Following the passage of an anti-sacrilege law in Punjab, the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) has urged the Chief Minister and the Union Home Minister to introduce similar legislation to ensure stricter punishment for those involved in acts of sacrilege.
The committee has also sought that any such law should cover scriptures of all religions across the country.
Advertisement
The demand comes after the Punjab Government passed the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which has received the Governor’s assent and is set to be enacted into law.
Advertisement
In letters addressed to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, committee president Jagdish Singh Jhinda said several incidents of sacrilege involving Guru Granth Sahib have been reported from different parts of the country over the years. He noted that the Punjab Government’s move, taken after representations by Sikh organisations worldwide, had been widely welcomed.
He said it would be appropriate for both the Centre and the Haryana Government to follow suit by enacting a similar law prescribing harsher punishment for sacrilege involving scriptures of any religion.
“Such incidents hurt the sentiments of the community and strict action should be taken to stop such activities. Stricter punishments for the people involved in sacrilege has been a long pending demand. We welcome the decision taken by the Punjab Government and we request the Haryana Government and the Central government to introduce a similar law,” Jhinda said.
“The government should ensure a strict action against all those who are involved in such activities. We request the government to cover the scriptures of all the religions so that no such incident is repeated by anyone. It has also been decided to call a meeting of the HSGMC soon and discuss the issues related to the community and the committee,” he added.
Jhinda further said the committee would also move the Punjab and Haryana High Court over a recent decision of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission that nullified its budget meeting.
“We are also approaching the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding the recent decision of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission in which the budget meeting of the HSGMC was nullified. Some members have been purposely trying to affect the functioning of the committee by not attending the meetings so that the quorum is not completed and no decision can be made. Action should have been taken against such members as they first boycott the meetings and then approach the commission to stall the committee’s functioning,” he said