The Punjab was one of the most important and eventful regions in British India and was the homeland of a number of Socio-Religious Movements. The Socio-Religious Movements in Punjab were founded with a variety of aim like purifying a particular religion or spreading education among the masses or propagating new ideas or philosophies. Among all the movements the Nirankaris, the Namdharis and the Singh Sabhas were of prominence and made huge impacts in the society of Punjab.

Nirankaris Movement :

• The Nirankaris Movement was founded by Baba Dayal Das and it was a movement of purification and return. He called for the return of Sikhism to its origin, sometimes during 1840s and emphasised the worship of God as Nirankar (Formless). He rejected all kinds of idols, the rituals associated with idolatry and also the Brahmin Priests, who conducted these rituals. He also rejected those Sikhs, who were allied with the Brahmin Priests. They advocated the path to God was through worship based on meditation rather than complex ritual.
• The Nirankaris also stressed the importance and authority of Guru Nanak and of Adi Granth. They focused on Guru Nanak, on Sikhism before the establishment of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur and also before the militarisation of the faith. They stressed proper religious practice issued Hukamnamas to define its concepts of what was correct and also built a series of worship centres staffed by their own priests.
• The Nirankaris were asked not to treat the women as unclean at child birth, take dowry at marriages, place neither lighted lamps nor blessed sweets, prasad, placed in rivers and also not to feed Brahmins as payment for conducting rituals.

Namdhari Movement :

• The Namdhari Movement, founded by Baba Ram Singh, was one of the most influential and transitional Socio-Religious Movements in Punjab. After working as a soldier in the army of Ranjit Singh for few years, Ram Singh returned to Bhaini in 1855 and started to attract people with his simple lifestyle and religious ideas. He was greatly influenced by the ideas at Balak Singh and was choosen as the successor of Balak Singh.
• Baba Ram Singh formally inaugurated the Namdhari Movement in 1857, with a set of rituals modelled after Guru Gobind Singh's founding of the Khalsa. He used a recitation of Gurbani, Ardas, a flag and Baptism for entry into the new community. The Namdharis were required to wear the five symbols of Sikhism, with the only exception of the Kripan (sword). However, they were required to keep a Lathi (A bamboo stave) with them.
• The Namdharis abandoned the worship of Gods, Goddesses, idols, graves, tombs and also rejected popular saints alongwith the rituals conducted by Brahmin Priests. The authority of the hereditary custodians of the Sikh gurdwaras was also rejected by the Namdharis. The Namdharis were told to abstain from drinking, stealing, adultery, falsehood and consumption of beef was strictly forbidden.
• Protection of cattle was one of the most ardently held values of the Namdharis. The Namdharis considered the women equal to men and initiated them through Baptism and allowed them to remarry when widowed. Dowries were rejected by the Namdharis and child marriage was also forbidden. For the men, they laid emphasis on strength and martial qualities drawn from the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh. The Namdhari vision of a restructured Sikhism called for a total reshaping of the Sikh community into a militant and religious-political dominion.

Singh Sabha Movement :

• The Singh Sabha was another prominent Socio-Religious Movement in Punjab.The first Singh Sabha was founded at Amritsar and held its first meeting on 1st October, 1873. The first Singh Sabha was founded as a result of a series of events that included the unrest of the Sikh community caused by the Namdharis, the speeches of Shraddha Ram and also the Christian conversions.
• The Singh Sabha was aimed at restoring Sikhism to its past purity and it published historical religious books, magazines and journals to propagate knowledge using Punjabi as language. As the popularity of the Singh Sabha Movement increased more Sabhas were established in different cities. A general Sabha was established at Amritsar in 1880 to provide a central organisation to all the Singh Sabhas and it was later rechristened as the Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar in April 1883.
• The Singh Sabha Movement spoke for a rising educated elite and also called for changes in religion. The followers of the movement rejected any fundamental restructuring of authority within the community and realised the need to gain a command of Western knowledge if Sikhs were to compete successfully with Hindu and Muslim Punjabis.

Radha Soami Movement :

• The Radha Soami movement was founded by a Hindu banker, Shiv Dayal of Agra, in 19th Century. He described God as the union between Radha (symbolizing the soul) and `Soami' (the Master), hence himself as a worshipper of Radha Soami. He became the first Guru of this seat. He was highly influenced by the teachings of Adi Granth. He propounded a doctrine which contained elements of both Hinduism and Sikhism. His teachings eventually attracted disciples from across India and by the time of his death in 1878, he had several thousands of followers.
• After the death of Shiv Dayal, the Radha Soamis split into two centres. The main centre was at Agra and a new branch was started by Jaimal Singh, disciple of Shiv Dayal, on the bank of River Beas. This Beas Centre was independent of the Agra centre and a succession of Gurus after the death of Jaimal Singh. Jaimal Singh was succeeded by his disciple, Sawan Singh Grewal. Sawan Singh was succeeded by Jagat Singh and Jagat Singh nominated Charan Singh as his successor.
• Radha Soami do not subscribe to the orthodox Sikhism. They believe in a living Guru. They greet each other with the words `Radha Soami'. The temples of Radha Soamis do not have the Granth Sahib. They have no kirtan because they believe that music diverts people's minds from the meaning of the hymns to the simple enjoyment of sounds.
• Radha Soami teachings center upon a type of meditation practice known as Surat Shabd Yoga. Shabd is referring to a spiritual current which can be perceived in meditation as inner light and sound. Yoga is referring to the uniting of our real essence (soul) through an inner listening with focused mental concentration (Surat) upon an inner sound (shabd) which it is maintained emanates from Radhasoami, the supreme Being. It is therefore taught as the unchanging and primordial technique for uniting the soul with the Supreme Being via the power of Shabd.
• Following the practice of meditation under the guidance of a spiritual teacher who is himself in contact with Shabd, is considered of paramount importance.
• Pre-requisites for successful achievement of the meditation practice are a lacto-vegetarian diet, abstaining from drugs and alcohol and maintaining a pure and moral lifestyle.

