Row over SGPC president’s ‘directive’ to change name of Gulmarg gurdwara

Jalandhar: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has sent a letter to a gurdwara at Gulmarg, stating that the SGPC president has ‘directed' it to change its name, intensifying a controversy that was already brewing in Sikh circles in Kashmir. A section of Sikhs has approached Akal Takht against the move.The gurdwara is named after Bhai Vir Singh, an iconic poet and theologian. The SGPC wants it to be named after the second Sikh Guru, Angad Dev.The letter issued by SGPC Dharam Prachar Committee secretary on May 29 refers to a letter by District Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (DGPC), Baramulla, and says, ".. as per the demand by DGPC, the hon'ble president of SGPC has issued the directive (‘aadesh kita hai') to change the name to Gurdwara Guru Angad Dev Ji Sahib."Asked about this, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said, "We only issued an appeal for change in the name of the gurdwara in response to the DGPC letter.".When told that the letter uses the word "aadesh" (directive), Dhami said it was wrongly written by SGPC staffers. "SGPC can only issue an appeal and cannot issue any such directive. Moreover, the gurdwaras in J&K are governed by Jammu and Kashmir Sikh Gurdwaras and Religious Endowment Act and SGPC can't issue such a directive to them," he said.Rajinder Singh, a member of DGPC-Baramulla, who is among those who oppose the change in name, said that after holding a meeting of the ‘sangat' on May 27, they emailed a representation to Akal Takht on May 28 against the move, and the issue was pending with Akal Takht when SGPC issued the letter. He also alleged ‘extraneous motives' in the change in the name of the gurdwara.However, DGPC president Paramjit Singh denied any ‘extraneous motives' and said that a "benevolent move was targeted through false narrative".He said that it was a ‘Singh Sabha gurdwara' and only in the 1970s was Bhai Vir Singh's name was associated with it. "The main gurdwara building was gutted in a fire in 1988. After we took charge in 2022, we started rebuilding it after removing all the tenants from the rooms associated with the gurdwara. There was already a discussion in the sangat that the gurdwara should be named after a Sikh Guru in place of Bhai Vir Singh," he said.The DGPC sought help from SGPC to complete the construction, he said. "Some time back, a few SGPC members came to Kashmir and when we discussed with them, they recommended that we contact SGPC member from Maharashtra, Gurinder Singh Bawa, who serves in other important Sikh bodies also. He sent us a donation without attaching any conditions and only suggested if it could be named after Guru Angad Dev. It was our suggestion to make him honorary chairman and to change the name but a false narrative was spread that control of the gurdwara was being shifted," Paramjit Singh said."The proposal to change the name is on hold because the issue has been wrongly flared up through a false narrative. We shall leave the decision to the sangat and will act accordingly," he said.