Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains completes religious punishment by offering ardas

Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains performed “sewa” at the Golden Temple today to complete his ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment).

He was pronounced a 'tankhaiya' (guilty) in a case pertaining to a dance gig at Guru Teg Bahadur’s 350^th martyrdom commemoration event held in Srinagar by five Sikh high priests at Akal Takht on August 6.

They (high priests) had directed the Cabinet Minister to undertake a series of religious tasks as a form of spiritual atonement for violating the Sikh maryada. He was diverted to undertake a barefoot pilgrimage from the Golden Temple to Gurdwara Guru Ke Mahal, which is situated about .5 km away. He was asked to visit Baba Bakala, a holy town, situated about 40 km away from Amritsar and Delhi’s Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib. He had been asked to do two days’ ‘sewa’ (voluntary service), including cleaning footwear and sweeping the premises of Anandpur Sahib. He was also required to offer a ‘deg’ of Rs 1,100 and participate in ‘ardas’ seeking forgiveness.

Today, he completed “tankhah” by offering an ardas in the presence of Panj Pyaras at the Akal Takht.