– The North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) Executive Director Satnam Singh Chahal strongly condemned the recent statement made by Giani Harpreet Singh suggesting that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) should be brought under the control of the Punjab government. NAPA terms this statement as deeply irresponsible, historically incorrect, and a direct insult to the unparalleled sacrifices made by Sikhs for the independence of their religious institutions.
Chahal stated that the SGPC is not a political creation but a sacred panthic institution formed through the blood, struggle, and martyrdom of thousands of Sikhs during the historic Gurdwara Reform Movement of the early 20th century. “Unarmed Sikhs courted brutal repression, imprisonment, and death to liberate our sacred shrines from corrupt control. Now Giani Harpreet Singh suggest handing this hard-earned institution to any government is nothing short of betrayal of our martyrs,” he said.
NAPA emphasized that the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925 recognized the independent and autonomous status of the SGPC precisely to protect Sikh religious institutions from state interference. Any attempt to weaken this autonomy, under any political pretext, violates both the spirit of that law and the core principles of Sikhism, which firmly reject political domination over religious affairs.
Chahal further made it clear that while criticism of SGPC’s functioning, transparency, or internal reforms is legitimate, the solution can never be government takeover. “Reforms must come from within the Sikh Panth through democratic, transparent, and accountable processes—not by placing the SGPC under political control. That would only replace one crisis with a far bigger one,” he said.
The press release further warned that such statements risk deepening divisions within the Sikh community at a time when Punjab faces critical challenges, including drug abuse, unemployment, economic instability, and social disintegration. Dragging the SGPC into direct political control would only distract the community from these urgent issues and damage Sikh unity worldwide.
NAPA also reminded that history has shown painful consequences of government interference in Sikh religious matters from the colonial era to post-independence political manipulation. “The SGPC, despite all its shortcomings, remains the last major independent panthic institution representing Sikhs globally. Compromising its independence is not an option under any circumstances,” Chahal asserted.