Chandigarh: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has named Giani Raghbir Singh as the new jathedar, or high priest, of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of the Sikhs after the acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh offered to step down from the position.
Addressing a press conference in Amritsar following a meeting of the SGPC executive committee Friday, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami told the media that Giani Harpreet Singh — who is the jathedar of the Takht at Damdama Sahib and was holding the additional charge of the Akal Takht jathedar — had offered to be relieved of the additional charge after over four years of service.
Giani Raghbir Singh, the jathedar of the Takht at Keshgarh Sahib, will now be the jathedar of the Akal Takht, Dhami informed.
Giani Harpreet Singh, meanwhile, will remain the jathedar of Takht at Damdama Sahib.
Sikhs recognise five seats of temporal power out of which three are in Punjab — the Akal Takht (Golden Temple, Amritsar), Takht Sri Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo) and Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib (Anandpur Sahib). While the Akal Takht is supreme among all the five Takhts, all appointments of the high priests there are done by the SGPC.
Giani Harpreet Singh was in the eye of a storm for the past month after he attended the engagement ceremony of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha with actress Parineeti Chopra in New Delhi.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Virsa Singh Valtoha had criticised Giani Harpreet Singh, saying that he should not have graced an occasion where the Sikh code of conduct was not followed.
In a Facebook post, Valtoha said Chadha and Chopra were sitting on a raised seater where the ‘shabad kirtan’ (singing of hymns) took place.
Valtoha added that the jathedar had earlier attended the wedding ceremony of former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s son in which he also did the ‘ardaas’ (prayer) which was not in accordance with the Sikh code of conduct, as it forbids the Akal Takht jathedar to do ‘ardaas’ for a ‘patit’ (incomplete) Sikh.
Later in press interviews, Valtoha said the jathedar should have also avoided gracing ceremonies of political leaders who had on multiple occasions attacked and criticised him personally.
Apart from the Raghav Chadha engagement incident, Giani Harpreet Singh had in one of his speeches earlier this year criticised the SAD as having lost its purantical nature and lustre over the years. His speech was seen as a direct attack on the Badal family which head the SAD for the past two decades.
Rumours were rife for the past month that the jathedar would be removed by the SAD, which indirectly controls the working of the SGPC.
On Friday, Dhami said that it should not be construed that Giani Harpreet Singh was in any manner removed by the SGPC. “He has voluntarily and gracefully asked to be relieved from the position,” he said, adding that his services as the Akal Takht jathedar were widely appreciated.
The SGPC president said that there had been a talk about appointing a permanent jathedar of the Akal Takht following which Giani Harpreet Singh conveyed his wish to continue his services at Damdama Sahib. “It is highly appreciable that he offered to give up the position especially when people try to generally hold on to such positions,” Dhami said, adding that the jathedar of the Akal Takht is not a mere post but an exalted position of leadership of the entire Sikh community.
Giving details of the other changes that have been brought about, Dhami said that following the shifting of Giani Raghbir Singh from Takht Keshgarh Sahib, Giani Sultan Singh — who is the head granthi (reader of the holy text) of the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) — will take over at Keshgarh Sahib.
(Edited by Tony Rai)