One Marriage that took place according to the Anand Karaj ( NOT Hndu Panditology system) was BHAI KAMLIAH and Bibi MATHEH MURARI during the time of Emperor Akbar and Guru Amardass Ji. A Complaint was lodged with the Mughal Court that such marriages hsould eb banned becasue they are NOT PURE. Guru Amardass Ji dispatched Bhai Jetha Ji who was his son-in law to Delhi to explain to the Emperor ref to this matter.
The Emperor Akbar on listening to Bhai jetha Ji's explanation that those who were following the Panth of GURU NANAK were NOT HINDUS and thus entitled to their own ways. The Emperor agreed and threw the complaint out. Bhai jetha Ji later became GURU RAMDASS JI.
The Crown Prince of NABHA State Prince RIPUDAMAN SINGH who was a Member of the Viceroy Council in 1907. After a consultation with sikh scholars and academicians and granthis Sikh Organsiations etc he decided to bring a BILL in the VC on 30th Oct 1908. This issue rasied a storm...his own father..Maharja Hira Singh of Nabha oppsoed his son's proposal. Hundreds of Sikh socieites and granthis etc passed resolutions opposing this Anand Karaj Bill. NO Sikh of any stature dared to voice his support to the Crown Prince Ripudaman Singh who was a Progressive Sikh. The Maharja Nabha Hira Singh had the funds of Nabha State and he caused hundreds of pamphlets and tracts to be published not only in Punjabi but English and in many Indian languages. This Protest was being instigated by the Pandits who stood to lose so many "clients" iF sikhs began to discard the Hindu marriage and start doing the Anand Karaj. The British Govt published the BILL on the Sikh Anand Karaj in their Official Gazette and all over India to gauge its support among the sikh population. Thus a verbal war broke out among Sikhs dividing them into two Groups ( exactly what is happening today !!..so we have actually been RUNNING ON THE SPOT for the past 100 years....we cannot AGREE on anything..be it DG issue, Raagmala, meat-veg issue, banis 5 or 7, calendar issue, gurpurabs issues, sant issues, dera issues, badal/congress issues..whatever ??) ANYWAY the British were disappointed by the Protests and placed the Anand Marriage Bill in the Freezer for a few years.
Suddenly a major Sikh Leader Sir Sunder Singh majhithiah came out in SUPPORT of the now FROZEN Bill. He was a Member of the VC and he bagn a new campaign to get it passed.This may have been due to the way another SIKH millionaire Dyal Singh majhithiah ( Owner of the TRIBUNE GROUP of Newspapers that were founded with SIKH money but are controlled by Hindu Arya Samajists and used as for anti-sikh issues) Dyal Sighs case was fought until the Privy Council London.
Majhithia was Secretray of the CKD Chief Khalsa Diwan and although very close to Maharaja Hira Singh nabha, he came out in suppoet of his son Ripudaman singh nabha and the Anand Marriage Act. The CKD went from village to village popularising the Bill and garnering Sikh population support for the Bill.This was the first time the Ordinary SIKH was being told what was involved.
Then the Bill got a real big boost when SANT DARBARA SINGH NIRANKAREE founder of the NIRANKAREES boosted his cmapaign for the Anand Karaj vs the Hindu vedic marriage. ( these are the real and ORIGINAL NIRANKAREES as opposed to the Fake "nirankarees" who HIJACKED the Name of this Movment (and are called NARAKDHAREES due to their actions in 1978) who caused the 1978 vasakhi massacre in Amrtisar leading to the Ops Bluestar..and beyond). In fact Baba darbara Singh Nirankaree had his own anand karaj performed according to Anand karaj more than 20 years prior..in 1883...The Nirankaree Mission had been in the forefront of the Anand Marriage Ceremony for SIKHS in the Rawalpindi areas of Punjab.
The Entire Campaign is available in the British East India Archives and is about 5 huge Volumes. Letters, pamphlets, speeches, resolutions, newspaper articles, letters to the Editors, British secret reports etc..The Viceroy now despatched letters to all District Commissioners to gauge public opinion and write back to him. Most of the DCs gauged the right opinions and thus the Delhi Govt was convinced that the Anand Marriage was popular and accepted byt he SIKHS. However the Hindus speeded up their campaign. Pandits all over wnet about "advising" that all marriages under the AM were invalid, the children would be haramis (illegetimate) and whats more GOD would be angry as well if the Vedas were not followed. Due to the widespread influence of the local pandit..many rural sikhs were in a doubt and thus rather than offend the Pandit they opted for the vedic rather than stick their necks out for the AM.
Anyway the British Govt based on its feedback form DCs and officers all over came to the concluison that majority fo the SIKHS were in FAVOUR of the Ananad Marriage Bill and the oppsoing sikhs were a minority. Thus the Anand Marriage Act bill was tabled in the Viceroys Council and passed on 22 oct 1909 and made LAW all over BRITISH INDIA which at that time included Burma, Bangladesh, Pakistan etc. Moreover SIKHS by then had also migrated to malaya, Canada, Usa, Europe, HongKong etc etc.
