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Smooth transition of 48 SGPC gurdwaras poses challenge for BJP regime in Haryana
Top officials said that the state government would initiate the handing and taking over of the moveable and immovable assets including offerings, grants and donations in a phased manner
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With the Supreme Court last week upholding the validity of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, 2014, the BJP-led government in Haryana is faced with the challenge of ensuring a smooth and trouble-free transition in terms of takeover of moveable and immoveable assets of Haryana’s 48 gurdwaras under the management and control of Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC).
SGPC’s resistance and bloody clash of 2014
The last time an assets takeover exercise by the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) got underway on August 6, 2014, the law-and-order situation in the state remained on the edge with about 30 persons including cops getting injured in clashes outside the sixth Patshahi Gurdwara in Kurukshetra. Brandishing swords and sticks, HSGMC supporters attempted to take over the possession of Kurukshetra gurdwara by trying to breach the two tier cordon, hurled stones and damaged government and private vehicles, said a government note.
Potential flashpoints had emerged at the sixth and ninth Patshahi gurdwara at Cheeka in Kaithal, Kapalmochan gurdwara at Yamunanagar, Nada Sahib gurdwara in Panchkula (where Sangat from Punjab stocked brick and stone ballast at the gurdwara roof) and Dhamtan Sahab gurdwara in Jind, as per the note.
“Further attempts by HSGMC to enter the gurdwaras with the large mobilisation of Sikh sangat or any provocative action by SGPC supporters from inside the gurdwara may lead to violent clashes between the two groups…,’’ reads the note.
Influx of Akali ministers, MLAs aggravated the situation
The influx of SGPC and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders, including ministers and MLAs from Punjab to various Haryana gurdwaras had created a standoff and heightened the tension with a sizeable number of SGPC supporters inside various gurdwaras not appearing to be in mood to vacate the possession, Haryana’s counsel Raju Ramachandran had told the Supreme Court in 2014.
“The HSGMC leaders had on August 6, 2014, organised a Sikh Sammelan close to the sixth Patshahi gurdwara in Kurukshetra where they had been camping since August 3, 2014. In the morning, they tried to overrun the barricades several times but were stopped by the police. On the other hand, Bibi Jagir Kaur who was present in the sixth Patshahi gurdwara had told journalists that the act of HSGMC supporters camping outside the gurdwara is illegal,” the state government had told the apex court on August 7, 2014.
How to go about this time?
Top officials said that the state government would initiate the handing and taking over of the moveable and immoveable assets including offerings, grants and donations in a phased manner.
“The SGPC controlled gurdwaras in Haryana which are ready to yield after the Supreme Court judgment will be the first ones to be taken over by the HSGMC. The government will try and work around the others to ensure a smooth transfer of control and stave off a law-and-order crisis,” said an official.
The Haryana government is also wary of Sukhbir Badal led SAD; a former constituent of the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). “The SAD which has been politically marginalized in Punjab is looking for an emotive issue to rebuild itself,” said another official.
‘Do not foresee trouble but want to follow legal process to ensure flawless takeover of assets’
HSGMC president Baljit Singh Daduwal, who is facing an internecine challenge from former president Jagdish Singh Jhinda for the control of the Haryana Sikh body said that there was no opposition from any quarter regarding the takeover of SGPC-controlled gurdwaras in Haryana.
“But we want to have a legal procedure in place to ensure a trouble-free and flawless take over. Sikhs controlling the SGPC controlled gurdwaras have assured complete co-operation. There should not be any confrontation now after the SC orders. The conflicts in 2014 were due to the interference of Akali ministers and functionaries since SAD was in power in neighbouring Punjab,” Daduwal told HT.
Terming Jhinda’s action to announce himself as HSGMC chief as illegal, Daduwal said that the ball is in the court of the Haryana government to decide whether to constitute a new committee or allow the existing one to function for management and control of gurdwara and their properties in the state.
BOX
The HSGMC Act provides for the creation of a separate legal entity for the management of eight historical gurdwaras, 17 gurdwaras having annual income of more than ₹ 20 lakhs and 27 gurdwaras having annual income of less than ₹ 20 lakhs in Haryana. Right now, only four out of 52 gurdwaras are under the control of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. They are sixth and ninth Patshahi in Cheeka, Kaithal, ninth Patshahi in Thanesar, Kurukshetra, Dayoddhi Sahib ninth Patshahi in Thanesar, Kurukshetra, Gurdwara ninth Patshahi, Jagadhri in Yamunanagar.
