Takht Diktat Leaves Haryana in a Fix

CHANDIGARH:  A day after directing the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the newly formed Haryana Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee(HSGPC) to cancel their respective conferences in Amritsar and Karnal, Akal Takht (High Priest) Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh on Sunday restrained the newly elected office- bearers of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) from functioning.

 Singh said, “A crisis was created recently, which led to unrest among the Sikh community, especially after the formation of the HSGMC by the Haryana government. Let the management of all the gurdwaras in Haryana be managed by the SGPC so as to maintain peace and harmony. The management of Haryana gurdwaras will be in the hands of the SGPC, which was looking after them in the past, and nobody would interfere with their management.”

Through his latest directive,Akal Takht head had restrained the newly formed committee, including president Jagdish Singh Jhinda and other office-bearers, from assuming charge.

In the directive, Akal Takht has instructed that the SGPC would continue to manage the day-to-day affairs of some 25 gurdwaras in Haryana, with an average annual income of `30 crore and directed all the Sikh groups and parties not to issue any statements to the media till the row over the creation of a separate HSGMC has been resolved amicably.

 The direction came a day after after the Akal Takht intervened in the standoff and directed that congregations of Sikhs here and in Karnal against the formation of a separate Gurdwara Management Committee in Haryana be called off even as the HSGMC elected its new office-bearers.

The Akal Takht had on July 16 excommunicated Haryana Sikh Leaders, including Finance Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha, Jhinda and Didar Singh Nalvi from the Sikh Panth (community) on charges of defying its directive.

While the meetings were cancelled, Akal Takht head Gurbachan Singh on Sunday asked the Sikh leaders in Haryana not to disturb the previous administrative system run by Amritsar-based SGPC to manage Sikh shrines in Haryana.

Last week, following the nod from the then Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia, the state  Government had formed a 41-member ad hoc HSGPC.

The ad hoc HSGPC then held a meeting and elected Jhinda and Nalvi as  HSGPC president and vice-president respectively.

The Haryana Assembly had at its session here on July 11 passed the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Act, 2014, for which the then Governor gave his assent on July 14, despite opposition from Punjab SGPC leaders.