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West Bengal Singh
Sabhas rise against SGPC affidavit
WSN Network
CHANDIGARH:
Sikhs of Calcutta have strongly risen against the machinations of
the certain powers within the SGPC which were responsible for
distorting the views of the experts and filing a highly
objectionable affidavit in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
An emergency
meeting of various Sikh organisations, gurdwaras and Singh Sabhas of
Bengal
was held at gurdwara Sant Kutiya in Kolkata on December 12 to discus
the contents of the affidavit submitted by SGPC secretary Harbeant
Singh in the
Punjab and
Haryana High Court.
A resolution
passed at the meeting took strong objection to change in definition
of “sehajdhari Sikh from the one adopted in a resolution by the SGPC
itself on
May 12, 1938.
“Sikhs of West
Bengal are perturbed to note the contents of the affidavit filed in
the
Punjab
and Haryana High Court declaring ‘Sehajdhari Sikh is a novice who
has entered the path of Sikhism and will continue to be so till he
fully accepts the morals and spiritual vows of Sikhism.’ This is
dishonest reversal of the long-standing panthic stance on the most
vital issue on which the SGPC had passed its own resolution on
May 12,
1938.
“Further, it is
no more relevant in Sikh Panth after the 1973 general house meeting
of the SGPC demanding so- called Sehajdhari be disfranchised from
the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925 and which was subsequently accepted
by the Government of India vide its notification (SO1190E) ceasing
right of vote of Sehajdharis in gurdwara elections.
The West Bengal
Sikhs maintain that under the new definition any non-Sikh would
pretend to be a Sehajdhari to reap the benefit, if any, under the
plea that he or she is on the way to adopting Sikhism.
They also
contest the SGPC version the new definition was based on an expert
committee report constituted by the SGPC executive committee. They
said the report did not mention a word about the meeting held on
February 4, 2008 in Amritsar where seven-member committee drafted
the definition.
17 December
2008
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