Chabiyan Da Morcha: the keys of the Toshakhana and the first victory

Chabiyan Da Morcha, the Morcha of the Keys, was a non-violent campaign in 1921 and 1922 to recover the keys of the Toshakhana, the treasury of Sri Harmandir Sahib, from the British authorities. Its success on 19 January 1922 was the first great victory of the Gurdwara Reform Movement.

The keys

Under British rule, the management of Sri Harmandir Sahib was in the hands of a manager, the sarbrah, appointed by the government. In 1920 the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee was formed to bring the gurdwaras under the Panth's own care, and in October 1921 it asked the sarbrah to hand over the keys of the Toshakhana, which holds the shrine's treasures. Instead, the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar sent an official to collect the keys from him.

The morcha

The SGPC declared that the Sikhs would not accept government control of their gurdwara. Meetings were held across Punjab, and Sikhs began wearing black turbans in protest and refusing to cooperate. Many leaders, among them Baba Kharak Singh, the president of the SGPC, were arrested, and hundreds of Sikhs courted arrest. The movement stayed non-violent throughout.

The keys returned

Faced with mass protest, the government released the prisoners and, on 19 January 1922, sent an official to hand the keys to Baba Kharak Singh at a large gathering at Sri Akal Takht Sahib. Mahatma Gandhi sent a telegram calling it the first decisive battle for India's freedom won.

How the day is observed

Sangats remember it with Ardas at Sri Akal Takht Sahib and with katha about the reform movement.