With Punjabi University under fire for ‘water burial’ of ‘Mahan Kosh’, Akal Takht steps in for inquiry

The Sikh temporal body came down heavily on the administration after students staged massive protests alleging desecration of the revered text. V-C & other top officials have been booked.

Copies of 'Mahan Kosh' being removed from the burial pit at Punjabi University, Patiala by protesting students Friday | By special arrangement

Chandigarh: A day after students at Patiala’s Punjabi University protested against the authorities for allegedly “desecrating” printed copies of the Mahan Kosh, a revered encyclopedia of Sikh literature, the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of the Sikhs, initiated an inquiry into the incident Friday, while admonishing the university administration.

Over 15,000 copies of the Mahan Kosh were being disposed of by the university by burying them in a huge pit dug up for the purpose. However, the process was stalled, following a major protest by the students who blocked the entry gates to the campus Thursday. The protest ended only after an FIR was lodged by Patiala Police against Vice Chancellor Jagdeep Singh, along with the registrar, dean and head of publication bureau, that evening under charges of desecration.

The Akal Takht has constituted a committee of prominent members of Sikh community to investigate the matter, and submit a detailed report on the entire sequence of events to the Secretariat of Sri Akal Takht Sahib within a week. “This committee will also review and report on the current arrangements for the preservation of rare literature and scriptures in the Dr Ganda Singh Punjabi Reference Library of the University, as well as the condition of the library building,” read the note issued by the Akal Takht secretariat.

The committee includes SGPC executive member Surjit Singh Garhi; Dr Paramvir Singh of Punjabi University; Professor Sukhdev Singh, director of the Panth Ratan Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra Institute and SGPC assistant secretary; Giani Pranam Singh, Head Granthi of Gurdwara Sri Dukhniwaran Sahib; Dr Pritpal Singh, vice chancellor of Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Sri Fatehgarh Sahib; SGPC member Surjit Singh Bhittewad; and Bhagwant Singh Dhangera, general manager of Golden Temple, Amritsar.

V-C Jagdeep Singh issued an apology Friday claiming “unintentional oversight” via a press statement.

The Guru Shabad Ratnakar Mahan Kosh is a voluminous encyclopedia of Sikh Literature in Punjabi, compiled by Sikh scholar Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha over 14 years in the 20th century. It contains over 70,000 words related to Sikh literature, with references from Guru Granth Sahib and the Dasam Granth, due to which it is considered to be a revered piece of literature.

The Punjabi University printing press had been publishing and selling bound copies of the Mahan Kosh for the past 16 years. However, after objections were raised over some errors having crept in in the printed books, the university had decided to dispose of the printed stock of 15,000 copies.

“After a lot of consideration, it was decided that the best way that these books could be discarded was by dissolving them in a waterbed, for the purpose of which a pit was dug and the printed material was put in it. After this, the pit was to be filled with water so that the printing material is discarded in the most environmentally friendly manner. If we had decided to burn the 15,000 copies, it would have led to a lot of smoke and harm to the environment,” said the vice chancellor in the statement issued in Punjabi.

https://t.co/UtMr6TXcmy pic.twitter.com/KE0oD76qQS

— Punjabi University, Patiala (@PbiUniPatiala) August 29, 2025

Jagdeep Singh added that the university had published these books in English in 2006, in Punjabi in 2009, and in Hindi in 2013. “The issue that errors had crept into the book has been under discussion for several years now. In 2019, the university had stopped selling the printed books and recalled these from book shops. The matter was under discussion with the current government as well, and a high level committee had been constituted to find a solution to the issue. On 5 August, it was decided by the committee that the entire stock of error-ridden books be disposed of.”

However, the method adopted by the university to take care of the stock was not accepted by the students, who interrupted the process.

“The Mahan Kosh is revered because it contains words from Guru Granth Sahib, Dasam Granth and the Sarab Loh Granth. The university has thrown them in the pit in the horticulture department desecrating them. Though the university thought that water burial is the most eco-friendly way of disposing of these, they are still covered in the plastic wrapping paper they are packed in. The university should have chosen the correct means of disposing of them,” said Mandeep Singh, a student leader at the university, in a video statement standing next to the pit.

The video message was posted by Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira on X. “I strongly condemn gross disrespect and sacrilege committed by VC Punjabi University Patiala and other officials for denigrating valuable Sikh scripture Mahan-Kosh by destroying its copies in an unethical manner causing injury to Sikh sentiments besides damaging the ecology of the university and surrounding areas,” he wrote.

