Dal Khalsa is a Sikh organisation, based in the city of. The organisation was formed in 1978 and came to promencne under the inspiration and time of in 1981 They claim that their primary aim of Dal Khalsa is to achieve the independence of the -speaking majority region of North West India through peaceful and democratic means in order to establish a sovereign state,. There is a controversy on the foundation of Dal Khalsa. Noted journalist in his book claimed that and were instrumental in its formation in order to promote and to harass Akalis. Another version is that it was founded by on 6 August 1978, at a convention held at Akal-Garh, Sector 35, , with the objective of establishing an independent Sikh state outside the Union of India. A number of Sikh Youth organisations had participated in the convention to discuss affairs of the Panth. The formation of the Dal Khalsa occurred shortly after an clash between Sikhs belonging to the and the followers of a Sikh sect known as the whom other Sikhs regard as. This clash had occurred at a Nirankari event at the in Amritsar on 13 April 1978, in which 3 Nirankaris and 13 Sikhs were killed. A demand that was supported by other Sikh organisations such as the and one which was later taken up with the Indian government by the in 1980. For the first time the flag of was hoisted on 1 August 1980, by activists of the Dal Khalsa at the spot in where 13 Sikhs had been killed during a clash with the Nirankaris on 13 April 1978. Shortly after activists of the Dal Khalsa again raised the flag of at various places in the Punjab state during India's Independence day on 15 August 1980. During 1981 the Dal Khalsa along with other organisations such as the , and demanded associate membership in the for the 'Sikh Nation'. Activity resulting in a temporary ban on Dal Khalsa A 10-year ban was put on the Dal Khalsa by the Indian government in 1982 following militant activities carried out by the organization. These included several plane hijackings such as the 1981 hijacking of an Indian Airlines Jetliner Boeing 737. The plane was hijacked on 29 September 1981, by five members of the Dal Khalsa as a form of protest against the arrest of Sant who had been accused of being involved in the murder of based Hindu newspaper owner later on Ranjit Singh confessed to murdered Jagat Narain. Ranjit Singh was from Akhand Kirtani Jatha and did not belong to Bhindranwale. The hijackers were under the leadership of Gajinder Singh who a few years later was nominated as Chairman of the organization while on asylum in Pakistan. The Dal Khalsa activists forced the plane to land in , Pakistan and demanded the release of Sant in addition to demanding the release of all persons who had been detained in connection with the movement, a ransom of 500,000 dollars and compensation of 100,000 Indian Rupees Rs. A day after the hijacking Pakistani commandos arrested the Dal Khalsa activists. The hijackers were identified as Gajinder Singh, Satnam Singh of , Jasbir Singh of , Tejinderpal Singh of and Karam Singh of. Though Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had never openly or officially associated with the Dal Khalsa the organization was largely seen have had close links with him. In January 1982, Harsimran Singh, chief organizer of the Dal Khalsa was arrested from near. The Dal Khalsa leaders believed that his arrest was possible due to a conspiracy by some member of the organization. Harsimran Singh was allegedly tortured by the police and was told that they had the permission of the Government to kill him in a fake encounter near the Indo-Pakistan border. Harsimran Singh was forced to read out a written statement if he wanted to save his life. Sometime during April 1982, two cow heads were severed and placed outside two temples in by unknown culprits though the police later blamed it on the Dal Khalsa. The incident sparked off a small riot in which a large Hindu crowd gathered at the and began pelting stones at the most sacred place of the Sikhs. Jaswant Singh Thekedar, who at the time was an activist of the Dal Khalsa, was accused of being involved in the incident and was declared a 'Proclaimed Offender' carrying a reward of Rs. He fled to the UK via Nepal in 1983 and was expelled from the Dal Khalsa in 1986 for what were said to be 'anti-party' activities by him. The Dal Khalsa and were banned by the Indian government in May, 1982 after which the Dal Khalsa went underground. Gajinder Singh, one of the plane hijackers of the Indian Airlines Jetliner Boeing 737 in 1981, accepted the post of Chairman of the Dal Khalsa in 1986. After remaining largely dormant and underground for over a decade the Dal Khalsa was revived in 1998 after the ban on the organisation had lapsed. The revived Dal Khalsa continues to commit to its original objective of establishing an independent. The Dal Khalsa has since also established units in the United States and the in addition to branches across the Punjab state, India. The revived Dal Khalsa has pledged to put aside armed resistance and further the cause of Khalistan by peaceful and democratic means. On 30 September 2005, the co-founder of the Dal Khalsa, Gajinder Singh stepped down as Chairman of the organisation. Satnam Singh Paonta, himself one of the original Dal Khalsa founders, was chosen as the new President on 2 October 2005 at a convention held in. In addition to Satnam Singh Paonta being chosen as the new leader of the Dal Khalsa, the organization welcomed Jaspal Singh Dhillon, head of the into the party fold as its new vice President. The new senior leadership of the Dal Khalsa had pledged that it will continue to deploy peaceful methods to achieve an independent but will also take up other socio-political issues faced by the people of Punjab such as education for rural children and tackling the menace of abuse. However, the primary objective of the Dal Khalsa would remain the same and that it will not divert from its original and main goal of establishing an independent and sovereign. In June 2005, the Dal Khalsa became a constituent member of the Punjab Rights Forum. Dhami is the president of Dal Khalsa, and Kanwarpal Singh is