Amritsar: The amended version of the
Nanakshahi calendar was today released by the Akal Takht, the
highest temporal seat of Sikh religion, amid refusal by
certain community outfits to follow it.
The amended version, adopted by the General House meeting
of the SGPC on January 3, was released jointly by 'Jatedhdar'
(priest) Akal Takht Gyani Gurbachan Singh and SGPC President
Avtar Singh Makkar.
Gurbachan Singh asked the entire community to adopt and
follow the amended version of Nanak Shahi calendar in "letter
and spirit".
Referring to certain outfits which refused to follow the
amended version, he said such people were creating confusion
among the community and described them as "anti-Sikh".
The amendments were necessary as various religious days
were clashing with one another, the 'Jatedhdar' said.
Meanwhile, Dal Khalsa, a radical Sikh Organisation,
alleged that the amended version contains a mix of Bikrami
calendar, which had its roots in Hinduism.
"We had mentioned dates of Gurpurabs (Sikh religious
days) according to original calendar adopted in April 2003 as
we believe that the amended version has a imprint of RSS
ideology," outfit spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh said.
"We categorically reject the changes in the calendar made
to appease Sant Samaj and Damdami Taksal," he said, taking a
dig at the present head of Damdami Taksal for allegedly
entering into a deal with SAD (Badal).
Earlier, on January 3, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak
Committee (SGPC) Executive members had given final approval to
bring amendments in Nanak Shahi Calendar, following a green
signal from Akal Takht.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, March 14, 2010, 21:17