I strongly condemn gross disrespect and sacrilege committed by VC Punjabi University Patiala and other officials for denigrating valuable Sikh scripture Mahan-Kosh by destroying its copies in an unethical manner causing injury to Sikh sentiments besides damaging the ecology of… pic.twitter.com/uB43YYCRDA

— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) August 29, 2025

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal also condemned the episode. “It is shocking that those involved in desecration of the Mahan Kosh are intellectuals and academicians who should have understood the gravity of what they were doing. It is clear that certain forces are working towards such things which need to be exposed,” he wrote on X.

“ਮਹਾਨ ਕੋਸ਼” ਨਾਲ ਸੰਬੰਧਿਤ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਰਿਆਦਾ ਦੇ ਉਲਟ ਜਾ ਕੇ ਅਪਣਾਈ ਗਈ ਕਾਰਜ ਵਿਧੀ ਨੇ ਕੌਮ ਦੀਆਂ ਭਾਵਨਾਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਗਹਿਰੀ ਠੇਸ ਪਹੁੰਚਾਈ ਹੈ। ਮੈਨੂੰ ਯਕੀਨ ਹੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਆ ਰਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਇਹ ਬੇਅਦਬੀ ਕਰਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਉਹ ਵਿਦਵਾਨ ਵੀ ਸ਼ਾਮਿਲ ਹਨ ਜਿਹਨਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਉਮੀਦ ਕੀਤੀ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਅਜਿਹੇ ਭਾਵਨਾਤਮਕ ਮਾਮਲਿਆਂ ਸੰਬੰਧੀ ਮਰਿਆਦਾ ਬਾਰੇ ਭਲੀ ਭਾਂਤੀ… pic.twitter.com/i8cR1LssxE

— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) August 29, 2025

Delhi minister and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa attacked the Aam Aadmi Party government. “Those who once demanded life imprisonment for acts of sacrilege are today allowing such sacrilege to take place under their own rule, by their own officials. What could be more shameful than this? This is their true face!” he wrote on X.

‘Anti-Sikh mentality’

Slamming the university administration, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj said Friday that the university’s act was “highly condemnable and a clear expression of anti-Sikh mentality”.

In a statement issued through his secretariat, Gargajj said that the Mahan Kosh is a priceless treasure of Sikh literature, which continues to guide researchers interested in Sikh history.

He added that Punjabi University had previously published versions of the Mahan Kosh with errors, which were strongly opposed by Sikh scholars and institutions. He said that if the university administration truly intended to respectfully handle Sikh literature, it should have coordinated with the Sikh body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to make proper arrangements, instead of going against Sikh tradition and maryada (conduct).

“The Punjabi University first acted unilaterally by publishing the Mahan Kosh with errors despite opposition from Sikh scholars, and now, in an attempt to cover up its mistakes, had adopted a highly objectionable approach which the Sikh community will never tolerate,” Gargajj said, adding that this reflected the poor intellectual understanding of the university officials and their lack of sensitivity towards Sikh heritage and literature.

The Jathedar further pointed out that concerns had also been raised regarding the poor upkeep of rare and highly important Sikh literature at the Dr Ganda Singh Punjabi Reference Library at the University. Sikhs are deeply worried about whether the personal library collections of great Sikh scholars, which are preserved with the university, are being properly maintained or not, he said.

He claimed that according to available information, there are no proper or adequate arrangements in the university reference library for preservation of rare books and documents belonging to Sikh scholars and thinkers, and that a significant portion of this heritage has either been “stolen or sold off as scrap”.

Jathedar Gargajj asked the Punjabi University administration to clarify what measures are being taken to ensure the preservation and care of ancient and historical Sikh manuscripts, scriptures and rare books kept in the library, especially since reports are emerging that its condition is not satisfactory.

He also appealed to Punjab Police to investigate the matter seriously and ensure strict punishment for the guilty, while directing the Head Granthi of Gurdwara Sri Dukhniwaran Sahib in Patiala to personally oversee the respectful saskar sewa of all copies of the Mahan Kosh present at the university campus, with SGPC’s assistance. Additionally, he advised the university administration to begin prayers inside the campus gurdwara as an act of repentance, while appealing to all Sikh organisations and students to remain peaceful.

“The copies of Mahan Kosh were taken out of the pit Friday night and taken to Goindwal Sahib for proper disposal,” Yadwinder Yaadu, another student leader, told ThePrint Saturday. “Akhand paath began in the university gurdwara Saturday morning.”

(Edited by Mannat Chugh)