In the 12th and final Hijacking of Sikhi video series, KARMINDER SINGH DHILLON looks at the new generation of Sikh reformers. He examines the challenges they face, including excommunication
By Karminder Singh Dhillon | Opinion |
The Singh Sabha, Panchkandi, Intellectual, Missionary Parcharak groups thus fear that the achievements that were obtained through the Sikh Reht Maryada (SRM) are in serious danger. These groups thus dedicated their parchar towards bringing about an awakening within Sikhs and Sikhi — the awakening that was initiated by the Pioneers in the form of Professor Gurmukh Singh, Giani Ditt Singh, Karam Singh Historian and Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha.
In short, these Sikhs have decided to pick up where the pioneers of the Singh Sabha Reform Movement left off. Many of them face daunting and unnerving challenges such as excommunication; violence and threats of violence; intimidation; and attempts to prevent their messages from reaching the Sikhs in general — either through Gurdwara stages or the social media.
PROF SAHEB SINGH (1892 — 1977)
Saheb Singh (1892-1977), a professor of Sanskrit at Guru Nanak Khalsa College, and later Principal of Shaheed Missionary College and Gurmat College played a major role in ridding Gurbani of Snatan, Vedic and Yogic influence that the Hijackers of Sikhi had injected into the Sikh psyche. In 1932 he authored ae historic book titled Gurbani Vyakaran (Gurbani Grammar), bringing into light a hitherto undiscovered fact that Gurbani was composed in accordance with a grammar and syntax that allowed for its true meanings to be known.
In 1965 he authored a ten volume Punjabi translation of the SGGS that relied on Gurbani Grammar instead of the Snatan, Vedic and Yogic interpretations that the nirmlas had done in their Fareedkoti Teeka. He also authored 50 other books — the combined effect of which was to virtually decimate the view of the nirmlas that the SGGS was the fifth Veyd. He faced tremendous opposition from the nirmlas, dera and taksali sants and babas who attempted to rubbish his basic claim that Gurbani had a grammar and syntax. What was perhaps most difficult for these groups to accept was that a Hindu convert (Prof Sahib Singh was born Nathu Ram, he adopted Sikhi as a young adult) would attempt to provide a separate identity to Gurbani and its messages.
GYANI BHAG SINGH AMBALA
Gyani Bhag Singh Ambala became the first Sikh intellectual, parcharak and writer to expose the reality of the Bachitar Natak granth. In 1976 he wrote and published a well-researched and documented book titled Dasam Granth Darpan in which he argued that none of the contents of that granth were composed by Guru Gobind Singh. He provided the original sources where the contents had been lifted from — mainly old Snatan texts such as Markandey Puran, Vishnu Puran, Sahansar Maal etc.
The narratives of Hemkunt, Deh Shiva, Miter Pyare Nu, Dhust Daman (name of Guru Gobind Singh in his past life) and Chaupai were exposed as fabrications aimed at corrupting, denigrating and debasing both the tenth master and his spirituality.
His biggest exposure was the 600 pages of sordid and explicit sexual narratives under the heading of Triya Chriter contained within the Dasam granth. For the first time, the Sikh world was told that woman degrading sexual content in the form of tales of debauchery described in explicit detail involving sexual acts between kings and their lovers, married women and _ extramarital relations, prostitutes, incest and acts with animals filled 600 pages of the Dasam granth within a section termed Chitro Pakhyaan ~ the details and examples of which are too explicit to be provided on any sane platform.
Gyani Bhag Singh had taken on the number one Sikh preacher at that time – nirmla Sant Singh Maskeen on the issue of Dasam granth. At a function in Delhi, Bhag Singh raised Maskeen’s ire by placing one page of the explicit Chitro Pakhyan in front of Maskeen and daring him to explain it to the sangat. Ambala had also left Maskeen speechless in an open debate. Maskeen’s untenable position at that time was that Guru Gobind Singh authored the Dasam granth. Nirmla Maskeen had thus become Ambala’s main adversary.
Maskeen engineered the excommunication of Gyani Bhag Singh which was handed down on the 5 July 1977 by the jathedars of Akal Takhat. Maskeen then promised Ambala that he would get the excommunication order lifted if the latter would provide a written apology. The apology was
GYANI GURBAKSH SINGH KALA AFGANA
Gyani Gurbaksh Singh Kala Afgana (1922 — 2019) stands amongst the most enlightened, awakened and dedicated Sikhs who devoted his entire life towards. detailing and exposing, in excruciating detail – the Hijackers and Hijacking of Sikhi – that went on for some 200 years. His research and depth of understanding of Gurbani is unmatched. He captured the entire narrative of the distortion and corruption of Sikhi at the hands of the udasis, nirmlas and dera and taksali sants in a massive twelve volume expose’ aptly titled Bipran Ki Reet Ton Sach Da Marg. The final volume is devoted exclusively towards exposing the deception that is the Bachitar Natak (Dasam granth).
When in 1998 the then Akal Takhat jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti published the previously banned and blasphemous book titled Gurbilas Patshai 6, Gurbaksh Singh took on him in a fervor that was unprecedented. Kala Afghana published, first in 2001, a book titled Gurbilas Patshai 6: Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Roop Satguru Nanak Sahib Ji Day Parkh-Darbar Vich. (Gurbilas Patshahi 6 Examined in the Court of Guru Nanak’s Benchmark as Stipulated in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib); and in 2003 a second book titled Gurbani Di Kasvati Tay Gurbilas Patshahi 6 (Gurbilas Patshahi 6 on the Benchmark of Gurbani). He refuted each and every blasphemous and fake narrative about the Sikh Gurus that were contained within the rewritten book of Vedanti. His iron clad arguments were such because they were based on the truths of Gurbani and illustrated amply with Gurbani verses.
