PRESS STATEMENT | United States |
The American Sikh Council (ASC) is perturbed at the continuous shenanigans of some gurdwaras from Massachusetts to California who simply refuse to use common sense and basic critical thinking to understand why all Sikhs must use the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar (MNC) instead of the Biparwadi RSS sponsored Bikrami-Lunar calendar of the SGPC [Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee].
A glaring example is the issue of the 10th Nanak’s birthday celebration. How can anyone’s birthday be celebrated twice in the same year? Commemorating Guru Gobind Singhji’s birthday this year; once on January 9, 2022 and now again on Dec 29, 2022, is the height of insanity, because the one and only correct date is January 5. To make matters even worse, next year in 2023 according to the SGPC Biprwadi calendar, there will be no birthday celebration, as the next one falls in 2024.
The Mool Nanakshahi Calendar (MNC) is a Sikh Calendar. Every religion has their own religious calendar. Christians have the Gregorian Calendar. Muslims, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists have their own calendars, which indicates their independent religions. Similarly, the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar (MNC) of the Sikhs identifies us as a completely independent and distinct world religion. Sikhs should be proud to have their own calendar like others are of their religion.
A deeper understanding of the history and efforts made by Sikh scholars to create a distinct Sikh calendar is vital. The late Pal Singh Purewal worked on this the Sikh Calendar since the 1960’s. After over 40 years of hard work, he completed the Sikh calendar with the exact dates of Gurpurubs and Shahidi Gurpurubs which was presented to the Akal Takaht Jathedar in 2003. This MNC was accepted by the SGPC and the Jathedar of the Akal Takhat. All the Gurpurubs were celebrated according to the Mool Nanakshahi calendar until 2006. Unfortunately, this was not acceptable to the then leading political party (Akali Dal) due to the covert influence of the RSS and was changed to the Nanakshahi Calendar (NC) by cleverly changing the dates according to the Bikrami (Lunar) calendar. There is a big difference between the Nanakshahi Calendar (NC) of the SGPC and the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar (MNC). The MNC has fixed dates, but the NC is simply a hybrid version of the Bikrami Calendar where the dates are moveable and shift every year creating utter confusion.
The MNC implementation conference in Chicago detailed the significance of the changes. After much discussion, resolutions were adopted at the Chicago conference in December 2017. For example, Bandi Chord Divas falls on Fughen 1 (February 12) every year, Holla-Moholla falls on Chet 1 (March 14) every year, and Vaisakhi (Birth of Guru Nanak Sahib, Khalsa Sajhna Diwas) falls on Vasakh 1 (April 14) each year. Even these dates which were deliberately kept floating in the NC by the SGPC, were fixed, again.
All gurdwaras and Sikh organizations across America must pass a resolution to do the following and make it public:
We commit to uphold and diligently follow the Panth approved ‘Fixed Dates’ Mool Nanakshai Calendar (MNC) https://americansikhcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/nanakshahi-all-years.pdf by celebrating only those ‘dates’ listed in the above mentioned calendar by all the members of all congregations, across the world. CLICK HERE FOR 2022 CALENDAR.
We should all also commit to publicly denouncing the RSS/BJP blessed ‘Floating Dates’ Nanakshahi Calendar (NC) http://www.sgpc.net/nanakshahicalendar.php being propagated by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), because this calendar is a ‘bipar’ version made through forceful coercion, to be implemented on the Sikhs, under the clever guise of being the accurate Sikh calendar.
It is critically important to understand that the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar (MNC) is completely consistent with the (Barama) months mentioned in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS).
If all the educated Sikhs still insist on following the Biparwadi RSS blessed SGPC’s ‘NC’ where the dates of our Gurus and other religious days shift every year, then all the Sikh followers should apply the same logic to their own birthdays, i.e., everyone’s birthdays will be on a different day each year, making a mockery of your own birth certificates and common sense. Our children will only shake their heads at our foolhardiness!
On behalf of the American Sikh Council (ASC), it is our humble request that every Gurdwaras in the world should adopt the MNC. This calendar celebrates Gurpurubs and all other important religious days b haccording to these fixed dates every year, without any confusion. We should be proud to have our own calendar which signifies our very own independent distinct and ‘Sovereign Sikh Religion’ as a nation.
We beseech all Sikhs to give their full support and follow the MNC immediately which will require a strong Sikh spine and superior Sikh leadership to accomplish.
ABOUT: The American Sikh Council is the umbrella organization representative of Sikhs in the United States. It is an elected body of Sikh Gurdwaras and institutions. Currently 74 Gurdwaras and other Sikh institutions across the nation are members of ASC. The major governing purpose of the organization is to represent the collective view of Sikhs in the United States. ASC works to promote Sikh interests at the national and international level focusing on issues of advocacy, education, and well-being of humankind.
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Indianapolis major gathering to memorialise Pal Singh Purewal, Mool Nanakshahi Calendar (Asia Samachar, 11 Dec 2022)
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