Center clears amendment in Gurdawara Act to debar Sehajdhari Sikh from voting

CHANDIGARH: The Union cabinet has cleared an amendemtn in the All India Gurdwara Act of 1925 paving way to debar Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in the general elections of Shiromani Gurdawara Parbhandak Committee(SGPC). The Lok Sabha likely to pass the amendment bill in current session.
The Sehajdhari Sikhs were continuously exercising their voting rights in the SGPC elections since 1949 but in 2003 the then Union Home Ministry debarred the Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting by amending the Sikh Gurdwara Act 1925 vide a notification dated 08.10.2003. The said notification was challenged in the court by the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation and the Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the said notification vide its orders dated 20.12.2011. The SGPC has challenged the verdict of the Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court in the Supreme Court of India vide Civil Appeal No. 9334/2012 and the Hon’ble Court has admitted the Appeal which is pending adjudication. Mean while the Hon’ble Court has made an interim arrangement for running the affairs of the SGPC by appointing its Executive Committee as care taker on an agreed order of all the parties concerned including the State Govt. and SGPC. The ruling SAD controls the SGPC. The general elections of SGPC are held every five years. Presently SGPC is functioning under an adhoc executive committee headed by Avtar Singh Makkar who holds office of President. SAD has been pressing upon the BJP to bring an amendment in the Act to debar the Sehajdhari Sikhs. The SAD feared that Congress might enrol non-Sikhs as voters and Akalis may loose the control over religious body. In fact as per the Gurdwara Act 1925, the Sehajdhari Sikhs are those who are non-Sikhs but practicing Sikh rituals in their daily life. Later however, the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation had mingled the meaning and sought voting rights for Sehajdhari Sikhs who falls under the category of ‘Patit Sikhs’-the people born in Sikh families but not maintaining Sikh rituals i.e. with shorn hairs.Dr.P S Ranu National President of the Sehajdhari Sikh Party stated that four Members of parliament of the ruling SAD has no right to decide the fate of a community by pressurizing its allied partner NDA and this act of the BJP to amend the Sikh Gurdwara Act in pendency of a sub-judice matter is a backdoor entry which is against the spirit of law and justice and disrespect to the legal system of the Country which will disintegrate a minority.Dr.Ranu stressed that 70 lakh Sikhs will be thrown out of the electoral rolls in SGPC elections based upon the census report 2011. He clarified that as per census 2011 there were 1.75 Cr Sikhs in Punjab and only 55 lakh were enrolled as Sikh voters in SGPC elections in 2011. If deducting 50 lakh as minors and the balance 70 lakh Sikhs are Sikh as per the Union Home Ministry’s Census report but the SGPC doesn’t recognize them as Sikhs. This majority of chunk in the minority are born in Sikh families but are not baptized or non keshdharis.