CHANDIGARH: Theft of tasseled ornaments suspended from a canopy, chabba, worth Rs 1, 50,000 has been reported stolen from the “Chandoa Sahib” in the Golden Temple complex. The incident reportedly took place on the night of August 24. Sources said that though a First Information Report has been lodged in the matter, the whole issue is being hushed up for the fear that it may rouse public sentiments. In the complaint registered with the Amritsar city police on Ang. 25, manager of the Golden Temple Raghbir Singh said that one out of the 12 “chhabbas” was found missing in the morning of Aug. 25. Tho3.were presented by a devotee as an offering. The incident has sent shockwaves in the Sikh circles. Superintendent of Police, Amritsar, and Iqbal Singh said a case under Sections 406 and 407 has been registered. According to the police, several Sewadars of the Golden Temple and some devotees have been questioned in this regard. However, the police declined to reveal any progress made in the investigation.
The Golden Temple has a history of losing their valuables. A similar incident took place soon after the Golden Temple complex was thrown open to the public after Operation Black Thunder in 1988. Two valuable possessions of the Sikh Museum inside the temple were stolen in the incident. These included “Janam Sakhi” of Guru Nanak belongs to the 16 century and the “Chota Khanda” (small sword) belonging to Sahlbzada Ajit Singh, son of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru. The “Janam Sakhi” (biography) was a 400page illustrated book written by Bhai Mokha in 1526 at Sultanpur Lodhi. It included many historically significant events of the life of Guru Nanak.
The museum a favorite place with every devotee visiting the Harmandir Sahib lost 48 more paintings during Operation Black Thunder. These paintings by eminent painters like Kirpal Singh, Amolakh Singh, Gurdit Singh, and Davinder Singh depicted important incidents in the Sikh history. The museum had earlier lost 103 paintings during Operation Blue Star. Apart from the paintings, the museum has lost 10 show cases containing rare manuscripts these have been badly damaged.
The SGPC and the museum officials have prepared a list of the lost articles and submitted it to the Government for compensation. These include musical instruments of the times of Guru Angad Dev, second girt of the Sikh. Avtar Singh, Sewadar of the museum, who has been serving for years, said that 25 paintings were repaired and replaced after Operation Blue Star. The Government took away 103 paintings on the pretext that they would be repaired and returned. The Sikh Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee has made repeated requests to the Union Government for restoration of these paintings but to not avail, temple authorities said.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 28, 1996
