The stage is set for the crucial SGPC executive committee meeting at Fategharh Sahib on January 17 which may see the removal of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib Jathedar Balwant Singh Nandgarh and the setting up of a committee to resolve the Nanakshahi calendar row.
The SGPC has obtained the signatures of 150 members on a four-point resolution to be passed at the executive committee meeting, seeking the removal of Jathedar Nandgarh, formation of a panel on the calendar row, amendment to Article 25 (b) of the Constitution, which clubs the Sikhs with Hindus, and stepping up efforts for the release of Sikh detainees.
Sources say some SGPC members are against Nandgarh’s removal. They say the Jathedar must first be sent a show-cause notice.
The SGPC is not targeting Jathedar Nandgarh for supporting the original Nanakshahi calendar, but for his alleged remarks about the Nagar Kirtan on the birth anniversary of the Tenth Guru on December 28 last year. The Jathedar had reportedly alleged that the Nagar Kirtan was sponsored by the RSS.
Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh said the SAD was looking for an excuse to target Jathedar Nandgarh. “No Jathedar will use derogatory language for Guru Granth Sahib and Panj Piaras,” he said.
He also alleged that the Jathedar’s remark had been deliberately distorted. “Whatever the pretext they use to sack him, he will be a hero for all those who want the Sikhs to have a separate identity,” he said.
Jathedar Nandgarh had kept away from the Gurpurb celebrations at Takht Shri Damdama Sahib on December 28. He chose to celebrate the occasion at his residence on January 5 as per the original Nanakshahi calendar.
Memorandum, signed by 150 members, submitted to SGPC chief
- In a memorandum, 150 SGPC members have sought the removal of Jathedar Nandgarh
- The memorandum says the Takht Sri Damdama Sahib Jathedar did not accord due respect to Panj Piaras and Guru Granth Sahib during the Nagar Kirtan on Dec 28, 2014
- It says the Jathedar had humiliated the Sikh Panth by dubbing Panj Piaras as RSS agents