Panthic Crisis: Akal Takht defied !

[Harbhajan]

source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080619/punjab1.htm#3

Panthic Crisis

Two outside Takhts defy Akal Takht

Varinder Walia

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 18

An unprecedented Panthic crisis has been created in the Sikh Panth with the clergy of Takht Patna Sahib and Hazoor Sahib openly defying the directive and Gurmattas, passed in the meetings of Akal Takht on June 6.

The situation seems to have reached a point of no-return since the Sikh clerics of Punjab have stopped inviting jathedars of both Takhts and took a diametrically opposite stands on the Maryada (Sikh code). Takht Patna Sahib and Takht Hazoor Sahib have already rejected the Nanakshahi Calendar, approved by Akal Takht and SGPC, and continue to recite the Dasam Granth.

The crisis has developed at a time when the Sikh community and different Panthic organisations are busy in chalking out programmes to mark the tercentenary celebrations of the Gurta Gaddi of Guru Granth Sahib in October.

Members of the Sikh community all over the world are of the view that if the jathedars of all five Takhts have failed to resolve their own disputes, it will be difficult for them to solve the problems being faced by the Sikh community.

Most of the problems arose as the Jathedar, Akal Takht, failed to give proper leadership to the Sikh high priests. This was why the community was divided on almost all Sikh centenaries, celebrated during the stint of Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti as Jathedar, Akal Takht.

Various Sikh organisations had been accusing Jathedar Vedanti of passing controversial edicts/directives in the meetings of Akal Takht. It is said Jathedar Vedanti remains on foreign tours most of the time and gives less time to affairs of Akal Takht. Serious allegations were levelled against his personal assistant and relative, Prithipal Singh Sandhu.

The Panthic circles are of the view that the current division between Sikh clergy of Punjab (Akal Takht, Kesgarh Sahib and Damdama Sahib) and two outside Takhts (Patna Sahib and Hazoor Sahib) would cause irreparable damage to the age-old Sikh institutions. The meeting of Takht Hazur Sahib has clearly announced that directives issued from Akal Takht without the presence of the representatives of all the five takhts won’t be acceptable to the Sikh Panth.

The meeting of Akal Takht, held on June 6, had imposed an undeclared ban on Jathedar Iqbal Singh from attending the meetings and called upon the Sikh Panth to reject all the controversial edicts issued by him (from Takht Patna Sahib).

[Niranjana]

This isn't actually news - the Akal Thakt has long been defied over very simple matters of rehit and protocol by various groups (all at odds with each other and all claiming the much desired 'original puratan chak de phate form of the Khalsa blah blah blah' title based on little more than fairy tales and fantasy costumes and best of all, 'dreams' that their cult leaders had) - the reason is simple, it boils back down to the standard Punjabi Jatt obsession: Land and Power.

Dress up however you guys want to, call it want you want, but deep down inside, it is pretty obvious that just about everything that kicks off in Sikh circles when broken down to the lowest common denominator boils down to little more than Jatt pride.

[unbreakable]

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[Malwe Da Sher]

This blame it on the jatts attitude is quite frankly a load on nonsense.

[unbreakable]

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[Mithr]

This blame it on the jatts attitude is quite frankly a load on nonsense.

I agree. But now days it has become quite fashionable to blaim everything and anything on Jatts. If someone says the opposite they are seen as being casteists, biggots and Jatt racists. Instead of looking at the real issues the way they are and finding a solution we just take the easy way out and blaim it on the scapegoat.

[Xylitol]

In this case what's happening is that politicians are attempting to divert attention from the 300 saal celebrations. The celebrations are being put on by mostly sants, Dasam Bani will be prakash. Politicians and govt. agents like prof. Darshan Singh are trying to make the celebrations fail by attacking from any angle and by indirectly creating ruckus.

[Niranjana]

"it has become quite fashionable to blaim everything and anything on Jatts"

Maybe for a reason - never smoke without fire. The issue as I said earlier is one of 'land and power' - shame no one can comment upon that, but instead we see the usual, oh we poor humble but strong Jatts, the backbone of the Panth are not to blame, how dare you suggest such a thing...but of course it is okay to bring in the old "Hindus = bad" argument:

"As far as I am concerned, these people are not Sikhs, they are just Hindus"

If one looks at the Sikh Diaspora and the amount of ritualistic obession that runs through it, one can very easily notice that we have a lot more of it than the "Hindus" that we just love to criticise!

[Niranjana]

"it has become quite fashionable to blaim everything and anything on Jatts"

Maybe for a reason - never smoke without fire. The issue as I said earlier is one of 'land and power' - shame no one can comment upon that, but instead we see the usual, oh we poor humble but strong Jatts, the backbone of the Panth are not to blame, how dare you suggest such a thing...but of course it is okay to bring in the old "Hindus = bad" argument:

"As far as I am concerned, these people are not Sikhs, they are just Hindus"

If one looks at the Sikh Diaspora and the amount of ritualistic obession that runs through it, one can very easily notice that we have a lot more of it than the "Hindus" that we just love to criticise!

[Mithr]

Maybe for a reason - never smoke without fire. The issue as I said earlier is one of 'land and power' - shame no one can comment upon that, but instead we see the usual, oh we poor humble but strong Jatts, the backbone of the Panth are not to blame, how dare you suggest such a thing...but of course it is okay to bring in the old "Hindus = bad" argument:

You're not making any sense Naranjana. You're basically saying, disunity and problems in our Panth are happening because Jatts by nature are corrupt, power hungary and all other things we can blaim on them.

So by your angle, anywhere where there are not Jatts things should be logically better? right? But when I go to Delhi and see the Bhabhay Sikh fighting and playing dirty politics just like in Punjab, that alone throws out your caste based theory about Jatts being the cause of every ill within the Panth out the window. In my Nanke Pend, the Tarkhans fought with one another over the Pend's Ramgaria Gurdwara pulling off each other's Paghs. But I guess they must secretly be Jatts pretending to be Tarkhans.

During Parition, Sikhs and Hindus fought against the Muslims. Both sides causing ethnic cleansing. But that must also be blaimed on the Jatts because Jatts are after all the villains who cause fights and murders all over the world.