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Jathedar SantokhSingh

ਜਥੇਦਾਰ ਸੰਤੋਖ ਸਿੰਘ

20 March 192921 December 1981

President of the Delhi Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. Among the founders of Guru Harkrishan Public School, 1965. Chairman of Mata Sundri College for Women, 1967–71. Convenor of the 1968 Birmingham conference of British Sikh organisations.

Seated formal portrait of Jathedar Santokh Singh in a navy turban, holding a kirpan.
I Formal portrait

i. Biography

A Sikh leader in Delhi, active in the administration of the capital's gurdwaras and in the organisation of Sikh political activity in India and Britain.

Santokh Singh served as President of the Delhi Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, the body now commonly styled the DSGMC, which administers the historic gurdwaras of the capital. A 1971 judgment of the Delhi High Court identifies him as a party to litigation involving the committee, and a decade later the press still reported him in the office by that title.

His activity extended beyond India. In 1968 he convened a conference at Birmingham intended to bring British Sikh organisations under the umbrella of the Shiromani Akali Dal.

During the Wolverhampton turban campaign of 1967–69, when Sikh bus drivers contested a transport authority's ban on wearing the dastaar at work, he organised a solidarity march to the British High Commission in Delhi. The historical record estimates attendance at 50,000.

He served two terms as chairman of Mata Sundri College for Women in Delhi: from 13 July 1967 to 2 June 1970, and from 11 September 1970 to 23 July 1971.

He was among the founders of Guru Harkrishan Public School. The first of the schools opened at India Gate on 19 July 1965 under the Delhi gurdwara committee, and the chain has since grown to a dozen branches across the city.

ii. Chronicle

  1. 1929

    Born

    20 March 1929.

  2. 1965

    Guru Harkrishan Public School

    Among the founders of Guru Harkrishan Public School. The first of the schools was established at India Gate on 19 July 1965 under the Delhi gurdwara committee.

  3. 1967–71

    Chairman, Mata Sundri College for Women

    Two terms: 13 July 1967 – 2 June 1970, and 11 September 1970 – 23 July 1971.

  4. 1967–69

    Wolverhampton turban campaign

    Organised a solidarity march to the British High Commission in Delhi, in support of Sikh bus drivers in Wolverhampton contesting a ban on wearing the dastaar at work. Attendance estimated at 50,000.

  5. 1968

    Birmingham conference

    Convened a conference intended to bring British Sikh organisations under the umbrella of the Shiromani Akali Dal.

  6. 1971

    Delhi High Court

    A judgment identifies him as a party to litigation involving the Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, documenting his position in its leadership.

  7. 1981

    Chowk Mehta and Ferozepur

    He was among the Sikh leaders at Chowk Mehta on 20 September 1981 when Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale surrendered to police, and was outside Central Jail, Ferozepur, on 15 October when Bhindranwale walked free. The Hindustan Times reported him there as Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president, telling reporters at the jail that it was his effort at Delhi that had secured the release.

  8. 1981

    Assassinated

    Shot on the night of 21 December 1981, as he left a gurdwara in west Delhi where he had addressed a congregation. He was president of the Delhi Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee at the time of his death.

iii. Archive

Nine photographs, from a private collection. Select any image to enlarge.

Portrait in a navy dastaar and white kurta, holding a kirpan.
II Portrait with kirpan
Seated in conversation with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who is gesturing mid-sentence.
III With Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
Standing beside Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at an indoor gathering.
IV With Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Standing before a large seated sangat with white and gold domes behind.
V Before the sangat
Standing among political figures at an outdoor gathering under a canopy.
VI A political gathering
Walking through a doorway in a delegation, Indira Gandhi following.
VII Delegation, on the day
His wife greeting a garlanded Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at a reception.
VIII His wife with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Crowds massed on the facade and balconies of Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, with police ranks assembled in the street below.
IX Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, Delhi · 10 September 1981
A large group of Sikh men gathered outdoors in bright sunlight, one carrying a kirpan.
X Outside Firozpur Jail, on the release of Sant Jarnail Singh · 15 October 1981

iv. Recordings

v. Sources

  1. Dates

    Bibliographic record for Sardar-e-Azam Jathedar Santokh Singh (20 March 1929 – 21 December 1981), a biography published in his name.

    bagchee.com
  2. Britain

    The 1968 Birmingham conference and the 50,000-strong Delhi march during the Wolverhampton turban campaign.

    South Asian Britain: Connecting Histories
  3. College

    Roll of chairmen, Mata Sundri College for Women — terms of 1967–70 and 1970–71.

    mscw.ac.in — souvenir (PDF)
  4. School

    Named among the founders of Guru Harkrishan Public School, the first of which was founded at India Gate on 19 July 1965.

    thepatriot.in
  5. Death

    Contemporaneous wire report of the shooting, 22 December 1981, giving his title as president of Delhi's Sikh shrine management committee.

    UPI Archives
  6. Ferozepur

    Contemporaneous report of the release, 16 October 1981. Names him as Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president, present outside the jail, telling reporters that it was his effort at Delhi that secured the Sant's freedom.

    Hindustan Times, HT This Day
  7. Punjab

    Names him as head of the Delhi gurdwara committee among those who reached Chowk Mehta for Bhindranwale's surrender on 20 September 1981. Ramesh Inder Singh, former Chief Secretary of Punjab, excerpted from Turmoil in Punjab.

    babushahi.com
  8. Court

    1971 Delhi High Court judgment naming him a party to Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee litigation.

    indiankanoon.org