Rais Harchand Singh Of Sursingh

Rais Harchand Singh Of Sursingh, was philanthropist and Sikh reformist, born the only son of Jatchief Rais Arjan Singh, a police sub inspector, in 1887 at the village of Sursingh, in Amritsar district of the Punjab. He learnt Urdu and Punjabi at home and did not have any formal education. At the turn of the century, the family shifted to Lyallpur where Arjan Singh had been granted by government land in the newly developed canal colony. Harchand Singh grew up a rich Zamindar, and started taking interest in public affairs. When the outer wall of Gurdwara Rikabganj in Delhi was demolished by the government in 1913 to secure symmetry in their construction plans for the main buildings of New Delhi such as the Viceroy’s house and the secretariat, Harchand Singh spearheaded a movement for the restoration of the masonry. To carry on his campaign, he launched from Lahore in 1914 an Urdu weekly, the Khalsa Akhbar. Among his coworkers were Master Tara Singh, Teja Singh Samundri and Master Sundar Singh Lyallpuri.

This group, popularly known as the Lyallpur group, took a pioneer role in the Gurdwara Reform movement in early twenties of the century. Harchand Singh also helped Master Sundar Singh Lyallpur ! in sponsoring the Akali (Punjabi) in 1920. In 1921, he officiated as president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbanclhak Committee during Baba Kharak Singh’s absence in jail. He represented Lyallpur (rural) constituency in the Punjab Legislative Council from 1923 to 1926.

Rais Harchand Singh Of Sursingh died on 20 February 1954 at Kota in Rajasthan.