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Stage set for first Hry gurdwara body elections this month
As many as 40 members will be elected by the Sikh voters in 40 wards spread all over the state and further, nine members will be nominated by the majority group.
After over two decades of struggle by the Sikh community of the state to have a separate functional body from Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Haryana is set to elect its first body to manage and fund gurdwaras, later this month.
As many as 40 members will be elected by the Sikh voters in 40 wards spread all over the state and further, nine members will be nominated by the majority group.
The 49 members will further choose a president and other office-bearers of the executive body for Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC).
As per the HSGMC Act, there are total 52 gurdwaras in Haryana, eight of which are historical and under schedule one, 17 schedule two and 27 gurdwaras are categorised as schedule three.
Why the need for a separate committee?
A section of the Sikh community in the state was demanding a separate committee to manage gurdwaras in the state in place of the SGPC since the late 1990s.
Until then, the gurdwaras in Haryana were governed by the provisions of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925.
Former general secretary of the HSGMC, Gurvinder Singh Dhamija said that there was a simmering discontent within the minds of the Sikhs of Haryana that they are being discriminated against and not given due importance with regard to the affairs of the gurdwaras in the state.
The demand for a separate body turned into an election issue during the 2005 assembly polls and was thus promised by the Congress party that eventually won, people aware of the developments said.
Finally in July 2014, months before the assembly elections, the then chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s government had brought a legislation paving the way for formation of HSGMC and after formalities, it became a law.
Ad-hoc committee
A 41-member ad-hoc committee nominated by the state government was to take over all assets of gurdwaras, including moveable and immoveable properties and manage them till the elections were held.
According to the provisions, the committee could continue to manage the affairs of gurdwaras for a maximum period of 18 months till the new committee is constituted.
Till the committee under the then president Jagdish Singh Jhinda could take over all the gurdwaras, the Haryana law was challenged by an elected member of the SGPC from Kurukshetra, Harbhajan Singh in 2014.
It was claimed that the Parliament alone was empowered to make such a law, and the Act violated the statutory provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966.
Supreme Court upholds Act
On September 20, 2022, a Supreme Court bench of justices Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath upheld the validity of the Act.
“Since the affairs of the Sikh minority in the state are to be managed by the Sikhs alone, it cannot be said to be violative of any of the fundamental rights conferred under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution,” the top court ruled, while also rejecting the Centre’s argument that Haryana had no power to make such a law.
The verdict paved the way for the elections to be held.
After the judgment, the government later in 2022, nominated a 38-member ad-hoc committee that chose Karamjeet Singh of Yamunanagar as its president.
Later, president Bhupinder Singh Assandh of Karnal replaced the Karamjeet-led body that ran into controversies for all the wrong reasons.
Levelling accusations on the outgoing body as well, several Sikh bodies including Haryana Sikh Ekta Dal demanded an early election.
Member of the Dal and a social activist Pritpal Singh Pannu recently demanded a replacement of the current ad-hoc committee with a retired Sikh judge or a Sikh officer to manage the body’s affairs, to ensure fair election.
Elections and groups
A state government appointed Haryana Gurdwara Election Commission under Justice HS Bhalla (retd) is conducting the first election to the HSGMC.
The members of the Haryana committee must be elected from the eligible voters who are Amritdhari Sikhs, a Sikh, and who is 18 years old, but not a Patit Sikh and is not an insolvent, mentally retarded or an insane person.
A final list of candidates is yet to be released and the voter registration will be underway till January 10. Voting will be held on January 19 with results to be announced the same day.
Jhinda said that there is an estimated Sikh population of around 20 lakh and as per the last list, there were 2.85 lakh voters in the state, and he believes the count may go upto 5 lakh till final date.
Three major groups -- two under former presidents Jhinda and Didar Singh Nalvi and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-affiliated Haryana Sikh Panthic Dal (HSPD) -- are in the fray. No political party or group with a similar name can contest the elections.
Outgoing president Assandh, 61, has decided not to contest “due to age”. 70-year-old Jhinda, who remained president of the HSGMC from 2014 to 2020, is determined to get elected from ward 18 (Assandh) of Karnal district.
“The elected body will be answerable to its voters and Sikhs of Haryana will be able to take political decisions more independently instead of looking towards the Badal family of Punjab. 30 members from my group are contesting and we have an agreement with other groups or independents in 10 other wards. If elected, we will secure the maryada of the community that was not done by the outgoing committees nominated by the government,” Jhinda told the HT.
Former president Baljit Singh Daduwal is contesting as an independent from Kalanwali in Sirsa, Nalvi will test waters from Shahbad in Kurukshetra and HSPD’s Baldev Singh from Bilaspur in Yamunanagar.