Ghadar Movement :

• The Ghadar Movement was a movement of patriotic, democratic and enlightened Indians living abroad, working for the emancipation of India from the clutches of British colonialism.
• The people from Punjab mostly small farmers, ex-soldiers and artisans started migrating in the early 20th century. They first went to East Asian s countries and then to Canada and United States in first decade of the twentieth century. The Canadian government started harassing the Indians already there and tightened the measures against the entry of Indians into Canada. In order to fight the unjust laws of immigration, the Indian immigrants organized themselves and published some pamphlets to create national awakening among fellow Indians.
• In 1912 Hindustani Association of Pacific Coast was formed with Sohan Singh Bhakna as its President. The Association started a weekly, Hindustan, in Urdu language. In May 1913 , a Ghadar Ashram (also known as Yugantar Ashram) was opened. The Association formed a Ghadar party with its headquarters at San Francisco and with various branches in US and Canada. The party published a weekly called 'Ghadar' in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and in other languages of India, with Lala Hardyal as its Chief Editor. The main aim of the party was to wage a war against the Britis Raj. The `Ghadar' weekly carried the words "Enemy of the British Government" under its masthead on the front page. The British government tried to stop the circulation of the paper, but failed. Thousands of copies were circulated among Indian settlers in Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Honduras and other countries. The members of the party also started training in the use of weapons and making of bombs.
• The Komagata Maru incident added fuel to the fire. Meanwhile the First World War broke out in July 1914. Thus the leading members of the party decided to come to India to carry armed revolution against the British Raj. Many Indian Ghadar men entered India and established their headquarters at Amritsar, later shifted to Lahore.
• By the mid of 1915, the Ghadar movement was subdued by the British troops.The Ghadar movement was by far the most serious attempt to subvert British Raj in India.

Gurdwara Reform Movement (Akali Movement) :

• Gurdwara Reform Movement, also known as Akali Movement, was a long-drawn Campaign of the Sikhs for the liberation of their shrines or Gurdwaras from the priests (mahants) who had asserted property rights over Gurdwaras. At that time there were no rules for the administration of the Gurdwaras nor were qualifications prescribed for their caretakers. These Gurdwaras were looked after by Udasis, who were as much Hindu as they were Sikh. These priests were under the protection of the British Government. The priests drank and gambled like publican. They robbed and bullied the shrines and dishonoured the women and children.
• They introduced ceremonies which were against the teachings of Sikhism. Under the patronage of British Government, the lands and properties attached to the Gurdwaras were entered against the names of these priests (mahants). The Sikhs claimed that the Gurdwaras were public property and the public had a right to remove, its agents, the Mahants, when they did not confirm to the wishes of the people. But the government regarded the mahants as legal owners of the Gurdwaras.
• The people, who agitated against such persons, were suppressed by the Government. The result was the Akali Movement or Gurdwara Reform Movement in which Sikhs had to face imprisonment, suffer atrocity and death.
• The British Government eventually came under popular pressure and set up a committee consisting of 36 Sikhs, at the instance of Maharaja Bhupindra Singh of Patiala, to manage the Harimandir Sahib. But it was not accepted by the Akalis and they made a proclamation on 15 November 1920 from the Akal Takht, Amritsar forming a Committee of 175, including the 36 official nominees, designating it Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee (SGPC), for the management of all Sikh shrines. The first session of the Committee held at the Akal Takht on 12 December 1920. Sunder Singh Majithia, Harbans Singh of Attari and Bhai Jodh Singh were elected President, Vice-President and Secretary respectively.
• The work of the reform of the Gurdwaras was entrusted to this Committee. However, the transition of reform was not so smooth where the priests were strongly entrenched or where the government actively helped them to resist mass pressure. The Priests of Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Nankana Sahib openly used violence against the unarmed and non-violent Akalis and a band of more than one hundred Sikhs were brutally killed by the Mahant of Nankana Sahib in open day light. The Akalis were committed to non-violence. None of them resisted the murderers.

Babbar Akali Movement :

• The Babbar Akali movement was a 1921 splinter group of "militant" Sikhs who broke away from the mainstream Akali movement over the latter's insistence on non-violence over gurdwara reforms.
• The militant unit was established as Shahidi Dal (Association of the Martyrs) in September 1920, later evolving into the Babbar Akali movement. By 1922, they had organized themselves into a military group and began killing informers, government officials, and ex-officials. They also published an illegal newspaper describing British exploitation of India. It was declared an unlawful association by the British in April 1923. They used religious imagery and discussed the loss of Sikh sovereignty in the Anglo-Sikh wars which helped them enjoy popular support. The Babbar Akali movement recruited from World War I veterans dissatisfied with broken land grant promises and former members of the Ghadar Party. Many of its members were killed in police encounters, 67 were taken alive and "5 were sentenced to death, 11 to transportation for life and 38 to various terms of imprisonment".Babbar Khalsa International was established in an attempt to emulate the Babbar Akalis.
• The original Akali movement was established to peacefully get control of gurdwaras from heredity priests who were accused of enriching themselves. The Akalis took vows of nonviolence and observed them, however at Tarn Taran and Nankana Sahib in early 1921 the priests, their hired security killed a number of Sikhs. This resulted in the radicalization of the people who would form the core group of the Babbar Akalis.