16th June
1922
Master Mota Singh was arrested from his village. Kishan Singh Gargaj, the chief architect of Babbar Akali Movement, was a staunch follower of his.
1984
Sadhu Singh Hamdard, editor of daily newspapet Ajit, returns his Padam Shri in protest for the Indian armed forces attack on Sri Harmindar Sahib, Amritsar. He was deeply disturbed by this attack. As a result he died os a heart attack on July 29, 1984.
==> SADHU SINGH HAMDARD was the editor of The Daily Ajit and a well-known poet of Punjabi. He was a great fan of Punjab, Punjabi language and Punjabism.
Sadhu Singh Hamdard was born in a poor family. He got an M.A. degree in political science. He also served as the Syndic and Senator of Guru Nanak Dev University for many years. He was not only a top-notch Punjabi journalist, he was also a top-notch poet, specially of gazels. His poetical teacher was Pandit Labhu Ram Josh Malsiani who belonged to the Dag school of poetry (traditonal Urdu poetry with great emphasis on meter and form). He received a PhD degree in poetry (gazel). His PhD thesis Gazel Janam te Vikas (Gazel: Origin and Development) was published by Guru Nanak Dev University. It is a very comprehensive work on the gazel form of Punjabi poetry. Punjabi Gazel is much more advanced than Hindi gazel today. Much credit goes to Dr. Sadhu Singh Hamdard.
Dr. Sadhu Singh was also a scholar of Urdu. At one time The Daily Ajit was simultaneously published in Punjabi and Urdu. He was very effective in countering the Mahasha (Hindu) propaganda against the Sikhs.
He returned his Padam Shri award when the Indian government attacked the Golden Temple.
Dr. Sadhu Singh wrote more than dozen books. Some of his poetry books include:
1. Gazel
2. Modern gazel
3. Rang Sugandh
4. Gazel de Rang
5. Cocktail
6. Modern Heer
He also wrote historical novels such as
1. Zeenat Baghel Singh
2. Takkar
He also wrote a travel book called, Akhin Ditha Roos. In the field of literary criticism he wrote the following books:
1. Islah
2. Kav Nirnha
Dr. Sadhu Singh Hamdard’s contribution to Punjabi journalism is extremely valuable. The attack on the Golden Temple and Akal Takhat took a heavy toll on him. He died within few months after the Operation Blue Star.
1984
Villagers are fined Rs. 1crore for braking the river banks of main Bhakada river near Roper, in protest of operation Bluestar.