Saroops of Guru Granth Sahib flown to Hong Kong gurdwara in business class

Physical copies (saroops) of the Guru Granth Sahib were flown from New Delhi to Hong Kong in an Air India flight with the entire business class booked for it, drawing applause from netizens after a video clip showing priests fanning over the revered scripture surfaced on social media.

Air India pilot Sarab Jaspreet Minhas, along with others, was seen humbly performing sewa of ‘Chaur Sahib’ (a ceremonial whisk or fan) by waving it over the scripture.

Minhas shared on Social media how the Hong Kong gurdwara team, the airport authorities, and Air India staff extended their full support and cooperation to uphold the religious conduct.

Lauding it, a netizen, Asif Khan, said it was a truly noble act of devotion. “Kudos to Captain Sarab Jaspreet Minhas, Air India and all involved in ensuring the utmost respect in transporting the saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib. Such dedication is truly inspiring,” he said. Another netizen, Vinayak Prabhu, said, “What a beauty. I am not a Punjabi but I am feeling super proud and happy with the way this was conducted.”

Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar, president of the Chief Khalsa Diwan, over a century old Sikh educational body, appreciated the move.

In 2019, the SGPC during its executive body meeting held at Gurdwara Ber Sahib in Sultanpur Lodhi had decided that copies of the Guru Granth Sahib could only be transported overseas by a chartered plane.

Akal Takht had directed that the Guru Granth Sahib be transported abroad only by air and not by road or sea routes. On each such flight, the scripture is required to be kept separately on each seat of the aircraft following the religious conduct.

At present, there are only two facilities for printing the Guru Granth Sahib in India, one in Amritsar, which is run by the SGPC, and the other in Delhi, managed by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. In 2010, the SGPC had planned to set up a printing facility in North Carolina in the US on 2.5 acres but the project never took off.

Similarly, in September 2023, the SGPC decided to set up a printing press in Tracy City in California of the USA.