US man gets 'tankhah' for distorting Gurbani

GS Paul

Amritsar, May 3

Akal Takht has pronounced ‘hukumnama’ (edict) against US resident Thaminder Singh for alleged distortion of Gurbani and publishing of copies of the holy scripture offline and online.

21 apps under scanner

• A total of 21 web applications have come under the scanner of the Akal Takht containing Gurbani texts with grammatical errors
• The SGPC has been asked to ensure that the app managements rectified errors within a month or initiate legal action

After holding deliberations over the issue with Sikh intellectuals and representatives of Panthic organisations, including the top brass of the SGPC and DSGMC, the Five High Priests headed by officiating Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Harpreet Singh, it has pronounced ‘tankhah’ (guilty of religious misconduct) on Thaminder.

Jathedar pronounced the ‘hukumnama’ from the podium of Akal Takht, stating Thaminder was accused of twisting the verses of Gurbani, printing copies in an unauthorised manner and uploading these on website SikhBookClub.com in PDF format.

It was alleged he had used extra “lagan-matravan” (punctuations of Gurmukhi) and “bindis” (dots) that had altered the original verses of Gurbani.

Terming it a gross violation of Sikh Rehat Maryada (code of conduct), Jathedar has put a blanket ban on the text published by him. He has been directed to appear personally before Akal Takht within a month to clarify his intentions and submit the whole record he possessed. “He was declared ‘tankhah’ till the time he furnishes these orders. The Sikh community was directed not to share any association with him,” said Jathedar.

It is learnt he had submitted a clarification thrice at Akal Takht Secretariat, but it was never found to be satisfactory.

Another NRI Sikh, Onkar Singh, who was involved in an identical practice, has been directed to stop publishing the unauthorised text of Gurbani, both online and offline instantly. He, too, has been summoned to appear before Akal Takht for atonement and surrender all records.

Meanwhile, 21 web applications have come under the scanner of Akal Takht containing Gurbani texts having grammatical errors.

The SGPC was directed to ensure the management of these applications got the errors rectified within a month.

Jathedar said devotees who aspired to contribute in writing the Gurbani text by hand could do so only if they complied with Akal Takht-certified terms and conditions and authorised by the Dharm Parchar Committee of the SGPC.