Amritsar, Feb 14 (IANS) In what could come as a major relief for Sikhs across the world, especially non-resident Indians (NRIs), the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has said it is not averse to printing of the Sikh holy scripture Guru Granth Sahib in other countries provided certain conditions were fulfilled.
The SGPC, the mini-parliament of Sikh religion headquartered in this holy city and with an annual budget of nearly Rs.450 crore (Rs.4.5 billion/nearly $100 million), has said that it can allow the printing of the Granth Sahib in other countries.
“We are open to the idea of allowing the printing of the holy scripture in other countries if the Sikh population in these countries can provide us the land and resources required for proper printing,” SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar told IANS.
“If the ’sangat’ (people) can assure us this, we are ready to seek clearance from the ‘Singh Sahibaan’ (Sikh high priests),” Makkar added.
The SGPC controls all rights for the legal printing of the Granth Sahib which is now done only in Amritsar. The Sikh holy scripture, which is always in huge demand from Sikhs and Sikh institutions globally, is supplied and transported globally through the SGPC from Amritsar.
In recent years, chartered flights have been arranged by Sikhs from countries like the US and Canada to get copies of the Granth Sahib from Amritsar. On each such flight, the holy scripture is kept separately on each seat of the aircraft after following the religious maryada (decorum).
SGPC-appointed sewadars (volunteers) accompany the scriptures on such flights.
