ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>SHIROMA&#7750&#298 GURDW&#256R&#256 PARBANDHAK COMMITTEE</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="SHIROMAF*,GURDWR,PARBANDHAK,COMMITTEE"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279SHIROMA&#7750&#298 GURDW&#256R&#256 PARBANDHAK COMMITTEE, a statutory body comprising elected representatives of the Sikhs concerned primarily with the management of sacred Sikh shrines under its control within the territorial limits of Punjab, Hary&#257&#7751&#257, Him&#257chal Pradesh and the Union territory of Cha&#7751&#7693&#299ga&#7771h. It originated with the Gurdw&#257r&#257 Reform or Ak&#257l&#299 movement of the early 1920's, which lasted until the 1925 when the Gurdw&#257r&#257 bill was placed on the statute book.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The administration of Darb&#257r S&#257hib (the Golden Temple) complex had been, since the annexation of the Punjab to the British territory in 1849, controlled by the British government through a committee of Sikh aristocrats and a manager (<i>sarbar&#257h</i>) appointed by the British deputy commissioner of Amritsar district. The committee and the <i>sarbar&#257h</i>, are tired <i>ris&#257ld&#257r</i> major and honorary captain of the Indian army, Ar&#363&#7771 Si&#7749gh were anathematized among Sikhs for their association with the Jalli&#257&#7749v&#257l&#257 B&#257<u>gh</u> tragedy.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On 12 October 1920, the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Bar&#257dar&#299, an organization of Sikhs from backward classes, held a <i>d&#299v&#257n</i> (religious assembly) in Jalli&#257&#7749v&#257l&#257 B&#257<u>gh</u> at which some teachers and students of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 College were also present. A large number of new entrants were initiated into the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 Brotherhood by administering to them the rites of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. As the ceremony concluded, the entire <i>sa&#7749gat</i> went to the Golden Temple to offer <i>ka&#7771&#257h pras&#257d</i> and <i>ard&#257s</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The clergy at first refused to accept the offerings from the so-called untouchables, but later agreed when on a reference being made to the holy book, a hymn which was read out instantaneously favoured the reformists' views. The <i>sa&#7749gat</i> then went to the Akal Ta<u>kh</u>t, honoured as the highest seat of religious authority for the Sikhs, to pay their homage. The priests on seeing the <i>sa&#7749gat</i> coming fled leaving the holy Ta<u>kh</u>t S&#257hib untenanted. The reformers occupied the Ak&#257l Bu&#7749g&#257 and appointed Tej&#257 Si&#7749gh Bhuchchar as Jathed&#257r of the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t, with 25 volunteers to guard and serve it.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The deputy commissioner, on 13 October 1920, summoned the priests, the <i>sarbar&#257h</i>, and some notable citizens for consultation. The priests did not appear at the meeting, and the deputy commissioner appointed a fresh committee under the chairmanship of the <i>sarbar&#257h</i>. The reformers on the other hand summoned, under the authority of the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t, a general assembly of the Sikhs to meet in front of the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t on l5 November 1920 to deliberate the question. The government held hasty consultations with the Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 of Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257 and, on 13 November, nominated a committee of 36 Sikh notables for the management of the Golden Temple and other <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> including the Darb&#257r S&#257hib at Tarn T&#257ran. The Sikh assembly held on 15 and 16 November elected a committee of 175 members representing all the districts, Sikh states of the Punjab, other Indian provinces, and Sikh organizations in Burma, Malaya, China and North America. It also included the 36 government nominees in the committee which it named the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee, SGPC for short.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The inaugural meeting of the SGPC was held at the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t on 12 December 1920. It appointed a sub-committee to draft the Committee's constitution. It elected Sard&#257r Sundar Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257 as president, Harba&#7749s Si&#7749gh, of A&#7789&#257r&#299, as vice-president and Sundar Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 as secretary.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257 Sard&#257r resigned early in1921 to join the ministry set up under the Government of India Act, 1919, and B&#257b&#257 Kha&#7771ak Si&#7749gh was elected in his place president of the SGPC. The Committee was registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, on 30 April 1921.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Under its constitution, 80 per cent of the 175-member Committee were to be elected from different constituencies in the Punjab and outside including the princely states and the remaining seats were to be nominated by the elected members. There were to be a president, a vice-president, a secretary, an executive committee of 35 members of whom 19 could form a quorum and a 7-member working committee. In addition, local committees with paid secretaries were to be formed for the management of important shrines or groups of shrines. Conditions of membership of the SGPC included conformity to the teachings of the Gur&#363s, adherence to the injunction regarding five K's, and a subscription of Re. 1.25 per month. The prime functions of the Committee were to manage all <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> under its control, cleanse them of un-Sikh and undesirable practices, to regularize expenditure and to utilize all income appropriately for purposes such as propagation of religion and education, upkeep and improvement of buildings and the running of Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar (free community kitchens).