CHANDIGARH: Not everything Made in China can be sold in India, especially when the product is the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs. Considering it ‘sacrilege’, The Sikh clergy has issued a diktat not to buy copies of the book, which is now being published in China and made available online, .
Not long ago, China-made kirpans (dagger) and Guru Nanak Dev’s idols with ‘Chinese characteristics’ had flooded shops across Punjab, stoking similar controversy.
The Amritsar Police, on the complaint of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) secretary Manjit Singh, has registered a case against US-based website sikhlink.com for hurting religious sentiments by selling hard and online copies of Guru Granth Sahib and Japji Sahib. Only the SGPC is authorised to print and publish Guru Granth Sahib, in Gurmukhi script.
While the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, Akal Takht, has termed it an act of sacrilege and issued directions to the community not to purchase these copies in any form, the SGPC plans to take up the matter with the Chinese ambassador.
After receiving some e-mails in this regard from devotees based in USA and Canada, Akal Takht Jathedar issued the ban order but admitted that he had not seen any China-made copy of the scripture. On the homepage of the website (sikhlink.com), there are two icons— Japji Sahib (a sacred hymn) and Palki Sahib; one can click on Japji Sahib and order the copy for free and on Palki Sahib to donate up to $220.
On top is a link, ‘free books’, that redirects to another address, sikhbookclub.com, where there are many religious books available in English, Hindi and Punjabi for downloading. There are books on Guru Nanak, Guru Angad, Guru Ram Das, Guru Amar Das, Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Hargobind, Guru Harkrishan, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Guru Gobind Sahib and a dictionary about Guru Granth Sahib.Sources in the SGPC claim that the e-mails received from the US and Canada state that a few persons who contacted this website were told that the book will be delivered to them from China as it is being published there.
SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said, “The case was registered based on whatever information was provided to us by the Sikh devotes in the US and Canada. It needs to be investigated so that clarity can come out who is publishing and who is selling.”’’
Meanwhile, the SGPC is set to raise the matter at a diplomatic level. “We will give a formal complaint to the Chinese ambassador, asking for a probe and details of the publisher,” Makkar said.
In the past, certain private publishing houses have been summoned to the Akal Takht for printing the scripture.In 2007, rampant sale of made-in-China Guru Nank dev idols at `100-150 had prompted the Sikh clergy to issue directions to the community to refrain from buying them.
Dr Prithpal Singh co-ordinator of American Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (ASGPC) said, “The Guru Granth Sahib is the holy book which should be published under the control of SGPC as it has a set procedure and decorum.”