Gurbachan Singh
Baba Gurbachan Singh was the leader of the Sant Nirankari sect,[1] considered to be heterodox by mainstream Sikh.[2] He was declared Satguru by his predecessor Baba Avtar Singh in 1962.
He should not be confused with Gurbachan Singh Manochahal.
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[edit] Events of 1978-1980
In 1978, the Nirankari mission[3] from Delhi and other parts of the Indian sub-continent gathered a congregation at Amritsar. A few orthodox Sikhs of Akhand Kirtani Jatha and Damdami Taksal marched from the Darbar Sahib to protest Nirankari congregation, who they considered heterodox. In the resulting violence, 13 individuals including Jatha leader Bhai Fauja Singh were killed, while Sixty four followers of the Nirankari mission were arrested.[4]
On April 13, 1978 detained members of Nirankari sect were released, after formal charges against them were rejected by the session-Judge of Karnal, who stated in his judgement "The case of the prosecution was intrinsically wrong. It was all frame-up and after thought."
On 25 September 1978, Gurbachan Singh arrived in Kanpur. A group of protesters arrived at the Nirankari Bhawan to protest his presence [5] On 28 September 1978, anticipating fresh trouble, the Punjab Government barred Nirankari Chief Gurbachan Singh from entering Punjab for six months. The Supreme Court later revoked the ban.
On October 6, 1978, a Hukumnama by the Jathedar of Akal Takht was issued, calling upon Sikhs to socially boycott the Nirankaris.
In 1980, a Ranjit Singh, a member of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha managed to obtain employment at the Nirankari headquarters in Delhi as a carpenter. On the evening of April 24, 1980, he waited with an automatic rifle in a room of the guest house. Ranjit Singh shot Gurbachan Singh through a window when he returned from a public function at about 11pm. Ranjit Singh managed to escape.
[edit] Aftermath
The First Information Report named twenty people for the murder, including several known associates of Bhindranwale, who was also charged with conspiracy to murder.[6]
Ranjit Singh surrendered in 1983, and was in jail for 13 years. In 1990, while still in Tihar Jail, he was named the Akal Takht Jathedar,[7] and took over the post when he was released in 1996.
According to a Hindustan Times report, Ranjit Singh said about the murder: "I have no regrets. I did it for the Panth (Nation).[8]"
In 1997, the Delhi High Court upheld his conviction and cancelled bail. Ranjit Singh refused to surrender. The government quickly ordered a remission of the remaining part of his sentence to avoid a confrontation.[9][10]
[edit] Successor
Gurbachan Singh is succeeded by Hardev Singh .
[edit] References
- ^ "SNM History - Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji". Sant Nirankari Mission. Delhi, India: Sant Nirankari Mandal (Regd.). http://www.nirankari.com/history/hist4.htm. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- ^ Pritpal Singh Bindra (August 30, 2009). "Nirankaris and Sant (Neo-)Nirankaris". Essays On Sikhism. http://bindra.net/s-022.html. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ "Articles, Poems and Plays - Montreal Branch". Sant Nirankari Mission. Delhi, India: Sant Nirankari Mandal (Regd.). http://www.nirankari.com/montreal/articles.html. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ^ "Punjab: The Knights of Falsehood -- Psalms of Terror". South Asia Terrorism Portal. New Delhi: Institute for Conflict Management. December 31, 2001. http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/publication/nightsoffalsehood/falsehood4.htm. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ "Sikh History:Kanpur Massacre 1978". Gateway to Sikhism. http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/historical-events/sikh-history-kanpur-massacre-1978.html. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ Puneet Singh Lamba (June 6, 2004). "Biographies - Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale: Five Myths". Toronto, Ontario: The Sikh Times. OCLC 284842558. Archived from the original on July 5, 2010. http://www.sikhtimes.com/bios_060604a.html. Retrieved December 13, 2010. "After the assassination of the Nirankari leader Gurbachan Singh on April 24, 1980, Bhindranwale is universally acknowledged to have remarked that if he ever met Ranjit Singh, the suspected killer, he would weigh him in gold (i.e. reward him with his weight in gold)."
- ^ India Today The Nation [Newnotes] (October 20, 1997). "Chandigarh: Brittle Peace". India Today (New Delhi: India Today Group). ISSN 0254-8399. OCLC 2675526. http://www.india-today.com/itoday/20101997/newsnot.html#peace. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ Thapar, Vishal (February 14, 1999). "Sikh politics at a key turn". Hindustan Times (New Delhi: HT Media Ltd). OCLC 232114063. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070311010926/http://www.media-watch.org/articles/0299/307.html. Retrieved December 13, 2010. "Fundamentalism comes easy to Bhai Ranjit Singh"
- ^ Ranjit Singh vs State, 1997 VAD Delhi 689, 69 (1997) DLT 188 (Delhi High Court 3 October 1997) (“(1) This is an appeal by the appellant Ranjit Singh under Sub-section 2 of Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, against conviction by judgment dated 26th March, 1993 and order of sentence dated 27th March, 1993, passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi, in Sessions Case No. 33 of 1984.”).
- ^ Frontline (November 15–28, 1997). "A Jathedar is free". Frontline (Chennai, Madras, India: Kasturi and Sons Ltd) 14 (23). ISSN 0970-1710. OCLC 12086614. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1423/14231220.htm. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
