No Gurdwara Without Clearance From Akal Takht

[Pyara]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Punjab/Amritsar/No-gurdwara-without-clearance-from-Akal-Takht-Sikh-clergy/SP-Article1-887863.aspx

No gurdwara without clearance from Akal Takht: Sikh clergy

HT Correspondent , Hindustan Times

Amritsar , July 12, 2012

Mulling the issue of caste-based gurdwaras in Punjab, particularly in rural areas, the Sikh clergy on Thursday sent out a clear-cut message to the community that no gurdwara would be constructed anywhere in the country or even abroad in future without the permission of the Akal Takht.

"Anyone who wishes to construct a gurdwara must approach the Akal Takht for prior clearance. No one will be allowed to construct a gurdwara on his own," Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said while talking to media after presiding over a meeting of the five Sikh high priests held in Amritsar on Thursday.

The issue of caste-based gurdwaras was taken up in last Sunday's episode of Aamir Khan's 'Satyamev Jayate'.

Another pre-condition put forth by the Akal Takht was that the piece of land on which the gurdwara was proposed to be built must be in the name of Guru Granth Sahib. Only then would the Akal Takht consider any plea for the construction of the Sikh religious place.

"We will not allow construction of a gurdwara on 'shamlat' (government) land or on land that is in the name of the village panchayat or is the property of any trust or committee. The land must be transferred in the name of Guru Granth Sahib for building a shrine," Giani Gurbachan Singh made it clear after deliberating on the issue with his fellow priests.

"'Manas ki jaat, eko pehchanon' was the message of the Gurus and we all must abide by this," Giani Gurbachan Singh said.

To dissuade construction of Sikh religious places on caste lines, Giani Gurbachan Singh announced that the Akal Takht would honour panchayat of village that had just one gurdwara."A certificate of appreciation will be awarded to that particular panchayat," he added.

On the existing gurdwaras in villages and other places, the Jathedar suggested that panchayats should limit the number of such holy places to one or two, depending on the size and population of that particular village. The vacant places of worship could be utilised as community centres for the welfare of the villagers, he added.

The Jathedar also asked the Sikh community to honour the Akal Takht edict that banned gurdwaras on caste lines. The edict passed last month would be enforced strictly, he asserted.

The Jathedar also appealed to community leaders not to distribute funds for construction of gurdwaras on caste lines.

Takht Keshgarh Sahib Jathedar Giani Tirlochan Singh, Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh, Takht Patna Sahib Jathedar Giani Iqbal Singh and Giani Mal Singh, a priest of the Golden Temple, participated in the meeting, which also decided to promote martial sports, particularly 'gatka'.

World Gatka Day would be observed every year on a specified date that would be fixed soon.

[VanHelsingh]

Fantastic. Also there should be annual spot-checks from 5 Singhs of good reputation (from the respective country where the Gurughar resides) to ensure nothing dodgy is occuring, much like Ofsted and their school inspections.

[Pyara]

Fantastic. Also there should be annual spot-checks from 5 Singhs of good reputation (from the respective country where the Gurughar resides) to ensure nothing dodgy is occuring, much like Ofsted and their school inspections.

The issue is, like all Akal Takht directives, who is going to implement this on the ground such as the UK?

The absence of any interest from Sikh Council UK or any jathebhandhis in UK to get involved in these issues makes it another directive that is likely to get parked on the shelf.

Is there any point in having an Akal Takht if the elite in the Sikh community put no programme in place to implement the directives! Apologies if this comment offends anyone.

[VanHelsingh]

The issue is, like all Akal Takht directives, who is going to implement this on the ground such as the UK?

The absence of any interest from Sikh Council UK or any jathebhandhis in UK to get involved in these issues makes it another directive that is likely to get parked on the shelf.

Is there any point in having an Akal Takht if the elite in the Sikh community put no programme in place to implement the directives! Apologies if this comment offends anyone.

As you can probably tell I got a bit excited by the news. I forgot about the reality on the ground, lol.

[SarabhaPanjab]

Good News..

[JSinghnz]

Awesome, great news. It is our duty to implement the directions of Akaal Takht Sahib.

One day, we will be free from the shackles of this caste system.

One day, the Sangat will force the managements all over the world to remove their casteist

banners and show the door to whoever opposes this move.

One day, every Gurdwara will be a Sikh Gurudwara in the real sense.

We all have to work together to make this happen.

[Singh559]

Great news, would be amazing if we could take back SGPC and give power to sharde wale GurSikhs once again.

That would solve a lot of problems the panth faces.

[swordsedge]

good news

[fightingsingh]

The issue is, like all Akal Takht directives, who is going to implement this on the ground such as the UK?

The absence of any interest from Sikh Council UK or any jathebhandhis in UK to get involved in these issues makes it another directive that is likely to get parked on the shelf.

Is there any point in having an Akal Takht if the elite in the Sikh community put no programme in place to implement the directives! Apologies if this comment offends anyone.

It will be down to self governence. At the end of the day, Akal Takhat directives are there to be followed and not enforced. People should have the good sense to avoid gurdwaras built on caste lines and boycotting of these gurdwaras is enough if they do not comply.... in the same way we cant go around burning down the Nirankari deras all over the world, we can choose to boycott them. Kirtanis, dhadis and sangat can refuse to attend those gurdwaras that do not comply with maryada and awareness of the directives can be widely circulated. You cant really do much more than that.

It is not necessary or practical for the Sikh Council to enforce rules on its membership. When the Sikh Council was created, many gurdwareh and other organisations only joined on the shared understanding that the Council would not be there to enforce political or religious views and/or maryada on any of the gurdwareh or other organisations (eg sitting on the floor for langar). Since the Council has been created to provide a strong and united platform from which issues affecting all Sikhs in the UK can be addressed, it does not make sense for the Council to weaken itself by chasing after its own membership with a big stick and trying to police it. That would only mean that the unhappy gurdwaras and organisations would leave, create more divisions in the community and weaken the national voice.

Those that wish to see the Council policing gurdwaras and enforcing maryada are either very short-sighted, blindy following their own agenda without looking at the bigger picture, despite having good intentions. Or, they are downright mischievous and want to split up and weaken the Sikh Council so that the national voice is weak.

The Akal Takhat Sahib has already set the rules. Its up to individual Sikhs and gurdwaras to decide if they want to follow them or not. The best thing to do is raise awareness and apply peaceful pressure on those who do not comply in the hope that they will see sense and also choose to comply. Enforcement is not possible as we dont have the legal backing for this in the UK and we will end up looking like the bad guys like we do every time one of these enforcement cases comes up in the News.

If there are people out there that consider this to be too weak and want strong enforcement, then please dont harass organisations like the Sikh Council. There is nothing stopping you from just going out there and doing it yourself. However, dont be surprised if you are labelled as extremists and the majority of the community turns its back on you and with criminal records and prison sentences to look forward to.

[hsisingh]

Completely Unenforceable.