AMRITSAR: Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami, President, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, strongly objected to the merger of Punjab University of History Studies and History Department Punjabi University, Patiala and demanded reconsideration of this decision.
He said that the decision taken in the recent meeting of the syndicate to merge these two departments was not rational and this decision would limit the vast possibilities of research and especially Sikh historian .The sign of Ganda Singh is to destroy the Sikh heritage by merging the Punjab Department of Historical Studies with another department.
He said that the history of Punjab was the history of the Sikhs and without the Punjab Department of Historical Studies the research priorities of the history of the region would not be possible.
The SGPC President said that this decision was bound to affect the history and culture of Punjab which should be changed immediately.
Advocate Dhami said that the decision of the universities to abolish the existing departments instead of setting up new departments to intensify the research work was surprising.
He said that it was the need of the hour to expedite the research on the history of Punjab, its heritage, its religiosity, the message of human community, the contribution of Punjabis and especially Sikhs to the country and this was possible only if All the departments concerned should remain dynamic.
The SGPC President said that Punjabi University Patiala should reconsider the decision of merging the departments to preserve the history as well as maintain the existence of historical departments.