by Dr Anurag Singh

Friends,

Today I received a call from a National TV Channel to discuss the present crisis of Jathedars, appointed by SGPC and Parallel Jathedars. As the programme was live from Chandigarh I expressed my inability to participate due to my pre-occupations at Ludhiana and suggested the name of another friend who is connected with us on Facebook.

At the outset I may state it clearly that there is no tradition of parallel Jathedars or Panj Piaras in Sikh Historical and Religious traditions. Jagdev Singh Talwandi also tried this gimmick and ended in failure.

Unfortunately, the present political seen is such that the political party with its brute majority in SGPC controls the entire Sikh Religious Institutions As Sub-Offices Of Their Political Party, which had discarded its Panthic tag as well as agenda and converted the Akali Party as Punjabi Party with membership from all other communities as part of vote bank politics. This was enough to restrict the Akali cum Punjabi party to participate in Gurdwara elections. But all the So-called Panthic organisations acting as Surrogate Leaders are conspicuously silent on this vital issue. Accordingly, we are now reaping the bitter harvest of this New Brand Of PIRI-MIRI

Akali=Piri, Punjabi=Miri.

Now with this secular scheme disowning the legacy of the Guru was initiated and many persons with dubious record and un Sikh like practices entered our Gurdwaras as custodians.  Sucha Langah and Bibi Jagir Kaur are two recent samples of this political exercise.  So is the position of Jathedars selected by the SGPC with consent of some other organisations, but pressurised by the political Bosses to issue Edicts of their choice in many cases.  This undue interference in the religious affairs of the community by irreligious politicians had set in a dangerous trend, lowering the image of Jathedars in public and emergence of Parallel Jathedars.

For the Sikhs Sri Akal Takhat is Supreme and it is the duty of every Sikh to obey the Edicts issued by the Ecclesiastical Court of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib Only, which are being issued according to established Sikh traditions, it is Sri Akal Takhat Sahib Which is Supreme and not Jathedar of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib.

Bhul-Chukk di Kimma.

Gur-Fateh.

16.10.2017.