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The All India Sikh Students Federation is a Sikh students' union and political organisation in India. Although largely political in its activities, the organisation also seeks to promote the values and heritage of Sikhism.
[edit] History
Before the federation came into being, the w Sikh youths were organised into Bhujangi Sabhas in schools and colleges across the Punjab region that promoted Sikh values, heritage and social service. Under the influence of British Raj, Sikh politicians formed the Sikh Youngmens' Association, whose first president was Bhai Harnam Singh. Although small in size and activity, the association published the Khalsa Youngmens' Magazine and sponsored work on religious and social subjects. Sikh youths were an integral part of organisations such as the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Shiromani Akali Dal as well as the [([Indian National Congress])] and the All India Students Federation.
[edit] Foundation
The All India Sikh Students Federation was formed as a students' organisation independent and committed to the political representation of Sikhs. The motivation for a distinct organisation for Sikhs came from the heightening communal and political tensions between the Hindu and Muslim communities. In 1937, a large group of Muslim students split from the Hindu-majority All India Students Federation to form the All India Muslim Students Federation, which became the youth arm of the Muslim League and the Pakistan movement. Seeking to protect Sikh political rights and representation, organisations such as the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee sponsored the creation of the All India Sikh Students Federation in 1944. It was headquartered in Lahore (now in Pakistan) and its organisation spread across colleges and universities in Punjab and northern India. Following the partition of India in 1947, the organisation moved its headquarters to Amritsar in Indian Punjab.
[edit] Post-independence
During the communal riots and mass migrations at the time of India's partition, the AISSF helped organise relief and rehabilitation camps for Hindu and Sikh refugees arriving in India from Pakistan. In independent India, the AISSF became closely linked as the youth arm of the Akali Dal. The federation would expand its organisation across India and become one of the nation's leading student political organisations. It would also help build support and lead the Sikh political demand for the establishment of a Sikh-majority state within the Indian union. As the agitation reached its peak in the mid-1960s, the federation helped organise student marches and rallies to increase pressure on the Indian government.
At the outbreak of the Khalistan insurgency, the federation was wrought by internal divisions and a hard-line faction of Sikh students who supported the insurgency and its leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Following Operation Bluestar in 1984, the federation led agitations to condemn the action of the Indian government and the resulting damage of the Harimandir Sahib and the deaths of civilians.
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