Amended Sikh calendar released in Amritsar
By IANSSunday, March 14, 2010
CHANDIGARH - After a controversy over the last few years regarding dates of important religious events in the ‘Nanakshahi’, the Sikh religious calendar, its amended version was Sunday released by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) at Amritsar.
The dates of the previous Nanakshahi calendar did not match with the Vikrami calendar followed elsewhere in the country, including by the Sikh community.
“We have released the amended Nanakshahi calendar today (Sunday). This decision was taken after getting nod from all Sikh communities,” Dalmegh Singh, SGPC secretary, told IANS.
In January, the Akal Takht - the highest temporal seat of Sikhism - situated inside the Golden Temple complex at Amritsar, around 250 km from here, approved the changes made in the calendar.
According to the changes, dates of some Sikh religious events will be now as per the Vikrami calendar.
Many Sikh groups were against amending the calender. The SGPC, the mini-parliament of Sikh religion, had last year constituted a 10-member committee to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, rejecting the amended version, a radical Sikh group Dal Khalsa Sunday released the Nanakshahi calendar as per its original version in Hoshiarpur town, around 120 km from Chandigarh.
“The SGPC has killed the letter and spirit of the Nanakshahi calendar by mixing it with the Vikrami calendar, which has its roots in Hinduism. It is totally intolerable, therefore, we have released the original calendar on our own,” said Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh.
The Dal Khalsa also accused the SGPC of working on the behest of the Akali Dal to please some people.
“The Badal family has established a monopoly on all important Sikh institutions. It is sad that the father and son (Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal), who are devoid of any ideology, are controlling the institutions of historical importance,” said Dal Khalsa president H.S. Dhami.
He added: “We categorically reject the changes in the calendar made to appease Sant Samaj and Damdami Taksal. They have entered into deals with the Akali Dal and drifted from the path of their predecessors.”
