Chatha panel presses case of Haryana Sikhs

CHANDIGARH: The six-member committee headed by Haryana cabinet minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha ? constituted to look into the issue of establishing a separate gurdwara management body in the state ?found that only 10% of the estimated funds received at gurdwaras in the state were being shown on record by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC).The rest of the money was being siphoned off to fund political activities in Punjab.
According to the Chatha Committee, which had strongly recommended setting up of a separate Sikh body for Haryana, the estimated annual income from gurdwaras in the state was between Rs 150 to Rs 200 crore. But the SGPC, which controls these shrines, showed only Rs 13 crore on paper.
Looking into reasons necessitating a separate body, the committee found that besides the misuse of gurdwara offerings, there was bias in employment of Haryana Sikhs in local gurdwaras, Sikh educational institutions in the state were underdeveloped and gurdwara properties were being misappropriated by a trust headed by Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.
The panel found that Sikhs from Haryana were not even represented in the delegation of pilgrimages leaving for historical gurdwaras in Pakistan every year. Underlining the interference of the SAD in the affairs of SGPC, which manages gurdwaras in Haryana, the committee found that anyone who owed allegiance to the Akalis could be a member of the gurdwara managing committee.
"All kinds of corrupt practices are rampant. Politicians resort to official pressure, nepotism, bribe, distribution of alcohol, muscle power at the instance of persons from Punjab who have been running the show in Haryana," observed the Chatha panel.
According to NS Bhinder, who was member-secretary of the Chatha Committee and played an instrumental role in preparing the document, in response to a questionnaire they issued in August 2006 to ascertain the opinion of Haryana Sikhs about a separate body, 128,556 affidavits were received in its favour from eight districts. He said no one was against the formation of a separate committee.
FINDINGS OF CHATHA COMMITTEE
Bias in employment by SGPC
According to the panel, Sikhs in the state are frustrated because of the biased attitude of the SGPC in giving employment to them to manage gurdwaras of Haryana. Recruitment of staff for Haryana gurdwaras is conducted by the SGPC in Amritsar and only people from Punjab are being employed while those from the state are completely ignored.
SGPC against development of infrastructure for Sikhs
The Panel held that in 2005, the SGPC directed all kar sevaks (volunteers) in Haryana gurdwaras and institutions to pack up and go back to Punjab, indicating that no developmental activities were required as the state was considering a separate committee. Similarly, no serious efforts were made to set up any medical institution in Haryana by the SGPC.
Grabbing of gurdwaras' land
Miri Piri Medical College and Research Institution at Shahbad Markanda near Ambala, which is being built under the control and supervision of the SGPC, had been taken over by a trust formed under the chairmanship of Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal with its headquarters in Amritsar. Out of 458 acres of land belonging to the institution, more than 150 acres were since transferred to the trust under pressure. This was nothing short of grabbing property belonging to gurdwaras in Haryana. In case action is not taken to protect the properties, they are likely to be either transferred or sold.
Sikh body in Haryana on the lines of Delhi
Sikhs of Haryana were emboldened by the example of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), which is being run successfully. The DSGMC undertook certain prestigious projects which the SGPC could not have imagined, despite the fact that Akalis in Punjab were more powerful and more politically organized. Functioning of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (HSGPC) would also be on religious lines and according to requirements, just like DSGMC.
Bias in pilgrimages
SGPC sponsored pilgrimages to gurdwaras in Pakistan but Sikhs settled in Haryana never got their due in the jathas (delegations). Many Sikhs settled in Haryana lived around Nankana Sahib, Sacha Sauda, Rori Sahib and various other gurdwaras prior to 1947, which they visited almost daily. However, they were facing hardships in getting listed for visas to visit Pakistan.
Haryana gurdwaras goldmine for SGPC
A survey conducted by the Chatha committee found that around 3,600 acres of fertile irrigated land is in the name of various gurdwaras in Haryana. The estimated valued of the said properties was around Rs 500 crore. The land was being managed by SGPC.