Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Sikhs Propose Separate Gurdwara Body

It is a matter of disenchantment of Sikhs residing in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee that they are proposing the formation of a UP Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (UPSGPC) to address their religious concerns and manage gurdwaras in the two states. These Sikhs are dissatisfied with the SGPC and Akal Takht secretariat's handling of complaints against local Sikh organizations violating religious conduct. Unlike Rashtriya Sikh Sangat which is an offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Bharatiya Sikh Sangathan (BSS) seems to be a new body established in 2020. These developments have placed the Sikhs who live outside Panjab, even in other Indian states, in a double-bind – while SGPC does not cater to their needs, the earlier Haryana secession model from SGPC too does not seem to be satisfactory because of its uneasy relationship with the state BJP government. Such changes also have implications on the Gurdwaras in the Sikh Diaspora who largely follow the SGPC and Akal Takht edicts but are already in a quandary because of the Indian state’s interference in the Sikh institutions.