Sehajdhari: Sgpc Calls Emergency Meeting

[Damdami Taksal Jatha Bhindran]

Sehajdhari: SGPC calls emergency meeting

Amritsar, The SGPC chief has called an emergency meeting of all its executives on December 28 to rethink the definition of Sehajdhari in the wake of the ultimatum served on the Shiromani Committee by various Panthic organisations yesterday.

The decision was taken after the return of SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar from abroad. A spokesperson for the SGPC said the meeting would be held at Guru Nanak Nivas on the SGPC complex and convened by the SGPC president. He said all executives had called on a 72-hour notice to attend the meeting.

The meeting of Gurmat Sidhant Parchark Sant Samaj, Nihang and Sikh organisations held at Gurdwara Gurdarshan Parkash, Mehta Chowk, yesterday had served a seven-day ultimatum on the SGPC to withdraw the affidavit on the definition of a Sikh from the high court.

The Sant Samaj, Nihang factions and other Sikh organisations had threatened to become party in the court if the Shiromani Committee failed to withdraw the affidavit within a week, besides condemning the SGPC in public meetings and religious functions.

AMRITSAR: In an unprecedented move, the president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Avtar Singh Makkar has convened a special meeting of its executive on 28 December at Teja Singh Samundri Hall, Amritsar to consider withdrawal of the impugned Sikh definition affidavit in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, for which a decision in principle has been taken.

Buckling under tremendous pressure exerted by all Sikh religious, social and political parties across the globe, the Badal Dal leadership of the SGPC, after a long time has decided to bow to overwhelming Sikh opinion against its own. The Sant Samaj & Damdami Taksal, and many other individuals and organizations had severely criticized and chastised the SGPC leadership for submitting a false and misleading affidavit.

During his recent tour of the United States, the SGPC president had to face the ire of the Sikh Sangat there on this and other Panthic issues.

World Sikh News was in the forefront in presenting the deliberate faux pas of the SGPC mandarins and continues to spearhead a campaign for the withdrawal of the said affidavit and democratization of the working of the Sikh Parliament.

While the SGPC may have taken this decision in principle and the executive may pass a resolution to that effect on 28 December, it is not going to be an easy journey at the High Court. The court is likely to ask the SGPC questions which it will find difficult to answer, "Why was a wrong affidavit filed in the first place?" What made the earlier affidavit wrong and what new wisdom has dawned on the SGPC now?

Whether the decision to withdraw the affidavit will also lead to resignation of standing counsel H. S. Mattewal, who is close to de facto chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal will be another interesting development to watch. And what face will Anurag Singh, the chairperson of the SGPC Sikh Historical Research Board present?