Selected Editorials - The Sikh Bulletin

DASAM GRANTH CONTROVERSY
[Editorial from January-February 2008 Sikh Bulletin]
Something extraordinary happened on March 28, 2000. That day, the Executive Committee of the SGPC,
under the Chairmanship of Bibi Jagir Kaur, unceremoniously sacked the then Jathedar of Akal Takhat,
Puran Singh. His claim to fame, among other things, was to declare Sikh Gurus as the progeny of
mythical sons of Ram, Luv and Kush. At the same meeting Joginder Singh Vedanti was appointed acting
Jathedar of Akal Takhat. He promised to perform his duties “as per established maryada”. But he was
lying. We soon learned that he was the Editor of the blasphemous book ‘Gurbilas Patshahi 6’. On May
14, 2000 he banned any discussion of Dasam Granth (see p.2). He promised to appoint a committee of
Sikh scholars to critically examine the contents of this Granth and resolve the controversy for good. As of
this date there is no such committee.
His ‘hukam’ was in fact a ban against those who were critical of this Granth. Dr. Kharak Singh Mann of
Institute of Sikh Studies immediately complied and banned the publication of any articles on this in the
Institute’s magazine even though he had co-edited with S. Daljeet Singh a book ‘Sikhism: Its
Philosophy and History’ that had two articles critical of this Granth, one each by S. Daljeet Singh and
Prof. Gurtej Singh. Both of those articles are reproduced in this issue. Pro Dasam Granthias like
Lamba, D. S. Gill and Virsa Singh were free to preach Dasam Granth. We saw through Vedanti and
declared him a ‘Trojan Horse’ in the June 2000 issue of The Sikh Bulletin and demanded his
dismissal. Of course that did not materialize.
Now Mr. Lamba tells us that Vedanti overturned his own ‘hukam’ on Nov. 27, 2006 so that Dasam
Granthias can blunt the ‘propaganda’ against Dasam Granth by the ‘trouble makers’. But the Akal
Takhat letterhead letter that he circulates (p.41) has neither the date nor the letter Number. Mr. Lamba has
the uncanny ability though to speak for Akal Takhat Jathedar. Several months before S. Gurbakhsh Singh
Kala Afghana was actually excommunicated and his books banned, Mr. Lamba had released on the
internet an Akal Takhat Hukamnama to that effect but in reality that resolution was not passed that day
because of opposition from within the group of five and intervention by several concerned Sikh scholars
who opposed that action of the Jathedar.
Mr. Lamba was joined by several others at Sacramento’s Bradshaw Road Gurdwara on Feb. 23 rd for a
seminar on Dasam Granth. All the speakers were vehement that ‘entire’ Dasam Granth was the
composition of Guru Gobind Singh and the people who are denigrating Dasam Granth are ultimately
targeting Guru Granth Sahib.
One of the speakers was Gurinder S. Mann from Leicester, UK. Dasam Granth was the topic of his
Master’s thesis in 2000 and like scores of other graduates of Hindu and Patiala Universities he ‘proved’
entire Dasam Granth to be the creation of Guru Gobind Singh. His entire presentation was based on
comments on projected pictures. There was uncanny resemblance of his presentation to the one by Dr.
Jeevan Singh Deol, [whom I affectionately call ‘McLeodian grand student’ because he is a student of
Dr. Harjot Oberoi,] at the October 2, 2000 meeting of The Smithsonian that I attended (See p. 35).
Bradshaw Road Gurdwara has lately come under the control of AKJ and they sponsored this seminar,
along with Damdami Taksal, although under the name of Khalsa Alliance, perhaps their new ‘sanitized’
name. Dr. Parhar, the President of this Gurdwara and Dr. Cheema, the stage secretary for the seminar had
both asked to speak at one of our seminars at the Roseville Gurdwara many years ago where they attacked
our efforts at reforming the Sikh practices in the Gurdwaras in their speeches in side while their
comrades, under the valiant command of Navjot Khalsa, raised slogans of ‘death to Kala Afghana, death
to Prof. Gurtej Singh and death to Shergill, outside while committing vandalism.
Hardev Singh Shergill
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