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India NO WOMEN Nominated Or Elected To SGPC?

Jan 6, 2005
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NO WOMEN nominated or elected to SGPC

Punjab Newsline Network
Tuesday, 16 November 2010

By Jagmohan Singh

AMRITSAR:On being Nominted by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, the General house of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) on Tuesday re-elected Avtar Singh Makkar as President for successive sixth term.

Makkar was first time elected SGPC president in 2005. He is the second incumbent to occupy the top seat of Sikh religious bodyso long after late Gurcharan Singh Tohra who had remained Chief of SGPC for 27 terms.

Makkar was elected president through secret peaceful ballot. He secured 133 votes out of 156 polled votes. Whereas defeated candidate Harbhajan Singh was polled 23 votes.

Earlier the name of Makkar was proposed by SGPC General Secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, SGPC member of SAD group Rajinder Singh Mehta seconded his name.

As soon as Makkar's name was proposed, the opposition members aligned to splinter Akali groups proposed the name of Harbhajan Singh that led the house to secret ballot voting.

The SGPC House has a total of 190 members, including 170 elected members, 15 nominated members and five Jathedars of different Takhst. All of them, except Jathedars, have voting rights. Nevertheless to say eleven SGPC members, mostly from the SAD, have passed away in the last few years, but it was little impact on the poll outcome for in favour of SAD.

The executives committee members were elected unanimously included senior vice president Raghujit Singh Virk, Junior vice president Kewal Singh Badal and General Secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur.

Eleven executive members elected were Rajinder Singh Mehta, Dayal Singh, Nirwail Singh, Rampal Singh, Surjit Singh, Karnail Singh Panjoli, Suba Singh Dabwali, Mohan Singh, Gurbachan Singh, Mangal Singh Maharashtra and Harbhjan Singh.

The SGPC has not considered any woman member for nomination in executive body though in the past it remained a practice to included atleast one woman member.
 
source: http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/avtar-singh-makkar-re-elected-sgpc-president-sixth-term/26105
 

Ishna

Writer
SPNer
May 9, 2006
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Re: NO WOMEN nominated or elected to SGPC

Interesting they have included women in the past.

When the standard is women can't participate in kirtan or seva at Golden Temple it seems fitting to carry this into the governing body.

Or maybe the women there don't care for this kind of politics.

Ishna
 

sunmukh

(Previously Himmat Singh)
SPNer
Feb 19, 2010
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Re: NO WOMEN nominated or elected to SGPC

Ek OnKaar Sat Naam

Interesting they have included women in the past.

When the standard is women can't participate in kirtan or seva at Golden Temple it seems fitting to carry this into the governing body.

Or maybe the women there don't care for this kind of politics.

Ishna

Gurfateh

Ishna ji, even if women did care, and I expect many do, I doubt if they would have made it through elections. It will be a long time before that happens.
What people say and what people do is very often quite different, and this runs throughout society, whether the society is state based, religious, business or political. Most have corrupt elements, and elements susceptible to corruption, which together sustain power with the elements that provide most gain to them. When there is any chance of loss of power the shutters will come down, and when the danger is passed the proclamations of equality and fairness to all will resound again. This is life in action. Hukam.

Sat Sri Akal
 
Jan 6, 2005
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3,762
Metro-Vancouver, B.C., Canada
SGPC slips on women quota resolution
Gives them a miss in executive committee poll

G S Paul
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 17
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which had resolved to reserve 33 per cent seats for women and which was the launching platform of the Nanhi Chhan campaign for women rights, has invited the ire of women for ignoring them while finalising the candidates for the executive committee of the Shiromani committee yesterday.


Contrary to its tradition, this time it was an “all-men show”. All four posts of office-bearers as well as 11 seats of executive members were filled by men only, whereas in the last SGPC executive committee, there were two women members - Bhajan Kaur Dograwala and Ravinder Kaur.

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar and SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema cited “political compulsions” for their failure to reserve seats for women this time.

It is learnt that the name of Bhajan Kaur figured in the list, but it was withdrawn at the eleventh hour.

“We had one woman candidate on the list but her name had to be withdrawn after opposition members’ demand for including at least two members from their side got the approval of the general house,” he said.

Though considered apolitical, the SGPC elections are always fought on political lines. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the ruling party in Punjab, had backed Avtar Singh Makkar for the coveted post.

“At least one seat should have been given to a woman member, no matter what the political compulsions were,” said Kiranjot Kaur, an SGPC member.
The Nanhi Chhan campaign was on top of the agenda of the SAD and it had resolved to reserve 33 per cent seats for women in the Shiromani committee.

Backed by the SAD, Bibi Jagir Kaur was elected the first woman SGPC president in 1999. Kiranjot Kaur was elected the general secretary. She held the post for two terms, besides being the executive member for four years. Bhajan Kaur Dograwala was an executive member for the past three years. However, this time women members have been ignored.

source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101118/punjab.htm#1
 

Seeker9

Cleverness is not wisdom
SPNer
May 2, 2010
652
980
UK
Re: NO WOMEN nominated or elected to SGPC

Interesting they have included women in the past.

When the standard is women can't participate in kirtan or seva at Golden Temple it seems fitting to carry this into the governing body.

Or maybe the women there don't care for this kind of politics.

Ishna

This is sad indeed...why has this been allowed to continue as "the standard" and what is the reasoning behind it?
 

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