Breaking News from Punjab – 5 Saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib Thrown in a Well
UPDATES 8/20/11 as of 12:30pm
The pardhan of the pind Gurdwara tries to state that the whole village apologizes, without giving any specificity as to the culprits or accountability for the action. One Singh in attendance will not stand for it:
Yesterday, Punjabi Radio USA spent an entire show on the issue, interviewing a member of the SGPC as well as some people that have traveled to the village and give their eye-witness testimonials
Still no news on the Tribune India (English) page. There is news on their Punjabi page as well as that of the Ajit and other Punjabi news outlets.
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I received an email this morning, but the news has yet to break. PunjabiRadioUSA and other Panthic groups have reported that in the village, Udhampur Nalan, near Morinda, 5 saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib were stolen from the village Gurdwara earlier this month and thrown into a well. Then 5 bottles of liquor were thrown on top.
The Punjab Police is said to have known about the incident for nearly a week, but has kept it quiet. There has been little coverage in the Indian media, although the Pakistani Sikh community knows and has staged a protest. This underscores the importance of non-Indian Sikh media. SHARE THIS!
I was unable to find any official comment by the Punjab Police, SGPC, or even Akali Dal government. Below you will find reporting from one Satpal Singh and below the fold the PunjabiRadioUSA broadcast on the event.
Sikh groups are descending upon the village and asking questions. Hopefully more information will soon become forthcoming.
18 Responses to “Breaking News from Punjab – 5 Saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib Thrown in a Well”
This is very tragic news. What do you suggest NRI Sikhs do about?
This is just so heartbreaking. Don't know what to say.
who cares? punjabi people can care less…
More updates:
The pardhan of the pind Gurdwara tries to stay that the whole village apologizes, without giving any specificity as to the culprits or accountability for the action. One Singh in attendance will not stand for it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTB68oYKUqI&f…
Yesterday, Punjabi Radio USA spent an entire show on the issue, interviewing a member of the SGPC as well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03JfeGs9qpc&N…
Still no news on the Tribune India (English) page. There is news on their Punjabi page as well as that of the Ajit and other Punjabi news outlets.
I don't understand why sikh news presenters, radio hosts and bloggers are so obsessed about whether their news has been reported by the Indian media. Take it from me, the Indian media isn't a news media anymore as they operate more like tabloids. Only news items that can be sensationalized are given importance, while the others are ignored. They are currently milking the Anna Hazare story and will continue to do that until something more sensational happens. Just because something gets reported in the Indian media doesn't give that issue more legitimacy. We should stop fretting about issues like these not being reported there.
If some kripan fight had broken out in a gurudwara or a granthi had been caught watching porn clips, they'll happily report that, as they think that's sensational enough…. (these are really incidents by the way ).
@Jodha – I received an email from them. I am on their mailing list. Below is the contents of their email. Hope it is ok to publish:
Sacrilege Case: UNITED SIKHS Petitions Human Rights Commission to Investigate
“Following the desecration of five saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in a village in Panjab, the Punjab Police have registered a case of theft in a dwelling house, etc…. However, the police have not added the offence under section 295-A IPC relating to injuring the religious sentiments of Sikhs nor an offence under section 153-A of IPC relating to an act which is prejudicial to maintenance of harmony and offence committed in a place of worship, nor offence under section 153-B of IPC relating to assertions prejudicial to national integration,”: Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS Legal Director said in the petition filed through her.
“The village community is in shock and we pray for forgiveness that this sacrilege took place in our Gurdwara . Until the culprit is found we take full responsibility for the pain that has been caused to the community,” said a tearful Kulwant Singh, the Gurdwara president.
Chandigarh, Panjab – UNITED SIKHS has petitioned the Punjab Human Rights Commission (PHRC) to investigate the desecration of five Saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and other Sikh scriptures in a Panjab village on 12th Aug 2011.
UNITED SIKHS legal team speaking to SHO Jarnail Singh who is investigating the incident
The petition filed through UNITED SIKHS Legal Director, Mejindarpal Kaur, calls upon the Commission to use its power under section 14 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, to have the desecration case investigated by a special investigation team headed by an officer of Indian Police Service rank for offences of injuring religious sentiments and promoting enmity between religious groups and acts which threaten national integration under sections 295-A, 153- A, 153-B of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“UNITED SIKHS had to petition the PHRC because the Punjab Police had to date, more than a week after the sacrilegious incident, only investigated the incident as a mere theft and trespass,” said Gurvinder Singh, UNITED SIKHS’ Chandigarh based lawyer who filed the petition. You may read the petition here. Voices For Freedom , an international human rights group, which is based in Chandigarh, has also filed a similar petition though its lawyer, Simranjit Singh.
Kulwant Singh, president of Udhampur Nalan Gurdwara, Morinda
On the rainy night of 12th/13th Aug 2011, five Saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the eternal Guru of the Sikhs, were desecrated after they removed from the Gurdwara at Udhampur Nallan, a small peaceful village near Chandigarh, and thrown in a nearby disused well along with other religious scriptures and the Chaur Sahib ( fly whisk). This was discovered by local Sikh women who had come to clean the Gurdwara at dawn, when they saw the unlocked entrance door to the Darbar Sahib, where the congregation gathers to pray in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. They then noticed that the Saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji were missing. They alerted the Sarpanch (village head) and the Gurdwara president who gathered the villagers to look for the Saroops. When the rain subsided, the Saroops were found in a nearby disused well along with other missing items. The Saroops were removed from the well and after conducting a religious ceremony of Ishnaan they were restored to the Gurdwara before final rites were performed on 14th August 2011 at Goindwaal Sahib.
