Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee

From SikhiWiki
Revision as of 22:09, 15 January 2012 by Hari singh (talk | contribs) (1 revision)
Jump to navigationJump to search
Official Logo Of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Mnagement Committe

DELHI SIKH GURDWARAS MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE' or DSGMC is an autonomous organization which manages Gurudwaras in Delhi state. DSGMC also manages various educational institutions, hospitals, old age homes, libraries and other charitable institutions in Delhi. It is headquartered in Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, Near Parliament House

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee comprises 51 members, one member representing each of 46 wards; and five nominated members. It is governed by a Chairman and a President; as per Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Act of 1971.

It was a by-product of the Akali campaign for the reformation of the management of gurdwaras in the Punjab. To wrest control of the holy shrines from the hands of a corrupt and effete priestly order, the Sikhs had set up on 15 November 1920 a body called the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar.

In 1923, the SGPC took charge of all the historical gurdwaras in Delhi as well, and formed a committee of 11 members known as the Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (DGPC) to manage them. The SGPC, however, continued to exercise powers of control and supervision over the affairs of DGPC. With the influx into Delhi after the partition of India in 1947 of a large number of Sikh immigrants from West Punjab, the situation changed and the authority of DGPC began to be challenged. Attempts were made to dispossess the committee functioning under the auspices of the SGPC. Litigation and use of physical force from both sides were tried.

1971 Reform

In 1971, the Government of India entrusted the management, through an ordinance, to a five member Gurdwara Board. The ordinance was replaced by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1971, passed by Parliament, providing for a committee to be elected by Sikh vote. Elections took place under the supervision of government authority and the new body called Delhi Sikh Gurdwaras Management Committee (DSGMC) came into existence in 1974. Under the provisions of the Act, the elections must take place every four years.


9 Historic Gurdwaras & 5 others

The DSGMC controls nine historic and five other gurdwaras in Delhi. The historic shrines are:

  1. Gurdwara Sis Ganj,
  2. Gurdwara Rakab Ganj,
  3. Gurdwara Bangla Sahib,
  4. Gurdwara Mata Sundri,
  5. Gurdwara Damdama Sahib (Delhi),
  6. Gurdwara Bala Sahib,
  7. Gurdwara Moti Bagh,
  8. Gurdwara Majnu Tilla and
  9. Gurdwara Nanak Piao

and the others are Gurdwara Karol Bagh, Gurdwara Darya Ganj, Gurdwara Pahari Dhiraj, Gurdwara Pipal Mahadev, and Gurdwara Dhakka Dhlrpur. It also runs four degree colleges, eleven schools, a technical training institute (electronics) and a hospital.


Purpose of the Act

The purpose of the 1971 Act, according to its preamble, is to provide for the proper management of the Sikh Gurdwaras and Gurdwara property in Delhi and for matters connected therewith. The main aims and objects of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwaras Management Committee established under the Act are:

(a) To manage the historic and other gurdwaras of Delhi in such a way as to make them inspiring centres of the Sikh tradition, Sikh culture and Sikh religion;

(b) To spread education, especially the knowledge of Punjabi language in Gurmukhi script; to maintain free kitchen (langar); to open free dispensaries and to perform other religious and charitable work;

(c) To render all help in the cause of the uplift and welfare of the Sikh community.

The Committee

The Committee consists of 55 members, 46 of whom are elected by the Sikhs of Delhi and 9 are coopted. Out of the nine coopted members, two represent the Singh Sabhas of Delhi, one the SGPC (Amritsar), four the Takhts at Amritsar, Anandpur, Patna and Nanded, and two those Sikhs of Delhi who do not want to or cannot contest elections but whose services can be of value to the Committee. The term of the office of a member of the Committee is four years from the date on which the first meeting of the Committee is held.

The Executive Board, which is elected by the Committee, consists of five office bearers president, senior vice president, junior vice president, general secretary and joint secretary and ten members. To be elected a member of the Committee, one should have attained the age of twenty five years, should be an amritdhari or baptized Sikh, should not trim his beard or shave his kes (hair), should not take alcoholic drinks, and should be able to read and write Gurmukhi.

Finance & Accounting

The sources of income of the DSGMC are charhat (offerings to the Guru Granth Sahib), karahprasad (sacramental offering), donations for langar (free kitchen), paths (readings of Guru Granth Sahib), rent from property, and occasional individual donations. The principal sources of course are charhat and prasad which constitute nearly 80 per cent of the total income. Between 1956 and 1986, the income of the DSGMC increased from Rs 13 lakhs to about Rs 3.5 crores an year.

Function

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee or DSGMC is an autonomous organization which manages Gurudwaras in Delhi state. DSGMC also manages various educational institutions, hospitals, old age homes, libraries and other charitable institutions in Delhi. It is headquartered in Gurdwara Mata Sundri.

Board and Members

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee comprises of 51 members, one member representing each of 46 wards; and five nominated members. It is governed by a Chairman and a President; as per Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Act of 1971. The term of DSGMC is four years, formed through elections conducted by Directorate of Gurdwara Elections of Delhi Government. Of over a million Sikhs living in Delhi, around 450,000 are registered voters for the DSGMC elections.

Current President Paramjit Singh Sarna represents Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi) party and was elected to a four year term on January of 2007 [1].

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee is counterpart of Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee in Delhi but operates independently. SGPC nominates one member to Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.

Gurdwaras in Delhi

Gurdwara Bala Sahib   •   Gurdwara Bangla Sahib   •   Gurdwara Damdama Sahib (Delhi)   •   Gurdwara Majnu ka Tilla   •   Gurdwara Mata Sundri   •   Gurdwara Motibagh Sahib   •   Gurdwara Nanak Piao   •   Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib  •   Gurdwara Banda Singh Bahadur   •   Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib