Punjab: SGPC facilitates Sikh radical groups’ gathering at Akal Takht

The gathering was convened by the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Dal Khalsa, Panch Pardhani Jatha and the Jagtar Singh Hawara Committee

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex gurdwara body, on Monday facilitated a joint gathering of Punjab-based Sikh radical groups on the 40th anniversary of the 1986 ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ (Sikh congregation), marking a rare departure from its past approach.

The Akal Takht office in the Golden temple complex in Amritsar. (HT File)

The gathering was convened by the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Dal Khalsa, Panch Pardhani Jatha and the Jagtar Singh Hawara Committee. Earlier in the day, the groups held a joint conference near Gurdwara Santokhsar Sahib on the Heritage Street close to the Golden Temple. The conference was addressed by SAD (Amritsar) chief and MP Simranjit Singh Mann and former militant leader Daljit Singh Bittu, after which participants marched to the Akal Takht.

Representatives of the jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh-led Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) attended the event, though the party’s senior leadership stayed away.

SGPC secretary Partap Singh, along with other senior officials, remained present to ensure that the organisers faced no hurdles in conducting the programme, according to people familiar with the matter. SGPC functionaries also provided a sound system and microphone to the speakers at the Akal Takht by interrupting the ongoing ‘Dhadi Diwan’, a Sikh congregation featuring traditional ballad singers.

Traditionally, the apex gurdwara body, which manages the affairs of the Golden Temple complex, has sought to limit the space available to separatist groups. On the anniversary of Operation Bluestar on June 6, the SGPC usually plays “Gurbani Kirtan” on loudspeakers at the Akal Takht to drown out separatist speeches and sloganeering.