AMRITSAR: Panthic leaders Bhai Mohkam Singh Damdami Taksal, Bhai Satnam Singh Manawan, Bhai Wassan Singh Zafarwal and Bhai Jarnail Singh Sakhira said that the Shiromani Committee's imposition of Bhai Kuldeep Singh Gargajj as the 'Jathedar' of Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib and Sri Akal Takht Sahib in the dark of night with the intention of implementing the Badal family's agenda on the Sikh community has not been recognized by the Sikh Panth.
Now that the nation is commemorating the Ghallughara massacre, Damdami Taksal, Dal Khalsa and Nihang Singh organizations have announced that the Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, who was imposed unprincipledly at that time, will not be allowed to read the message under any circumstances and to give the crowns to the martyrs' families. We support these views of the organizations, because these Jathedars have not only been disapproved by the Panth, but they have also been declared Tankhya by Takht Sri Harmandir Ji Patna Sahib. It is a far cry from reading the message to them, as long as they do not get their Tankha , they do not even have the moral right to go to the walls of Sri Akal Takht Sahib.
At such a time, the statement given by Mr. Simranjit Singh Mann in support of Bhai Gargajj does not reflect the feelings of the nation, because Mr. Mann was an important party of Sarbat Khalsa, in which he should reconsider his statement to firmly defend the decisions made. At such a critical time, it is requested to all our Panthic parties and martyr families that leaving aside petty differences, keeping in mind the respect of Jathedar Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara, appointed by millions of Sikh Sangat through Sarbat Khalsa for the progress of the nation, in his absence, it is necessary to make his due contribution to Bhai Dhyan Singh Mand to read the message in the name of the nation and to honor the martyr families by paying homage and respect to the martyrs of Ghallughara.
The Panthic leaders further said that the Sikh community has been going through a period of deep disappointment due to the unprincipled decisions taken by the 'Jathedars' imposed on Sri Akal Takht Sahib by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee without the consent of the community. The decision of the then Jathedars in September 2015 to give an unsolicited apology to the Saudha Sadh, followed by the Bargari sacrilege incident and the firing incident, left the Sikh hearts broken. As a result, the Sikh community had called a Sarbat Khalsa and dismissed the Jathedars who had made anti-Sikh decisions and nominated Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara as Jathedar Sri Akal Takht Sahib and Bhai Dhian Singh Mand as the acting Jathedar.
The honor of Fakhar-e-Qaum Panth Ratna was also withdrawn from Parkash Singh Badal. The Badal Dal and the ruling party of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee continued to oppose these decisions, but the decisions pronounced from Sri Akal Takht Sahib on December 2, 2024, sealed the decision of the Sarbat Khalsa, in which Parkash Singh Badal and his gang, along with the so-called Jathedars of that time, were found guilty.
The Panthic leaders advocated that the entire nation should commemorate the martyrs of the June '84 Ghallughara massacre with devotion on June 6 at Sri Akal Takht and said that for the protection of India's civilization and freedom, Sikhs made more than eighty percent sacrifices, kissed the ropes of the gallows, endured torture in black water jails, had their lands confiscated, suffered the separation of the Gurdwaras that were dearer than life, but after independence, the Congress government of India always treated the Sikh community like second-class citizens. It is in this context that in June '84, the holy and highest religious place of the Sikhs, Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Sahib Sri Amritsar Sahib, was attacked with tanks and cannons and Sri Akal Takht Sahib, the seat of Sikh sovereignty, was demolished. In which many martyrs including Bhai Amrik Singh Ji, General Shubeg Singh and Baba Thahra Singh, led by Mard-e-Mujahid Sant Jarnail Singh Ji, Khalsa Bhindranwale, fought bravely and attained martyrdom. Not only this, the children and women who came to celebrate the martyrdom of the fifth Guru were not spared either.
Apart from this, many other shrines were also attacked in Punjab. In memory of the martyrs of Ghallughara, the anniversary of Ghallughara should be celebrated with devotion on June 6 at Sri Akal Takht, with national unity and chardi kala.