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Op Bluestar anniversary: Jathedar skips ‘sandesh’ amid opposition
In ‘ardas’, Akal Takht officiating jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj raises cause of Bandhi Singhs, prays for Panthic unity and Punjab not becoming a battleground in the India-Pakistan conflict.
The 41st anniversary of Operation Bluestar was observed peacefully at Golden Temple in Amritsar amid tight security on Friday, while the Akal Takht acting jathedar did not directly deliver the traditional ‘sandesh (message)’ to Sikhs for the first time since 1999 though he raised issues concerning the community in the ‘ardas (prayer)’.
To avoid a confrontation with Sikh seminary Damdami Taksal chief Harnam Singh Dhumma and other radical leaders who had opposed his recent appointment as officiating jathedar of Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs, Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj performed the ‘ardas’, seeking the release of Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners in jails even after completion of their terms); the unity of the Panth; and a prayer for Punjab not becoming a battleground in the India-Pakistan conflict.
Interacting with the media at the Takht secretariat later, Giani Gargaj said, “The sandesh was in the ardas.”
Dhumma and nihang leaders had opposed Gargaj’s appointment as officiating jathedar, citing violation of “maryada and Panthic traditions”. This was for the first time since 1999 that the jathedar neither delivered the address from Akal Takht nor did he felicitate Sikh families who lost their near and dear ones in the army operation to flush out militants from the Golden Temple in June 1984.
Following damage to the Akal Takht building in Operation Bluestar, a new structure was built and in 1999, then Akal Takht jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti started the practice of observing the June 6 anniversary.
On Friday, Dhumma reached the Takht with supporters, including armed nihangs. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) staff insisted only he enter the Takht building but allowed a few supporters in along with him after an argument. The SGPC staff and Punjab Police personnel in plainclothes were on their toes to ensure order in the Golden Temple complex.
SGPC employees escorted Giani Gargaj to the Takht, where Dhumma was made to sit in front of him. In a surprise move, Giani Gargaj led the prayers at the end of which he raised issues concerning the Sikh community.
Since Ishar Singh and Inderjit Singh, the sons of militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who was killed in Operation Bluestar, had backed Dhumma by announcing that they would not accept the ‘siropa (robe of honour)’ from Giani Gargaj, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami honoured family members of Sikh leaders who died in the army action in 1984.
The entire periphery of Golden Temple near Akal Takht echoed with pro-Khalistan slogans raised by activists of the Dal Khalsa, former MP Simranjit Singh Mann-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), his associate and former MP Dhian Singh Mand, who was appointed acting jathedar at the 2015 Sarbat Khalsa. Mand issued a separate ‘sandesh’.
Meanwhile, a bandh was observed in key markets of Amritsar on a call given by the Dal Khalsa. Shops and offices were closed in Hall Bazaar, Katra Jaimal Singh Bazaar, Lawrence Road and Ranjit Avenue. Traffic was thin amid tight security.
