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HomeIndiaSGPC, Haryana Sikh panel lock horns over gurdwara takeover — ‘broke golak...

SGPC, Haryana Sikh panel lock horns over gurdwara takeover — ‘broke golak with cutter’

Haryana govt appointed ad hoc panel taking over shrines criticised by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Backed by a SC ruling, HSGMC took control of shrine in Kurukshetra on Sunday

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Chandigarh: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has accused the Haryana government of hatching a conspiracy to occupy gurdwaras amidst a row over a state appointed ad-hoc panel taking over the management of a Sikh shrine in Kurukshetra.

The SGPC manages historic gurdwaras in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. Under Section 85 of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, the SGPC runs management of 83 historic gurdwaras and another 200 gurdwaras under Section 87.

“The office-bearers of government nominated Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (ad-hoc) entered the historical Gurdwara Patshahi Chhevin in Kurukshetra and in an arbitrary action, they broke golak (box in which offerings are kept) using a cutter. Later, the lock of SGPC’s Haryana Sikh Mission was also broken in the same manner and it was occupied,” SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said in a press statement Monday.

The management of gurdwaras in Haryana had so far been with the SGPC, whose head office is located at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. Haryana has 52 gurdwaras, which contribute nearly Rs 150 crore (through offerings) to the SGPC’s annual budget.

Dhami alleged that when Sikh Sangat (a community of people who meet and worship in the gurdwara in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib) from Haryana went to Gurdwara Chhevin Patshashi to protest the “forcible” takeover, they were arrested and force used against them. He further claimed that some police personnel entered in their shoes, leading to violation of the Sikh maryada (code of conduct).

Responding to the SGPC’s allegations, HSGMC president Baba Karamjit Singh insisted that due procedure was followed while taking control of Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi.

“We wrote to the SGPC to hand over management gracefully. We sent them messages and spoke to them on phone. After all our efforts, made in the 57 days since the formation of our committee, failed to yield any result, we took over control of the gurdwara Sunday. While doing so, we followed all legal procedures,” Singh told ThePrint.

Dismissing allegations of the police entering the gurdwara wearing shoes, he added: “The cops did not enter the gurdwara. They were stationed outside.”

Talking about the golak, Singh claimed that as the keys to the box were with the SGPC and it did not reply to the messages, the lock was broken open and replaced with a new one, as per legal procedures.

Earlier, while talking to the media after the takeover of Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi, Singh had said that the HSGMC will soon take over all 52 gurdwaras in Haryana.

Dedicated to Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru, Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi is one of the biggest Sikh shrines in Haryana. The sub-office of the Amritsar-headquartered SGPC is also located in this gurdwara.

Accompanied by a posse of police and an executive magistrate appointed by the government, the HSGMC had reached the Kurukshetra gurdwara on Sunday and taken control of the shrine. Two days later, the committee took over three more gurdwaras — Gurdwara Manji Sahib and Gurdwara Neem Sahib in Kaithal and Gurdwara Dhamtan Sahib in Jind.

The takeovers follow a September 2022 Supreme Court verdict, upholding the constitutional validity of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Act, 2014, enacted by the erstwhile Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government.

Following the SC verdict, the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government constituted an ad-hoc committee in December last year, pending regular elections, to supervise smooth takeover of all the assets of gurdwaras in Haryana. Baba Karamjit Singh was announced president of the organisation.

The takeover of the gurdwaras has been criticised by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Jagdish Singh Jhinda, a former president of the Haryana gurdwara body, who accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of seeking to take over control of the golak, through the ad-hoc committee appointed by it.


Also Read: SGPC calls imprisonment of Bandi Singhs ‘major violation of human rights’, set to move ICJ, UN


‘Black day’

Speaking to the media after the takeover of the Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi, Dhami alleged: “The Haryana government wants to take control of the gurdwaras in violation of the Supreme Court’s decision. The judgment says that the HSGMC can be functional only after the election, but the Haryana government has conspired and made a policy to take over the gurdwara administration by forming an ad-hoc committee.”

The SGPC president said a five-member committee will review the issue and on the basis of the panel’s report, an appeal will be made to the Akal Takht for its intervention. The Akal Takht, located in Amritsar, is one of five seats of Sikh power.

According to Dhami, the committee includes SGPC senior vice-president Baldev Singh Qaimpuri, junior vice-president Avtar Singh Ria, general secretary Bhai Gurcharan Singh Grewal, and executive members Jarnail Singh Kartarpur and Bawa Singh Gumanpura.

Dhami added that the opinion of legal experts will be taken about the “illegal nomination of HSGMC ad-hoc by Haryana government” with just a notification and that the intervention of the Union home ministry will also be sought, regarding the direct interference in Sikh affairs as included in the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925.

The takeover of the Haryana gurdwaras by the HSGMC was also opposed by SAD leaders, who termed it a “black day” in the history of Sikh religion.

In a video and a text message posted on his Facebook page Monday, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said, “First the Haryana government divided the SGPC and then it formed a separate committee to give control of the gurdwaras to the Mahantas. Now at the last stage, the Gurdwara Sahibans are being captured by breaking the banknotes. A delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal will visit Kurukshetra, in coordination with the Shiromani Committee, to assess the situation. The Shiromani Akali Dal is committed to bringing these gurdwaras back under the Shiromani Committee.”

Senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema tweeted, “It is shameful that Haryana Police entered the historic Gurdwara Sahib in Kurukshetra in full uniform and even wearing shoes. This is the cruel way the Haryana govt is forcibly handing over the control to a nominated committee.”

Cheema also attached a video showing a cop taking off his shoes and handing them over to a Sikh volunteer.

Jhinda, who had long campaigned for a separate body to manage gurdwaras in Haryana and was the president of the panel set up by Hooda in 2014, alleged the BJP government in the state wanted to take control of the golak through its ad-hoc committee. Jhinda had resigned from the committee formed by the Khattar government.

“I have fought for a separate committee for Haryana for 22 years, and now, when the 38-member committee was nominated by the BJP government, only three to four of our members (those who had worked for a separate Haryana gurdwara body) were included.” Jhinda told ThePrint.

“The BJP government in Haryana wants to control the golak of Haryana gurdwaras through its ad-hoc committee in the same manner in which the SAD has been taking control over gurdwaras, its offerings and employees working in gurdwaras through the SGPC backed by it.”

Jhinda claimed that the ad-hoc committee constituted by the Khattar government was full of BJP supporters and people with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) background.

Meanwhile, claiming that the ad-hoc committee had taken over the management of Chhevin Patshahi in a peaceful manner, Singh said SGPC employees who have been working in the gurdwara will be allowed to continue under the new dispensation.

“We request the SGPC to hand over the charge of the remaining gurdwaras to the HSGMC in a graceful manner. The SGPC should appreciate the fact that Delhi, Maharashtra and Bihar already have their separate gurdwara management committees, and Haryana isn’t the first state to have such an arrangement,” Singh said.

(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)


Also Read: Nearly 2 dozen Chandigarh cops hurt in clash with protesters demanding release of Sikh prisoners


 

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