Amritsar Mar 18 PTI After objection from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee SGPC Pakistan has cancelled Jashan-e-Bahar programme that was scheduled to take place from March 23 to 27 near Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara After learning about the event SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami had raised a strong objection and SGPC secretary had written a letter to Muhammad Latif Chief Executive Officer CEO of Project Management Unit PMU of Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Ameer Singh president of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee PSGPC and Aftab Hasan Khan Pakistans Acting High Commissioner to India on Friday demanding the cancellation of the programme The Pakistan government took cognisance of the SGPC objection and decided to immediately cancel Jashan-e-Bahar programme a release issued by the SGPC the apex religious body of the Sikhs said here The SGPC received the information regarding the cancellation of the programme through an email from CEO PMU Latif on Friday evening the release said Dhami on Thursday had urged the Pakistan government not to hold the cultural festival near Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara saying it is against the maryada code of conduct of the religious place Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is the final resting place of the Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev Welcoming the cancellation of the programme by Pakistan Dhami hoped that such a mistake would not be made in future The decision by PMU Sri Kartarpur Sahib to stop the programme by taking the SGPC objection seriously is in the favour of the historical significance of the shrine and the maryada code of conduct of the Gurus house For the same we thank the Pakistan Government and Evacuee Trust Property Board including the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee the release quoted Dhami as saying PTI JMS SUN VSD AQS AQS

Amritsar Dec 22 PTI An unidentified man who was beaten to death for his alleged sacrilege attempt at the Golden Temple in Amritsar was cremated here on WednesdayPolice said his last rites were performed after the post-mortem examination was conducted at a government hospitalThe man was beaten to death on December 18 for his alleged sacrilege attempt in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden TempleHe had jumped across the railings inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple picked up the ceremonial sword and reached near a place where a Sikh priest was reciting the holy Guru Granth SahibThe man was caught by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee SGPC task force membersWhen he was being taken to the SGPC office the angry sangat congregation thrashed him which subsequently led to his death PTI JMS CHS VSD RC

Amritsar Dec 20 PTI SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami on Monday expressed apprehension of a big conspiracy behind the alleged sacrilege attempt at the Golden Temple and said the man involved in it seemed to have received commando training He also claimed that the law allows a person to kill in self-defence suggesting that this is what happened at the Golden Temple when the man was lynched after the alleged sacrilege attempt He told reporters that suspecting foul play the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee SGPC task force had stopped the man from entering the Golden Temple but he managed to gain entry inside the sanctum sanctorum after the shift of task force members changed in the evening I feel that he had undergone commando training from the way he jumped the railing and did it made a sacrilege attempt in just six seconds There is a big conspiracy behind it Dhami said On being asked that the man was lynched when caught by the SGPC task force Dhami said devotees were angry over this incident The man had picked a sword and was going to attack the holy Guru Granth Sahib which is considered a living entity by Sikhs Dhami said One can kill a person in self-defence if somebody attacks with an intention of murder and the law does not consider it as an offence he said Before the task force members could do anything the man was beaten up by the angry crowd that led to his death he said Dhami said the SGPC will set up its own special investigation team to bring out the truth Dhami said it will comprise two representatives from Sikh organisations two from the SGPC and two Panthic scholars The SGPC has watched the CCTV footage to get to the bottom of the incident he said CCTV cameras revealed that the accused reached Sri Harmandar Sahib via Jalliawala Bagh Marg at 830 am on the day of incident During this time he first came from the Sri Akal Takht Sahib secretariat side around 9 am to enter the parikarma but returned Dhami said He then reached Guru Ramdas Sarai side through the plaza and entered the langar hall at 938 am He had langar and took tea From here he entered the parikarma of Sri Harmandar Sahib at 1019 am said Dhami He reached inside the sanctum sanctorum for the first time at 1034 am and at 1037 am He went upstairs on Har Ki Pauri and came out at 1145 am He then re-entered Sri Harmandar Sahib and committed the highly despicable incident at 546 pm said Dhami Dhami said It is clear from the CCTV cameras that he was afraid and kept walking with his face down all day To a query Dhami said whatever punishment was meted out to him by the Sikh Panth it is due to hurting religious sentiments and failure of the governments in delivering justice in sacrilege cases He said in the past a large number of cases of sacrilege and its attempt have been recorded but the governments failed to deliver justice In an assembly convened by the SGPC leaders of the various Sikh organizations unanimously declared that the anti-Panth anti-community forces would be fought with unity They said sangat community has lost faith in the law and government machinery as it has not taken any culprit to severe punishment forcing the Sikh Panth to take a decision on its own The incident had taken place on Saturday evening when the man jumped golden grills inside the sanctum sanctorum picked a sword and reached near the place where a Sikh priest was reciting the holy Guru Granth Sahib Less than 24 hours after the incident another man was lynched for allegedly disrespecting the Sikh religious flag at a gurdwara in a Kapurthala village on Sunday morning Police have registered complaints over the alleged sacrilege attempts in both cases but no FIR appears to have been registered in connection with the deaths PTI JMS CHS VSD RDK RDK

