| Calcutta questions change in Akal Takht design |
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| Written by Varinder Walia, The Tribune India | |
| Sunday, 29 May 2005 | |
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[Photo: The Akal Takht before the 'kar seva' in 1986 with the original design] Talking to TNS here today, Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta, former SGPC secretary, said Damdami Taksal, considered a Sikh seminary, also owed another explanation: of concealing the death of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale for more than two decades. Was there any force or vested interest that compelled the Taksal for this blatant lie? Mr Calcutta alleged that the structure of the supreme temporal seat now looked like a Gurdwara whereas the designs of the Takht and gurdwara ought to be different from one another.Bhai Mohkam Singh, spokesman of Damdami Taksal, said a part of Akal Takht had been raised as memorial to Sant Bhindranwale in June 1986, but the formal announcement in this regard was not made public. The announcement was withheld as Baba Thakur Singh, the then acting Jathedar of the Taksal, had been claiming that he (Sant Bhindranwale) was in high spirits. Bhai Mohkam Singh said being a ‘disciplined functionary’ of the Taksal, he did not want to embarrass the acting chief by saying that a Sant Bhindranwale memorial had been raised on the Akal Takht premises. He urged the SGPC, Akal Takht and other Sikh organisations to collectively give recognition to the memorial, raised two decades ago. He said precious items of the ‘jalou’ could be displayed in this memorial, apart from permanently displaying the portraits of Sikh martyrs. However, Mr Calcutta said the Taksal had been ‘misguiding’ the Sikh sangat on the death of Sant Bhindranwale even though Akal Takht and the SGPC had already two years earlier admitted to this death. This was why both the supreme Sikh organisations had recognised Bhai Ram Singh as the real Jathedar of Taksal who had endorsed the line of the SGPC and Akal Takht that Sant Bhindranwale had died on June 6, 1984. On the other hand, the SGPC has taken a strong exception to the statement of Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, President, Akali Dal (Amritsar), that his party would demolish the memorial , to be raised in the memory of those killed during Operation Bluestar. The press release, issued by the SGPC, has alleged that Mr Mann wanted to ‘oblige’ the Congress which was responsible for the Army action | |
The structure and design of Akal Takht were changed without taking the Sikh Panth into confidence while carrying out ‘kar seva’ by Damdami Taksal after Operation Bluestar. The Taksal owes an explanation to the Sikhs as to why the old structure was not kept intact.
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