the secretary general. Mr Dhami, 58 who hails from Hoshiarpur is industrialist by profession. C in 1975 from DAV College, Jalandhar and it was the writings and revolutionary poetry of Gajinder Singh that inspired him to join the organization in 2003. In May 2006 the Vice-President of the Dal Khalsa, Jaspal Singh Dhillon, paid a visit to , UK where he had been invited to attend and deliver a speech on for at the inaugural launch and conference of a new lobby group called PNSD which was held on 11 May at the in. The Dal Khalsa has sought to work closely with Parliamentarians for National Self-Determination in which the Sikh Nation is one of the founder members. In February 2007 the Dal Khalsa broke from its earlier stance regarding the Punjab state legislature by supporting two candidates in the Punjab polls, most notably member Karnail Singh Panjoli. During the Punjab legislative assembly elections the Dal Khalsa also supported candidates from the led by. In September, 2008, Dal Khalsa named the expatriate Sikh leader vice president. Singh had already been placed on an Indian government blacklist for past militant activities. On 3 November 2009, marking 25 years of the anti-Sikh massacre following the assassination of then PM Indira Gandhi, Dal Khalsa called for Punjab. In showing solidarity to the cause, the people of Punjab, regardless of their religion or race, observed complete shutdown in the state to protest against the denial of justice to the aggrieved Sikhs. The bandh was largely peaceful, and the shutdown call had a full backing of other factions like Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Shiromani Akali Dal Panch Pardani , Sikh Youth of Punjab and various factions of Sikh Students Federation. In November 2009, Kanwarpal Singh and other noted Sikh representatives from various organizations, under the leadership of Justice retd Ajit Singh Bains met Ms Shalini Dewan, Director, United Nations Information Centre at New Delhi on 11 November 2009 and urged the UN to intervene in getting justice for victims of November 1984 anti-Sikh carnage. The meet was cordial and Ms Dewan assured the delegation that UN will certainly take up the matter with the Indian government so that justice is delivered to aggrieved Sikhs. She took exception on the killings of thousands of innocent Sikhs and expressed regret that justice has not been delivered even after 25 years. On 26 January 2010, Dal Khalsa wrote a letter to Indian PM highlighting constitutional and legal discriminations faced by Sikhs in India. In 2015, Dal Khalsa demanded opening of Cow- in and also questioned Beef-Ban in. In September 2015, Dal Khalsa and merged into a single entity by signing a Memorandum of Understanding MoU with the main aim to achieve a separate Sikh home land. Nanakshahi calendar On 14 March 2010 Dal Khalsa commemorated 227th anniversary of the historic event when Sikh warrior Baba Baghel Singh, unfurled Nishan Sahib atop the historic Red Fort in 1783. At a well-attended convention at a village gurdwara built in memory of Baba Baghel Singh, Dal Khalsa rejected the amended version of the SGPC Nanakshahi Calendar which went back to the original sikh calendar with Bikrami dates moon dates. They released the Nanakshahi calendar created by SGPC sponsored Sikh scholar Pal Singh Purewal. The calendar has been dedicated to the great Sikh warrior Baba Baghel Singh. Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh rued that the SGPC has killed the letter and spirit of Nanakshahi calendar by mixing it with Bikrami calendar, which had its roots in Hinduism. However, several Sikh organisations have condemned the changes brought in the calendar. Sit-in and hunger strike In order to press upon the SGPC and SAD leadership to build memorial of June 1984 martyrs, Dal Khalsa party activists held 72 hours sit-in protest at outside the main entrance gate of Darbar Sahib Complex from 3 June to 6,2010. A jatha of 100 activists led by party head H S Dhami began their silent protest outside the SGPC offices on 3 June at 11 AM. Addressing the media over there, party head urged Jathedar Avtar Singh Makkar to break the silence and take the lead as it was high time to lay the foundation stone of the memorial as the Sikh Nation is observing the 26th anniversary of Darbar Sahib on 6 June. Stressing on the need to build memorial, he said by raising the memorial in memory of 'martyrs of the faith', the SGPC would not only deliver a sense of pride and fraternity to their families but also goads the Sikhs to relive those times. Also it will be a rebuttal to those, who have been trying to erase this period from public memory. Activists mostly youngsters from Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr and Moga participated in the sit-in to show their steadfastness towards the cause and also to pay homage to martyrs. On the concluding day 6 June of its 72 hours sit-in protest, the organization vowed to take the June 84 memorial issue to its logical conclusion. Our aim was to pay tribute to the 'martyrs of faith' and bring the issue of memorial into limelight, which we had succeeded. He said the silence of Akali leadership about memorial to 1984 martyrs even after 26 years of the deadly attack was disgusting and disappointing. Archived from on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015. Archived from on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015. Zee News in Latin. Retrieved 1 October 2015. Archived from on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015. Archived from on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2012. Toronto, Canada: The Mackenzie Institute. Archived from on 24 October 2005. Retrieved 17 July 2005. Archived from on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012. Archived from on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012. Archived from on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012. Archived from on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015. Archived from on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012. Archived from on 2012-03-04. Archived from on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
