SGPC: Dhami re-elected President, its ‘Bandi Singh’ Campaign Grounded

On 8 Nov, SAD candidate Harjinder Singh Dhami scored a hat-trick when he was re-elected president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) with a convincing win – 118 out of 137 votes. Harbhajan Singh Masana was elected senior vice-president unopposed. Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa and Rajinder Singh Mehta were elected junior vice-president and general secretary, respectively. This week, worldover, the Sikhs marked the Bandi Chhor Diwas – Free Political Prisoners Day – remembering Guru Hargobind Sahib’s generosity in freeing 52 fellow political prisoners (kings) from Gwalior jail in 1619. But SGPC’s own campaign to seek the release of Bandi Singhs (Sikh political prisoners from the 1980s-90s) has remained grounded until now. SGPC wants to submit a memorandum to the President of India through the Panjab Governor, but since April 2023 the Governor’s office has not given them an appointment. Last year, thrice the SGPC submitted the list of Bandi Singhs to the Prime Minister’s office seeking an appointment and even verbally appraised the Indian President Droupadi Murmu when she visited the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) earlier this year. This failure and the harassment the protesters in Mohali are facing over the issue is because the SGPC has not adopted a legal route and no chief minister of Panjab has supported the call. Meanwhile, voter enrollment for the upcoming SGPC general elections – date not yet announced – is witnessing a lukewarm response. The tepid response is because of the requirement that every voter present themselves for registration, as many of them have their kesh altered. The last date for registration is 15 Nov.