SGPC’s centenary celebration a low-key affair

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)’s 100th foundation day function is set to be a low-key affair, amid the ongoing row over missing holy saroops (copies) of Guru Granth Sahib.

The apex gurdwara body was founded on November 15, 1920. The day passed off without any public event to mark the centenary this year. However, a function is planned on November 17, for which an akhand path (recitation of Guru Granth Sahib) started at the Akal Takht on November 15.

An SGPC official cited Diwali festivities as the reason for postponing the main function, even as the celebrations had culminated by the night of November 14.

Moreover, the main function is set to be a simple affair, after bhog (culmination) ceremony of the akhand path.

“After performance of ragis (traditional gurbani singers) and dhadis (ballad singers), all panthic personalities will address the gathering at Manji Sahib Diwan Hall and share their views on 100-year journey of the SGPC,” said spokesperson Kulwinder Singh Ramdas.

However, unlike other centennial events in the past, when even the Prime Minister and President were invited, no big personality is expected at the event.

“This centenary cannot be compared with past events in terms of enthusiasm and circumstances. If we talk about the reasons behind it, the first is Covid outbreak. Second, the SGPC has been under a cloud for some time. Its credibility is at stake. So, people in general are not showing that much interest in this centenary,” said Tarlochan Singh, former Rajya Sabha MP and chairman of the National Commission of Minorities.

However, the pandemic did not deter the SGPC from organising Diwali and birth anniversary of Guru Ramdas on a large scale this month.

Sikh leaders and organisations at loggerheads with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which controls the SGPC due to its majority in the General House, will stay away from the main function. Even dissenting SGPC members, such as Kiranjot Kaur, expressed uncertainty over their participation.

Splinter Akali groups, which are gearing up jointly to contest SGPC general polls against the SAD, have also showed their apathy towards the centenary by not planning any separate event.

“The programme to celebrate 100 years of SGPC is as vague as its policies,” said Kaur, who has also been its general secretary.

The SGPC is still under fire over alleged misappropriation in its publication department that led to 328 Guru Granth Sahib saroops going missing. Bargari sacrilege and pardoning of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim by the Akal Takht were other major issues that dented the credibility and image of the SGPC, also known as the Sikh parliament, in recent years.