Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee
Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, or HSGPC, is a proposed commiteee, body comprising elected representatives of the Sikhs concerned primarily with the management of sacred Sikh shrines of Haryana and to spread sikhi in Haryana. The SGPC manages 73 gurdwaras in Haryana and earns an annual revenue of Rs1 crore from the shrines
The demand first arose when seven Haryana members of the 170-seat strong SGPC, alleged that the state's historical gurdwaras were being neglected "even though they were adding Rs10 crore in the SGPC's kitty every year". The Haryana Congress had, in its election manifesto, promised to form a separate gurdwara management committee as Haryana's Sikhs "were feeling discriminated against by the SGPC". Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's announcement ruffled many a feather in Punjab.
The Haryana unit of the SGPC is divided over holding of the Sikh sangat in Kurukshetra on March 29, 2009. The meeting has been called by the SGPC to decide which party the Sikh community is likely to vote for in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Interestingly, representatives of all the main political parties have been invited to the sangat to present their parties’ agenda for the Sikhs if they come to power. The leaders invited include Phool Chand Mullana, Haryana Congress president; Atam Prakash Manchanda, BJP state president; Ashok Arora, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president; Kuldeep Bishnoi, president of the Haryana Janhit Congress; Raghubir Singh, president of Haryana CPI; and Inderjit Singh, president, CPM, Haryana.
SGPC and other Sikh leaders from Punjab had met the PM three months ago when it became clear that Haryana was heading towards a separate SGPC. Soon after coming to power, Hooda had set up a three-member committee led by cabinet minister HS Chatha to study the possibility of a separate Sikh body. Based on over 1.25 lakh affidavits from Sikhs in Haryana, the committee submitted a report in February, following which the government formed a three-member committee under the advocate-general to facilitate its implementation.
Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) chief Kuldeep Bishnoi said to reporters "We are in full support for a separate SGPC in Haryana. Now when the committee headed by Agriculture Minister H.S. Chatha has also given the green signal, why is Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda waiting for the month of November for its formulation, He accused the chief minister of "playing with the sentiments of people". "He is not at all devoted to the cause. He is just trying to extract political mileage out of the issue,""
Bhupinder Singh Hooda had announced earlier this week that a separate SGPC for Haryana could be set up Nov 1, the state's formation day.
Control of Gurdwara in Kurukshetra
A faction of Sikh leaders took over a gurdwara in this Haryana town, which was controlled by Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). The faction leaders said they had taken over the shrine without using force and as per the law.
Gurdwara Chhati Pathshai here, around 110 km from the state capital Chandigarh, was occupied by members of Haryana’s ad-hoc committee of SGPC.
The SGPC, a parliament of sorts of the Sikh religion, manages Sikh shrines of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, including the holiest Sikh shrine Harmandar Sahib (popularly known as Golden Temple) at Amritsar in Punjab.
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had earlier said that a separate SGPC would be constituted on Haryana Day Nov 1, the day Haryana was carved out in 1966 as a separate state from Punjab, provided there are no legal hitches.
“They have taken law into their hands and broken the locks of the gurdwara doors to gain entry inside the premises. They are spreading mayhem in the state just like old Mughal rulers,” Raghuveer Singh Virk, senior vice-president of SGPC, told IANS Sunday.
He added: “By doing so, they violated SGPC Act of 1925. A legitimate body that comes into power only after proper elections and controls all the gurdwaras. We are going to register a case of trespassing and dacoity against them with the police. We will make sure that they have to pay heavy price for this.”
However, senior leader of Haryana’s ad-hoc committee of SGPC refuted the allegations.
“In our meeting on Aug 28 at Kaithal, we had decided that we will take over all the gurdwaras in Haryana. We did not enter forcibly or violate any norm. We did not even remove the SGPC men from the shrine,” said Jagdish Singh Jhinda, president of ad-hoc committee of SGPC.
“All the allegations against us are baseless and we only want the welfare of Sikh community in Haryana. Gates of gurudwara Chhati Pathshai are open for everyone,” said Jhinda.
Meanwhile, sources in the Punjab government told IANS that Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar were trying to contact Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to discuss the issue.
“There is no firm ground of this ad-hoc committee and they are working in connivance with the Haryana government. I am myself going to that gurudwara to check what is happening there. We have also called all the senior leaders of SGPC there,” Makkar told IANS.
Amidst all this, tension prevailed in the area as followers of both the groups started gathering outside the gurdwara.
“We have made sufficient arrangements to maintain law and order situation in the area. We are keeping a close tab on the situation,” said a senior official of Haryana Police.
Control Regaian by SGPC
After high drama over the possession of a Sikh shrine here, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) managed to regain control of the Gurdwara Chhati Pathshai, which had been taken over by a faction of Sikh leaders, officials said Monday.
The gurdwara in Kurukshetra, around 110 km from state capital Chandigarh, was occupied by members of Haryana’s ad-hoc committee of SGPC Sunday.
Raghuveer Singh Virk, senior vice president of the SGPC, told IANS: “We have regained control of Gurdwara Chhati Pathshai. They had illegally entered the gurdwara premises and forcibly removed our men from there. By doing so, they violated the law and the norms of Sikh religion.”
“It is sad that the police and local administration are working under the influence of the Haryana government. Despite our repeated appeals, police have not registered a case against the trespassers. We are planning to go on an indefinite protest outside the gurdwara till they register a case,” Virk said.
In the wake of forthcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had ignited the controversy afresh, few months back, by announcing the constitution of a separate SGPC for managing Sikh shrines in this state.
He had said that a separate SGPC would be established on Haryana Day, Nov 1, the day the state was carved out from Punjab in 1966.
Hooda also claimed that he had over 128,000 affidavits from Haryana Sikhs supporting this move.
The Amritsar-based SGPC manages Sikh shrines in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, including the holiest Sikh shrine — the Golden Temple at Amritsar in Punjab.
However, faction leaders claimed they had taken over the shrine without using force and as per the law.
“We just wanted to show SGPC leaders our strength and to prove that we are capable of managing Haryana’s shrines on our own. We are leaving the gurdwara because we have got assurances from senior leaders of the state about Haryana having its own SGPC in the coming months,” a senior leader of Haryana’s ad-hoc committee of SGPC told IANS.
Views of Akal Takhat
The Sikh clergy has rejected the proposed Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC). At a meeting of the Sikh High Priests at Akal Takht on aug 12 2009, the leaders consented to formulating an All-India Gurdwara Act (AIGA) that will bring Sikh shrines across the country under one umbrella.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had earlier expressed reservations against the AIGA, but with other states demanding separate committees — Rajasthan too wants a Sikh body — they seem to have agreed to the new Act.
The Sikh high priests approved the proposition of an Act that will seek amendments to the Sikh Gurdwara Act-1925, which forms the basis of the SGPC controlling gurdwaras in north India. The Act has been a demand of the Sikhs since Independence.
The SGPC had also passed successive resolutions on the demand for an AIGA, but the Akalis took a diverse stand during 1999 when the then head of government-controlled Gurdwara Commission, Harbans Singh, submitted the draft for the Act.
Criticism
Haryana's decision to break away from the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandak Committee (SGPC) and constitute its own committee has rattled the Akali Dal leadership in Punjab. The issue led to vociferous protests by Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members in parliament on Thursday.
SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said addressing a press conference: "Being a Sikh himself, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh should pull up and ask (Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh) Hooda why is he interfering in the religious affairs of the Sikhs. The PM should immediately direct Hooda to shelve the move to have a separate SGPC for the State," He said the SGPC had come into existence before country's Independence due to long struggle by many including father of the Prime Minister and warned any attempt by the Haryana Government or anybody else to divide it will not be tolerated at any cost.
Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal have decided to urge prime minister Manmohan Singh to restrain Haryana. "No Sikh in this world will like to see a weak SGPC," he said, adding the issue was not one of who will have control over running the affairs of the Gurudwaras, but that of "trust and faith". Makkar said that he had earlier written four letters to the Prime Minister on this issue and met him twice.
Avtar Singh Makkar Claimed "Dr Manmohan Singh himself had earlier told me (before last Lok Sabha polls) that he had directed the Union Home Minister to tell Haryana government not to go ahead with its move on separate SGPC. The PM in my last meeting with him a few months back told me that he would himself telephone Hooda and ask him not to go ahead with his plan,"
The SGPC manages 25 gurdwaras in Haryana, earning Rs 10 crore in revenue from them annually. The gurudwaras came under SGPC control under the all-India Singh Gurdwara Act, 1925, which the Centre passed after a prolonged agitation by the Akali Dal. Senior Akali leaders say Haryana cannot break away from the SGPC unless parliament amends the Gurdwara Act.
Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal said setting up a separate committee for Haryana's Sikhs will have dangerous consequences. He will meet Manmohan Singh on Monday to seek his intervention. "How will Sikhs tolerate another injustice in religious matters by the Congress government at the Centre, which has been discriminating against this community for the past many decades," Badal asked.
