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Akal Takht forms Sikh scholars’ panel to probe Gurbani distortion on website
Akal Takht has formed a committee of Sikh scholars to investigate the matter pertaining to the uploading of distorted scriptures of Gurbani on a website allegedly by a resident of the US
The Akal Takht has formed a committee of Sikh scholars to investigate the matter pertaining to the uploading of distorted scriptures of Gurbani on a website allegedly by a resident of the US.
The distorted Gurbani has been uploaded on website sikhbookclub.com allegedly by Thaminder Singh Anand, who is associated with US-based organisation Sikh Book Club. “Thaminder has committed an unacceptable act by adding extra “lagan-matravan” (punctuations of Gurmukhi) and “bindis” (dots) by changing the original verses of Gurbani,” said a statement issued by the SGPC on Thursday.
Taking notice of the issue, Akal Takht’s acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh said, “No person has any right to change or add the lagan-matravan in Gurbani. Thaminder Singh Anand has done this under a well-planned conspiracy. He has uploaded the distorted Gurbani on his website, and we have come to know that the Gurbani was also being printed by him. The sangat will not tolerate it at any cost. The act is a direct challenge to the decision of the Akal Takht taken in 2003. It is also an attack on the authenticity of Gurbani.”
The jathedar has appealed to all gurdwara bodies, all Sikh organisations and Sikhs to initiate a campaign against “such publisher”, so that his actions should be stopped. “The Sikh scholars’ committee will submit its report within a week and the strictest action will be taken against him,” the jathedar said.
He said that some time ago, Onkar Singh of America had reportedly started a work to distort Gurbani, and the Akal Thakat had banned his activities.
Before the jathedar’s statement, SGPC’s president Harjinder Singh Dhami appealed to the Takht to issue an order and take exemplary action against Thaminder. Terming his alleged act as gross “beadbi” (disrespect) of Gurbani, Dhami said, “No one has the right to distort or tamper with the holy Gurbani and nobody can print the holy “saroops” of Sri Guru Granth Sahib by themselves. The sentiments of Sikhs have been hurt by the US man, and Sri Akal Takht Sahib should take exemplary action.”
Dhami said, “Keeping in view the reverence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Thaminder Singh Anand should strongly be opposed and the objectionable “saroop” of Guru Granth Sahib being distributed by him after uploading on the website should not be downloaded and circulated.”
This is not the first time that Thaminder has courted controversy. Earlier in 2014, he was booked under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the E-Division police station of Amritsar for allegedly trying to transport the Sikh scriptures to the US after getting them printed in China. Thaminder had filed a writ petition regarding the E-Division police station case at Punjab and Haryana high court in 2015 saying that the “SGPC has no power to stop him from publishing the scriptures”, and the next hearing of the case is scheduled to be held on March 28 this year. The jathedar said, “The SGPC is pursuing this matter.”
