Amritsar Sahib (KP) - Sikhs have long been filing complaints at Sri Akal Takhat seeking bans on privatized publishing of saroops of Guru Granth Sahib Ji, and despite the mandates of the Takhat, for years many publishers have continued with this blasphemous act.
The issue was highlighted back in 1998 at the time when Singh Sahib Bhai Ranjit Singh Ji was the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib. Taking a serious note of this problem, Bhai Ranjit Singh Ji passed a resolution from Sri Akal Takhat Sahib giving only the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and other preapproved publishers the right of publishing saroops of Guru Granth Sahib.
Many of the complaints filed in regards to this issue were against “Bhai Chattar Singh Jeevan Singh and Sons” – the oldest publishers based in the holy city of Sri Amritsar Sahib. It recently came to the notice of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee that these printers, despite past notices, had not stopped the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib Ji’s saroops. Decedents of Bhai Chattar Singh Jeevan Singh have in the past also been summoned at Sri Akal Takhat Sahib in regards to the same issue.
While talking to the press here, the SGPC President Bhai Avtar Singh claimed that the SGPC was in possession of videos showing saroops of Guru Granth Sahib Ji being sold to a Muslim seer. This was also in violation of another edict of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib which outlawed doing prakash of Guru Granth Sahib Ji at mausoleums and other such places. Jathedar Avtar Singh further claimed that Bhai Chattar Singh Jeevan Singh & Sons were also in gross violation of the maryada as they were shipping saroops of Guru Granth Sahib Ji using improper means such as ferries and goods trains.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has failed miserably to do anything to stop this disrespect. Even now, after facing allegations by the Sikh Sangat, it leveled the blame on the Punjab State government for not providing assistance in stopping these private publishers.
On the other side, responding to these allegations, Harbhajan Singh of Bhai Chattar Singh Jeevan Singh publishing company said that if the SGPC wanted them to stop publishing saroops of Guru Granth Sahib, then similar publishers should also be given these notices.
