‘Patit’, and Indelibly Inked

‘Patit’, and indelibly inked

Amrita Chaudhry,Anju Agnihotri Chaba Posted: Sep 19, 2011 at 0045 hrs

Jalandhar Sikh men with trimmed beard & shorn hair find name in electoral rolls, vote with élan, Sehajdharis too exercise their franchise

Giving two hoots to a directive issued by the Gurdwara Election Commission (GEC) that only Keshdhari Sikhs (those with unshorn hair) can vote in the SGPC elections, a large number of `Patit Sikhs’ (those with trimmed beard and hair) were seen exercising their franchise across Punjab on Sunday. A number of women who have their eyebrows plucked, and are thus ineligible for voting, were seen casting votes.

It may be noted that the the GEC had warned that if any non Keshdhari Sikh was found voting in the elections, they would be arrested.

The warning, however, had little effect. A prominent person with trimmed beard who voted in the SGPC polls was Amarjit Amri, the brother of Shiromani Akali Dal’s Jalandhar unit president Gurcharan Singh Channi. Amri even showed the black indelible ink mark on his finger for the benefit of the media after casting his vote in a booth in Jalandhar city.

A visit to the polling booths in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawan Shahr districts revealed that Patit voters exercised their franchise without any fear.

“We are clear of heart. We are true followers of Sikhism so what if we have trimmed our beards,” a Patit Sikh asked at a booth in Government School, Kartarpur.

Such voters were also seen exercising their franchise in Bholath while in Hoshiarpur several men with close cropped hair were seen casting votes after tying a turban.

A presiding officer on the condition of anonymity said that they cannot stop those, who have their name in the voters’ list from exercising the franchise. It was duty of the GEC to revised the voters’ list to rectify the mistakes, he added.

Meanwhile, the elections passed off peacefully in Moga and Faridkot districts, where a large number of Sehajdhari Sikhs were seen casting their ballot freely.

The SAD(B), which has been against Sehajdhari Sikhs voting in SGPC polls, allegdly took the help of its young turks, who transported and even tied turbans on many of such Sehajdhari voters to help them cast their votes. The policemen on duty said that they could not stop this, as this was not a law and order situation and hence, not under their powers.

Meanwhile, while some tense moments were witnessed at Baddowal in Kishanpura and a few other villages in Moga district, no incidents of violence were reported.

Deputy Commissioner Ashok Singla said that Moga district has witnessed an overall poll percentage of 63.07 per cent.

At Faridkot district, youth from the ruling SAD(B) could be seen transporting voters to the polling booths on their SUVs. Some had also stationed themselves at the polling booths with turbans, which they tied on the Sehjahdahri candidates, said an eyewitness. S P S Sidhu, Faridkot SSP, however, claimed: “There is no report of any such incident.” The district, which has two seats, witnessed 52 per cent of polling.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/controversies/36987-patit-and-indelibly-inked.html

In related news, barring minor incidents of scuffles, polling passed off peacefully in border districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Tarn Taran. While the voter turnout was around 50 to 53 per cent in rural areas, the figure was 45 to 50 per cent in urban areas.

A scuffle broke out at Patti in Tarn Taran where Opposition leaders objected to the behaviour of presiding officer Mehar Singh.

In Gurdaspur’s Dalam village, a scuffle broke out when the two groups of the ruling SAD(B) clashed and the police had to intervene. A revolver was recovered from Meharban Singh, son of a SAD (Panch Pardhani) leader Baldev Singh Sirsa.

Tempers ran high at various places in Jandiala Guru, Ajnala, Amritsar-West SGPC constituencies as well.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36987

source:
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-n...-inked/848404/

 
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This is a mess, Soul_jyot ji!

Only one story above that you have posted gives the tip of the iceberg. There have been for more than 24 hours dozens of stories that are frustrating and not only about sehajdhari either. Sometimes I think it is a good thing that we have not been covering this event in depth. How depressing! Sant Samaj and sehajdhari: These two wings share more in objectives, than they have differences in philosophy. And a court that cannot decide whether the election should have been on or off, and who should be voting! Story after story with claims that irregularities have occurred.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36987

It is sad when SGPC, which was to be a most liberating institution, takes on the coloration of the common political adage. "The first priority of politics is not to govern. The first priority is to get elected. The second priority is to stay in power." Governance finds its way somewhere further down the list.

