Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
India

Panj Pyaras Hit Back, Order Sacking Of Five Jathedars Over Pardon To Dera Head

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Oct, 2015 06:53 PM
    In a move that is expected to aggravate the crisis in the Sikh religious establishment, the Akal Takht Panj Pyaras today passed a resolution demanding the resignation of the five takht heads even as the SGPC, their appointing authority, claimed the suspended employees lacked powers to take any such decision.
     
    None of the summoned high priests showed up to explain their decision to pardon the Dera chief for his act of imitating Guru Gobind Singh in 2007. Following an outcry, the pardon was revoked.
     
    It “reached a flashpoint when they went on to take decisions which further humiliated the Sikhs… they failed to represent the Sikh community… the community is seeking their resignations,” the resolution stated, directing the SGPC executive committee to “terminate all kinds of services of chiefs of all five Takhts of the Sikhs”.
     
    On Wednesday, hours after the high priests were summoned, the SGPC said the decision of the Panj Pyaras was “against traditions of the Akal Takht and service rules” and “aimed at causing conflict and division” in the community.
     
    Announcing their suspension, the SGPC directed three Panj Pyaras to move to the Sikh mission in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh and two to the Sikh mission in Kurukshetra, Haryana.
     
     
     
    Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission head MS Brar backed the SGPC president: “An employee who has been suspended has no right to perform his official duty... They (Panj Pyaras) must wait till their suspension is revoked by the SGPC.” 
     
    One of the Panj Pyaras, Satnam Singh, however, refused to agree with Makkar and Brar: “The Sikh tenets suggest the Panj Pyaras, who represent Akal Takht, cannot be suspended by any committee or agency. They have the right to intervene in religious matters and question the takht heads whenever a critical situation arises.” 
     
    “We demand immediate resignation of the five jathedars who failed to present their side before Akal Takht over the controversial pardon to the Sacha Sauda chief. Neither did they appear themselves nor did they send any of their representatives,” said Satnam. 
     
    On Friday, protests over the alleged desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib took up the case of two brothers arrested by police and sought the reinstatement of the Panj Pyaras.
     
     
     
    In Phagwara, protesters made a 500m-long human chain on National Highway-1 and were joined by BSP activists. In Hoshiarpur, a protest march was led by Baba Sewa Singh, considered close to Chief Minister Parkas Singh Badal. In Gurdaspur’s Kahnuwan area, protesters surrounded the house of SAD leader and former minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan.
     
    The districts of Faridkot, Barnala, Sangrur and Ferozepur too reported several protests while Ludhiana and Moga remained relatively quiet. In Moga, the main chowk was blocked for three hours.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    India's Foreign Exchange Reserves At Record High Of $343 Billion

    India's Foreign Exchange Reserves At Record High Of $343 Billion
    India's foreign exchange reserves touched a record high of $343.2 billion for the week ended April 17, the Reserve Bank of India's data showed on Friday.

    India's Foreign Exchange Reserves At Record High Of $343 Billion

    First Look: Sunita Williams Visits Taj Mahal

    First Look: Sunita Williams Visits Taj Mahal
    Renowned astronaut Sunita Williams, who spent a record 195 days in space, has visited the Taj Mahal with her sister.

    First Look: Sunita Williams Visits Taj Mahal

    Ritu Beri Meets Prime Minister Modi, Calls Him A 'True Star'

    Ritu Beri Meets Prime Minister Modi, Calls Him A 'True Star'
    Internationally acclaimed Indian designer Ritu Beri met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and found him to be a “true star”.

    Ritu Beri Meets Prime Minister Modi, Calls Him A 'True Star'

    15-Year-Old Girl Stabbed 50 Times With Scissors Near Vrindavan

    15-Year-Old Girl Stabbed 50 Times With Scissors Near Vrindavan
    A 15-year-old girl is in a serious condition in a hospital after she was stabbed 50 times with a scissors early on Thursday morning by an unidentified assailant, police said.

    15-Year-Old Girl Stabbed 50 Times With Scissors Near Vrindavan

    Uproar Over Farmer's Suicide At AAP Rally, Narendra Modi Calls For Collective Steps

    Uproar Over Farmer's Suicide At AAP Rally, Narendra Modi Calls For Collective Steps
    The suicide by a Rajasthan farmer at an AAP rally in Delhi caused political ripples inside and outside parliament on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for a collective resolve to end farmer suicides and the Aam Aadmi Party accusing the government of using Delhi Police to target it.

    Uproar Over Farmer's Suicide At AAP Rally, Narendra Modi Calls For Collective Steps

    Will End Child Labour, Arvind Kejriwal Assures Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi

    Will End Child Labour, Arvind Kejriwal Assures Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi
    Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday met Nobel laureate and child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi and assured him of his government's best efforts to remove child labour from the national capital.

    Will End Child Labour, Arvind Kejriwal Assures Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi