Sotheby's -- London's premier auction house -- may have clarified that the rare armour it has put on its auction list does not belong to Guru Gobind Singh but the chapter is "not closed" for the SGPC, which has threatened to sue the auction house for using Guru's name. The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, the highest temporal body for Sikhs in the country, said on Friday its fact- finding committee was thoroughly investigating the issue.
Taking strong exception to a controversial MTV promo, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee on Tuesday said it has hurt the sentiments of Sikhs and the attack on a Mumbai studio was a spontaneous reaction by some members of the community.
They handed the apology letter to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh at the Akal Takht Secretariat at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Akal Takht is the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.
The ace off-spinner was reacting to the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee's comments for keeping his hair open in an advertisement.
Bibi Jagir Kaur is the first woman to occupy the post of SGPC chief, to which she has been elected for the second time.
A man who is partly seen in the video is heard asking a Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) employee at the temple complex entrance, 'Is this not India?' The employee replied that 'it's Punjab'.
Was Ram Rahim's release on parole for the 10th time since his conviction in 2017 timed to coincide with the Haryana assembly elections? It does seem so when one considers he has been released mostly when there was an election in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Listing the times that Ram Rahim has been out on parole.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned twice on Thursday during Question Hour when Opposition members protested against the move to create a separate Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee by the Congress government in Haryana. As soon as the House assembled for the day, Akali Dal members opposed creation of a separate SGPC for Haryana.
The death came at 0041 IST after he suffered a heart attack at 0030 IST at the Escorts Heart Institute in Delhi.
The issue was Akal Takht jathedar Giani Joginder Singh Vendanti's liberal attitude towards Baba Dhanwant Singh, chief of the Nawanshahar-based Vishwa Noor Roohani Satsang, allegedly involved in a rape case.
Backed by ruling Akali Dal, the SGPC, apex religious body of Sikhs, will file a clemency appeal before the President for Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is on death row for the 1995 killing of Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, even as ally BJP steered clear of the issue.
The matter is being investigated, they said and added that so far, there is no evidence that the "Khalistani" slur was used.
Unless Punjab has a chief minister who is able to look beyond community/vote bank politics, carry all sections of society, stop appeasing while addressing genuine concerns and break the stranglehold of the SGPC over Sikh affairs, my beloved home state is bound to die and conversions will be rampant, warns Sanjeev Nayaar.
'Parminder Kaur was having liquor near the sarovar of Gurdwara Dukhniwarn Sahib. When the sangat noticed this, they decided to take her to the manager's office. However, one person, Nirmaljeet Singh Saini, present there shot her in a fit of anger'
The incident took place 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.
The dera chief, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two disciples, was granted 40-day parole on January 20.
The finance ministry has said that the Goods and Services Tax will not apply on room rents of 'sarais' (inns) or properties managed by religious and charitable institutions. The clarification was issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on Thursday evening to clear the confusion with regard to the levy of GST on room rents. This clarification by the Finance Ministry came following a demand from various quarters including AAP MP Raghav Chadha that the GST on rooms rented by religious institutions be withdrawn.
For Sikhs, they say, honour is the bottom line; and whatever the state of the SAD's political fortunes today, arrogance will not be helpful in the negotiation.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa held a meeting in Amritsar with the deputy commissioner, the police commissioner, the inspector general of police (border range), the Amritsar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police and other officials after the incident.
Hundreds of Sikh youths, led by the Dal Khalsa, were carrying Khalistani flags and photographs of damaged Akal Takht.
Those who trim or shave beard and hair, smoke or drink alcohol cannot vote in the elections to Sikh religious bodies, with President Pranab Mukherjee giving assent to a bill passed recently by Parliament.
Haryana Jail Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala also said, "Gurmeet Ram Rahim is like every other prisoner here and he also has his fundamental rights."
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh said, "conversions of innocent Sikhs into Christianity fold is a direct attack on internal matters of the Sikh community and this is intolerable."
Additional director general of police, Surinder Pal Singh Parmar, said the security arrangement is a positive message that the situation is normal in Punjab.
The latest parole to the Dera chief, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping his two disciples, comes three months after he was granted a similar parole.
'The Badals have made the Akali Dal a family enterprise and undermined the Sikh faith. They have no right to call themselves Akalis. We have approached the Election Commission to register ourselves as the Akali Dal with a different nomenclature. We will impress on people's minds that we are the real Akali Dal' Sai Manish reports on the fight for supremacy over the Akali Dal.
The Punjab government has declared a holiday on Thursday as a mark of respect to the former chief minister.
The Kartarpur corridor was an excellent opportunity for the Congress to seize centre-stage in Sikh religious affairs. After all, the Akalis never achieved this in their years in power, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
The apology letter addressed to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Joginder Singh Vidanti was delivered to Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Avtar Singh Makkar by Congress legislator from Bathinda Harminder Singh Jassi.
If we accept that there is a challenge in Punjab today, any realistic progress can only be made if the rest of the country, especially the government and the ruling party, engage with this sense of grievance, points out Shekhar Gupta
'Khalistan would have been in existence today, but for the army.'
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee President Avtar Singh makkar on Friday reacted strongly against the rejection of the death commutation plea of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a death row convict, by the Supreme Court, terming it a 'murder of law'.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the religious body of the Sikh community, met Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna in New Delhi on Tuesday, to express their anger over the massacre at a Wisconsin gurdwara on Sunday.
A clash took place inside Golden Temple in Amritsar when a group of youths raised pro-Khalistan slogans, which was opposed by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee volunteers, leaving five persons injured.
Some people in the gathering were also seen brandishing swords and wearing t-shirts and carrying banners with pictures of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
Confrontation between the Sikh bodies of Punjab and Haryana has become more political than religious, says Rediff.com contributor Upasna Pandey.
Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday declined to stay the screening of Hindi film 'Jo Bole So Nihal'.
Its president Kirpal Singh Badungar said the verdict may cause the Sikh community to lose faith in the courts.
Congregations of Sikhs in Amritsar and in Karnal against the formation of a separate Gurdwara Management Committee in Haryana were called off on Saturday after the Akal Takht's intervention but Haryana Sikhs went ahead with the election of office-bearers for the ad-hoc committee.
SGPC to appeal to United Nations on the issue of ban on turbans in French schools.
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