The thing I saw yesterday was surely a miscarriage of 'Democracy'. The situation would have been easy to swallow if the bogus voters were 'Sehajdharis', but they weren't. Most of them were Hindus, Christians and even Muslims, packed in tractors and brought to the election venue.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36987
It is surely a disgrace of the franchise, Shame on the vote-mongers.....

Ishna Ji,
It was not about 'more people' voting, it was intead the 'wrong people' voting. Moreover, the apex court hasn't allowed the non-keshadharis to vote, and when they voted, you can well imagine what a mockery of the democracy it was.

This is what I am talking about. There must be 50 stories just in my Google alerts over 2 days on exactly this point. And no one has raised an eyebrow... no one that is in official capacity to act as a watchdog. What happens next? Will there be challenges and an investigations? Or is the fox watching the chicken coop?

Nope, I don't know enough about this to be commenting!
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36987

From what I'm reading, it's so disheartening.

Its NOT disheartening....its NORMAL !!
Our Govt in POWER....and in danger of LOSING the enxt GE....is manufacturing hundreds of thosuands of instant voters out of ILLEGALS that entered the country...they are being "registered" under a so called "amnesty"..but they are told IF you promise to vite US..we will give you CITIZENSHIP !! HUNDREDS have been EXOSED..but the Govt , the Elkection Commsiiiosn's stock reply is always..computer glitch..human error..clericla mistake...and the illegal immigrants into voters continues...BADAL did the exact same thing...ANYONE can VOTE as long as its "BADAL"....for the opposition..even the Keshadharee amrtidharee CANNOT vote !!.
This is RAPE of DEMOCRACY....and shame on people who dont raise an eyebrow...

Gurfatehji

Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36987
It is a beautiful day here, looking out of my shop window, I can see the park opposite, dogs, children, people, all with innocence in their eyes, the sky looks enchanting, the grass looks lush and fresh, all given to us by the energy we call Lord.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=36987

Am I the only sikh who is not surprised or shocked? Frankly I could not care less about the SPGC. We have a book, a transcript of everything we need, We have a brain to read the book, We have inspirational heroes, we have our Gurus, We have wise sikhs that we trust and know to help us along, Could someone explain exactly we need a corrupt leader to lead a corrupt organisation,

thank you

Harry ji,

Guru Fateh.

You write:

Isn't it amazing how the wow and the awe factors that surround us are not only a breath of fresh air but help us cultivate inner peace?

Thanks for sharing the serenity of life you are witnessing which is bestowed upon us by Ik Ong Kaar- the Energy- The only Source of all there is.

You may not be the only person not surprised or shocked regarding the fraud being perpetuated by the SGPC and the connected Politicos who have been riding this gravy train for a long time but for me it is a great matter of concern.

As you rightfully said," We have a brain to read the book" and by book I presume you mean Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, our only Guru. In fact, all 3 Abrahamical religions falsely claim that they are the real people of book, but in fact Sikhs are the only people of The Book because we know who wrote when and what, unlike the Torah-(OT), The NT and the Koran.

So, we, as the people of The Book and as you said, "we have the brains to read it". I am sure you also mean to also study it and to practice what it tells us to do, then we should all be concerned with what is happening about the SGPC voting system because this entity rakes in millions of dollars for the sake of The Book. The Book tells us to fight for injustice on which Sikhi is based on.

All the news we have been reading shows how fraudulently and shamelessly things are being conducted which is a disgrace because it is being done by the people of The Book.

The money that comes in as donations in million is not for lining the pockets of those who manage it nor is it for the corrupt Politics to get elected but it is for those who can be helped.

It is not for to give a fish or two to those who are hungry but to make fisherman out of them so they are able to sustain themselves and hence flourish which will enable them to help others, just the way Guru Nanak did when his dad give him some money to start business.

Hence, we need a joint effort from all over the world where ever the people of The Book reside to get rid of the corruption and the corrupt, so all of us can live by The Book.

The collective outrage is justified and should be channeled to make Sikhi what it deserves to be and what The Book tells us it to be.

Tejwant Singh