Organisation · 11 to 12 Jun 1926
First meeting of the Ad Dharm movement (Ad-dharm Mandal)
Mugowal, Punjab (British India)
Few sources so far.
A school for Untouchable children became the home of a movement.
Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia, born in Hoshiarpur district in 1886 and once a Ghadarite, came home to Mugowal after 16 years abroad and opened a school for children of the Untouchable community. On 11 and 12 June 1926, that school hosted the first annual meeting of the Ad Dharm movement, which asserted a separate identity for Punjab's Untouchables.
In the Punjab census of 1931, 418,789 people registered as Ad Dharmis.
See it on the map and the timeline
What the sources record
- The Ad Dharm movement held its first official annual meeting on 11 and 12 June 1926, at the school in Mugowal. (1)
- Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia had founded the school in his home town, Mugowal, in Garhshankar tehsil, after 16 years abroad. (1)
- Maktoob gives the same dates for the movement's formal launch, under Mangu Ram Mugowalia's leadership. (2)
- Seth Kishan Dass of Bootan Mandi gave the movement its financial backbone; Hazara Ram Piplanwala, Hari Ram Pandori Bibi and Sant Ram Azad were among its leaders. (1)
- The historian Mark Juergensmeyer calls Mangu Ram the founder of the Ad-dharm Mandal. (1)
- 418,789 people registered as Ad Dharmis in the Punjab census of 1931. (1)
- Mangu Ram was born in 1886 in Hoshiarpur district. (2)
People in this record
- Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia, founder
- Seth Kishan Dass, financial backer
- Hazara Ram Piplanwala, leading member
- Hari Ram Pandori Bibi, leading member
- Sant Ram Azad, leading member
Sources
- Study. Forward Press (Ronki Ram, Emeritus Professor, formerly Panjab University). Mangu Ram Mugowalia, Ad Dharm movement and the rise of the Ravidass Panth. 15 Jun 2026.
- Press. Maktoob Media (Akhilesh Kumar). Mangu Ram Mugowalia and Ad Dharm movement: A century of Dalit assertion in Punjab. 24 Jun 2026.
On the map at the centre of Punjab.