Sunday, May 12, 2024 | Today's Newsletter | Login
Sikh Holy Book may be printed in Surrey, US says Amritsar
In a first, the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, has given a go-ahead to publish the holy book of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib, outside India. To date, the holy book has been published only from Amritsar with some copies being printed in Delhi.
The printing unit is most likely to come up in either the United States or Canada, reported the Indian Express.
The Gurdwara Committee of Charlotte city in New Carolina in USA had offered 2.5 acres of land and the Satnam Education Society of Surrey in BC, too, had offered 16.5 acres of land to SGPC to put up printing units to print copies of the holy book.
“The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has been offered land in USA by Sikh businessman Didar Singh Bains to install a printing press there for printing the Guru Granth Sahib. If Canadian Sikhs want a similar facility put up in their country, they can talk to the SGPC. As there is a good road network between the US and Canada, it should not be a problem if the printing press is established either in the US or in Canada,” Akal Takht Jathedar (High Priest) Giani Gurbachan Singh told The Sunday Standard.
Sources said the various managements of gurdwaras in Canada have sent a letter to the Akal Takht and SGPC requesting that printing of Guru Grant Sahib be allowed in North America.
“There are many requests from Sikhs settled in other countries for setting up a printing press for publishing the holy book. This decision was taken at a meeting of the five high priests that a printing press can be set up abroad. But the printing should be done with full Guru Maryada,” Giani Gurbachan Singh added.
The Guru Granth Sahib is the central religious text of Sikhism, considered by Sikhs to be their eleventh Guru and the final sovereign authority of the religion after the passing away of their 10th leader Guru Gobind Singhji.
In 2011, 450 copies of the holy book were airlifted to Italy, each copy kept separately on the plane’s seats to maintain the sanctity of the Granth. In 2004, a plane-load of copies was flown from Amritsar to Canada for placing them in gurdwaras across the region.
Leave a comment
