SGPC to concrete sacred bagh (garden) of Guru Arjan

[amandeepm]

Last week the SGPC announced the intention to build a Hi-Tech Museum in Amritsar. This week it has emerged that the likely site for this venture is the sacred Guru-ka-Bagh in the Harimandir complex that was the garden of Guru Arjan Dev ji and the place within which "Barah Mah" was composed.

This sacred space is to be replaced by concrete, killing off the last green area in the complex and causing irreversible damage. The small shrine that commemorates the place that Guru Arjan Dev ji composed "Barah Mah" would also be lost forever.

This is not the first historically important site to be bulldozed and concreted in recent years. The SGPC have previously demonstrated their utter disregard for Sikh Heritage in all its forms by whitewashing, replacing and concreting all manner of sacred monuments and sites.

Please visit www.punjabheritage.org for the full report and for the latest news on this ongoing campaign for the SGPC to reconsider location of this museum.

Amandeep Madra

www.punjabheritage.org

[tSingh]

Gurfateh ji

Any suggestions on what we can do from over here to try and stop this from happening?

[amandeepm]

I had hoped that the reaction to this scandalous proposal by the SGPC would have been that they would have quickly backed down. It doesn’t seem that this is the case. I have tried to get the BBC in India to take the story as well as a few national newspapers in India and the UK. Pressure from foreign media outlets is (sadly) much more influential than what many thousands of Sikhs in the UK/US are asking for.

I am drafting a letter to the SGPC president, with similar letters to the Badal office and also to Mr Darshan Dhaliwal (who is funding this project). I will send these by the weekend. I would encourage all others to do the same. The SGPC do not respond to emails, so it is vital that those of you who want to do something write a letter and send that by post (addresses are below)

Letters should be short, to the point and courteous. For example, welcome the principal of the museum but insist that the site should not be the sacred Guru-ka-bagh site. The more letters that the SGPC get, the more chance that they will respond.

The minute that I have any kind of official or unofficial response from the SGPC I will post on sikhawareness.com and copy in some of the other boards

PLease address your letters to :

Jathedar Avtar Singh,

President SGPC.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee

Teja Singh Samundri Hall

Amritsar - Punjab 143006 (India)

cc. S.Sukhdev Singh Bhaur

General Secretary, SGPC,

[drawrof]

Hello to All,

I haven't been able to come on as often as of late due to benign positional vertigo in my ear.

I will definitely write up something and see run it by those on this website before I send it.

how open are the SGPC to actually using these funds to "professionally" maintaining (with modernization...minus the marble :wink: ) older buildings, architecture, 'itihaasik' places. ( I am aware that they are probably not at all interested, as those who have been very passionate about these matters have most likely addressed them).

I was thinking though instead of having a central museum, would it not be to the benefit of all, if all the "gurdwaras, buildings, places of importance" were looked after in such a way that there is some sort of similarity, with minimal changes done to change the integrity of the sites.

Here is a proposal;

1) survey all gurdwaras/sites/places

2) assess their legitimacy and the integrity of the events that make these places special

3) Organize a program by which any visitor to punjab/ the gurdwaras can actually learn and experience the culture (I know it sounds like I am marketing our heritage, but, I believe, if done tastefully, we can whet the capitalist appetites of the people in power

4) Implement the program so that we have something that is akin to the "pousada" theme in portugal

I'll write again soon, as soon as the computer screen stops spinningb

[amandeepm]

Hello again drawrof - great to see you on this site again.

Your idea is a really good one. It is something that is certainly "doable" but requires political will - this is unfortunately lacking right now.

Unfortunatly most of the energy & resources from conservators, activists and experts is spent on stopping sikhs from destroying their own heritage rather than presenting heritage in an engaging and educational way to increase the enjoyment of one of our most unique assets.

The SGPC are a group of political yahoos with absolutely no interest in heritage - ats all about the golak and the sho-sha !

aman

[tSingh]

Great advice. I've penned two letters, polite and to the point and stuck all the showy titles and qualifications (which I know has good currency in Punjab!). I'll send them off later on.

I'll ask friends if they don't mind signing up for petitions.

I don't suppose anyone has thought about speaking to influential jathedars or secretaries within the Nihang dals? I can never tell how clouded in politic all this stuff is, but if its worth a go. I'm going to speak to my contacts in Punjab and see what they think they can do.

[Dynamic_Banda]

To be honest with u T the nihangs aint going to do much, they have taken a back step for quite some time ever since the re-acceptance of the jathedar into the panth by the imposter jathedar of akaal takht, Now they just gonna wait for the big man to move on and then Baba Surjit Ji may kick up some issues.

