Now ‘Bir’ printing in Canada

Perneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 3

The SGPC has finally decided to set up a printing facility at British Columbia in Canada for printing Guru Granth Sahib so as to cater to the increasing demand for the holy book among the Sikh diaspora. This would be the first such facility outside India.

The decision was reached at the SGPC executive meeting held at Gurdwara Sri Degsar Katana Sahib today. The printing facility would be set up at Satnam Education Trust, British Columbia, in Canada. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said the move would help them meet the demand for the holy book among the Sikhs settled abroad.

He said they had also constituted a subcommittee comprising SGPC’s senior vice-president Raghujit Singh Virk, general secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, executive member Rajinder Singh Mehta and secretary Roop Singh to chalk out the future course of action in that regard. He said the subcommittee would visit Canada in near future and sign an agreement with the NRI who had offered the land for setting up the facility. The effort would be to supply the holy book “as far as possible through the land route”.

In the absence of such a printing facility abroad, the SGPC had been having a tough time till now transporting the holy book to other countries through aerial or sea route, as it was quite difficult to maintain “maryada” during the transit. The SGPC had in the past sent “Birs” of Guru Granth Sahib abroad on chartered flights. In April 2011, the SGPC sent 450 “Birs” of Guru Granth Sahib to Italy by ship.

The Akal Takht had issued a “hukumnama” (edict) on May 9, 1998, directing that the SGPC had the sole right to print “Birs” of Guru Granth Sahib in order to prevent “blasphemous” acts of private publishers. The edict issued by Akal Takht made it clear that only the SGPC, the DSGMC or a publisher with the permission of Akal Takht, could print the holy book.

Earlier, the SGPC had made an attempt to set up such a printing facility in North Carolina province of the USA, where Gurdwara Sahib Charlotte had offered 2.5 acres for the purpose. However, the proposal could not materialise. Apart from the SGPC, the DSGMC has also been working on a proposal to establish printing facility for Guru Granth Sahib abroad. DSGMC president Manjeet Singh GK took stock of a property being offered to them at Vancouver in Canada for the purpose last year. The DSGMC then sent the proposal to the Sikh high priests for getting clearance.

The SGPC has also decided to put up 60 CCTV cameras to keep an eye on “mischievous elements” during the ongoing Hola Mohalla celebrations at Anandpur Sahib. It has also got accidental insurance done for the facility of the Sikh sangat.