Beyond Perfunctory General House Resolutions: The SGPC’s accountability to the Sikh Panth.......by KBS Sidhu

What it missed says more about the character of the SGPC General House whose five-year term expired in 2016 than about the resolutions it adopted.

Resolutions Are Fine—But What About Your Accountability to the Wider Sikh Panth?

The SGPC General House meeting at the historic Teja Singh Samundari Hall, Darbar Sahib Complex, Amritsar, on 3 November went exactly to script: on expected lines, the official candidate of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami, was elected President for the fifth successive time. No surprises there—because the same House elected in 2011 continues to elect the President, an annual ritual that scarcely qualifies as news.

A mild word of appreciation is due for the orderly conduct and tone. However, three core Panthic issues—fresh elections to the SGPC General House with full enfranchisement of Sikh youth, speedy trials in the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan police-firing cases, and a principled stand against Haryana’s serial paroles to the Dera Sacha Sauda chief—should have figured conspicuously on the agenda.

The General House did adopt several worthy resolutions—urging the Centre to release long-incarcerated Sikh prisoners (Bandi Singhs) in honour of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s 350th martyrdom anniversary; pressing for restoration of Sikh control over historic shrines such as Gurdwara Gyan Godri Sahib (Haridwar), Gurdwara Dangmar Sahib/Chungthang (Sikkim), and Gurdwara Baoli Sahib (Jagannath Puri); condemning the dissolution of Panjab University’s Senate and Syndicate; and demanding that Parliament officially recognise the 1984 anti-Sikh massacres as “Sikh Genocide.”

These are fine in themselves—but not enough. They address memory and symbolism; what the Panth needs now is focus on burning contemporary issues institutional accountability, moral clarity, and measurable governance.

I. Elections & Enfranchisement: Lead the Charge, Include the Generation

Let’s be precise: the SGPC cannot conduct its own elections. Under the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) must appoint the Chief Commissioner, Gurdwara Elections to notify and run the polls—and that post lies vacant after the previous incumbent demitted office.

Precisely for this reason, the General House should be seen championing fresh elections, not merely awaiting them. It should have passed a unanimous, time-certain resolution urging the MHA to fill the post forthwith and publish a polling timetable immediately thereafter.

Alongside administrative preparation, the SGPC should spearhead a campaign to exhort Sikh youth—both men and women—to keep long hair (keshas), which is not only a core tenet of Sikh identity but also a mandatory statutory requirement for enrolment in the SGPC’s electoral rolls. This campaign should blend spiritual reaffirmation with civic empowerment, reminding young Sikhs that participation in Panthic institutions begins with preserving the form given by the Gurus.

The SGPC must make youth enfranchisement its banner. It should pledge that every Sikh who has turned 21 since 2011 will find their name on the rolls at the earliest lawful opportunity, and hold open Gurdwara-hall meetings to update the Panth on progress.

If litigation arises, it should seek expedited hearings or court-monitored timelines to keep the process moving. The message must be unmistakable: the SGPC wants fresh, credible polls at the earliest—and wants the wider Sikh sangat, especially the youth to decide.

II. Justice Deferred: Move Kotkapura & Behbal Kalan to Swift, Clubbed Trial

The October 14, 2015 police-firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan, arising from protests over the Bargari sacrilege, remain an open wound on the Sikh psyche. Years of stop-start investigations have eroded public faith.

The case files name as accused senior officials of the time—then Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister, and now Shiromani Akali Dal President, Sukhbir Singh Badal, and his blue-eyed officer, then Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini—among others, who have consistently denied the allegations.

The SGPC should have demanded day-to-day, clubbed trials under firm judicial supervision, with periodic public reporting on progress. This is not a call for vendetta, but for due process delivered promptly. Justice delayed here wrongs not only victims and families but also an entire generation taught that maryada and the rule of law can stand together.

A Panthic institution that cannot press for closure on sacrilege-linked violence risks forfeiting its moral authority by omission.

III. Parole Is a Message: Condemn Haryana’s Serial Releases

The Haryana Government’s repeated paroles to the Dera Sacha Sauda chief—a convicted rapist also facing other serious charges—have, in effect, functioned as an undeclared pardon.

These successive releases send a deeply unsettling message to victims, families, and society at large: that influence can bend justice, and punishment can be diluted through privilege. The SGPC General House should have condemned this pattern unequivocally, not merely for its symbolism but for its corrosive impact on the rule of law.