If you truelly want to stick a thorn in the side of the SGPC concrete fetish movement then best bet would be to get in contact with a few poor rebelious most likely degh loving nihangs, They are always up for a fight and will probably just go sit in the middle of Guru Ka Bhag swearing at any SGPC guy they see.

Suggestions include,

Black Hari Singh Akali - loud big and always fighting. Known by all Jathedars very good friends with Baba Santokh Singh

Hari Singh from the Knight of God, already in trouble with SGPC and Police over similar concrete issues in Baba Bakale

and any other crazy nihangs you get a chance to bump into..

Finally I dont think the SGPC are gonna advertise or inform the masses over in the homeland ! They usually find out about stuff well after the rest of the world

[Slugz]

I've honestly lost all faith in the SGPC, and its clear to see how once they have thought something out, its impossible for them to consider anything rational. For instance, they're hiding the sacred shrine where the younger Sahibzaaday were bricked alive, only showing a fraction of the wall for an hour or so a day. Lets not forget Sangat, this is the same wall which survived almost three hundred years, through various reigns including Maharaja Ranjit Singhs. Another unfortunate incidient concerning the SGPC is their removal of a tree in Punjab where our ninth Guru tied his horse on overnight (during a stay).

Personally, I'll forver bow down to any place graced with my GURUs presence, so the SGPC need to start being for the PANTH instead of taking AWAY jewels from the PANTH. At this rate, its going to be no time at all until their tear down other famous monuments such as 'Methiya(sp) Sahib Gurdwara' which contains statues of famous Sikh sacrifices.

Bhul chak maaf...

Something needs to be done!

[DSG]

agree slugz , something needs to be done , why don't we if not already done so pose this question on radio panjab sky channel 0130 for the sikh panel to answer or even question SGPC of this . as the radion channel gets aired in india.

[Slugz]

One of my relatives recently visited the Akal Thakt and met with all the predominant members of the SGPC, Akaali Dal etc etc.... this guy is super educated and has been living in the US since the 50's and he came back disgusted by his realization of the clowns that in charge of our panth. There are countless power struggles within each organization and the bottom line is that everybody hates each other.

I dont know man, I can barely hold a conversation with a native Punjabi since my Punjabi needs work to get on their level, and its frustrating to just sit around and let everything disappear.

Please let me know if there is anything I can to help...

[artistformalyknownasodhi]

atleast every one is realising now.....

[Dynamic_Banda]

the heads of the panj takht are representatives or ment to be of sikhs from various areas,

I went to a cambridge alumni some time last year (im crap with dates) and you had the smartest bstard in the UK all in one room, and a bunch of dumb as$'s sitting at the back (of which I was one) not only did we not know how to eat the weird little snacks they were giving out, like one piece of paneer on a weird chamcha / karchi hybrid. but we also noted some of the wonderful points suggested.

It was inspiring to hear them all argue that the views of sikhs outside of punjab needs to be represented, and the sikhs outside of punjab need their own localised version of SGPC, which deal with local issues not the major panthic issues. etc etc, They also came to a great idea that there should be one chair leader semi God guy and then a variety of advisors in the punjab system (sounds alot like the old budhadal they got rid off to create our beloved SGPC) anyhow cutting a long story short.

One of the best things I heard that night was a remark made by a fellow very hungry fool on the back row which was amazing..

" two hours of the cleverist people in UK selling their own Gajjar and a pity there was nobody buying them".

Everyones gonna talk the talk.. nobody will walk the walk, and before someone states well fat as$ why dont you do it, Why do you think I went to that alumni event, I was hoping one of the clever dudes would take charge im willing to be the muscle or to learn how to eat paneer in weird spoons.

[amandeepm]

We have to be careful not to completely demonize the SGPC. I have littel time for them and so I say this through gritted teeth.

On a practical level whilst they may be part of the problem of heritage destruction they are also part of the conservation solution.

Like it or not, they are the guardians of the most important historical sikh shrines in Punjab. Any solution for consrvation or preservation will have to include them. There is no point in making enemies of them. Somehow they need to understand that heritage conservation is in their interest.

THeir vassals in destroying heritage are the kar seva Babas (see www.karsewa.org for a frightening example of this). Again, rather than make enemies of these people we need to educate them on how to do things properly. Kar Sewa could be areally powerful tool in preserving heritage if it is chanelled and well managed. If we simply make two opposing camps nothing at all changes.

aman