Namdhari sect head calls for togetherness

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 30

Delivering his first speech in the city after the “assassination” of Mata Chand Kaur, wife of former Satguru Jagjit Singh, the present head of the Namdhari sect, Thakur Uday Singh, echoed the sentiment of togetherness. The sect was divided into two faction followings the killing of Mata Chand Kaur.

Satguru Uday Singh, who was the chief guest at Satguru Ram Singh Shatabdi seminar at Punjab Bhawan, said, “Religion not only teachers spirituality, but it also teaches the lesson of togetherness.”

Taking a different stand from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the Namdhari sect head praised the contribution of Sehajdhari Sikhs.

He said Sehajdaris were following the tenets of Sikh religion since the time of Gurus.

He expressed concern over the declining trend of using Punjabi. He offered support to the Punjabi Sahit Akademi, Delhi, for reviving the language.

He said a true Sikh was the one who followed the path shown by Gurbani.

Fissures had appeared in the Namdhari sect in 2013 after business tycoon Thakur Uday Singh was made the head of the sect following the death of Satguru Jagjit Singh.

Head of the rival faction Thakur Dalip Singh and his supporters had opposed the move.

Things turned ugly after Mata Chand Kaur was shot dead in April this year.

In September, the case was handed over to the CBI after the police failed to zero in on the accused. There has been no headway in the case so far.