AMRITSAR: A Sikh high priest On June 6, summoned a Canadian Sikh scholar to the Golden Temple to explain why he should not be punished for writing a doctoral dissertation that he felt contained blasphemous references to Sikh Scriptures.
The scholar, Pashaura Singh, was awarded a doctorate degree by Toronto University last year for research that examined the beliefs associated with the Sikh holy book, Adi Granth regarded by the devout as a compilation of the teachings of Sikhism’s founder, Guru Nanak.
Singh’s dissertation was titled, “Textual Analysis and Meanings of the Adi Granth.”
It was the second time this year a scholar was ordered to appear before the Akal Takhat, the supreme temporal and political scat of Sikhism located inside Amritsar’s 17thcentury Golden Temple complex.
The other scholar, Piar Singh, was found guilty of religious misconduct after he appeared before the high priest April 1. He recently completed a 40day sentence that Involved cleaning the shoes of Sikh pilgrims and sweeping the floors of a Sikh shrine. Piar Singh, an Amritsar based scholar, was punished for publishing a book last year that argued that the Adi Granth underwent revisions in history and contained material not directly associated with Sikhism’s founder.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 18, 1993
