Haryana CM: Sikh Gurus’ Relics to be Preserved in Memorial at Pipli

On 1 Feb, Haryana’s BJP CM Manohar Lal Khattar announced that a grand memorial near Pipli will preserve relics and memories of Sikh Gurus in Haryana. The memorial aims to inspire future generations with the Gurus' message of humanity in addition to serving as a tourist center. Khattar was speaking at the release of the book Haryana Sikhs and Khattar and also mentioned memorials being built in Lohgarh and Badh Khalsa. In response, the Haryana Sikh Forum (HSF) asked what happened to Khattar’s promise to the community to develop Guru Gobind Singh University. In a joint statement, HSF convener Engineer Balbir Singh and president Jasdeep Singh Bedi asked why the announced development of GGSU in Northern Haryana in Panchkula or Ambala has not yet been fulfilled. The CM made that announcement seven years ago on 12 Feb 2017, in a state-level function organized in Karnal on the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh. According to the last census in 2011, after Panjab, Haryana has the highest number of Sikhs (1,243,752), making up 4.91% of the total population of the state. Such announcements by the CM are the BJP’s attempts to appeal to Haryana Sikhs. In 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the formation of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC), which broke away from SGPC and took state Gurdwaras under its control. However, to date, the HSGPC has not been able to conduct elections to form their management committee and remains under BJP’s control in the state (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 7, Story 5).