On 5 Feb, the Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde tweeted his decision to amend the Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Shri Hazur Abhchal Nagar Sahib Act 1956. The amendment is based on a 2014 Bhatia Committee Report, headed by former high court Justice (retd) JS Bhatia. The Report recommended an increase in the representation of local Sikhs on the Nanded board. With this amendment, the number of members sent by the SGPC will reduce from four to two, and the nomination of Chief Khalsa Diwan and Hazuri Sachkhand Diwan will be abolished. The Panj Pyaras (Five Beloved) of Takht Hazur Sahib have opposed these changes in management. The Sikhs in Nanded carried out a march against the move with SGPC head Harjinder Singh Dhami participating in it. Though the Sikh population in Nanded is about 2% of the total, shopkeepers around Hazur Sahib downed shutters in solidarity. SGPC and SAD have called this interference in Sikh affairs and asked the Maharashtra government to revoke the changes. SAD head Sukhbir Singh Badal has written to PM Modi on the issue and asked him to intervene in the matter. With a thaw between BJP and SAD over alliance talks for the 2024 general elections, Badal’s request could prevail. While this matter might be solved, there are differences in functioning and practices between the three Takhts in Panjab and Takht Hazur Sahib, Nanded in Maharashtra, and Patna Sahib in Bihar. The Sikh community needs to come to an agreement over the governance of its Takhts and present a united front. The state and national governments in India need to stop meddling in internal Sikh affairs.
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