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Now, Rajasthan Sikhs raise voice
for separate SGPC
WSN Bureau
 Sriganganagar/Abohar:
While vowing to remain accountable to Akal Takht, the newly formed
Rajasthan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (RSGPC) resolved
unanimously at its maiden meeting in Sriganganagar on November 30 to
get the a Gurdwara Act enacted in the state. Its religious agenda
said Gurmat schools would be run to teach the granthis besides
opening new Khalsa schools and colleges in Rajasthan. Participation
of Dalit Sikhs in the management of gurdwaras will be ensured and
efforts will be made to associate all gurdwara Singh Sabhas, Seva
societies and NGOs.
Briefing the
media after the meeting, the RSGPC members said developing a
drugs-free state would not be a distant dream. The committee would
launch a comprehensive awareness drive against the drug menace that
haunts the state, female foeticide, dowry and obscenity in Punjabi
cultural programmes. The Sikh community would be inspired to work
for the preservation of the environment.
The economic
agenda of the RSGPC includes efforts to restore the Hindumalkot-Karachi
rail link to resume trade with the Arab and European countries
through Pakistan. The Central and state government will be requested
to offer special incentives for the development of border districts
besides implementing the plan for setting up modernised sugar mills
in Sriganganagar. The RSGPC will urge the state government to accord
due recognition to the Punjabi language, set up a Punjabi academy
chaired by a non-political personality, include the history of Sikhs
in the syllabi for schools and colleges, renovate Gobind Ghat
Pushkar and make arrangements for kar sewa of the historic Baba
Budha Johad, native place of Sant Fateh Singh. The latter needs to
be developed as a place of tourism also, the agenda added.
Unfolding the
political agenda, the RSGPC said Parliament had no Sikh from
Rajasthan for the past eight years. Besides the political parties
would be urged to nominate Sikh candidates from Sriganganagar,
Hanumangarh,
Bikaner,
Alwar, Kota and Boondi Lok Sabha constituencies during the next
elections besides nominating a Sikh to the Rajya Sabha.
Representation on the Minorities Commission, corporations and boards
and appointment of a Sikh Governor for Rajasthan would also be
sought. The RSGPC plans to work for getting the All- India Gurdwara
and Anand Marriage Act enacted. Sehajdharis having faith and
reverence for Sikhism will be persuaded to join the mainstream. The
committee demanded that false cases against Sikh youths should be
withdrawn. It urged the state government to allot land to SC/ST
Sikhs near the Indira Gandhi Canal.
Notably the Sikh
leaders resented that the SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar had not
kept his word over setting up a Rajasthan Sikh mission and nothing
had been done for the uplift of gurdwaras in Rajasthan. There is no
provision for the election of SGPC members from Rajasthan even when
the community has got a population exceeding seven lakh in west
Rajasthan. The SGPC has been nominating only one member from the
state. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had recently denounced the
move to set up the RSGPC, terming it as a Congress ploy.
Courtesy The
Tribune
2
December 2009
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