Historic decision by Kangar Sikhs

By Asia Samachar | Malaysia |

Five years ago, Gurdwara Sahib Kangar (GSK) made history when it most likely became the first gurdwara in Southeast Asia to celebrate Guru Nanak’s birthday on Vaisakhi. The major decision in 2019 by the Malaysian gurdwara, located about 500km north of Kuala Lumpur, could also make it the first gurdwara to do so in the whole of Asia outside India.

Ever since then, the gurdwara, serving a small but vibrant local Sikh community, has been celebrating Guru Nanak’s birthday, termed Guru Nanak Aagmn Purb, on Vaisakhi day when most other gurdwara were sticking to the common practice of celebrating it in the October/November period.

They have started celebrating Vaisakhi as the actual birthday of Guru Nanak in 1469 as well as the establishment of the Khalsa (Khalsa Sirjana) in 1699. There are historical backing for the decision that Guru Nanak was actually born during that period, though they are an equal number of detractors, as well.

This year, Gurdwara Sahib Seremban, located about 580km to the south in the state of Negeri Sembilan, followed suit. Its gurdwara committee, backed solidly by the local Sanggat (congregation), gave a thumbing approval to the move, joining the growing number of gurdwaras and Sikh societies around the world that have decided to celebrate Guru Nanak’s birthday on April 14.

SEE ALSO: 13 Questions on Guru Nanak’s Birthday

FOR MORE REPORTS ON GURU NANAK’S BIRTHDAY, CLICK HERE

Asia Samachar spoke to GSK committee president Pritpal Singh Jarnail Singh to understand how the major change happened at Kangar.

“Our Sanggat has been united and supportive,” Pritpal, a 77-year-old retired local council senior health inspector and court prosecutor told Asia Samachar.

Retired since 2003, Pritpal was also the deputy chairman of the Perlis Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) between 2009 till 2014 and the chairman of the political party’s Kangar Main Road branch until 2015. He has been serving as GSM committee president since 1997.

Early this year, Kangar made another change. When celebrating Guru Gobind Singh’s birthday on Jan 5, 2024, the gurdwara hoisted the blur Nishan Sahib, the Khalsa flag.

The Akaal Takht sanctioned SRM (Sikh Code of Conduct) states that the cloth of the flag should either be Basanti (Xanthic) or Surmayee (greyish blue) in colour. In the 1960s and 1970s, according to one researcher, Nishan Sahib in Surmayee (greyish blue) were common in Malaysia.

How did it all began? Excerpt from the interview with Pritpal Singh:

“Well, suddenly this topic of Guru Nanak Aagmn Purb was being discussed quite freely by our local religious leaders. There were making news in publications from Sikh religious bodies abroad and also in the Indian press. So I became quite interested, read quite a bit. Locally discussions were ongoing.

“I gave it a bit more thought. I am not an IT literate, but decided to go to the SGPC [Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee] website and others as well. I was taken aback and quite surprised to learn that even the main religious bodies, including the SGPC, confirmed the date of birth of Guru Nanak on 14th April 1469 (Some mention as April 15th).

“We’ve always been celebrating Guru Nanak’s birthday in October or November. This to me was ridiculous and did not make sense, unless there is some hidden agenda or some other ulterior motive.

“Guru Nanak is our Father and founder of Sikhi. And here are, not even celebrating his birthday on the actual date of his birth. How silly it sounds! Our own birthdays we celebrate promptly on the date.

“A few more discussions; I learnt that our (local) main religious organisations like the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council (MGC), Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia (SNSM) and Khalsa DIwan Malaysia (KDM) could not and were not at the liberty to alter Guru Nanak’s birthday celebrations date other than the date fixed by Akal Takht and SGPC. Their hands were tied as these were bodies adherent to the Sikh Rehat Maryada (SRM) and Mattas (resolutions) passed by Akal Takht.

“Then, I thought, yes, let’s not blame the MGC, SNSM and KDM. They were restricted (even if personally they had different opinions). Why not we, as Gurdwara Parbandhaks (caretakers), do something. It was pretty straight forward, not breaking any Maryada. At that point, some gurdwaras in UK and elsewhere had decided to celebrate Guru Nanaks birthday on the 14th April.

“So, I called for a meeting of the Gurdwara Sahib Kangar exco (executive committee) sometime in early March 2019. Among those who attended were the Late Dato Karam Singh, Jagjit Singh, Dr Manmohan Singh and Avtar Singh. I explained the above to them. They were very receptive and agreed with me to have our next Guru Nanak Aagmn Purb and Vasakhi simultaneously on 14th April 2019. This proposal was brought to the attention of the Sanggat and was unanimously accepted. And then it was promptly implemented. Sanggat was very receptive to this move and we then celebrated our first Guru Nanak Aagmn Purb and Vasakhi celebration with pomp.

“There were no concerns whatsoever in making this decision because everyone thought this was very logical and proper thing to do; we understood the problems faced by MGC, SNSM and KDM. We faced no such problems or restrictions.”

RELATED STORY:

Seremban to celebrate Guru Nanak’s birthday on Vaisakhi, first (major) gurdwara in Southeast Asia (Asia Samachar, 11 April 2024)

ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. You can leave your comments at our website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We will delete comments we deem offensive or potentially libelous. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here