Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has “admitted” that he has limited knowledge about the Sikh code of conduct, its principles and traditions and assured that he will be more careful in speaking about the Sikhism, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj said Thursday.
A final decision on Mann’s explanation will be taken by the five Singh sahiban (high priests) during their next meeting, he said.
Mann appeared before the secretariat of the highest temporal body of Sikhs—the Akal Takth—to explain his alleged “anti-Sikh” conduct after being summoned last week by Gargajj.
Issuing the summons the Akal Takht jathedar had said that the CM was expressing anti-Sikh mindset and making repeated objectionable remarks in violation of the Sikh Rehat Maryada (code of conduct) while challenging the authority of Akal Takht.
The CM, he added, repeatedly questioned the principle of ‘Guru Ki Golak’ (monetary offerings to the guru) blessed by the Sikh Gurus, thereby deeply hurting Sikh sentiments. Referring to a video purportedly depicting Mann committing sacrilege of images of Sikh gurus, the jathedar had said that the Akal Takht would get an investigation done to ascertain its authenticity.
At a press conference following the meeting, Gargajj said he was satisfied with the meeting but added that the Akal Takht would be going ahead with an investigation of the video. “Regarding the issue of the objectionable video, we have asked the CM to also shortlist two forensic science labs of his choosing from where its authenticity can be ascertained,” he added.
He said that in addition to the laboratories suggested by the government, the Akal Takht will also independently have the objectionable video forensically examined. “Whatever report emerges will be placed before the Khalsa Panth (Sikh community) and a further decision will be taken accordingly. Since the matter related to the video is connected with Sikh sentiments and it is essential that no one’s character is maligned, a forensic examination is necessary,” Gargajj said.
In a separate media briefing, Mann asserted that the video was fake and generated using artificial intelligence. “Though even to the naked eye, it is clear that the video is fake, it can be proved by any national or International forensic lab,” he said, adding that he was ready for any such probe.
The CM added that he appeared before the Akal Takht like a humble Sikh and was in no way trying to challenge its authority, which was supreme. He was a “nobody” before it, Mann said.
The jathedar, meanwhile, said that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. “The Chief Minister was courteous and respectful.”
Gargajj said Mann admitted that his knowledge about the Sikh code of conduct and its traditions was limited and he had inadvertently spoken about the Sikh religion without having the complete knowledge about Sikh principles.
“He realised that his conduct was objectionable. However, the house of the Guru is forgiving,” the jathedar said, adding that he does not feel the need to summon the CM again.
However, he added that the final decision would be taken by the five Singh sahibaan, who would meet in due course.
The jathedar said that even though the CM was a patit (had shorn his hair) and could not appear before the ramparts of Akal Takht or be declared a Tankhaiya (sinner of the religion), the Sikh panth (Sikh community) can be asked to act in a particular manner against him (if he is found guilty and needed to be punished).
During the hour-long meeting, the CM was handed a copy of Rehat Maryada and the monthly publication ‘gurdwara gazette’ that carries details of the income and expenditure of various gurdwaras under the SGPC.
On his part, Mann, who had called for live telecast of the meeting, handed over a bag of documents against the functioning of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and urged the Akal Takht to deal with them appropriately.
The Chief Minister said that as an advocate of the sentiments of millions of people, he had submitted 25,000 to 30,000 pages of complaints, to the Jathedar.
“These complaints reflect the emotions of people who have flagged various anomalies in the functioning of the SGPC. I have humbly requested the Jathedar Sahib to get these complaints investigated, as the feelings of millions are attached to them. Institutions are always supreme while individuals heading them can err, such individuals deserve no leniency for their misdeeds,” he said.
He said that whatever decision the five sahibaan took regarding his explanation would be acceptable to him. Mann added that he requested the jathedar appoint a point person who could be consulted by the government on religious matters. “I have given my clarifications and am at peace.”
On the ongoing police investigation of the missing 328 saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib, the CM said that no action would be taken without following the appropriate religious traditions and keeping in mind the sentiments of the people. He said that wherever and whenever the saroops were traced, they would be inform the Akal Takht with due respect. “We are not registering cases. The police have already been instructed not to enter the premises of religious places where the saroops are traced,” he said.
“The SIT has been constituted solely to trace the missing saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. Its mandate is strictly confined to tracing them so that they are not misused,” he said. He added that he had also sought the intervention of the Jathedar Sahib to direct the SGPC to provide the unique codes assigned to each saroop published by it, to facilitate tracing of the missing saroops.
On Wednesday, the Punjab CM had announced that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had found that 139 saroops at the gurdwara in Rasokhana Raja Sahib Nabh Kanwal at Mazara Nau Abad village in Nawanshahar were without any documentation. “Another 30 saroops, which were found in the dera, were registered in the name of two other gurdwaras in the village.”
Gargajj, meanwhile, told the media that the CM acted in a hurry in connection with the saroops and should not make statements without verifying the facts of the case.
“There must be many cases where the Guru Granth Sahib has been given with proper documents, but the people have not retained those documents. Apart from the SGPC, in the past, some other organisations were also printing the Guru Granth Sahib and these could be those saroops,” the jathedar said.
He said that the use of the words “recovered” for the Guru Granth Sahib is disrespectful and inappropriate. The Akal Takht had been supporting the move to have a harsher law against sacrilege of all religious texts but there should be a special law to deal with Guru Granth Sahib as it was considered to be a living Guru by the Sikhs, he added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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