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New elections under the constitution were held in July 1921. B&#257b&#257 Kha&#7771ak Si&#7749gh was elected president, Captain R&#257m Si&#7749gh vice-president and Sard&#257r Bah&#257dur Meht&#257b Si&#7749gh secretary. Meanwhile, more <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> were brought under the Committee's control, usually through negotiation and persuasion but also sometimes by coercion or use of force. The <i>mahants</i> often resisted strongly with resort, at times, to violence. The first such incident took place at Tarn T&#257ran where a group of Ak&#257l&#299 negotiators was attacked by the priests with lethal weapons causing death of two Ak&#257l&#299s and injuries to many others. A far more serious tragedy took place on 20 February 1921 at Nank&#257&#7751&#257 S&#257hib where about 200 Sikh volunteers were killed by hired assassins of Mahant Narai&#7751 D&#257s, the custodian of Gurdw&#257r&#257 Janam Asth&#257n.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There was clear evidence that the <i>mahants</i> had the support of the government. This fact led to the purely religious movement into the political struggle involving direct clash between the reformists and the government. Two days after the inaugural session of the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee on 12 December 1920, the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Ak&#257l&#299 Dal as the political wing of the SGPC came into existence. It carried out, under the overall guidance and control of the parent body, a series of <i>morch&#257s</i> (1922), Bh&#257&#299 Pher&#363 and Jaito <i>morch&#257s</i> (1923-24). The SGPC in this struggle maintained a policy of non-violence and peaceful, passive resistance whereas the government tried all means of suppression -- arrests, merciless beating, detention, summary trials, imprisonment and even firing on a peaceful unarmed band of volunteers at Jaito on 21 February 1924. Both the SGPC and the Ak&#257l&#299 Dal were declared unlawful bodies on 12 October 1923 and all their top leaders and hundreds of activists were put behind the bars. The agitation however continued. Ultimately the government relented and recognized the exclusive right of the Sikhs to manage their own religious shrines. Sikh Gurdw&#257r&#257s Act, 1925, passed by the provincial legislative assembly on 9 July 1925 and implemented with effect from 1 November 1925 created a "Board", renamed Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee soon after (although the word Board still exists in the statute book) to provide for the better administration of certain Sikh Gurdw&#257r&#257 and for inquiries into matters and settlement of disputes connected therewith. This covered <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i>, listed in Schedules I and II annexed to the Act, located within the then province of Punjab. Later after the merger of the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) with the Punjab in 1956, <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> falling therein were also included in the respective schedules vide the amending Act I of 1959, while <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> lying in parts separated under the Reorganization Act of 1966 continued to remain under SGPC's jurisdiction. The Committee's control over <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> in Pakistan of course lapsed on 15 August 1947.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The "Board", i.e. the SGPC, originally comprised 132 elected members from the Punjab besides head ministers of Sr&#299 Darb&#257r S&#257hib and of the Ta<u>kh</u>ts, at Amritsar, Pa&#7789n&#257, Anandpur S&#257hib and N&#257nde&#7693, and 25 co-opted members from Sikh residents in the rest of India. Consequent to amendments made from time to time, the present composition of the Board is 140 elected members, five head ministers and 15 co-opted members. Twenty seats are reserved for scheduled caste Sikhs. The tenure of the Board, originally 3 years, is now 5 years or until the composition of a new Board. The tenure of the executive, however, is only one year. Delimitation of constituencies and the conduct of quinquennial elections is the responsibility of the state government. Every Sikh, male or female, who is more than 21 years of age has the right to be registered as a voter provided he does not trim or shave his beard or hair (Sahajdh&#257r&#299 Sikhs exempted). The first meeting of a newly elected committee must be held not later than one month after the government notification regarding its constitution, and thereafter a general meeting must be held at least once in a year. The quorum will consist of 31 members. The executive to be elected in general meeting every year consists of the president, two vice-presidents (one senior and one junior) and a general secretary (all these to be known as office-bearers), and between 5 and 11 members. The executive exercises, on behalf of the committee, all powers conferred on the latter which are not expressly reserved in the Act for the general meeting. All decisions in the executive as well as in the general meeting will be decided by majority vote, the president possessing a casting vote in the case of equality of votes for and against, provided that the head; ministers are not entitled to vote during the election of the office-bearers and members of the executive committee.