M A I N   N E W S

Akal Takht supreme, says RSS
From Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

AMRITSAR, Jan 18 — The Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, an offshoot of the RSS, has bowed before the authority of Akal Takht.

In a letter to Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathedar, Akal Takht, Mr Madanjit Singh, organising secretary of the RSS for Punjab and Haryana, has said the entire Sikh Sangat “accepts the supreme temporal authority of Akal Takht”.

In the one-paged letter, which starts with “Waheguru ji ka khalsa, Waheguru ji ki fateh”, Mr Madanjit Singh says a section of the media had deliberately tarnished his image for vested interests.

The letter reads: “I never gave any interview to a mediaperson stating that the Golden Temple was built on an ancient temple. The monthly magazine, which attributed these words to me has played a great mischief which cannot be tolerated”.

Mr Madanjit Singh says the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat accepts the distinct identity of the “Khalsa” and has full faith in the Golden Temple. He denies writing a booklet titled “Keshadhari Hindus”.

The State President of the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, Principal Sewa Singh Chawla, talking to TNS here today said the main aim of his organisation was to cement Hindu-Sikh ties. The Sikh Sangat had been formed after the Delhi riots to foment Hindu-Sikh ties.

He said the Sikh Sangat had not distributed any literature which could cause a division between the two communities. He said the state body of the RSS had already sought an explanation from Mr Sudarshan Chauhan, organising secretary, for making announcements regarding recitation of ‘akhand path’ in temples to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.

His reply was awaited by the end of the month.

Talwandi to meet RSS chief 
From T.R. Ramachandran
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan 18 — SGPC chief, Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, is scheduled to meet RSS leaders here on February 7 under the aegis of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), it is learnt.

This is a follow up to the meeting that the NCM had with the representatives of the RSS for the first time on Tuesday when the separate religion and distinct identity of the Sikh community was unanimously recognised.

The genesis of the problem can be traced way back to 1919 and experts aver it is only now that sincere efforts are being made to ensure the supreme authority of the SGPC to decide on the Sikh religious affairs.

There is every likelihood of Mr Talwandi having an interface with RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan to remove any misgivings about the Sangh’s interference in the Sikh Panth which has been the subject of intense controversy with tempers running high in Punjab at least over the past three months.

Mr Sudarshan, who had sent a handwritten reply to some of the concerns raised by the NCM in maintaining communal harmony and protecting the interests of the minorities, is scheduled to be in Delhi around February 6. The RSS leader has extended his cooperation to the NCM with a view to strengthening the secular character of the country.

The bone of contention for the SGPC and indeed the Sikh community is the unsavoury activity of the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, an offshoot of the Sangh. SGPC sources insist that the Sangat has been indulging in the dangerous gambit of whipping up communal passions by interfering in the affairs of the Panth. This must end especially when the elected and recognised SGPC has stood the test of time for more than 70 years.

During his stay here Mr Talwandi is expected to take up the specific issue of Sikh jathas going to Pakistan with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Union Home Minister L.K. Advani, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and other leaders of the NDA government, according to reliable sources.

The SGPC chief firmly believes that it should be for the highest temporal body of the Sikh community to decide about the jathas going on pilgrimages to Pakistan rather than the odd splinter groups sponsoring such tours independently.

Opinion gaining ground in the SGPC, the Shiromani Akali Dal and discriminating leaders of the Sikh community is that things are getting complicated with the gurdwara committees in the states sending jathas to shrines in Pakistan. This is only providing the necessary lever to the powerful military establishment and the ISI to carry on its vicious anti-India propaganda and activities.

There is consternation in Punjab and the corridors of power in New Delhi that Pakistan’s chief executive General Pervez Musharraf has specially chosen former ISI chief Javed Naseer to oversee the affairs connected with gurdwaras in that country.