MANSURAN(LUDHIANA):The Gurmat Sidhant Pracharak Sant Samaj, a representative body of 350 revered Sikh sects and saints, finally announced its resolve to stay away from the proposed World Sikh Sammelan to be held at Amritsar from September 2125. ‘This has come as a severe jolt to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Akal Takht Jathedar Prof Manjit Singh, the organizers of the sammelan, who had made last ditch efforts for a rapprochement with the Sant Samaj to ensure its participation. Rather it charged the organizers with losing a golden opportunity 10 bring about religious unity among the community through the sammelan.
In a strongly worded three page statement released at Mansuran, 15 km from Ludhiana, the Samaj chairman Baba Thakar Singh and the president, Baba Sarabjot Singh Bedi, affirmed their well thought out decision was based on sound differences with the SGPC. Observing that the forthcoming summit will not be a true representative of Sikh sangat, they opined “that SGPC is out to prop its own tottering image through the euphoria that the sammelan is likely to create, while some political Sikh leaders are bent upon gaining political mileage out of its proceedings and the pomp and show accompanying all its deliberations.”
The Sant Samaj, which claims to have, following of lakhs of people, asserted that it “is of the considered opinion that the coming sammelan is not likely to further the cause of the panth, as visualized earlier.” The saints appeared sore that the SGPC president, G.S. Tohra, and Prof Manjit Singh, approached them only this month with an invitation for participating in the sammelan that was planned a year ago. Though they took its participation for granted, they kept the Samaj in the dark about the agenda of the sammelan nor gave it the opportunity to propose.
The president of the Shiromani Akaht Dal (SAD), Prakash Singh Badal, has” ruled out any possibility of the world Sikh sammelan influencing the political agenda of the SAD.
Speaking to media persons here Saturday, he said that the fixing the par ties strategy and goals is the task of its’ Leadership and any deliberations at the sammelan are not likely to have any effect on this.
When asked whether the sammelan will Lead to the reemergence of a radical view point in Sikh politics, he said that there is no likelihood of such. a development. Badal also denied re— ports that the SGPC had not taken the SAD into confidence regarding the agenda of the sammelan saying that these reports are baseless, On the contrary, he said that the SAD is mobilizing workers in large numbers to participate in the sammclan. He appealed to all Akali workers to participate in the sammelan in large numbers to make ita success. Regarding the controversy over the alleged insult to the Guru Granth Sahib, at the Khadoor Sahib where Akali workers clashed with each other before the holy book, he described it as an“ unfortunate incident” and added in view of this incident, the SAD would also discuss on whether the Guru Granth Sahib should be kept at all at political conferences.
He said that the incident in no way reflects cracks in the Akali unity.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 22, 1995
