He was married to Ganga Devi, who died when the youngest of their nine
children was but eight months old. To look after the family Ganga Devi's mother
- known to all as Maaji - became the surrogate mother and grandmother
for the entire family. Bauji, as Lala Sarb Dayal was known to the family,
was elected Municipal commissioner of Amritsar around 1921 and his association
with the municipal committee continued till many years after independence.
In 1941, Bauji built a home as a summer retreat in Dalhousie and named it after his late wife - Ganga Niwas . Even then he had the vision to build this home in four self-sustaining units, but interconnected with each other. Hence, each family has its own privacy and space, but also has the freedom and ability to interact with all who stay there.
Today, 60 years later, Ganga Niwas stands as a reminder for this very large family - of Bauji and his vision and far-sightedness. Generations have gone there and come back with a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction; with memories of a relaxed holiday; and with promises of many more visits. Ganganiwas has been responsible in many unseen ways for innumerable interactions between family members, and for providing a haven of peace and joy for all those who enter her walls!!
Of the other seldom-mentioned citizens of Amritsar, who played a significant role in moulding public opinion and giving a lead to the masses of the city during and after the tragic events of 1919, the name of Sarb Dayal Khanna needs special mention. His contribution to the struggle of freedom as well as to the civic life of the city was unique. It spanned a long period from 1919 till after 1947. He had been fortunate enough to enjoy a long life. He died at the ripe age of 92 on January 2,1965.
At the time of the martial law in April-June 1919, Sarb Dayal was the Secretary of the Local Bar Association. The General Session of the Indian National Congress took place under the presidentship of Pt. Motilal Nehru in Amritsar in December 1919. Prominent among those who attended the session were Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, Ali brothers etc. Swami Shradhanand was the chairman of the Reception Comm. And Sarb Dayal was the accommodation Secretary of the Reception Comm.
The more important part that Sarb Dayal played, however was the help he rendered to the Congress Enquiry Committee in gathering evidence in 1919-20. In October 1919, the British Government in order to soothe down public temper aroused by the administration of Martial law had appointed a Disorders Inquiry Comm. ( known as Hunter Committee) to investigate the causes of the disorders and review the conduct of its officers. To begin with the Congress was for co-operation with the Hunter Comm. The Congress urged the Govt. to release the arrested persons to enable them to give evidence before the Hunter Comm.so that a clear picture may emerge, but the govt. refused to do so. The Congress soon lost its confidence in the Hunter Comm. And instead appointed an Enquiry Comm. of its own under the presidentship of Pt. Motilal Nehru to investigate the charges against the govt. officials. As the events at Amritsar had been most barbarous the said comm. wanted a responsible member of the Bar who could record the statements of the different witnesses in a faithful and judicious way. Sarb Dayal readily volunteered his services. It was due to his hard efforts and patient labour that the atrocities of the govt. officials in the city could be laid bare before the public. It was very difficult to gather information from a terror - stricken people in those days. But his tact and intensity bore fruit. He approached the victims of the government wrath individually and persuaded them to record their statements.
For days he recorded the statements of the witnesses and explained the purport of their depositing to Motilal Nehru and C.R.Das. The original records of these statements, which were with him till 1947, were unfortunately burnt when his house was set on fire during the communal holocaust of 1947 .
Lord Reading was appointed Viceroy of India in1920.The government of Punjab was very keen that the Municipal Corporation of Amritsar should present a welcome address to Lord reading. The object underlying this move was to show the citizen of Amritsar bore no grudge against the British Government and this was despite the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. There were at a time 30 members of Municipal Committee Amritsar, including Sarb Dayal Khanna. When the resolution to present an address of welcome to the Viceroy was moved in the committee, Sarb Dayal vehemently oppose the same. The resolution was, however, carried and the only dissent was that of Sarb Dayal. The nationalist papers gave prominent mention to what were those days to be a very bold stand and dissent offered by Sarb Dayal.
During the civil disobedience movement of 1930, the police made a severe lathi charge on the people of Amritsar, The bar association and citizens of Amritsar appointed a committee to inquiry into the lathi charge. Sheikh Sadiq Hasan, Bar-at law member of the central Legislative Assembly was the chairman of the committee, while Sarb Dayal Khanna was the Secretary Member of that committee. That committee after recording the evidence of witness gave a report about the indiscriminate and unprovoked lathi charge by the police. The report was prominently published in all the papers and some of them wrote editorial comments on the same.
The associations of Sarb Dayal Khanna with the Amritsar Municipal Committee, which commenced near about 1920, continued till after the dawn of freedom. In the committee Sarb Dayal Khanna was the leader of Municipal Congress Party.
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