M A I N   N E W S

BJP gives new twist to calendar row
From A.S.Prashar
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Jan 11 — The controversy over the introduction of the Nanakshahi calendar by the SGPC shows no sign of abating.

The latest twist has been given by BJP leader and Punjab Minister for Local Bodies Balramji Das Tandon who has warned that its adoption will lead to serious repercussions in terms of jeopardising the Hindu-Sikh brotherhood, giving setback to the unity and integrity of the country.

The minister has argued that all religions followed the lunar calendar and many festivals and religious days were observed alike by the Hindus and the Sikhs. Now, if the SGPC started following the Nanakshahi calendar, the common festivals and religious days like Divali, Dasehra, Holi and Baisakhi would fall on different days. This would undermine the common bonds between the two communities.

The minister’s observations have added another dimension to the confrontation over the controversial issue between the SGPC headed by Bibi Jagir Kaur and the Akal Takht Chief Giani Puran Singh with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal maintaining a studied silence.

While Giani Puran Singh has directed that the new calendar should not be implemented till various Sikh organisations arrive at a consensus on it, the SGPC and the Badal government have stuck to their resolve to put into effect immediately.

Consequently, the state observed the martyrdom day of Guru Tegh Bahadur twice. This forced the Punjab Government to declare two holidays in its offices for the same event. Similarly, Gurpurb of Guru Gobind Singh, which was observed on January 5, appears destined to be observed again on January 14. It remains to be seen if the Punjab Government will again declare a holiday on that day.

The Nanakshahi calendar is purported to replace the Bikrami calendar followed by the SGPC till now to decide days and dates of historic and religious events related to the Sikhs. The new calendar was approved by the SGPC general house last year soon after Bibi Jagir Kaur assumed office of the SGPC President after the ouster of Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra. But as a controversy erupted following protests from various Sikh organisations, the Takht chief directed that the SGPC not to go ahead with its implementation till a consensus was evolved.

Giani Puran Singh constituted a seven-member committee on December 23 when he also repeated his call for holding the new calendar in abeyance. However, the SGPC and the government chose to ignore the Takht chief and declared January 5 as a Gurpurb holiday. The Takht Jathedar refused to lead the Gurpurb procession. Many other organisations, including the Sant Samaj, announced that they would observe Gurpurb on January 14 as determined by the Bikrami calendar.

The functioning of the seven-member committee formed by the Takht Jathedar also ran into trouble after three of its members, known to be close to the SGPC chief, announced their decision to resign. Their complaint was that the committee spokesman, Mr Santokh Singh, had queered the pitch for them when he publicly announced rejection of the Nanakshahi calendar. The Takht Jathedar has now launched a damage control exercise and invited the three members for talks to resolve the issue.

The Nanakshahi calendar, which is a solar calendar, makes a complete departure from the lunar calendar which has been followed by the Sikh community for hundreds of years. The dates of the Hindu festivals are also fixed on the basis of the lunar calendar.

Lt-Col S. S. Nishan, secretary-general of the World Sikh Intellectual Council, says that the Nanakshahi calendar neither follows the fundamental principle of calendar making nor does it follow a proper base year. He points out that the calendar follows the Bikrami samvat from 1469 to 1999 and suddenly in 1999, it shifts to the Gregorian calendar.