SGPC Retires Head 'Granthi'; Plastic Free 'Langar' in 'Hola Mohalla'

The apex representative body of the Sikhs, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), has retired the head granthi (reciter) of Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), Giani Raghbir Singh, days after he flagged corrupt practices and irregularities in the Gurdwara body. On 19 Feb, the SGPC served him a notice to substantiate his allegations within the next 72 hours. The SGPC noted that the decision was taken on the grounds that Giani Raghbir failed to produce any evidence to substantiate his allegations within the stipulated time. Giani Raghbir responded to his retirement, saying he was not surprised at the decision. He claimed that the seeds of the face-off between him and the SGPC were sown when he had delivered a verdict against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on 2 Dec 2024. He had awarded tankhah (salary, implying punishment) to Badal, former SAD ministers, and the party’s core committee members for their religious misconduct during the SAD government’s tenure from 2007–17. Additionally, the monthly magazine, Gurdwara Gazette, published by the SGPC, has sparked resentment among readers and devotees after incorrect dates for significant historical events were printed in its latest edition, particularly for Hola Mohalla (Sikh mock-battles festival). For 2026, while Hola Mohalla is being observed on 4 Mar, the Gurdwara Gazette listed 15 Mar as the festival date. Similarly, the Nanakshahi New Year marks the commencement of the 558^th Nanakshahi Samvat (year). But the Gurdwara Gazette printed it as Nanakshahi Samvat 557. Concurrently, in an attempt to mark a plastic-free Hola Mohalla, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has requested the Sikh apex body to issue an advisory to all devotees and organizations arranging langars (community kitchens) to serve food in steel utensils instead of disposable plastic plates, bowls, and glasses. Meanwhile, a group of Sikh activists, the Sikh Collective (SC), has expressed objection to extending the tenure of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and its executive board by nine months, as per an order by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena. SC claimed that the order reinforces the public perception that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government is interfering in Sikh religious affairs (earlier coverage).