“This incident was well planned, where the perpetrator(s) removed from the gurdwara all five saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Chaur sahib (fly whisk) and all other religious books and scriptures and threw them in the well nearby making no attempt to hide the items. Further there was no sign of forced entry nor was any golakh money (community donations) or anything of monetary value stolen, save an amplifier system which is hitherto unrecovered.
“This suggests that this was not a simple act of theft. Instead the perpetrators intended to incite the Sikh community and by so doing cause disharmony. Hence it is imperative that investigations are stepped up to investigate the more serious offences of causing religious enmity and jeopardizing harmony,” added Mejindarpal Kaur.
The UNITED SIKHS legal team filed the petition after visiting Udhanpur Nallan to interview the villagers and the Gurdwara President, Kulwant Singh. Our team also met with the Punjab Police investigating team, led by Jarnail Singh.
“The village community is in shock and we pray for forgiveness that this sacrilege took place in our Gurdwara . Until the culprit is found we take full responsibility for the pain that has been caused to the community,” said a tearful Kulwant Singh.
You may read a previous press release on UNITED SIKHS advocacy efforts for religious freedom in Panjab at http://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-0…
Issued by
Mejindarpal Kaur
Legal Director
International Civil and Human Rights Advocacy
UNITED SIKHS
Law-india@unitedsikhs.org
+91 9779957973
People it is just a case of misplaced 5 books.These lawyers are making a mountain out of a mole hill.The books were found,returned case closed.
@Mohinder Singh: Again ignorance rears it's ugly head! Mohindra bro…for the Sikhs its not a 'book". Some basic lessons in Sikhi 101 might be useful before posting here!
Mohinder Singh ji, all your posts reek of disdain for the religion you claim to be part of. Please take some time to reflect and consider if you have some undiagnosed self-esteem, depression or other emotional/psychological issues. Sadly, in our community, people with mental health problems have not always been dealt with kindly in the past. However, there's less of a stigma toward mental health issues now. If you lack funds or insurance, there are free clinics in most communities, perhaps even at your local gurdwara, church, shul, mosque or mandir. For your own sake, please seek some help as soon as possible.
[EDITED BY ADMIN – Mohinder Singh, you need to familiarize yourself with our commenting policy. We don’t condone hate on this blog]
Further updates from United Sikhs:
Villager in Judicial Custody for Sikh Sacrilege Case
“This beadbi (sacrilege) would not have happened if there was parchar (teachings) of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in villages,” said Dr Suba Singh Principal, UNITED SIKHS Community Affairs advisor and renowned Sikh scholar.
“We are all guilty of this sacrilege and Sikh institutions whose duty it is to spread the teachings of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji have to ask themselves what they should do differently to stem the growth of ‘samadh’ worship in villages,” he added.
Morinda, Panjab – The Punjab Police has secured the judicial custody of a 32 year old villager who has admitted to committing sacrilege against the Eternal Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji at the Udhampur Nalan village Gurdwara last month.
Punjab Police SHO Jarnail Singh informed UNITED SIKHS that on 24th Aug 2011 they arrested 32 year old Avtar Singh, who is a follower of a Muslim sage whose burial place or ‘samadh’ is a place of worship in the village, which has no Muslim residents.
“We rounded up all the men in the village to question them and Avtar Singh admitted that he committed the sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji so that his Muslim sage’s following would grow,” SHO Jarnail Singh told UNITED SIKHS.
On the rainy night of 12/13 August 2011, five saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and other religious texts and items were removed from the village Gurdwara and thrown into a disused well nearby, causing great shock and hurt to the Sikh community globally. You may watch a video about the incident recorded by UNITED SIKHS during a visit to the village soon after the incident at http://www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSikhsTV#p/u/0/T…
The suspect Avtar Singh led police to the spot where he had dumped the amplifier system that he had stolen during the sacrilege because he did not want an announcement to be made in the village the next day. He also led police to the blade that he used to cut the lock that the police recovered after a finger-tip search.
“We will apply for an extension of judicial custody for Avtar Singh on 10th September after which we will charge him for various offences including an offence under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, for hurting the religious sentiments of Sikhs,” said SHO Jarnail Singh.
UNITED SIKHS has petitioned the Punjab Human Rights Commission to ensure that serious offences under section 153 A and B are also investigated as these incidents are capable of undermining national integration and affect harmony in the community, “ said Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS legal director. You may read the petition at http://www.unitedsikhs.org/docs/PHRCPetitionFiled…
You may read our previous press release on this sacrilege case at http://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-2…
Issued by
Mejindarpal Kaur
Legal Director
International Civil and Human Rights Advocacy
UNITED SIKHS
Law-india@unitedsikhs.org
+91 9779957973
Five saroops of guru granth sahib ji thrown in a well is very shocking and shameful news.The punjab news cover this accident on last week and find out no one in a village give us clear specification.this is really a heartbroken news for all the sikh .we dnt understand why sikh news presenters, radio hosts and bloggers are so obsessed about whether their news has been reported by the Indian media. Punjab Police describe nearly before a week this incident was happen , but has kept it in quiet manner.Really a very shocking news for punjab sikh .
Useful writing ! I loved the info , Does someone know where I can grab a blank CA CHHS MC 210 example to edit ?