1999: October 13: *OUTGOING IOSS EDITOR'S MESSAGE TO OUR READERS
Dear Reader,
A local monthly recently carried an unwarranted criticism of the working of
lnstitute of Sikh Studies. An impression was sought to he given inter alia that
we are aiming to office, that there is a lack of transparency in accounts and
that we inviting political bigwigs to seek personal favour Normally we would
have ignored such baseless insinuations. However, for the benefit of our readers,
whose cooperation airs] understanding we greatly value, and have always enjoyed,
we want to share the relevant facts with them. 1. Before dealing with specific
allegations, it is necessary to state that the above report was considered in
a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Institute held on October 13,1999.
As a result, the President addressed a letter to the editor of the said monthly,
which is partly reproduced below: you have alleged that some members of the
Institute have accused the
General Secretary of the Institute of holding on to the office for more than
3 years and that he has been accused of:
i) misuse of funds;
ii) not furnishing any accounts;
iii) overturning some decisions taken at General body meetings;
iv) holding on to office with an idea to enhance his status. It was your moral
duty as editor to
verify the truth of these allegations from the concerned office-bearers of the
Institute, before going
into print.
Executive Committee of the Institute in its meeting of 13th instant, has asked
me to strongly refute all the above allegations. They are baseless, without
any foundation, and mala fide. Accounts of the Institute have been maintained
regularly, audited and presented to General body has which has approved them.
Dr Kharak Singh has been working as General Secretary ill deference to the wishes
of' the President and confidence of the General body, and though he has been
requesting that he be relieved, it is the Institute which has been asking him
to continue on this post because the General body feels that it is in the best
interests of the Institute. Dr Kharak Singh has been performing his duties as
per the mandate given by the General body.''
2. The position with regard to the allegations referred to above is as follows :
3. Clinging to Office for Decades: The Institute of Sikh Studies was registered in 1989, and has completed only one decade of its life. It has constitution which provides for annual elections. Elections have been regularly held every year on time, and so far have been unanimous. During this brief period of, ten years, the Institute has elected three Presidents democratically. According to the present convention, nobody can hold office of President for more than two years. The authority to run the Institute, including that of nominating the Executive Committee, vests in the President. The Secretary is part of the Executive Committee and is thus also nominated by the President. 1do not have to apologise for the fact, that all the three successive Presidents asked me to work as Secretary.
1 complied with their, wishes, since nobody else was prepared to spare the
time and attention required for the job, and 1 hive tried to discharge this
responsibility in a spirit of' service with total commitment. And the results
are there for everybody to see. Starting from a scratch, it has within the short
span of' 10 years, acquired t status in the Panth, which could be the every
of any organization. 1 have never coveted any office or contested any election
in my lice, nor do 1 have any such intention for the future. It is necessary
to add that the demand for me to work as Secretary was unanimous. During the
last couple of years, 1 have been requesting the Presidents to relieve me. Last
year 1 submitted a formal resignation as well. But the President did not oblige.
Rather, the Institute passed a unanimous resolution urging me to continue. Apart
from that all the members individually pressed me not to quit in the interest
of the lnstitute. Unable to disregard the wishes of my colleagues who had always
stood solidly by my side in the fulfilment of' the objectives of the Institute,
1 yielded. Would you call it clinging to office?
b) Refusal to Render Accounts: Institute of Sikh Studies is one of the few organisations
whose accounts are meticulously maintained and regularly audited. The statement
of accounts for the financial year ending 31st March 1999, has already been
audited and approved by the Institute of Sikh Studies and circulated to members.
Such statements are available for inspection for the previous years as well.
Up-to-date accounts call be inspected
by anybody any time.
c) Seeking Personal Favour, etc.: This is pure mudslinging. 1have never sought
and do not enjoy any personal favour. 1have no political ambitions and 1 do
not hold or aspire to any political position and personal favour. My activity
has been in the academic field of Gurmat, purely in the spirit of service involving
considerable financial sacrifice rather than any material or other gains. I
have always upheld the principles that are dear to our rganisation and worked
hard for the attainment of its goals. 1 have successfully resisted the attempts
from within and without to align the Institute with one political group or the
other. This policy cannot be relished by any individual who has a particular.
bias.
d) Inviting Political Bigwigs: The Institute of Sikh Studies organised a seminar
on Gurdwara Legislation and Sikh Personal Law, in October, 1997. The discussion
on these 1997.The discussion on these subjects could not be meaningful without
involvement of the SGPC and Chief Minister, Punjab, who is also the President
the Shiromani Akali Dal. For this reason, they were invited to inaugurate the
seminar after a unanimous decision of the Institute of Sikh Studies. The constitution
of the Institute does not ban participation of any individual on the basis of
his political affiliation or official position. Rather, it seeks the cooperation
of all members of the lnstitute as well as others owing allegiance to diverse
political organisations, holding responsible positions and even lighting elections.
