Broadcast of sacred Gurbani: The change in the law, and the controversy

The decision, announced by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann after the Punjab Cabinet cleared the Bill on Monday, was criticised by the SAD as “unconstitutional” and “direct interference in the religious affairs of Sikhs”. The SAD, Congress, and BJP have all said the Punjab Assembly is not competent to amend the Gurdwaras Act, especially without the concurrence of the SGPC.

Mann has, however, argued that in upholding the law made by Haryana in 2014 to take Gurdwaras in that state outside the purview of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, the Supreme Court had ruled that the Gurdwaras Act is a state law.

What is the current system for the live broadcast of the Gurbani?

On July 24, 2012, the SGPC — which manages all Gurdwaras in Punjab (including the Golden Temple), Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh — entered into an agreement with G-Next Media Pvt Ltd, the company that owns PTC, for the broadcast of the sacred Gurbani from Sri Harmandir Sahib for a period of 11 years.

The company had agreed to pay SGPC an annual fee of Rs 1 crore initially, with a 10% increase every year. An SGPC spokesperson said the company paid Rs 2 crore in payment last year. As the agreement neared its end next month, the SGPC had formed a committee to invite fresh tenders for the telecast rights of the holy Gurbani.

Chief Minister Mann has said no tender needs to be floated after the passage of the new law.

What is the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925?

The SGPC was established on November 15, 1920, to initiate a Gurdwara Sudhar Lehra (Gurdwara Reform Movement) for proper management of Gurdwaras according to Sikh principles. The Shiromani Akali Dal came into existence a month later, in December 1920.

The initial years of the SGPC were marked by struggle with the British government, during which some 500 Sikh laid down their lives, and 20,000 were thrown into prison. Ultimately, on May 7, 1925, Sardar Tara Singh Moga, with support from another Sikh member, Bhai Jodh Singh, presented in the Punjab Legislative Council a Bill to create a management body for Gurdwaras.

The Sikh Gurdwaras Act came into effect on November 1, 1925. Under this Act, the SGPC was initially entrusted with the management of 241 Gurdwaras, including 65 Gurdwaras that became part of Pakistan after Partition.

How has the Act worked after Independence?

The Gurdwaras Act was administered by the government of East Punjab until 1966. The Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966, which created the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, declared the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925 as an interstate Act, ensuring that the SGPC continued to administer Gurdwaras as earlier. Making changes to the Sikh Gurdwaras Act passed under the jurisdiction of Parliament.

In 2014, when Bhupinder Singh Hooda was Chief Minister, the Haryana Assembly passed the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, freeing Gurdwaras in Haryana from the purview of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act. The Act was challenged in the Supreme Court, including by the Shiromani Akali Dal-controlled SGPC.

The petitioners claimed the Haryana law violated the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966; encroached on the religious affairs of Sikhs and was intended to divide the community; and that Parliament alone was empowered to make such a law. The central government also submitted that only Parliament could enact a law on this subject.

In an affidavit filed in 2019, the Punjab government asked for “an appropriate order upholding the legislative competence of the state legislature to enact/ amend legislation in relation to Gurdwaras in their respective states”. It argued that the 1925 Act was an Act of the state legislature “for the administration of certain Sikh Gurdwaras within the State of Punjab as it then existed and thereafter various amendments have been made to it by the Punjab Legislature”.

In its verdict delivered last year, the Supreme Court upheld the Haryana law, saying it had left the religious affairs of Sikhs exclusively “in the hands of the Sikhs in the same manner as was under the 1925 Act”.

It ruled that it was within the legislative competence of Haryana to pass the law: “The SGPC became inter-state body corporate not because of Entry 44 List I (Union List under Seventh Schedule) but because of reorganisation of the territories of the erstwhile state of Punjab. Therefore, Entry 44 would have no applicability in respect of legislative competence of the state of Haryana to enact the Haryana Act.”

Does this mean the Punjab government is competent to make the amendment?

Sikh leaders have always been apprehensive that governments could use the Gurdwaras Act to interfere in Sikh affairs. In June 1942, the Sikh leader Baldev Singh had made a pact with Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, who was then the Premier of (undivided) Punjab, that “With regard to legislation relating to religious matters, members belonging to a community will take decisions at all stages.”

After Independence, Sikh leader Master Tara Singh obtained a commitment from the government of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959 that the Sikh Gurdwaras Act shall not be amended without the approval of the SGPC general body.

The Act has been amended seven times since 1925; five of those amendments were made after 1966, after it came under the jurisdiction of the Union government. The SGPC had passed resolutions to push for all these amendments. This the first time that an amendment has been passed without the consent and despite the opposition of the SGPC.

What lies ahead on this issue?

The Chief Minister has repeatedly accused the Badal family of monopolising the SAD and controlling the SGPC. While his allegations against the Badals are yet to be established, the attempt to regulate the telecast of the sacred Gurbani has triggered a wider debate in Sikh politics, including over the alleged government interference in the religious affairs of the community.

While the Punjab government has amended the Gurdwaras Act, the SGPC remains an interstate body, and whether the changes are binding on it may have to be finally decided by the courts. It also remains to be seen whether the SGPC will challenge the amendment, and how the government will implement the law on the premises of the Harmandir Sahib.