Controversial DDT Challenged Sikh Rehet Maryada. And Hukamnama Response From Akal Takht

[Harkiran Kaur]

I read in the news about Taksalis chellenging Akal Takht on the Sikh Rehet Maryada making claims SRM was only ever a draft and never approved. And asking for proof.
That story is here:

Damdami Taksal raises question mark on Sikh Rehat Maryada - Times of India

What I am looking for is the Hukamnama response (in English) from Akal Takht that was issued stating that Sikh Rehet Maryada is indeed the accepted RM and that it had been approved long ago and is to be seen as the official RM of Akal Takht / Sikhism. (Though they did put in there something about its up to splinter groups like DDT / Deras etc if they want to follow their own RM but that theirs is not to be seen as the accepted one). Basically that Hukamnama makes it clear now beyond all doubt, that Damdami Taksal and other sects are not following the panthic rehet maryada and are openly going against Akal Takht. It should stop all bickering that I have come across where supposed Singhs are putting down the SRM so much that they feel they have to put "so called" Sikh Rehet Maryada every time they even type the words! Using a prefix like "so called" is outright disrespect and belligerence. I am hoping this Hukamnama puts this to rest!

Can anyone find and post that hukamnama that was issued please??? Since I can only search in English, I am not finding it. If someone can find it, and post the translation into English I would be appreciative! Thanks!

 

[Seeker2013]

I looked up the article. The news is of 1936 I guess !!
like seriously after decades, now they're speaking ?
what were they doing all this while ? or am I missing something

either way, it feels like things nowadays are not what they appear. Maybe there are insidious forces at work here as well (RSS? )
Anyways nowadays they have a tilak-wearing , semi-hindu semi-sikh leader at Hazur sahib takht
Now state govt is interfering in religious state affairs of sikhs by amending hazur sahib gurdwara act

They so desperately wanna assimilate sikhi into hindu ASAP

 

[Harkiran Kaur]

It's not so much that they have their own RM that urks me, but it's the outright blatant disrespect for the RM that IS the Akal Takht accepted one that makes me upset.

Some people try to say that Taksalis just 'add to' the SRM and that 'adding' to something is not bad...

But this is not true... SRM gives equality to all humans.... including women. This includes ALL seva including seva as Panj Pyaras.

Damdami Taksal discriminate against women (because they say we are impure) by restricting women from nearly all seva. (All prominent seva anyway. I think they allow langar seva for women, but Granthi, Kirtani / Raagis, participating in Akhand Paaths, and of course, they would never entertain women doing seva as Panj Pyaras. Their outright thought is: Women are not allowed. This is outright discrimination and is going directly against SRM, not adding to it. They are keeping women from all the main leadership roles and roles as authority in spiritual teaching. They are relegating women to the stereotypical role that women are only good for menial work like in the kitchen. What kind of message does this send to our youth? I'll give you a hint, there are young taksalis / those who gravitate to taksal ideology that think women are a lower status to men, that women should even mathatek to their husbands because their husbands are a higher status over them (and hence deserve more respect), that female body is a 'downgrade' to a male body (punishment for past karma?) etc. It's really really sad!

SRM outright says women can be Panj Pyaras, yet Taksalis outright have sexist rule in their RM saying women are not allowed (holding grudge because "no woman gave her head that day"). The implication of this, is that women are spiritually lower status than males, because if you look at the practical outcome, it's that women must rely on men for their spiritual progression (or progression in the faith) while men do not have to rely on women. If women can only take amrit from males... it makes the statement that females are lesser in eyes of our Creator. This is no different than Christianity etc making outright statement that Eve was only made as a servant to Adam and therefore women are under male authority and lesser on the spiritual totem pole. Most Christian denominations do not allow women to have any leadership role (or "usurp" authority from the men) women are to be obedient and submissive. And DDT thinks this same way. In fact their RM actually outright tells Singhs to view their wives as their 'faithful follower' while the Singhni is told to view her husband as her 'God' (Parmeshwar). This is not Sikhi is it????

They also keep women off tabiya because menstruating women are seen as impure - the wording in their own RM says "during menstruation" but since they can't go checking all women for that time of the month (and they don't trust us) they just keep all women from kirtan and sitting on tabiya including akhand paaths too. And even if they did allow women when it was not that time of the month, most women would not want to advertise whether or not they are on their period anyway and would likely just refrain from seva so they wouldn't have to publicly claim "hey I am not bleeding right now, so I am ok to do seva". It's just degrading no matter how you look at it! And besides, this also goes against SRM which I think condemns Hindu ideology like sootak.

They can enforce whatever they want in their own deras (and people have choice to go there or not)
but now with this hukamnama that clarified everything, they can no longer blatantly disrespect the Sikh Rehet Maryada. They can no longer make frivolous claims that it was never accepted by the panth and installed by Akal Takht as the panthic RM. Those claims should now be put to rest!