12_chapter v.pdf
12_chapter v.pdf
12_chapter v.pdf
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this meeting, it felt no need for any further action in the matter. 6 The<br />
resolution was accepted with majority vote. This very meeting drew the<br />
attention of the responsible officials of the Police department to the fact that<br />
taking off a Sikhs' turban-as was being done in Punjab jails-was an insult to<br />
the Sikhs and their religion. The SGPC, therefore, demanded that that<br />
practice prevalent in lockups should be immediately withdrawn and the<br />
Sikhs recruited in police should be made to observe Sikh rules of conduct<br />
(Sikh Rehat Behat) as was done in the case of Sikhs recruited in army. They<br />
would then prove to be better policemen and there would be no religious<br />
objection against them. Another significant work done by the SGPC was to<br />
start a religious monthly magazine. It was decided by a resolution that was<br />
introduced in its meeting of March 7, 1942. It read, “This general meeting of<br />
SGPC resolves that it should publish a religious monthly magazine which<br />
should exclusively contain articles about Sikh principles and religious<br />
Maryada. It should be beautiful and low-priced and contain articles of great<br />
philosophers and thinkers”. 7 In the meeting of November 28, 1943, it was<br />
brought to the notice of the members present that the Maharaja of Patiala,<br />
who was a Sikh yet, was retaining the office of the President of Sanatan<br />
Dharam Sabha; that was against the principles and detrimental to Sikh<br />
religion. He was asked to give up that office immediately. 8 In the opinion of<br />
this very general meeting of the SGPC the last four <strong>chapter</strong>s of the Satyarth<br />
Parkash contained caustic, false, hurtful, baseless attacks on Sikh gurus and<br />
6 Ibid.<br />
7 Proceedings of the General Meeting of the SGPC, dated March 7, 1942,<br />
Reference Section, Library SGPC, Sri Amritsar; The Tribune March 9, 1942; for<br />
further details also see, Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, Shiromani Akali Dal, Punjabi<br />
Book Company, Jullundur, undated.<br />
8 Proceedings of the General Meeting of the SGPC, dated November 28, 1940,<br />
Reference Section, Library SGPC, Sri Amritsar; The Khalsa, Lahore December 3,<br />
1940.<br />
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