The original Gurbilas was written jointly by two Nirmlas Gurmukh Singh and Darbara Singh during the period 1830-1840. They did not put their names to it. Prior to Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha’s expose’ regarding its true authorship, the nirmlas had spread the lie that an individual by the name of Sohan Kavi had authored it. It is clear that the original Gurbilas authors harbored anti-Sikh and anti-Gurmat agendas. The book purported to recount the life of Guru Hargobind, the Sixth Guru with ample narratives of the third through the ninth Gurus. Its anti-gurmat messages and anti-Gurbani messages and in particular its overt brahmanical tones were clearly evident. The Sikh panth, in 1920 decided that Gurbilas should not be preached in Sikh Gurdwaras. It remained banned till 1998, when the Dhram Parchar Committee of SGPC (of all institutions!) republished the book under the authorship of Akal Takhat jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti (of all persons) and Dr Amarjeet Singh.
In what appeared to be a concerted effort to have the book accepted by the Sikh masses, this republished version carried acknowledgments from the Who’s Who of Sikhs such as the SGPC chief Tohra, the jathedars and granthis of the takhats, preachers such as nirmla parcharak Sant Singh Maskeen, Jaswant Singh Parwana, and writers such as Joginder Singh Talwara.
Kala Afghana diligently and systematically exposed the folly of not just Gurbilas 6, but the agenda behind its republication. Kala Afgana’s books took on each story of Gurbilas and analyzed it on the touch stone (Kasvati) of Gurbani. He managed to establish that virtually every story in Gurbilas 6 was a fabrication. The result was that in October 2000, the SGPC banned the book (its own book, really) a second time. Kala Afgana’s suggestion that the republication of Gurbilas was a conspiracy involving the highest echelons of the Sikh establishment including the Akal Takhat which had been deeply infiltrated by dera thought was proven in the fact that no action was taken against any of the 15 prominent parcharaks, kathakars and leaders of Sikh institutions that wrote glowing commentaries in praise of both the contents of the blasphemous book as well as of the two editors.
Equally ironical was the fact that while one author escaped any form of sanction, the other framed charges against Kala Afgana over books that had been published and distributed decades ago. Vedanti refused to allow Afgana an opportunity to defend himself; and then sat in judgement over those same charges that led to his excommunication.
Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti thus made sure that Kala Afgana paid the price for the gumption to expose him. Vedanti laid out the grounds for Afgana’s excommunication but turned down his request for his defense to be conveyed via video conferencing from Canada where Afgana was a resident. Vedanti ruled that teleconferencing was against the maryada. Afgana’s request for more time to appear in person was turned down as well and he was excommunicated in abstentia from the Sikh Panth in June of 2003.
The ex-communication of Kala Afgana speaks volumes of spiritual decay that has crept into our institutions as a result of the infiltration of the hijackers into the inner sanctums of Sikhi. One wonders if his enlightened mind, awakened conscience and dedicated spirit; his voluminous research and writing on Gurbani and Sikhi matters; and the devotion of his passion towards correcting the wrongs within Sikh thought and practices became the reason and cause of his punishment. Indeed, if excommunication is the reward for such selflessness, then what really is the future of the Sikhi of Guru Nanak.
(Extracted from the writer’s book The Hijacking of Sikhi, published in 2020. Other personalities covered in this chapter were Singh Sabha International California secretary-general Hardev Singh Shergill, preacher and author Inder Singh Ghagga and his daughter Navdeep Kaur, Akal Takht former jathedar Prof Darshan Singh Khasa, Rozana Spokeman editor-in-chief Joginder Singh, Nanakshahi calendar creator Pal Singh Pureval, Sikh historian and writer Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, Radio Virsa founder Harnek Singh Neki and Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadreanwalla]
Sikh thinker, writer and parcharak Karminder Singh Dhillon, PhD (Boston), is a retired Malaysian civil servant. He is the joint-editor of The Sikh Bulletin and author of The Hijacking of Sikhi. He can be contacted at dhillon99@gmail.com.
LINKS TO VIDEOS AND LECTURE NOTES FOR ‘THE HIJACKING OF SIKHI’
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 1 (The Plot): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 2 (Udasis): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 3 (Udasis): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 4 (Nirmlas): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 5 (Nirmlas): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 6 (Nirmlas – Sooraj Parkash): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 7 (Distorting Gurbani: The Nirmalas): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 8 (Dera Sants & Taksali Babas): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 9 (The Hijacked Turn into Hijackers / Stockholm Syndrome): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 10 (Dasam Granth: The weapon of mass control): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 11 (Freeing Sikhi from the Hijackers: The SRM): Video | Notes
Hijacking of Sikhi – Part 12 (The Battle Continues Into 21st Century): Video | Notes
RELATED STORY:
Hijacking Sikhi (Asia Samachar, 19 Dec 2020)
Sikhi Concepts: Complete links to videos and lecture notes (Asia Samachar, 3 July 2021)
The Hijacking of Sikhi: After releasing book, Dr Karminder starts 12-part video series (Asia Samachar, 18 July 2021)
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