Haryana govt wades into Sikh shrine management issue
The notified historical Sikh shrines in Punjab, Haryana,
Himachal and Chandigarh are managed by the Amritsar based SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) – a statutory body under the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925. SGPC – dominated by the Akali Dal – manages the gurdwaras in Haryana with an annual budget of about Rs 500 crore. Besides managing the shrines, this body plays a very significant role in guiding Sikhs on religious matters too.
Accusing the ‘poor’ management of gurdwaras in 2004, seven SGPC members from the state then had demanded a separate religious body for Haryana. A committee set up under Agriculture Minister HS Chatha submitting its report in February this year; and favoured a separate SGPC. But now, this move by the ruling Congress government in Haryana proposing a separate Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for the state has rocked the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Akali Dal and the BJP have accused Congress of “meddling in the religious affairs of the Sikhs,” claiming that ahead of the assembly polls, the Congress is trying to get a toehold in Akali politics and to sway 1.3 million Sikh population in its fold. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal accuses without flinching, “It’s yet another conspiracy by the Congress to divide the SGPC and Sikhs”.
But Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda has seemingly been quite balanced on the issue, “I am willing to go in for a referendum. I am ready to abide by whatever the Sikhs decide. This has nothing to do with elections.” The fact also is that unlike what critics are claiming, the final decision rests not with the Haryana CM but with the Centre. A change can only be brought through an Act of Parliament. At the same time, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar also claims that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is actually against disturbing the present status quo. Makkar also wants that a legislation should be enacted to allow the SGPC and Sikhs of Punjab to take control of the main shrines.
But experts on Sikh affairs maintain that the Centre should instead go in for the All-India Gurdwara Legislation to solve the issue. Given the fact that gurdwaras in Delhi are managed by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (and not the SGPC) set up under a separate Act in 1971, it's now anybody's call.
The notified historical Sikh shrines in Punjab, Haryana,
Himachal and Chandigarh are managed by the Amritsar based SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) – a statutory body under the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925. SGPC – dominated by the Akali Dal – manages the gurdwaras in Haryana with an annual budget of about Rs 500 crore. Besides managing the shrines, this body plays a very significant role in guiding Sikhs on religious matters too.Accusing the ‘poor’ management of gurdwaras in 2004, seven SGPC members from the state then had demanded a separate religious body for Haryana. A committee set up under Agriculture Minister HS Chatha submitting its report in February this year; and favoured a separate SGPC. But now, this move by the ruling Congress government in Haryana proposing a separate Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for the state has rocked the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Akali Dal and the BJP have accused Congress of “meddling in the religious affairs of the Sikhs,” claiming that ahead of the assembly polls, the Congress is trying to get a toehold in Akali politics and to sway 1.3 million Sikh population in its fold. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal accuses without flinching, “It’s yet another conspiracy by the Congress to divide the SGPC and Sikhs”.
But Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda has seemingly been quite balanced on the issue, “I am willing to go in for a referendum. I am ready to abide by whatever the Sikhs decide. This has nothing to do with elections.” The fact also is that unlike what critics are claiming, the final decision rests not with the Haryana CM but with the Centre. A change can only be brought through an Act of Parliament. At the same time, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar also claims that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is actually against disturbing the present status quo. Makkar also wants that a legislation should be enacted to allow the SGPC and Sikhs of Punjab to take control of the main shrines.
But experts on Sikh affairs maintain that the Centre should instead go in for the All-India Gurdwara Legislation to solve the issue. Given the fact that gurdwaras in Delhi are managed by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (and not the SGPC) set up under a separate Act in 1971, it's now anybody's call.
