This will come as a shock to the Sikh world. This is an exclusive Open Letter to Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, exposing the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiromani Akali Dal move to foist Baba Ramdev’s business venture Patanjali’s director Bhupinder Singh Minhas as the chairperson of the Takht Hazur Sahib Board. The Hazuri Sikhs are up in arms. WSN unearths the surreptitious ordinance of the government allowing direct interference in Takht affairs.

Dear Mr Devendra Fadnavis: Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! Greetings in the Name of God, the light of every soul and may the victory be of the God Almighty!

I write to forewarn you that anyone who has attempted to meddle in the religious and religio-political affairs of the Sikh nation has had to face its wrath and ire. The very fact that you had to tweet a retraction last week is a clear indication of the malafide intentions of your government, party and yourself.

With the ideological backing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh in nearby Nagpur, the active support of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the arrogance of being the Chief Minister of the state and the covert wheeling-dealing with your party’s associate Shiromani Akali Dal, you have been attempting to dilute and undermine the importance of the Throne of the Almighty –Takht Abchalnagar Huzur Sahib at Nanded through politicking, bargaining, subterfuge and illegal amendment to long-existing rules, regulations and laws without consulting the Sikhs.

. @HarsimratBadal_ ji
After wider consultation govt decided not to push the said amendment in the Winter Session. The notice of motion has also been allowed to lapse.
Pls don’t believe the rumours. @BJP4India always stood firm with the sentiments of the community. https://t.co/dCb8gxxCwj

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) January 22, 2019

The manner in which the Jathedar of Takht Huzur Sahib –Jathedar Kulwant Singh, deputy Jathedar –Jathedar Jyotindra Singh and their Panj Pyare team revolted on 21 January 2019, from within the sanctum sanctorum of the Takht Sahib against the move of your government is unprecedented. Jathedar Jyotindra Singh went on live TV to exhort the Sikh Sangat to join in the protest against the move of the government of Maharashtra.

The Gurmata –the peoples’ resolution -dated 21 January 2019, co- signed by Jathedar Kulwant Singh, Jathedar Jyotindra Singh, Jathedar Kashmir Singh, Jathedar Avtar Singh and Jathedar Ram Singh reads, “The members gathered at this meet considered the amendment to Section 11 of the Takht Hazur Sahib Act 1956 and asked the government of Maharashtra to immediately withdraw the said amendment and allow the 17 members of the Takht Board to democratically choose its President.”

It speaks of the fear psychosis that grips the Hazuri Sikhs –the Sikhs living in Hazur Sahib, who are being overawed by the government of Maharashtra under one pretext or the other.

The World Sikh News learns that confabulations are on and a shocking attempt is being made to foist pro-BJP businessman-saint Baba Ramdev associate and rich Sikh business magnate Bhupinder Singh Minhas as the chairperson of the Takht Board. He is currently the Vice-President of the Takht Hazur Sahib board. While any Sikh has the right to become a member and then the President, why is this being done in such a coercive and covert manner? Are the motives not clear?

It has taken me more time than necessary, but finally the cat is out of the bag. On 18 February 2015, your government asked the Governor of Maharashtra to issue an ordinance amending The Takht Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib Board Nanded Act, 1956. This patently illegal ordinance was carried through with the ulterior motive of installing BJP MLA Tara Singh as the Chairperson of the Board for managing the affairs of the Takht and 8 other associated Gurdwaras in the vicinity of the Takht. The Sikhs were unaware of the ordinance but willy-nilly accepted Tara Singh.

A copy of this ordinance, which has been under the wraps for all these years; it was not placed before the Maharashtra legislature for review and ratification and it  contains clear-cut provisions, usurping powers to directly appoint the President of the Takht Hazur Sahib Board. Why?

This ordinance reminds me of the ordinance issued in the sixties of the last century to lower the qualifications of the President of the DSGMC, by the President of India, when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wanted to foist her loyal puppet Jathedar Santokh Singh as the president of the DSGMC as he did not qualify for the post of the president as per the then prevailing norms. This ordinance was issued the night before the presidential polls.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi attempted to take control of Akal Takht Sahib, get the vandalised Akal Takht reconstructed from paid fraudsters and agent- provocateurs of the government and the result is for the world to see. I am shell-shocked that neither you nor your associates have learnt the lessons of meddling in Sikh affairs.

To set the matter fair and square, the World Sikh News is publishing the ordinance in Marathi, issued by the governor within six months of you taking over the reigns as Chief Minister of the state.  Why was an ordinance issued and why not an amendment brought before the Maharashtra legislature is another matter.

The Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhan Sri Hazur Abchgalnagar Sahib Board Nanded Act 1956 was passed by the then Hyderabad government and after the reorganisation of states on linguistic basis, it became part of Maharashtra.  The Nizam of Hyderabad in an expression of gratitude towards the magnanimity shown by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, gifted hundreds of acres of land to the House of the Gurus in Nanded, a good portion of which today stands usurped due to the negligence of the Sikhs and the complicity of the government of Maharashtra over the years.

However, over the decades, through pernicious intervention in the affairs of the Takht Sahib, the government of Maharashtra in one way or the other has been usurping lands, misdirecting funds and attempting to foist loyal leaders notwithstanding their acceptability among the Sikhs. No more.

