Last reviewed 1 Oct 2026 · Facts as of 1 Oct 2026 · 7 min read
Exam focus. Punjab's freedom movement questions typically ask: who founded what, where and when — Ghadar Party, Komagata Maru, Jallianwala Bagh, Gurdwara reform, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh. This note keeps those in one place, in time order.
1. Social and religious reform movements (19th century)
| Movement | Founder / Leader | Period | Key points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namdhari (Kuka) Movement | Baba Balak Singh, then Baba Ram Singh | 1857 onward | Began at Hazro (Attock); centre Bhaini Sahib (Ludhiana); stressed simple living, boycott of British goods, courts and schools, and non-cooperation (an early form of swadeshi); 1872 — Kuka revolt at Malerkotla; 65 Kukas were blown from guns; Baba Ram Singh was exiled to Rangoon |
| Nirankari Movement | Baba Dayal Das | 1851 | Against idol worship; revived pure Sikh teachings |
| Singh Sabha Movement | Thakur Singh Sandhawalia, Giani Gian Singh, Bhai Gurmukh Singh and others | 1873 (Amritsar) | Revival of Sikh identity and education; Khalsa College, Amritsar (1892); Lahore Singh Sabha (1879) |
| Arya Samaj | Swami Dayanand Saraswati (founder, 1875, Bombay); Punjab branch at Lahore (1877) | 1877 onward | Lala Lajpat Rai, Lala Hans Raj, Pt. Guru Dutt; DAV (Dayanand Anglo-Vedic) schools and colleges; Gurukul Kangri (Haridwar) by Swami Shraddhanand |
| Ahmadiyya Movement | Mirza Ghulam Ahmad | 1889, Qadian (Gurdaspur) | Reformist sect; headquarters at Qadian before 1947 |
| Anjuman-i-Punjab | Dr. G.W. Leitner | 1865 | Lahore; promoted oriental learning |
2. Early political awakening
- Indian Association of Lahore (1876) and the Punjab Provincial Conference.
- Lala Lajpat Rai ("Punjab Kesari" or "Sher-e-Punjab") became a leader of the Extremists with Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal — the Lal-Bal-Pal trio.
- 1907 — Pagri Sambhal Jatta movement: a peasant movement against the Punjab Colonisation of Land Bill (1906) and increased water rates in the canal colonies; led by Ajit Singh (uncle of Bhagat Singh) and Lala Lajpat Rai; named after the slogan/song by Banke Dayal. Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh were deported to Mandalay (Burma) in 1907. The Viceroy Lord Minto vetoed the Bill.
- Indian Home Rule League activity and Muslim League/Congress presence grew in Lahore.
3. The Ghadar Movement (1913–1915)
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1913, at Astoria (Oregon), USA (headquarters later at San Francisco: Yugantar Ashram) |
| Founder-president | Sohan Singh Bhakna |
| Other leaders | Lala Har Dayal (secretary), Kartar Singh Sarabha, Rash Behari Bose, Pandit Kanshi Ram, Vishnu Ganesh Pingle |
| Original name | Hindustan Association of the Pacific Coast; popular name from the weekly paper "Ghadar" (meaning "revolt") launched in 1913 |
| Aim | An armed revolt to overthrow British rule |
| Plan | Indian immigrants returned to India (especially Punjab) at the outbreak of the First World War (1914) to organise a mutiny |
| Ghadar conspiracy (Feb 1915) | A planned uprising on 21 February 1915 was foiled by an informer; leaders were arrested; Lahore Conspiracy Cases followed; Kartar Singh Sarabha (age ~19) was hanged on 16 November 1915 |
4. Komagata Maru incident (1914)
- Baba Gurdit Singh chartered a Japanese ship, the Komagata Maru, with about 376 Punjabi passengers (Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus) to travel to Vancouver (Canada), challenging Canada's exclusion laws (the "continuous journey" rule).
- Canadian authorities refused entry; the ship returned to India.
- On 29 September 1914 it reached Budge Budge near Calcutta; police opened fire on passengers, killing about 19.
- Became a symbol of racial discrimination against Indians.