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The Chief Khalsa Diwan was an institution established in 1902, to heal the schism between the Amritsar and Lahore Khalsa Diwans, as both had been influenced by their various ideological differences. The opening was inaugurated in the Malvai Bunga on Diwali. They were renowned for their creation of orphanages, schools and colleges, to help compete with growing missionary activities among other organisations like the Arya Samaj and Anjuman-i-Islam. However, later on, it was criticised as a propagandist voice of the elite Sikhs by anti-British groups like the Akali Dal.

The Amritsar Khalsa Diwan was created in 1883 to aid Singh Sabhas in surrounding areas with Baba Khem Singh Bedi as president and Bhai Gurmukh Singh as the chief secretary and Raja Bikram Singh of Faridkot serving as the chief patron. However, there still remained ideological differences between the hierarchy of the Khalsa Diwans. As Jagjit Singh mentions in his book ‘Singh Sabha Lehar (1873-1902)’:

ਖਾਲਸਾ ਦੀਵਾਨ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਬੰਧਕਾਂ ਦੀ ਛੂਤ ਛਾਤ, ਹਿੰਦੂ ਨੁਮਾ ਸਿਖ ਰੀਤੀਆਂ, ਠਾਕਰਾਂ ਦੀ ਪੂਜਾ ਆਦਿ ਕਈ ਗੱਲਾਂ ਸਨ, ਜੋ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਮੁਖ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਆਦਿ ਨੂੰ, ਜੋ ਸਿਖ ਧਰਮ ਨੂੰ ਨਿਰੋਲ ਖਾਲਸ ਵੇਖਣਾ ਚਾਹੁੰਦੇ ਸਨ, ਇਹ ਗਲਾਂ ਨਾ ਭਾਈਆਂ। ਅਖੌਤੀ ਮਜ਼ਬੀ, ਰਾਮਦਾਸੀਏ ਆਦਿ ਗੁਰੂ ਕੇ ਸਿਖਾਂ ਨੇ ਰੋਟੀ ਬੇਟੀ ਦੀ ਸਾਂਝ ਲਈ ਬਹੁਤ ਵੇਰ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਦੀਵਾਨ ਪਾਸ ਪ੍ਰਾਰਥਨਾ ਕੀਤੀ, ਪਰ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਅਜੀਬ ਅਜੀਬ ਤਰੀਕਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਟਾਲ ਮਟੋਲ ਹੀ ਕੀਤੀ ਗਈ।

The Khalsa Diwan Amritsar’s administration’s untouchability, Hindu-like Sikh traditions, the worship of idols and other matters, were not made privy to Bhai Gurmukh Singh and others as they wanted to see the absolute purity of the Khalsa. The supposed Mazhabis, Ramdasias and others long prayed to break bread with the Khalsa Diwan but they were refused in strange ways.

The first such incident occurred when Baba Khem Singh Bedi sat perched upon a seat whilst next to the Guru Granth Sahib, this caused a sharp divide between the Amritsar and Lahore Singh Sabhas. The release of ‘Khurshid Khalsa’, which contained passages in favour of Maharaja Duleep Singh, led to Bhai Gurmukh Singh distancing himself from the Amritsar branch as the British were further looking to clamp down on the intended creation of Khalsa College. Bhai Gurmukh Singh, a staunch reformist, saw to reform Sikhi using Khalsa College and his Diwan.

Due to factional differences over ideology, the Khalsa Diwan Lahore officially split from the Khalsa Diwan Amritsar. The Khalsa Diwan Amritsar was only left with a few Singh Sabhas, having the Faridkot, Amritsar and Rawalpindi Singh Sabhas. With the creation of Khalsa College, Khalsa Diwan Lahore members like Bhai Gurmukh Singh and Bhai Jawahir Singh were given high positions on the committee.

With the deaths of figures like Baba Khem Singh Bedi and Bhai Ganesha Singh, the Khalsa Diwan Amritsar would further be isolated to Rawalpindi, where they held large influence. Without the presence of Baba Khem Singh Bedi, figures like Avtar Singh Vahiria would return to Rawalpindi and Giani Sardul Singh would take charge of the Saragarhi gurudwara in Amritsar.

As the figures of the Amritsar Khalsa Diwan had dwindled, it was easier to come to a compromise for the creation of a Chief Khalsa Diwan. On the Diwali of 1902, Teja Singh Bhasauria, Arjan Singh Bagrian, Bhai Vir Singh and Sundar Singh Majithia came together to inaugurate the Chief Khalsa Diwan.

It eventually became a premier institution that worked on opening Sikh schools, publishing Sikh texts and had a committee from a wide spectrum of Sikhs from members from each of the Panj Takhts to administrators of the Sikh princely states to descendants of the nobility from the Sarkar-i-Khalsa. However, it would be criticised for being an organisation of the elites especially as the Akali Dal became known as the premier Sikh organisation of the commoners.

Their most notable achievement was the passing of the Anand Karaj bill, helping ratify Sikh marriage as a separate marital system from Hindu marriage. Alongside this, they helped Sikhs get representation in government jobs and military to elevate the Sikh community’s standing.

At its peak, the Chief Khalsa Diwan had large Diwans in Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Jalandhar and Patiala, alongside Singh Sabhas in Kolkata, Yangon, Karachi and Pune. However, the one in Tarn Taran remained the most prominent amongst them and was funded heavily through Khalsa College.

Due to factional schisms between the Maharaja of Nabha, Hira Singh Nabha, and the aristocrat Sundar Singh Majithia, Hira Singh would break off from the Chief Khalsa Diwan and form the Central Khalsa Diwan. Hira Singh’s Central Khalsa Diwan alongside the Bar Akali Jatha and the Malwa Khalsa Diwan of Dhuri would eventually be one of the organisations that’s merged to create the Akali Dal. Due to the influence of Hira Singh in Malwa, many prominent Malwai Sikhs would sever their relations with the Chief Khalsa Diwan, including Bhai Arjan Singh of Bagrian and several Phulkian state administrators.

Although, it appears as an exaggerated point at times but the distance between Khalsa College and the Sikh bourgeoise of Malwa was a cause of concern. The Malwai sardars had long since wished to open an institution similar to Khalsa College in Malwa as they saw Khalsa College only being a benefit for the Sikhs of Majha. Sundar Singh Majithia’s ascension to the Chief Khalsa Diwan council helped accelerate the divide between the Majhail and Malwai Sikh bourgeoise as Hira Singh Nabha was adamantly opposed to his joining of the council.

As the Chief Khalsa Diwan expanded activities, the more opposition grew through mass movements like the Akali movement, the Ghadar movement and various communist groups. By the Akalis, they were derided as a moderate movement, never voicing the concerns of anti-Sikh activities by the British. Communists mostly critiqued the hierarchy of the Chief Khalsa Diwan as their view was it comprised of self-serving elites compared to the working-class Sikh population. However, members from all three groups opposed their position on the independence of India as they took neither a pro or anti-independence position.

The growth of the SGPC meant that control of the gurudwaras and printing of important texts was undertaken by them instead. The Chief Khalsa Diwan became relegated to a body that oversees mostly orphanages and schools, an undertaking that they carry out to this date.

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