- Sardul Singh Caveeshar
Sardul Singh Caveeshar (1886 in
Amritsar - 1963) was anIndia n newspaper editor, and a major figure in theIndian independence movement .Educated in
Lahore , Caveeshar began his public career in 1913, when he launched the English-languagenewspaper "Sikh Review". An early article in the "Sikh Review" criticized the demolition of an external city wall during the construction ofNew Delhi , as the wall had been part of a historic Sikhgurdwara ; this led to widespreadSikh agitation until the outbreak of theFirst World War , at which point that particular issue was considered to be of lessened priority. After the war, however, Caveeshar renewed his calls for action, with the result that he was expelled fromDelhi . He moved to Lahore and began another newspaper, the "New Herald". In 1919, he was arrested and imprisoned for writing against theRowlatt Act .In 1921, he issued a public call for 100 Sikh volunteers to rebuild the gurdwara's demolished wall, at the cost of their lives if need be. 700 volunteers (including Caveeshar himself) turned out; however, before they could leave Lahore for Delhi, word arrived that the Delhi city government had rebuilt the wall. The next month, he was arrested, charged with
sedition , and imprisoned for four years for having written about a massacre of Sikh reformists.In 1933, he became acting president of the Congress after his predecessor was arrested for participating in
civil disobedience . In 1935, he openly opposed the Congress's participation in theGovernment of India Act , and in 1937 chose to resign his membership in the party after they accepted office in the provinces where they had earned a majority.In 1939, he joined
Subhash Chandra Bose 's "All India Forward Bloc " faction; when Bose left India in 1941, Caveeshar became the Bloc's president. As a result, he was arrested, and imprisoned for four years.When the All India Forward Bloc split in 1948, soon after it had been reorganized, Sardul Singh Caveeshar sided with the anti-
Marxist group led by R.S. Ruiker. At its conference, Caveeshar was elected president ofForward Bloc (Ruiker) . Soon thereafter, as Ruiker's party dwindled, Caveeshar retired from active politics.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.