Former Akal Takht jathedar Prof Darshan Singh Ragi today refused to accept the pronouncement of the five Sikh high priests, who declared him ‘Tankhaiya’ (guilty of religious misconduct) on Saturday.
Speaking at his residence here, Ragi said, “The Sikh clergy had summoned me to the Akal Takht, and I went there with all humility. I sat at the Takht for over an hour and a half, but no one came to hear me out. They (the Sikh clergy) instead wanted me to meet them inside their office, but I refused as their personal office is not the Akal Takht. I wonder why they wanted the meeting to take place behind closed doors when I was ready to meet them in the open. I then left my written reply, along with files and CDs of the speech that I had made in the US, before the Guru Granth Sahib placed at the Takht and came back.”
“The ego of the Sikh clergy can be gauged from the fact that without reading the document that I placed before the Guru, they declared me Tankhaiya. I do not accept the verdict, as it has not come from the Akal Takht but from some people who think that they are above Guru Granth Sahib,” he added.
He made a veiled attack on Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, referring to him as the “master” of the priests. “It is clear that the ‘master’ of the Sikh clergy had already asked them to pronounce me guilty. Had they read my reply, they would have had to do a lot of explanation. So, they did not read it and took their decision.”
It was on Saturday that Prof Ragi, who remained the jathedar of the Akal Takht during the peak of militancy in Punjab, appeared before the Akal Takht to give his clarification on a controversial speech that he had made in USA. He had been summoned by the heads of five Sikh Takhts — Akal Takht Jathedar Gyani Gurbachan Singh, Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Gyani Balwant Singh Nandgarh, Takht Keshgarh Sahib Jathedar Gyani Tarlochan Singh, Takht Patna Sahib Jathedar Gyani Iqbal Singh and Takht Hazoor Sahib Jathedar Gyani Partap Singh.
On the contents of the reply that he had placed before the Guru Granth Sahib on Saturday, he reiterated that his speech was “just a clip”. “The Sikh clergy should listen to the entire speech, where I have said that a section of Sikh scholars was creating fictional tales about the tenth Sikh Guru Guru Gobind Singh, and stated an example. But after this example, I have said that all these tales are false,” he added.
On his references to the Dasam Granth, he said, “I have said this in the past as well that till the time Sikhs keep placing the so-called Dasam Granth alongside the Guru Granth Sahib, the damage to the sanctity of Sikhism and Sikh Gurus will continue.”
In a statement issued in Amritsar, he said, “All know that I submitted myself before the Takht as per the traditions, and presented my point-of-view in writing. Now they say they will not even open the letter or CDs. The panth should decided who is stubborn and egoistic, I or they?” he wrote in the open letter. “They have now set January 7 as the deadline for me to appear before them for the quantum of Tankhah (punishment), but I will stick to my stand,” the letter further read.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh, meanwhile, said, “He did not bother to appear before the jathedars. He will face a harsher punishment if he continues to be adamant.”
He claimed, “There is a deep-rooted conspiracy of constructing another Harmandar Sahib in Malwa, placing Bachiter Natika as rival to Guru Granth Sahib.”
