Akal Takht likely to take a strict stance against 'distortion' of Gurbani

File photo

Amritsar: Sikh’s supreme temporal seat Akal Takht has taken strict notice of the alleged deliberate distortion of Gurbani while printing the Saroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) by US-based SikhBookClub.com and has convened a Panthic gathering at Akal Takht solely to discuss the issue on May 3 and take appropriate action even as the US body has approached the Akal Takht urging to exercise restrains and take any decision for the sake of the unity of Sikhs worldwide.

The officiating Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Harpreet Singh had accused the Thaminder Singh of  SikhBookClub.com of using extra 'lagan-matravan' (punctuations of Gurmukhi) and 'bindis' (dots) by changing the original verses of Gurbani which he said was a violation of Sikh Rehat Maryada (Sikh code of religious conduct). He had stated that Sikhs wouldn’t tolerate any distortion of Gurbani.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) which opposes the printing of the Saroop of SGGS by any other organization has also urged the Akal Takht Jathedar to take appropriate religious action against Thaminder Singh.  

President of SGPC Harjinder Singh Dhami said that Thaminder Singh had committed an unacceptable act by making changes in the original verses of Gurbani which couldn’t be tolerated.

Printing of the Saroop of SGGS by private publishers had mostly been controversial. In the past questions were raised as to how the two prominent Sikhs of Canada managed to procure’ a pen drive having a digitized copy of SGGS for printing the Saroop matching with the version of SGPC even as they were asked to reveal the source of procurement of pen drive having PDF of SGPC approved version of SGGS.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) had also decided to print the Saroop of SGGS under the guidance of Akal Takht to avoid violation of Maryada while the transportation of the holy scripture but the ETPB had to drop its decision of printing the Saroop of SGGS in Pakistan following objections raised by Sikh bodies including a section of Sikhs in Pakistan.

Giani Harpreet Singh maintained that the Sikh Book Club had used extra lagan-matravan (punctuations of Gurmukhi) and bindis (dots) by changing the original verses of Gurbani which was a violation of Sikh Rehat Maryada.

Ahead of May 3 meeting at Akal Takht, Thaminder Singh has approached the officiating Jathedar of Akal Takht stating "As a Jathedar of the important institution, you should be building consensus. Several of your committees over years and other organizations have reported printing lapses and errors and nothing was done over it."

He also gave example of how the Muslims solved the problem of multiple versions of the Quran by calling all the experts and created a unanimous solution by dialogue. 

"You have access to the best of the Sikh thinkers, Missionary Colleges, and the work of former Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti and other Sikh scholars to come up with the consensus solution," said he adding that  Changes were sometimes unpalatable but were important to keep the sanctity of the Guru’s Bani. 

He also gave an example of Sikh Misls who despite having differences with each other were unanimous on Gurmatta.

"Sikh Misls did not get along well with each other, but in Gurmatta they were all one. With this unity, they were able to lay the foundation of the Sikh empire. Sir, you are at an important juncture where all are looking towards you for guidance, please do what Sikh Misls had done in the time of crisis. From that unity rose the Sikh empire and this unity will be a stepping stone for the global Sikh empire," writes Thaminder Singh to the Akal Takht.