With Kolianwali’s death, SGPC loses fourth member in a week

With the death of Shiromani Akali Dal leader and three-time SGPC member Dyal Singh Kolianwali in Gurugram on Monday, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the apex body of Sikhs to manage gurdwara affairs, has lost four members in a week

With the death of Shiromani Akali Dal leader and three-time SGPC member Dyal Singh Kolianwali in Gurugram on Monday, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the apex body of Sikhs to manage gurdwara affairs, has lost four members in a week.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which celebrated its centenary in November 2020, looks after the management of gurdwaras across Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. (HT file photo)

The strength of the SGPC general house now stands at 162. While 21 members have died since the last elections in 2011, two have resigned from membership.

The general house originally had 170 elected and 15 nominated members. The SGPC, which celebrated its centenary in November 2020, looks after the management of gurdwaras across Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. It runs the world’s largest community kitchen service or langars, feeding hundreds of thousands of people daily.

On March 10, Gurtej Singh Dhade, the SGPC member from Maur Mandi, passed away. He had been a member of the SGPC executive committee also. The next day, another member, Bikkar Singh Channu, died. On March 13, Sukhdarshan Singh Mrar, also a former Muktsar MLA, breathed his last at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot.

All four SGPC members were ailing and belonged to Bathinda and Muktsar, the home district of the Badal family. They were senior members of the SAD and remained on key posts in the party.

Expressing grief over the passing away of the members, SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur extended condolences to their families. She led a gathering of SGPC members and staffers at the committee’s headquarters at Teja Singh Samundri Hall in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar during which tributes were paid to the departed souls by reciting Gurbani and offering ardas (prayers).

During the condolence meet for Kolianwali on Monday, members paid tributes to the departed soul by reciting the Moolmantra and Gurmantra.

Bibi Jagir Kaur termed Kolianwali’s death as a loss to the panth (community), while SGPC general secretary Bhagwant Singh Sialka recalled the late member’s service to the community.