Jan-March 2006 - Institute of Sikh Studies

28ABSTRACTS OF SIKH STUDIES : JAN-MARCH 2006 / 537-38 NSpropositions being advanced by his collaborators – Dr Gurinder SinghMann and Dr J S Grewal. One expected him to put a slip at thebeginning of his works that his conclusions were tentative. But OxfordUniversity Press, New Delhi, put out a compendium of four of hisworks in 2000. Did that prevent him from doing so ? One hopes tohear from McLeod in times to come.VIINow, since we are celebrating the fourth centenary of compilationof Pothi/Granth/Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS), it is imperative thatwe may highlight some of things that need immediate attention tomake the celebrations meaningful.Firstly, we know that mul mantra, i oanko,. sati...gur prasadi, or inwhatever form it comes in SGGS, is Guru Nanak’s perception of hismeeting with God at the time of his revelation, and is uniformallygiven in the beginning of every composition in Kartarpur Pothi. Weshould remove this dichotomy in the existing recensions of SGGS.We are aware how Chief Khalsa Diwan in 1950s, at the instance oftraders who published recensions of SGGS and made huge profits,torpedoed the implementation of a sensible approach. The SGPC,despite unanimous reports by its committees, could not implementthe same. (One may see the proceedings reproduced in Bhai SahibPrincipal Harbhajan Singh’s work, Gurbani Sampardan Nirnai (Mohali,1989). Now, since publication of SGGS is the sole responsibility ofSGPC, this part can be implemented without any fuss/problem. Ifneed be, another Committee’s report can be solicited before itsimplementation.Secondly, we are also aware that a lot of works from the Libraryof SGPC were removed in 1984 by the Indian authorities and this wasauthenticated by Giani Kirpal Singh, then Jathedar, Akal Takht. Thishas also been admitted by Defence Minister, George Fernandes. TheAkalis, who have been part of NDA and have close collaborationwith BJP, should now exert to get the books and other literature back.This needs political decision, which Badal-Akali Dal can arrive atjointly.Thirdly, apostasy is one of the main issues of universal concern.It was mentioned that Third Centenary of Khalsa, 1999, would see