Amritsar Dec 20 PTI SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami on Monday expressed apprehension of a big conspiracy behind the alleged sacrilege attempt at the Golden Temple and said the man involved in it seemed to have received commando training He also claimed that the law allows a person to kill in self-defence suggesting that this is what happened at the Golden Temple when the man was lynched after the alleged sacrilege attempt He told reporters that suspecting foul play the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee SGPC task force had stopped the man from entering the Golden Temple but he managed to gain entry inside the sanctum sanctorum after the shift of task force members changed in the evening I feel that he had undergone commando training from the way he jumped the railing and did it made a sacrilege attempt in just six seconds There is a big conspiracy behind it Dhami said On being asked that the man was lynched when caught by the SGPC task force Dhami said devotees were angry over this incident The man had picked a sword and was going to attack the holy Guru Granth Sahib which is considered a living entity by Sikhs Dhami said He said one can kill a person in self-defence if somebody attacks with an intention of murder and the law does not consider it as an offence Before the task force members could do anything the man was beaten up by the angry crowd that led to his death he said Dhami said the SGPC will set up its own special investigation team to bring out the truth The incident had taken place on Saturday evening when the man jumped golden grills inside the sanctum sanctorum picked a sword and reached near the place where a Sikh priest was reciting the holy Guru Granth Sahib Less that 24 hours after the incident another man was lynched for allegedly disrespecting the Sikh religious flag at a gurdwara in a Kapurthala village on Sunday morning Police have registered complaints over the alleged sacrilege attempts in both cases but no FIR appears to have been registered in connection with the deaths PTI JMS CHS VSD RDK RDK

Amritsar Nov 29 PTI Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee honorary chief secretary Harjinder Singh Dhami on Monday became the new president of the apex religious body of the SikhsDhami succeeded Bibi Jagir Kaur as the 44th president of the SGPC A Badal family loyalist he is a member of the SGPC from Sham Chaurasi segment of the Hoshiarpur districtThe Shiromani Akali Dal had on Monday announced Kaur as party candidate from the Bholath Assembly seat in Kapurthala district for the pollsDuring a general house annual meeting of the SGPC at Teja Singh Samundri Hall here the name of Dhami was proposed by SGPC senior vice-president Surjit Singh Bhhitewad and another member Harwinder Singh Khalsa After his name was proposed for the SGPC chiefs post some members from the opposition camp objected and demanded polling by secret ballotThey proposed the name of Mithu Singh Kanekey for the SGPC chiefs postDhami polled 122 votes whereas Mithu Singh got 19 votes There were 142 members present in the House in which members owing allegiance to the Shiromani Akali Dal enjoy a majorityOne member did not take part in the voting process Karnail Singh Panjoli has been elected as the general secretary of SGPC by ballot Panjoli polled 112 votes and his opponent Gurpreet Singh got 21 votes and one vote was rejectedThe other officer-bearers who were elected include Raghujit Singh Virk senior vice-president and Surinder Singh junior vice-presidentThe SGPC general house session also elected an 11-member executive committee The SGPC general house of 191 members comprises 170 elected by Sikh voters 15 co-opted and six sitting heads of Sikh temporal seats and the Golden Temple head priestAddressing the media after being elected as SGPC president Dhami referred to the chaotic situation and said There is a protocol and a code of conduct of the General House session of SGPC Unfortunately some opposition members forget the honour of Guru Sahib and created a ruckus We strongly condemn the violation of Maryada in the presence of the Guru Sahib Any issue could be considered but it is unfortunate that instead of discussion the atmosphere was deliberately spoiled by the opposition Dhami saidDue to disturbance some important resolutions could not be read It is the supreme house of the Sikh community and the demands raised from here are of great significance But when some with political interests do not allow the right environment it harms the entire community he saidThe new SGPC chief thanked Shiromani Akali Dal patron Parkash Singh Badal party president Sukhbir Singh Badal senior Akali leaders and all the SGPC membersHesaid that besides expediting the preaching campaign health and education services would also be given a new direction as per the demand of the time The SGPC is a common body of all and every Sikh should be a partner in its work he saidDhami has been associated with the SGPC for a long time He also served as SGPC general secretary Last year Dhami was appointed by the general house as the honorary chief secretary of the SGPCBorn in 1956 Dhami holds BA LLB degree and has been involved in the legal profession for 40 years PTI JMS CHS SUN NSD NSD

