Reinstate sacked jathedars by tomorrow, demand Sikh bodies

A Damdami Taksal-sponsored congregation has rejected newly appointed Sikh jathedars and demanded that previous temporal heads be reinstated by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) at its March 17 executive body meeting.

The congregation was called in Anandpur Sahib on Friday on the sidelines of the Hola Mohalla celebrations.

It came days after the removal of the temporal heads of the Akal Takht and Takht Kesgarh Sahib by the SGPC. The move snowballed into a political backlash, with critics blaming Punjab’s former ruling party Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for it.

The party, which currently dominates the SGPC, had been embroiled in a confrontation with previous Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh over a December 2 decree that had ordered SAD to launch a membership drive under the supervision of a Takht-formed panel.

The Damdami Taksal, a Sikh seminary that was once led by Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale, had been opposing the sacking of the jathedars.

At the congregation, representatives of various Sikh bodies accused the SGPC of violating the Sikh tenets. A total of six resolutions were passed on the occasion. The gathering rejected the appointment of Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj and Baba Tek Singh Dhanaula as jathedars of Takht Kesgarh Sahib and Takht Damdama Sahib, respectively. They demanded that the SGPC reinstate the sacked temporal heads at its executive body meeting on March 17.

Meanwhile, Giani KuldeepSingh Gargaj, who has also been appointed as the officiating Jathedar of the Akal Takht, urged the Sikh community to unite. In his message, he committed to serving the entire Sikh Panth (community) and initiate steps to resolve religious issue being faced by the community.

He also met a section of Nihang Singh organisations in the presence of SGPC officials on separate occasion.