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;To adjudicate on any disputes regarding recognition of any shrines as being a Sikh <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> under the Act or on complaints with respect to the SGPC or its committees or against any of its office holder or member past or present, a Judicial Commission consisting of three members is constituted under the Act. Its members must be Sikh lawyers or ex-judges of not fewer than 10 years standing. Appointments to it are made by the government provided that two of them must be selected out of a panel of seven names submitted by the SGPC. The expenses of the Commission are shared by SGPC and the government in the ratio of two to one. The Commission is not a court in the legal sense but a judicial body which substantially controls the functioning and operation of <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> management. Cases before it are regarded as complaints and not as suits. It is permanently situated in a building owned by the SGPC, close to district courts in Amritsar.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Although constituted as a purely religious body for the management of <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i>, the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee with its vast resources (its annual budget now is around a thousand million rupees) performs multifarious functions. Besides propagation of religion including running of free kitchens, it runs a large number of schools and colleges, manages agricultural farms on <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> lands, encourages research, printing and publication of works on Sikh religion and history, and helps victims of political repression as well as of natural calamities. It arranges visits of Sikh pilgrims to <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> left in Pakistan and maintains liaison with Sikh organizations in other Indian states and abroad. It takes up with the government matters of Sikh interests or grievances. In this it collaborates with the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Ak&#257l&#299 Dal, a political party representing the Sikh masses.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The position of the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee <i>vis-a-vis</i> the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Ak&#257l&#299 Dal underwent a change soon after the passing of the Sikh Gurdw&#257r&#257s Act, 1925. Originally the Dal functioned under the control of the Committee, designed as it was to co-ordinate the activities of local and regional units of Ak&#257l&#299 workers which already existed at the birth of the SGPC, and to mobilize and provide volunteers to the Committee as, when and where required. A confidential report of the C.I.D. (Criminal Investigation Department), Punjab, dated 22 February 1922, refers to the Dal as "Central" Ak&#257l&#299 Dal which appellation indicates its coordinating role in a federal set-up The Gurdw&#257r&#257 Act, while restricting the committee's field of action to purely religious, introduced an electoral system which needed an organ for politically educating and organizing the electrorate, which was supposed to be the real sanction behind the representative character of the committee. This role naturally fell to the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Ak&#257l&#299 Dal. As long as the apex leadership was common to both organizations, there was no difficulty for the two to co-exist. But as differences arose (and they cropped up as soon as the Act was passed), political activity in the Dal quickened. The very first election under the Act, held on 18 June 1926, was fought between a moderate group led by Sard&#257r Bah&#257dur Meht&#257b Si&#7749gh, who had obtained their release by giving the undertaking of acceptance of the Act as demanded by the government, and others led by those who refused a conditional, release and were still in jail. The result gave a landslide victory to the latter, who rightfully claimed to be the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Ak&#257l&#299 Dal. Thereafter it was the Dal which by virtue of its political strength controlled the SGPC. The latter provided the Dal with moral support and monopoly in the use of the pulpit on the plea that Sikhism recognizes no hiatus between religion and politics.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Teja Si&#7749gh, <i>Gurdwara Reform and the Sikh Awakening</i>. Jalandhar, 1922<BR> <li class="C1"> Sahni, Ruchi Ram, <i>Struggle for Reform in Sikh Shrines</i>. Amritsar, n.d<BR> <li class="C1"> Harbans Singh, <i>The Heritage of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1983<BR> <li class="C1"> Kashmir Si&#7749gh, <i>Law of Religious Institutions Sikh Gurdwaras</i>.Amritsar, 1989<BR> <li class="C1"> Ganda Singh, "<i>The Ak&#257l&#299 Dal and Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee," Panjab Past and Present, Patiala,</i> October 1967<BR> <li class="C1"> ed., <i>Some Confidential Papers of the Akali Movement</i>. Amritsar, 1965<BR> <li class="C1"> Mohinder Singh, <i>The Akali Movement</i>. Delhi, 1978<BR> <li class="C1"> Josh, S.S., <i>Ak&#257l&#299 Morchi&#257&#7749 d&#257 Itih&#257s</i>. Delhi, 1972<BR> <li class="C1"> Ashok, Shamsher Si&#7749gh, <i>Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Prabandhak Committee d&#257 Pañjah S&#257l&#257 Itih&#257s</i>. Patiala, 1982<BR> <li class="C1"> Prat&#257p Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Gurdw&#257r&#257 Sudh&#257r arth&#257t Ak&#257l&#299 Lahir</i>. Amritsar, 1975<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Aj&#299t Si&#7749gh Sarhad&#299<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>