Chandigarh Nov 29 PTI With the declaration of two more candidates on Monday the Shiromani Akali Dal has so far announced 89 names for the 2022 Punjab assembly polls due early next year Former minister and MLA Bikram Singh Majithia will contest from Majitha assembly constituency in Amritsar while Bibi Jagir Kaur has been given ticket from Bholath seat in Kapurthala district SAD President Sukhbir S Badal announced two more party candidates Bibi Jagir Kaur former President SGPC will contest from Bholath Bikram Singh Majitha former Cabinet Minister will contest from Majitha assembly constituency Total announced 89 said party leader Daljit Singh Cheema in a tweet The SAD hadforged an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party BSP in June this yearAs per the seat-sharing arrangement the BSP will fight 20 of the 117 assembly seats in Punjab while the rest will be contested by the SAD PTI CHS SUN RCJ RCJ

Amritsar Nov 29 PTI Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee honorary chief secretary Harjinder Singh Dhami on Monday became the new president of the apex religious body of the Sikhs Dhami succeeded Bibi Jagir Kaur as the president of the SGPC The Shiromani Akali Dal had on Monday announced Kaur as party candidate from the Bholath Assembly seat in Kapurthala district for the polls Dhami a Badal family loyalist is a member of the SGPC from Sham Chaurasi segment of Hoshiarpur district During a general house annual meeting of the SGPC at Teja Singh Samundri Hall here the name of Dhami was proposed by SGPC senior vice-president Surjit Singh Bhhitewad and another member Harwinder Singh Khalsa After his name was proposed for the SGPC chiefs post some members from the opposition camp raised an objection and demanded polling by secret ballot They proposed the name of Mithu Singh Kanekey for the SGPC chiefs post Later Dhami was polled 122 votes whereas Mithu Singh got 19 votes There were 142 members present in the House in which members owing allegiance to the Shiromani Akali Dal enjoy a majority One member did not take part in the voting process The other officer-bearers who were elected include Gurjit Singh Virk senior vice-president Surinder Singh junior vice-president and Karnail Singh Panjoli general secretary The SGPC general house of 191 members comprises 170 elected by Sikh voters 15 co-opted and six sitting heads of Sikh temporal seats and the Golden Temple head priest PTI JMS CHS SUN RDK RDK

Amritsar, November 2: In a move aimed to prevent adding pollution to the environment , the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee(SGPC), the organization responsible for the management of gurudwaras, has decided to cut down on it’s traditional display of firecrackers to celebrate ‘Bandi Chhor Diwas’ (Diwali) at the Golden Temple. This year they have decided to […]

Amritsar Sep 21 PTI In a freak incident an SGPC sawadar died after being pulled into a in a dough-making machine at a community kitchen in the Golden Temple here on Tuesday The incident occurred when Bhai Balraj Singh was working in the community kitchen according to an SGPC official His hand got stuck in the machine which pulled him in crushing him to death Officials said he died on the spot Immediately after the incident the entire area was sealed For a few hours the langar service was affected SGPC president Jagir Kaur expressed grief over the incident The tragic death of Bhai Balraj Singh has come as a great shock to the SGPC family she said adding that the sewadars family will be supported by the SGPC PTI JMS SUN RDK RDK

Amritsar (Punjab) [India], September 7 (ANI): On the occasion of 'Parkash Purb' of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji on Tuesday, a 'Nagar Kirtan' (religious procession) was organised at Golden Temple in Punjab's Amritsar.