Follow 'panch pardhani' process to appoint Takht Jathedars: Namdhari sect to SGPC

Responding to the call of president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the Namdhari sect, on behalf of their chief Thakur Dalip Singh, today submitted suggestions pertaining to the policy matters on the services of Akal Takht Jathedar and other Takht heads.

Chief administrator of Namdhari Panth Suba Amrik Singh said Sikh Gurus never advocated to appoint “one” Jathedar of Akal Takht, but appointed “Panj Pyare” following the practice of “panch pardhani”.

He said instead of lone Akal Takht Jathedar, five Sikh intellectuals, who had achieved success in various fields, should be considered to manage the administrative control of the “Panth”.

“At present, ‘katha vachaks’ are being taken into consideration while appointing Takht Jathedars. Though they are highly respected, they may lack the qualities to guide the Panth,” he said.

“If there has to be a single Jathedar, he should be far-sighted, have good administrative abilities, know judicial system and understand the worldly ways. An advisory panel of five great Gursikh scholars has to be there to give advice to the Akal Jathedar,” he said.

The letter mentioned that the jathedars should be finalised with consent of all sects of the “Panth”.

They suggested the SGPC not to treat the jathedars as its mere employees and disrespect them.

“No Jathedar should be removed due to any political influence. If a Jathedar has to be removed for any reason, he should not be disrespected at the time of his removal,” he said.

Another suggestion was to fix terms, three or five years, of jathedars in advance.