This indulgence gains sharper contrast when viewed against the unresolved cases of the Talwandi Sabo bomb blast and the Salabatpura blasphemy incident, where the same individual’s alleged role was never fully investigated. Worse, he was granted a pardon by the then Jathedar of the Akal Takht, widely perceived to have been issued under political pressure—a reprieve that was later withdrawn.

Together, these episodes underscore an enduring failure of accountability through due process. For the SGPC, this should have been a moment to insist on transparent investigation and lawful closure, reaffirming that maryada and justice are indivisible. Silence on such issues, however cautious or convenient, weakens the very moral ground the institution claims to defend.

After the Big Three: Delivery Benchmarks for the Mid-Year

Parchar that reads like a plan, not a prayer

Publish quarterly targets and outcomes for India and the diaspora: trained parcharaks/raagis deployed (with language capabilities), circuits covered, translations distributed, and digital reach (unique users, completion rates, returning listeners). Name an owner for each geography, fix review dates, and display a simple green-amber-red status. Outcomes, not activity lists.

Flood relief—compassion proven by documentation

Issue a white paper and a live dashboard within 30 days: total cash and kind received; district-wise utilisation; beneficiary counts; partner NGOs; utilisation certificates; sample receipts and geo-tagged evidence; and an independent audit note. Refresh monthly until the programme is formally closed.

Budget honesty and corrective courage

Table a head-wise Budget vs Actuals for the half-year—langar, education, healthcare, heritage, legal, outreach—with crisp variance explanations and corrective steps. Where allocations are off, bring supplementary estimates. Default procurement to e-tendering and publish a simple contracts register (vendor, value, term). If money is the muscle of seva, transparency is its marrow.

Service delivery the sangat can feel

For major shrines, publish pilgrim-service metrics: queue-time targets, accommodation capacity and utilisation, accessibility upgrades for elders and persons with disabilities, and an annual safety audit. For SGPC institutions, release education and health scorecards—enrolment, retention, scholarships, placements; OPD/IPD numbers, free-of-cost cases, outreach camps—with two-quarter improvement targets. The difference should be visible in the first hour of a visit.

Stewardship with modern craft

Digitise manuscripts; maintain movement logs for saroops; conduct periodic conservation audits; and ring-fence a preservation budget. In langar halls and sarovars, move from intent to implementation: plastic-free kitchens, waste segregation and composting, solar rooftops, and water recycling—with before-and-after energy and water bills placed online.

Representation that renews leadership

Announce time-bound targets for women and youth representation on boards and committees, backed by training and mentorship. The Panth does not lack talent; it lacks pathways.

Governance Tools the House Should Adopt—Now

1. An MHA appointment tracker: weekly updates on the Chief Commissioner appointment—letters sent, replies received, and next steps.
2. A public election readiness dashboard showing every preparatory task within SGPC’s control (rolls liaison, booth mapping, staff training), even before notification.
3. Four fixed public review dates a year: what was promised, what was delivered, why gaps arose, who owns the fix, and by when.
4. A litigation dashboard for sacrilege-linked cases: next hearing dates, filings due, adjournments sought (by whom), and orders passed—so rumour yields to record.
5. An open-data portal: budgets, audits, property registers, encroachment-recovery trackers, pilgrim-service metrics.
6. Donation e-receipts and helpline SLAs: every rupee acknowledged; every grievance tracked with response timelines and escalation ladders.

Closing: From Ritual to Renewal

Unless the current House of the SGPC acts decisively—and if necessary, even requisitions an extraordinary General House meeting to restore credibility, initiate overdue elections, and enforce institutional accountability—commerce as usual should cease. The Panth’s institutions were never meant to function as safe havens for inertia. If the SGPC fails to act now, both its present office-bearers and their political patrons outside run a serious risk of being remembered by posterity as the modern-day masands and mahants—men who mistook control for service and power for piety.

The November General House did what it always does—elected the official candidate and passed predictable resolutions. That’s fine. But authority that convinces must be earned in public: press the MHA to appoint the Chief Commissioner immediately and start the election clock, mobilise Sikh youth to keep long keshas and enrol as voters, include the post-2011 generation on the rolls, push the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan cases to swift, court-monitored trial, and speak plainly about Haryana’s serial paroles.

Only then should dashboards on parchar, flood relief, and budget accountability become the weekly drumbeat of a House that serves rather than merely presides. The Panth will acknowledge progress where it is honest, measurable, and timely. Anything less, however dignified in tone or lofty in resolution, risks becoming governance by echo—heard today, forgotten tomorrow.

November 5, 2025