Photo Source: Babushahi Bureau
MP Satnam Sandhu raises issue of missing Sikh manuscripts and handwritten holy Saroops and Birs during Operation Bluestar in 1984 in Parliament
Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu demands restoration of confiscated rare Sikh manuscripts and handwritten holy Saroops and Birs from Sikh Reference Library
Babushahi Bureau
New Delhi, December 6, 2024:Rajya Sabha Member, Satnam Singh Sandhu, on Thursday raised the issue of Sikh manuscripts and handwritten holy Saroops and Birs missing from the Sikh Reference Library in Sri Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar since Operation Bluestar in January 1984.
Raising the issue in the House through ‘Special Mention’ during the on-going Winter Session of Parliament today, Sandhu said the then Congress government damaged the historical heritage of Sikh Reference Library during the Operation Bluestar at Sri Harmandir Sahib forty years back.
He said the library had a vast religious and literary treasure including rare writings and Sikh literature written by Sikh Gurus, saints and devotees, handwritten copies of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, which were damaged or confiscated during the attack by the security agencies.
The Rajya Sabha Member said according to the media reports and the SGPC, the library had 12,613 rare books and 512 manuscripts.He said since 1984, major Sikh bodies, including the SGPC, have been raising this issue, but confusion still persists.
MP Sandhu demanded clarity be given on the issue raised so that there is no confusion and also demanded restoration of all the missing manuscripts, books in their original form back to the Sikh Reference Library at Sri Harmandir Sahib.
While connecting the issue of Sikh Reference Library to Nalanda University, Sandhu said in the 13th century Persian historian Manhaj al-Siraj wrote about the attack of Batyar Khalji on Nalanda University, “When Nalanda was burnt, a fairy tradition of knowledge was also burnt to ashes, which guided the entire humanity.”
He said similarly damage was caused to the historical heritage of Sikh Reference Library during the attack on Shri Harmandir Sahib which led to destruction of many vast religious and literary treasures including the rare writings and Sikh literature written by Sikh Gurus, saints and devotees, handwritten copies of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
Ends