The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the organisation in charge of the upkeep and management of Sikh sites of worship in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, has embarked on an ambitious plan to comprehensively trace the history of the religion from the first Sikh Guru onwards. It will also launch an endeavour to conserve sites and monuments of religious and historical significance.SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar told The Indian Express that its newly launched History and Research Board will work on unearthing the more obscure facets of Sikh history, while the Heritage Conservation Board will be in charge of an extensive conservation project. “Funds will not be a problem for any of the two boards, because both projects are of utmost importance to the SPGC,” Makkar said, adding that the Heritage Board’s most immediate task is the conservation of the Dewan Todar Mal Jahaz Haveli in Fatehgarh Sahib.“We have involved a number of conservationists from the Punjab Government and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), besides other prominent specialists from elsewhere in the country to help us restore the Haveli to its original form,” Makkar said. “Plans are also afoot to reconstruct the demolished portion of the Haveli, as it is of immense importance to Sikh history and its Gurus”.The site of the sprawling Jahaz Haveli was where the last rites of three beloved Sikh martyrs were performed-the younger sahibzadas (sons) of Guru Gobind Singh — Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh were entombed alive by the Mughals for not embracing Islam, while their grandmother, Mata Gujri, died of shock. The heritage building was sold to the Punjab Charitable Trust, a Mohali-based registered body in September 2003 for a paltry sum, resulting in vociferous protests from the Sikh community. The trust was pressured into handing over the building to the SPGC in April 2008. Makkar confirms that even as the conservation work continues, the history board of the SGPC will begin searching for minute historical details about the Sikh Gurus with the help of top scholars from India and abroad. Anurag Singh, a manager with Punjab and Sind Bank, was appointed the interim director of the board last week.The SGPC chief added that conservation work on Ramgarhia Bunga and Gurdwara Baba Atal, both in Amritsar, is also in progress.
