Ludhiana, October 22
The Sehajdhari Sikh Federation (SSF) has condemned the decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs disenfranchising Sehajdharis to vote in the SGPC elections stating that the move will create a “minority within a minority.” The party will challenge the notification in court.
“This is the culmination of the attempts by the Akalis to deprive Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in the SGPC elections. This is a deep-rooted conspiracy to drive a wedge between the already fragmented minority community, besides denying representation to more than 80 per cent of the Sikhs in the world,” says Dr Paramjeet Singh Ranu, national president of the SSF.
Talking to TNS on the issue, which is threatening to snowball into a major controversy, here today, he said it was unfortunate that the present Sikh leadership had taken the emotive issue of the Sehajdhari Sikhs in a casual manner. Of the total population of the community in the world, more than 80 per cent were not Amritdhari (baptised) Sikhs.
Contrary to popular belief, Sehajdharis, he reasoned, are the nursery of Sikhism since the eroding social and moral values today underline the fact that Sehajdharis should be encouraged to come to the Khalsa fold over a period of time and not pushed out into the cold, as has been done now.”
“The decision is all the more unsavoury since the federation feels that the definition of Sehajdhari as provided in the Sikh Gurdwara Act does not leave any ambiguity and has stood the test of time for almost half a century.
