Sikh body SGPC turns 100, celebrates in low-key manner

Amritsar, Nov 15 : The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which manages Sikh shrines and runs a ‘langar’ (free community kitchen) for hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis at different gurdwaras, on Sunday celebrated its centenary in a low-key manner owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
The main function to mark the centenary was organised at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, and Manji Sahib in Darbar Sahib complext here.
The SGPC was constituted on November 15, 1920, and was notified through a Sikh Gurdwara Act in 1925 by the then British government.
Its present President Gobind Singh Longowal told the media that the SGPC’s glorious history would be showcased through documentaries and books. He said that its executive committee has decided that 100 years of Nankana Sahib Shaheedi Saka would be observed in February next year.
The SGPC was raised to wrest the control of Sikh shrines from ‘mahants’ and priests. The prominent gurdwaras included the Golden Temple.
In its initial years, the SGPC also fought against untouchability and the caste system.