New Delhi\/ October 16, 2025
\nDelhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) President S. Harmeet Singh Kalka has expressed deep concerns over attempts to divide the community\u2019s collective observance of the 350th Martyrdom day (Shaheedi Purab) of the Ninth Guru Sahib Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji.
\nHe stated that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Sri Amritsar Sahib, has been organizing a series of religious programs across India since earlier this year, which will continue through November 2025. However, it is unfortunate that, S. Paramjit Singh Sarna has begun conducting separate programs in Delhi\u2014mirroring the divisive practices that occurred when he previously headed the DSGMC\u2014by organizing Gurpurabs on double dates and creating confusion among the Sangat.
\nS. Kalka highlighted that a Nagar Kirtan initiated by the SGPC from Dubri Sahib was scheduled to arrive in Delhi as part of the ongoing commemorations. Yet, S. Sarna has unilaterally started separate initiatives in Delhi without coordination or consultation with either the SGPC President or the DSGMC, disrupting the unity of the celebrations.
\nThe DSGMC President shared that, despite advertisements being circulated for over a week regarding the Delhi leg of the Nagar Kirtan and related programs scheduled for October 24 at Gurdwara Nanak Piao Sahib and October 25 at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, no official communication, accommodation request, or coordination was received from the SGPC or event organizers until recently.
\nTaking initiative, S. Kalka said that he personally contacted SGPC President S. Harjinder Singh Dhami, who subsequently shared details of logistical requirements and expressed appreciation for DSGMC\u2019s willingness to cooperate.
\nHowever, S. Kalka condemned the decision to hold a key commemorative seminar titled \u201cGuru Tegh Bahadur \u2013 Hind di Chadar\u201d on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at the Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi\u2014a venue known for serving alcohol and non-vegetarian food during different events. He described this as highly inappropriate for a sacred religious commemoration, urging SGPC President S. Dhami to reconsider the choice of venue immediately.
\nHe emphasized that the DSGMC has many venues which ar suitable for religious event, including auditoriums in its schools and colleges such as Khalsa College and Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, which could host the event in a dignified and respectful setting at no cost.
\nS. Kalka further noted internal dissent within SGPC\u2019s Delhi coordination, mentioning that former DSGMC President S. Manjit Singh GK had opposed the selection of the India Habitat Centre but failed to prevent it. \u201cMere opposition is not enough,\u201d Kalka remarked. \u201cIt was your duty to ensure Guru Sahib\u2019s Shaheedi Gurpurab is not observed in a venue where alcohol is consumed.\u201d
\nAdditionally, he expressed concern that Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President S. Sukhbir Singh Badal, a political entity with no constitutional role or a role in the SGPC has been listed as the keynote speaker, while SGPC President Dhami\u2019s name appeared only later in the program. \u201cDoes this mean political figures now rank above the Jathedar of Akal Takht Sahib?\u201d he questioned.
\nS. Kalka appealed once again to S. Harjinder Singh Dhami to uphold the sanctity of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib\u2019s 350th Martyrdom Anniversary by relocating the seminar venue from the India Habitat Centre to a more appropriate religious or educational institution. He reiterated DSGMC\u2019s commitment to provide full logistical and organizational support for all SGPC-led commemorations, stating, \u201cOur objective is unity and reverence, not division. Let us ensure that the Guru\u2019s sacred memory is honored in the spirit of humility and collective respect.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi\/ October 16, 2025 Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) President S. Harmeet Singh Kalka has expressed deep concerns over attempts to divide the community\u2019s collective observance of the 350th Martyrdom day (Shaheedi Purab) of the Ninth Guru Sahib Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji. He stated that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Sri […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":64421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","video":"","gallery":"","source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"1","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"footnotes":""},"categories":[9852,14176,20,16185],"tags":[40641,40640,40642,40483,40024],"class_list":["post-64419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking","category-cover-story","category-india","category-national","tag-350th-martyrdom-day","tag-dsgmc-president-s-harmeet-singh-kalka","tag-guru-tegh-bahadur-sahibs","tag-shiromani-gurdwara-parbandhak-committee-sgpc","tag-sri-amritsar-sahib"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/presskitaquat.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/presskitaquat.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/presskitaquat.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presskitaquat.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presskitaquat.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64419"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/presskitaquat.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64422,"href":"https:\/\/presskitaquat.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64419\/revisions\/64422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presskitaquat.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/presskitaquat.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presskitaquat.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/presskitaquat.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}