SGPC to display bullet-hit bir of Guru Granth Sahib at Golden Temple
: In a first, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Wednesday decided to display the bullethit holy saroop of Guru Granth Sahib that was installed in the sanctum sanctorum of Golden Temple during Operation Bluestar, for darshan at Akal Takht from June 3 to 5 in the run-up to the anniversary of the army action on June 6, 1984.
The bullet will also be put up for display along with the saroop. Announcing the decision taken during the SGPC executive committee meeting, its chief Bibi Jagir Kaur said: “The army action at the holiest Sikh shrine left deep wounds on the community’s psyche. It was a kind of genocide. They did not even spare Guru Granth Sahib. For the next three days, the saroop will be placed inside Shaheedi Asthan of Baba Gurbaksh Singh behind Akal Takht.”
Jagir Kaur got emotional while referring to the saroop that was hit by a bullet. “The Jews had been brutally annihilated by Hitler, but they got back on their feet with their courage and foresight. The Congress government at the Centre did the same with the Sikh community, but we could not fully retain our relics. We are sorry for that”, the SGPC chief said.
“We have gold sheets that were removed from Golden Temple during renovation. These have bullet marks too and will be put on display for the devotees. We will also properly preserve the bullet marks on buildings inside Sri Darbar Sahib complex,” she added
The SGPC, in February 2018, had announced to preserve the ‘bir’ (saroop) which suffered major damage on its cover and 290 “angs” (pages).
In reply to a query, she said the gallery of portraits being established in memory of those killed by the army during the action will be completed in a month. Work on the gallery has been on for four years and the kar sewa (voluntary service) is being carried out by Damdami Taksal, the Sikh seminary.
“A huge model of demolished Akal Takht building will also be placed inside the ‘Shaheedi Gallery’ that is being set up in the basement of the Bluestar memorial”, she added. “The work to preserve the Khazana Deori (entrance on the right side of Akal Takht), which received bullets during the Operation Bluestar, will also be started soon. The details of the Sikhs killed during the operation will also be collected,’ she said.