Fresh clashes in Haryana as Sikhs demand separate SGPC

Parts of Haryana witnessed clashes between Sikhs and the police on Wednesday. Rail traffic on the busy Amritsar-Delhi and Jammu-Delhi lines was disrupted for most part of the day as protesters staged dharnas at Kurukshetra railway station.

Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) ad hoc president Jagdish Singh Jhinda and at least a dozen Sikhs were taken into custody for creating a ruckus outside a gurdwara in Kurukshetra.

More than 400 Sikhs led by Jhinda were forcibly trying to occupy historic gurdwaras in Haryana to demand a separate SGPC for the state. Some Sikhs also tried to forcefully enter Sikh shrines in Karal.

HSGPC had forcibly taken control of the gurdwara in Kurukshetra in September last.

The Sikh leadership in Haryana accused Amritsar-based SGPC of neglecting the gurdwaras and Sikhs of Haryana even though the shrines from the state contributed a revenue of Rs10 crore to the SGPC kitty annually.

“There are 72 gurdwaras in Haryana under the direct or indirect control of SGPC. They do not want to leave them as they are earning several crores from them,” Jhinda alleged on Tuesday.
SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said that HSGPC’s move was “Congress-sponsored” and was aimed at creating “a divide among the Sikhs”.