The Gurdwara Bill

WE don’t have before us, at the time of writing, the full text of the Gurdwara Bill, which is going to be introduced in the Punjab Legislative Council at its ensuing session; but the summary of the main provisions of the Bill, published in these columns yesterday, bears ample testimony to the care and labour which the framers of the Bill have spent on arriving at a solution of the vexed question with which it deals. It is no exaggeration to say that during the last four years, Sikhs of this province have made such sacrifices and undergone such suffering in the cause of the reform of their gurdwaras as have never been surpassed and seldom equalled in the recent history of religious reform in any country. On several occasions during this struggle, it seemed as if the determination, zeal and earnestness of the Akalis were going to be rewarded with a glorious success; but it was not to be, and on each occasion, circumstances intervened to put off the settlement. We can only hope that history will not repeat itself in this case and that at last a settlement acceptable to all parties will be reached. We do not know what position the Hindus or the Sanatan Sikhs, Udasis, Namdharis and other non-Akali Sikh sects are going to take up in regard to various provisions of the Bill, but even a cursory glance at its main provisions shows that it is free from several of the defects which marred previous attempts at legislation on this subject. The main feature of the Bill is that the original tribunal which will determine disputes as to whether a place of worship is to be treated as a gurdwara or shrine will be a non-sectarian body appointed by the Local Government.