Whereas the so-called Panthic parties are wooing the SGPC voters on the agenda of transparency in SGPC’s working, less political interference, rooting out corruption, best management of Sikh shrines, upgradation of Sikh educational institutions, targeting social evils and so on, they have somewhere forgotten the “real” issues that assumes significance for the Sikh Panth.
Besides receiving a blow with the Centre’s “no” to Sikh’s long-pending demand for a separate Marriage Act, the SGPC’s general body has also failed to work through other significant “pending” issues. It includes: formulating proper rules and regulations for the appointment, removal, tenure, working etc of the Akal Takht Jathedaar; carry out demanded structural changes in the Golden Temple’s look-alike Gurudwara in Sangrur; resolving controversy on Dasam Granth — penned down by Guru Gobind Singh; bringing back the texts allegedly taken away during Operation Bluestar in 1984; among others.
Nearly after a decade of the need for new set of guidelines for the Akal Takht emerged, the SGPC executive body was unable to devise the same. The Committee’s executive in its meeting in 2002 had decided to regulate the appointment and removal of jathedars of the five Takhts through a fresh set of guidelines. But till now nothing really has been put in place. They are yet to formulate the rules and norms for the appointment, removal, tenure and working sphere of the Jathedar of the Akal Takht. Notably, the directions for the same were issued by the Takht during the tenure of former Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti.
Other than that, the issue that triggered a lot of resentment among Sikh community is yet to be sorted out. Almost three years after the Golden Temple’s look-alike — Gurdwara Mastuana in Sangrur — was constructed, the SGPC failed to get the “desired” structural changes made in the Gurdwara - that too despite strong recommendations made by SGPC-constituted fact finding team in 2009.