HSGMC Takes Oath, Nominated Members Given Right to Vote

On 14 May, 49 members, including 40 elected to the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC), and 9 nominated ones were administered oath by chairperson of the Gurdwara Election Commission Justice (retd) Harjyot Singh Bhalla in Panchkula, Haryana. Bhupinder Singh, registrar of the Commission informed, 'The members later chose Joga Singh, an elected member from Jagadhri as pro-tem chairperson.' Joga Singh, a senior member affiliated with veteran leader Didar Singh Nalvi’s Sikh Samaaj Sanstha (Sikh Society Organization) will propose a date for the next meeting where the Executive Committee will be chosen. The election to HSGMC was held on 19 Jan and 21 independents had won. Sikh preacher Baljit Singh Daduwal had lost in the elections but now the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Haryana has nominated him to the HSGMC. According to the gazette notification issued on the day of the oath taking, unlike most other committees including the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) even nominated members can vote to elect the HSGMC office bearers. With this, the battle for control of HSGMC has started. Meanwhile, on 19 May, influencer Dhruv Rathee from Haryana based in Berlin, well known for bashing the BJP, released a new video on Sikh hero Banda Singh Bahadur. Using AI animation, the video also depicted Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh. It was a superficial, popular rendering filled with historical inaccuracies. This also brought up the question of the representation of Sikh Gurus. The Sikhs objected to it and after about 2.5M views, Rathee withdrew the video. On 12 May, Akal Takht (Eternal Throne, AT) acting Jathedar (leader) Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj said, ‘Sahibzade Ajit Singh Nagar is the sacred land of martyrs and should remain pure.’ He added, the city should not have any tobacco, bidi (cigarettes), paan (betel nut), or halal meat (Islamically permissible) shops. Implementation of such rules is a matter of the administration's discretion (earlier coverage).