Nankana Sahib Massacre influences young Bhagat Singh

During the early 1920s, the Gurdwara Reform Movement (or Akali Movement) gained momentum across Punjab to reclaim historic Sikh gurdwaras from the control of hereditary custodians known as Mahants. These Mahants, backed by the British administration, managed vast estate lands and revenues associated with the shrines, often facing severe accusations of corruption, misuse of funds, and moral degradation. The Gurdwara Janam Asthan at Nankana Sahib, marking the birthplace of Guru Nanak, was under the control of Mahant Narain Das, who vehemently resisted reformist oversight.

On February 20, 1921, a peaceful band (jatha) of around 150 non-violent Akali reformers, led by Bhai Lachhman Singh Dharowali, entered the Janam Asthan Gurdwara compound early in the morning to offer prayers and peacefully advocate for community administration. Anticipating their arrival, Mahant Narain Das had hired armed mercenaries and stockpiled firearms, swords, axes, and large quantities of kerosene. As the unarmed Akalis sat inside the shrine sanctuary, the Mahant's mercenaries locked the outer perimeter gates and opened fire upon the worshippers.

The attackers ambushed the defenseless reformers, attacking them with guns, swords, and hatchets. Even those taking refuge behind sacred enclosures were systematically cut down. To erase evidence of the brutal slaughter, the Mahant's men gathered the bodies of over 130 dead and dying reformers into piles, covered them with wood and kerosene, and set them ablaze inside the gurdwara complex.

News of the atrocious massacre sent shockwaves throughout British India. Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and major Akali leaders visited Nankana Sahib shortly after the event to condemn the horrific violence. The tragedy deeply affected thirteen-year-old Bhagat Singh. When a train carrying Akali volunteers passed near his village, Bhagat Singh organized community food services (langar) for the passing reformers and wore a black turban as a symbol of mourning. The event solidified his understanding of the structural violence inherent in the alliance between colonial authority and feudal power.