THE CKD has no such mandate. It stays away from politics, though politicians are called to its functions