As per the provisions of the 1956 Act, two Sikh Members of Parliament are nominated to the 17-member Takht Hazur Sahib board. It is absolutely shocking that the BJP government has manoeuvred that no Sikh members are nominated as a result of which the numerical strength of the government of Maharashtra nominees jumps from two to four, increasing their leverage to play with the management of the Takht Hazur Sahib. As regards the duties of the Sikh Members of Parliament in this regard-irrespective of the party they belong to, the less said the better.

I understand that there is an issue of conflict between some factions of the Sachkhand Hazuri Khalsa Diwan which has not been able to be united in nominating four of its members through their very democratic functioning body where the choice is unanimous in an open house like a mini Sarbat Khalsa. I am also attempting to unearth as to why was the Hazur Sikh sangat silent all these three years?

Then there was this effort made by your predecessor to enlarge the scope of the Takht Sahib Committee by asking the former Bombay High Court Judge J S Bhatia to make the recommendations regarding the Takht Hazur Sahib Act. No one knows what those recommendations were and what happened to them.  Were any recommendations made to increase elected representatives from the state of Maharashtra? Whether they tabled in the Maharashtra Legislative assembly or not? Whether there was a round of consultation with the Huzuri Sikh population of Nanded? Whether the SGPC is aware of the recommendations? Who is playing with Sikh sentiments?

The Tenth Master –the King of Kings –Guru Gobind Singh –consecrated the land of Nanded with his divine presence in the last decade of his life there. He breathed his last and merged with the Divine in this place. It is here that Guru Gobind Singh bestowed Guruship to Guru Granth Sahib, ending the lineage of Gurus in human form. From that day to this day and for all times to come –the Shabad –the Word as enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib will be the Guru –the enlightener for the Sikhs and all humankind serious to know about the relationship between human beings and God. It will continue to guide the Sikhs on the path of Sarbat da Bhala and the creation of a just world order focussed Godwards and not limited to the elite and chosen few. It is this religiosity and historicity that the Sikhs revere.

“Maharashtra Tumcha Aahe, pann Nanded Sikhancha”

A Hazuri Sikh from Nanded

The Sikhs realise you are being guided by the logic that nurtures the perverted desire to overawe the Sikhs and to make inroads into their religious affairs. This road is very slippery and fraught with danger.

You will do well to govern the large state of Maha-rashtra, serve the people of Vidarbha region and provide succour and relief to the dying farmers committing suicide in thousands.

Presently, the incumbent chairperson of the Takht Hazur Sahib Board and BJP MLA Tara Singh has resigned, as his term is over, but the resignation safely sits in your pockets, to be used as a bargaining chip with your party ally Shiromani Akali Dal. With the age of the social media, these bargaining chips and surreptitious ordinances do not have long lives. This game is over.

“Amendment of Section 11 of the Takht Hazur Sahib Act is unacceptable. We are aware of the lacunae and loopholes in the Act but for the present we want that the entire 1956 should be restored and implemented in toto.”

Giani Jyotindra Singh, Deputy Jathedar, Takht Hazur Sahib, Nanded

The Maharashtra government and you must express regret at the manner in which you attempted to take over governance of Takht Hazur Sahib, failing which we will petition not only the law courts of the land but also the Jathedars of the Takht Hazur Sahib and the Jathedars of Akal Takht Sahib –the Throne of the Almighty to summon you and your other associates –Sikhs or non-Sikhs, who have wicked plans regarding the management of Takht Hazur Sahib.

Speaking exclusively to World Sikh News, Deputy Jathedar of Takht Hazur Sahib, Giani Jyotindra Singh said, “Amendment of Section 11 of the Takht Hazur Sahib Act is unacceptable. We are aware of the lacunae and loopholes in the Act but for the present we want that the entire 1956 should be restored and implemented in toto.”

Veteran Hazuri Sikh leader Laddu Singh Mahajan while talking to this writer said, “We will lay down our lives but will not tolerate any interference in the affairs of the Takht. All internal differences will be sorted out but this kind of crass indulgence in Sikh affairs is not acceptable at all.”

Another Sikh said, “Maharashtra Tumcha Aahe, pann Nanded Sikhancha” –Undoubtedly Maharashtra belongs to you, but Nanded belongs to the Sikhs! It is the dictum of the Sikh doctrine to construct islands of sovereignty where world laws don’t matter and worldly authorities will do well to adhere to this.

“We will lay down our lives but will not tolerate any interference in the affairs of the Takht. All internal differences will be sorted out but this kind of crass indulgence in Sikh affairs is not acceptable at all.”

Laddu Singh Mahajan, Veteran Hazuri Sikh leader

The writ of the Sikh community will run in the management of all Sikh affairs including Takht Hazur Sahib and all worldly authorities that challenge this throne of the Almighty will bite dust sooner or later. If you do not take immediate steps, you will find Sikhs knocking your doors in large numbers till you listen to their voice and undo the damage that you have already done and that which you are contemplating to inflict.  The government of Maharashtra does not deserve the two nominees that it already has; leave alone giving it more.

The Sikhs and Marathas have had closed ties; both are martial communities and the people of Nanded revere Takht Hazur Sahib as their own.  In this 550th year of Guru Nanak, it is time for the people and government of Maharashtra to celebrate the bonding of Guru Nanak with Bhagat Namdev and Bhagat Trilochan who were from that region of the Indian sub-continent. It is time for the government of Maharashtra to give back to the Sikhs what they have taken all these decades and centuries.

Sincerely
Jagmohan Singh
Editor, The World Sikh News