He attended the divan of the Khalsa Baradan in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, on 12 October 1920, and accompanied the group to the Harimandir Sahib and the Akal Takht, which event ushered in the movement for Panthic control of the Sikh's sacred shrines.

Bawa Harkishan Singh served a longer term in jail and was released only when an overall settlement was arrived at with the government.

Mehtab Singh, Sardar Bahadur, a senior leader of the agitation, offered to implement the provisions of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 as proposed by government.

After several months of protracted talks and arguments, the Sabha managed to bring round certain contestants from the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Central Akali Dal to agree on a common list of candidates for the 1936 shrine elections prepared by Sant Vasakha Singh and Sant Javala Singh.

However, during the Punjabi Suba movement, he was coopted a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and, after the arrest of Master Tara Singh on 10 May 1955, elected its president.

[5] In spite of the restraint shown by the Akalis, police raided the Darbar Sahib complex on 4 July 1955, burst tear gas shells on pilgrims and made many arrests.

He kept himself aloof from all active transactions, although he stayed put in Delhi for all those days in Sardar Hukum Singh's residence to make himself available for advice and consultation.

The committee on the government side was led by the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru himself, but Bawa Harkishan Singh did not attend any of its sittings.