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India: The Gurdwara Committee, including the names of the secretaries for India, Punjab, the district of Kapurthala and the village of Bhulath in 2002 and 2003 (2001-September 2004)

No information on the person named in the information request could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

The Tribune reported on 21 September 2002 that the president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) was professor Kirpal Singh Badungar and that the secretary general was Bibi Kiranjot Kaur. Badungar of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (The Tribune 12 July 2004) party was re-elected in SGPC elections in November 2002 (ibid. 13 Nov. 2002). Hardalbir Singh Shah was elected secretary general during the same elections (ibid.). According to a 10 July 2004 article in The Tribune, on 11 July 2004 there would be elections for the 170-seat general house of the SGPC for the first time since 1996. The elections were to take place in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, as well as in Chandigarh (The Tribune 10 July 2004). The SAD party won all seats in the district of Kapurthala, including that of Bibi Jagir Kaur, former SGPC secretary general, who won in her seat in the village of Bhulath (ibid. 12 July 2004).

In a 21 September 2004 telephone interview, the assistant information officer of the SGPC in Amritsar stated that elections of the president and members of the executive committee members of the SGPC would take place on 23 September 2004. While the assistant stated that the district of Kapurthala would have its own SGPC local committee (SGPC 21 Sept. 2004), he was unable to verify the names of the secretaries within the time constraints of this Response.

The Sikh-History.com Website provides the following information on the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC):

The Punjab government had made up its mind to let the Sikhs take over management of their shrines. The Sikh Gurdwaras Act was placed on the Statute Book on July 25, 1925. A central Gurdwara Board, elected by the Sikhs, was to be the custodian of all important Sikh places of worship. The first Gurdwara Board passed a resolution that its designation be changed to Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. This was accepted by the government. That day Mahatma Gandhi declared "First battle of India's independence has been won."

Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee currently takes care of all the historical Gurdwaras in Punjab as well as in adjoining states. Gurdwaras at Delhi are under Delhi Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee. These committees have officials picked through regular elections in which all Sikhs can participate (If you happen to be at Golden Temple at that time). SGPC has a chairman, treasurer and general secretary. Currently SGPCs chairman is Gurcharan Singh "Tohra." You can also visit Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committe's site at www.sgpc.org. SGPC maintains all the Physical, Financial, religious aspects of Gurdwaras and keep-[s] archeologically precious and sacred things belonging to the Sikh Gurus, which include weapons, clothes, books, writings of Sikh Gurus (n.d.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar, India. 21 September 2004. Telephone interview with the assistant information officer.

Sikh-history.com. n.d. "Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee." <http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/institutes/sgpc.html> [Accessed 20 Sept. 2004]

The Tribune [Chandigarh]. 12 July 2004. Prabhjot Singh. "SAD Sweeps SGPC Election." <http://www.tribuneindia.com> [Accessed 13 July 2004]
_____. 10 July 2004. "Campaigning Ends for SGPC Poll." <http://www.tribuneindia.com> [Accessed 12 July 2004]
_____. 13 November 2002. "Badungar Re-Elected SGPC Chief." <http://www.tribuneindia.com> [Accessed 13 Nov. 2002]
_____. 21 September 2002. "NCM Irons Out Sikh, Christian Differences." <http://www.tribuneindia.com> [Accessed 23 Sept. 2004]

Additional Sources Consulted

An editor at The Tribune and a representative of the United Sikhs in Virgina had no information on the requested subject.

Internet sources, including: Asia Times, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2003, Dialog, International Religious Freedom Report 2004, Only Punjab.com, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Times of India, The Tribune, United Sikhs.