Satguru Hari Singh

Satguru Hari Singh (1819–1906) was the younger brother of Satguru Ram Singh. Following the deportation of his elder brother, Satguru Hari Singh took on the monumental task of sustaining the Namdhari (Kuka) movement amidst severe colonial government oppression. The colonial British authorities imposed harsh restrictions on the Namdhari Sikhs, declaring them rebels and severely limiting their movements and gatherings. Despite these challenges, Satguru Hari Singh persevered in maintaining both the freedom struggle and religious practices of the Namdhari Sikhs.

Early life Satguru Hari Singh's earlier name was Budh Singh. Born in 1820, he was four years younger than Satguru Ram Singh. Both Satguru Ram Singh and Satguru Hari Singh received informal education in Gurmukhi at home from their mother Mata Sada Kaur. Later, they started assisting their father Jassa Singh. He took care of all the family matters.

When Satguru Ram Singh came back from army and started the Namdhari movement in 1857 to oppose colonialism, he had deliberately kept Bhai Budh Singh (later Satguru Hari Singh) away from major activities till 1871. Because of this, Bhai Budh Singh was not subject to rigorous surveillance of the colonial government, to which Satguru Ram Singh and other well-known, prominent Namdhari Sikhs were. Six months prior to exile, Satguru Ram Singh instructed Bhai Budh Singh to leave all other work and concentrate more on the management of Namdhari movement. In the aftermath of this event, known as the Malerkotla Saka (massacre), Satguru Ram Singh, the leader of the Namdharis, was exiled. The British government, viewing the Namdharis as a threat, implemented a series of harsh measures to control and suppress the movement, which included labeling of the entire Namdhari community was labeled as rebels, permission from village headmen now required for Namdhari Sikhs to leave their villages, gatherings of more than five Namdhari Sikhs being prohibited. Other restrictions included establishment of a strong police post was established at the main gate of Satguru Hari Singh Ji's residence in Sri Bhaini Sahib, entry to Sri Bhaini Sahib being restricted to only five Namdhari Sikhs at a time and the Gurdwara Bhaini Sahib being subjected to multiple raids and excavations by government forces.

Spiritual leadership The restrictions severely limited the Namdhari Sikhs' ability to practice their faith, communicate with each other and continue their religious and social activities. The measures were designed to curb any potential anti-government activities and to weaken the Namdhari movement. The Punjab District Gazetteer (Ludhiana District and Malerkotla State) 1904 mentioned the situation of Namdhari Sikhs as 'It is not to be expected then that any man, unless he were prepared to break with society and give his enemies a constant hold on him, would admit that he belonged to the sect..'.

Satguru Hari Singh's leadership was characterized by his unwavering commitment to the Namdhari cause. His spiritual authority was confirmed through a Hukumnama (commandment) from Satguru Ram Singh, which bestowed upon him the name "Hari Singh" and vested him with full authority. Baba Gurcharan Singh and Suba Bishan had travelled to Central Asia to establish these contacts. The Kuka efforts for Russian aid were primarily motivated by the desire to utilize Russian military might to expel the British from India. Fauja Singh mentions that these communications with Russia should be understood in the context of Anglo-Russian relations of the time, with Russia seen as a potential ally against British imperialism. Satguru Hari Singh replied, "By giving 2500 acres from our country, you want to emphasize that the rest of country is yours? This entire country is ours, and we will take it back as a whole from you." This refusal of the then colonial government patronage exemplified the steadfast resolve of Namdhari Sikhs in their struggle for freedom. In 1904, the colonial government noted in its gazette that "it is not possible for a Kuka to be loyal subject of the British Government...".

Legacy Satguru Hari Singh is known in Namdhari Sikhi as the "one who united the 'separated ones'". The colonial persecution of the Namdhari Sikhs was intense. As a result, the sect suffered a major blow. However, with the efforts of Satguru Hari Singh, the Namdhari movement kept its programme of anti-colonialism. Satguru Hari Singh guided the sect till 17 May 1906, after which, his elder son, Satguru Partap Singh assumed the leadership of the community.