And there is no objection to that so long as they are faithful to the objectives
of the Institute. The question of taking financial assistance for the Institute
announced during the visit of Sardar Parkash Singh Badal was
specifically considered by the Institute of Sikh Studies in a Meeting, and it
was held that there could be no objection to any contribution with no strings
attached from any quarters. As such it should be clear that the Institute or
its Secretary, committed no cardinal sin to feel apologetic about.
c) Other Allegations: 11 is surprising that even the efforts to promote Gurmat Chetna Lehar, to introduce Gurbani Kirtan on TV and the proposed reforms in the Nanakshahi calendar, which should have been welcomed and supported by intelligentsia committed to the Panth, brave also been criticised.
i) Gurmat Chetna Lehar: There is no other way to fight the onslaught of apostasy
and misrepresentation, except to organise a Gurmat Chetna Lehar. The Institute
of Sikh Studies can only give an idea and guide and support it. It has no resources
to organise it. It does riot mean there is no need for it. We still feel strongly
that all Panthic organisations should adopt this Lehar immediately, if we want
to march into the next millennium in the Khalsa roop.
ii) Kirtan on TV: This is an SGPC protect. The Institute has no responsibility
for its start iii) success or failure. The programme worked successfully for
several months without any financial investment from SGPC or any other Panthic
organisation, and people enjoyed Gurbani Kirtan from Sri Darbar Sahib daily,
for seven hours, in 70 countries. It has run into some problems at the moment.
But these will be sorted out and the day is not far when
direct telecast from Darbar Sahib will reach every country in the world. The
Institute of' Sikh Studies has of' Course supported the efforts, and deserves
compliments rather than condemnation. iii) Sikh History Project: This is again
a project of the SGPC, and the Institute of Sikh Studies has nothing to do with
it, although we support the idea of Sikh historians themselves writing the history
of Sikhs. And this is exactly what the SGPC is doing. It has
organised a collective effort in which all the leading Sikh historians are participating.
There is every reason to expect a true picture to emerge removing all inaccuracies
and misrepresentations that tarnish the image of the Sikh nation or twist its
philosophy. At ]east this is the intention of' the organizers. The initiative
deserves full support of all right thinking Sikhs. Biased criticism is no service
to the Panth.
3. Gurdwara Legislation : An All India Gurudwara Act has been a unanimous demand
of the Sikhs for the last 50 years. In order, therefore to articulate the thinking
of the Sikh community on this issue, the Institute of 'Sikh Studies organised
a seminar on the subject in 1997 in which top-most scholars presented papers.
As a result the report was published which included a summary of the recommendations.
A six member committee was also constituted in the seminar to prepare a draft
for the All India Sikh Gurdwara Act with the f'ollowing as
members
Justice Harbans Singh (Chairman)
Dr. Gurmit Singh
Ms Kiranjot Kaur
Bhai Ashok Singh Bhagrian
Sardar Nanak Singh Nishtar.
This committee was supposed to submit its report to the Institute of.' Sikh
Studies. Unfortunately, that was never done. On the other hand, Justice Harbans
Singh held extensive consultations all over India including a few members of
the Institute (in their individual capacity). He also seems to have taken note
of some recommendations in the seminar report, while preparing his draft for
consideration of the government as well as the SGPC. The
Institute of' Sikh Studies has absolutely no responsibility in it. It surpasses
one's understanding how Institute can be criticised for it. The draft is there
for the Panth to consider, amend, adopt, or reject. Why drag the Institute of
Sikh Studies into it '? We do feel, however, that an All lndia Gurdwaras Act
is necessary to place all the Gurdwaras under. effective control of the Panth
and to introduce a uniform maryada. The draf't should be looked at in a positive
frame of' mind. :
[ *Kharak Singh, Editor ]