KHĀLSĀ DĪWĀN KHARĀ SAUDĀ BĀR was established in1912 by Jathedār Kartār Siṅgh of Jhabbar, who became famous in the struggle for the liberation of gurdwārās. The Dīwān's membership consisted mostly of Jaṭṭ Sikhs of the Virk clan who were concentrated in several villages (Jhabbar being one of them) around Chūhāṛkāṇā in the Lower Chenāb Canal Colony in Sheikhūpurā district. Initially, this Dīwān was engaged in purely religious and reformist activities and worked especially for the spread of education among Sikhs of this area. During 1919, in the wake of the Jalliāṅvālā massacre, the Dīwān veered round to politics and redesignated itself Akālī Dal Kharā Saudā Bār, ultimately merging with the Shiromaṇī Akālī Dal established in December 1920.