Gurdwara panel may revert to Bikrami calendar

Perneet Singh

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 11

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar today held a meeting with Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh to seek clarity over the issue of calendar for the Sikh New Year beginning March 14.

There are, however, reports that the SGPC may go for Bikrami calendar for 2015-16 although it will project it as the amended Nanakshahi calendar with “Nanakshahi Year 547” written over it.

Sources said the calendar would be published only in Gurmukhi and it would not mention dates in Roman numbers. If the SGPC indeed went ahead with the move, it would spell the end of the amended Nanakshahi calendar on March 13.

However, after meeting the Akal Takht Jathedar, Makkar didn’t clarify as to what exactly the SGPC would do regarding the calendar for the Sikh New Year. He merely stated that they would prepare the calendar for Nanakshahi Year 547 “as per the historic facts”.
The Sikh clergy had on Monday directed the SGPC to publish the New Year’s calendar as per “Gurbani and historic facts”, which had put the SGPC in a spot.
The Panthic Talmel Committee, an umbrella organisation of various Sikh outfits, today held a meeting and termed the decision taken by the Sikh clergy regarding the calendar issue as “anti-Panthic”. The committee felt that the Sikh high priests should have called representatives from both sides (those supporting and opposing the Nanakshahi calendar) and evolved a consensus before taking any decision. The committee stated that all “known critics” of the original Nanakshahi calendar were inducted in the panel “under a deep-rooted conspiracy to impose the Bikrami calendar on the community”. The committee members also dubbed the induction of Nanakshahi calendar architect Pal Singh Purewal in the panel as mere eyewash. They also appealed to the Sikh organisations in India and abroad to celebrate Sikh events as per the original Nanakshahi calendar of 2003.
Prior to the Nanakshahi calendar, Sikhs were observing their events as per the Bikrami calendar which is based on lunar charts and the dates of ‘gurpurbs’ and ‘sangrands’ changed every year
The original Nanakshahi calendar, which was implemented in 2003, is based on solar charts, and it had fixed the dates of all major occasions
However, the original Nanakshahi calendar was not accepted by Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, Takht Sri Patna Sahib and Sant Samaj
Later, a two-member committee comprising SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar and Damdami Taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh Khalsa had made amendments in the original Nanakshahi calendar
These amendments were made in 2010 apparently on the insistence of the Sant Samaj headed by the Damdami Taksal which later supported the Akali Dal in the SGPC elections in September 2011.

Release Sikh detainees: SGPC
Referring to the release of separatist Kashmiri leader Masrat Alam, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar on Wednesday asked if a person like Alam could be released from jail, then why not Sikh detainees who had been languishing in prisons even after completing their jail term. He said the Union Government and the Punjab Government should make a joint effort to ensure the release of the Sikh detainees on humanitarian grounds.