The five Sikh high priests led by Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj on Sunday objected to the SIT probe into the missing 328 “saroops” of the Guru Granth Sahib.
They said it amounted to government interference in internal affairs of Sikhs, which was against the Constitution.
They also said extending any kind of cooperation to the government or the police over the issue “was not in the interest of the Sikh Panth” and it should be resolved only through the Akal Takht or the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
The comments have come days after the state government constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter that had surfaced nearly five years ago.
The “saroops” had gone missing between 2013 and 2015 from the publication department of the SGPC.
The SIT was constituted after the Amritsar police registered a case on December 7 this year against 16 people, mostly former SGPC officials.
The complaint was lodged by Baldev Singh Wadala, a sacked hazuri raagi of the Golden Temple and the head of the Sikh Sadhbhawna Dal, which has been spearheading the campaign over the issue for the past five years.
After the incident had come to light, the Akal Takht — the highest temporal seats for the Sikhs — had formed a three-member panel headed by advocate Ishar Singh of the Telangana High Court.
The five Sikh high priests who addressed the media over the issue included Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Tek Singh, Golden Temple Granthis Giani Parwinderpal Singh and Giani Kewal Singh; and the Head Granthi of Takht Kesgarh Sahib Giani Joginder Singh.
Gargaj said the SGPC — the apex gurdwara panel — was a democratically elected Panthic and constitutional organisation of the Sikhs.
He said under the Constitution, “no government could directly or indirectly interfere in the internal affairs of any religion”. Gargaj said the legal action taken by the AAP government was being justified on the basis of the Ishar Singh panel report, which had clearly said that the matter should be resolved only through the authority of the Akal Takht and the SGPC.
“On Page No. 231 of the report, it is clearly written that the investigation commission believes that no political party should attempt to derive personal or political benefit from this issue,” said Gargaj.
“If any political party makes such an attempt, it will be answerable to the Akal Takht Sahib and will be deemed guilty of betraying the Panth,” he added.
The high priests warned of action as per Panthic traditions if the government and the ruling party did not “desist from interfering in internal matter of the Sikhs”.
The SGPC was also directed to make concerted efforts to dispel people’s doubts.
Gargaj said the Akal Takht was in possession of a large number of complaints, including against 28 YouTube channels uploading “anti-Sikh content”. He said complaints had been lodged with the Punjab Police by the SGPC management regarding “hateful propaganda” being carried out against the Sikhs.
“However, till date, the police have taken any action against those responsible for spreading hatred against Sikhs, Sikh principles and institutions,” he added.
The five high priests directed the SGPC to write to major film production houses in India, enclosing a copy of their order, to categorically state that no film related to Sikh history should be made without the approval of the body.
Minister Sond, CKD president told to appear before Takht
The five Sikh high priests directed Punjab Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond and Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD) president Inderbir Singh Nijjar, an AAP MLA, to appear in person at the Akal Takht on January 5.
They asked Sond to give a clarification over a painting showing Guru Gobind Singh wearing shoes while administering amrit sanchar to Bhai Jaita at a memorial in Anandpur Sahib. Nijjar was asked to come along with a list containing names of amritdhari and non-baptised members of the CKD, including its executive