Khalsa
Diwan
As has been explained with reference to the term
Singh Sabha many central organisations were set up for the purpose of
reviving the pristine purity of the Sikh faith and practices and in
the year 1883 when these central organisations had merged into one organisation,
the Singh Sabha of Amritsar adopted the name of the Khalsa Diwan for
itself. Baba Sir Khem Singh Bedi was the first President of this Khalsa
Diwan and Bhai Gurmukh Singh was its Secretary. A few years later, grave
differences arose amongst the members of the Khalsa Diwan as to the
attitude to be adopted in the appraisal of the original forms of Hinduism,
called Sanatan Dharma, but in its primary objective the Khalsa Diwan
stuck to the original objective of the Singh Sabha Movement. This Khalsa
Diwan ultimately became transformed into the Chief Khalsa Diwan which
till a few years ago remained as the Central Organisation of the Sikh
feudal chiefs.
