M A I N   N E W S

Dalit made member of Talhan gurdwara panel
Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

Talhan (Jalandhar), August 17
To put all controversies to rest, the Jat-dominated management committee of Gurdwara Shahid Baba Nihal Singh today unanimously elected Amarjit, one of the two Dalit nominees, as the vice-secretary of the Sehajdhari Committee. Amarjit partook amrit in accordance with the June 26 peace agreement between the Dalits and the Jats.

The alleged delay on the part of the management committee in enrolling Amarjit as a regular member, even after he was inducted as a member of the Nigraan Committee of the gurdwara after the June 26 peace agreement, had given rise to controversies.

This had generated a number of doubts among the Dalits, particularly members of the Dalit Action Committee. The committee had been repeatedly expressing its apprehension that Amarjit might not be allowed to function as a regular member on the pretext that he had not attained the Sikh “saroop” and that the peace agreement might not be implemented in letter and in spirit.

Amarjit, who had partaken amrit at the historic gurdwara at Anandpur Sahib on August 13 and who has grown a flowing beard, performed his duties as a regular member of the gurdwara committee at its meeting today.

At the meeting, which was presided over by Mr Niranjan Singh in the presence of Mr Parvin Kumar, ADC and Mr Rajinder Singh, DSP, two representatives of the administration, it was decided unanimously to nominate Amarjit as the vice-secretary of the Sehajdhari Committee, said Mr Rajinder Singh, DSP. The Sehajdhari Committee, a decision-making committee, comprises all office-bearers of the committee, while the Nigraan Committee comprises ordinary members.

It was also decided to include Amarjit in the six-member Sehajdhari Committee.