Dhindsa
backs separate Sikh marriage act but
Badal appeared non-committal
Phagwara, December 16
(Express India)
Agencies
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa came out
in support of a separate 'Anand Karaj' (marriage) Act for the Sikhs,
while his party president and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh
Badal appeared non-committal on bringing a bill on the issue in
the state assembly.
Talking to newsmen here, Badal skirted the issue by saying that
the decision to introduce any bill in Punjab assembly would be taken
keeping the circumstances in view.
However, former Union Minister Dhindsa, who was sitting besides
him, said all Sikh MPs cutting across party lines had submitted
a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for enacting the Act
by amending the constitution.
He said for putting a check on certain unscrupulous NRI bridegrooms,
who are leaving their wives in lurch, the registration of marriage
was must and it could be done through Anand Karaj Act.
At this, Badal asserted that he was also in favour of registration
a marriage so that certain NRI grooms could not create problems
for their brides by ditching them.
However, he remained non-committal to persistent queries of reporters
for bringing in any proposal in Punjab assembly for enacting any
such Act.
All that the Chief Minister would say on the issue was that he
would consult his colleagues about it. He said he had high regard
for all religions and the issue of separate Anand Act should not
be linked with Hindus or Sikhs.
Pak Minister gives assurances
for enacting Sikh Marriage Act
Saturday November 24, 05:31 PM
By Ravinder Singh Robin, ANI
Amritsar, Nov.24 (ANI): Pakistan's Law Minister, Syed Afzal Haider,
today assured the Sikh congregation that his government would enact
the "Anand Karaj Act" for the Sikhs living in Pakistan
soon.
Addressing Sikhs gathered at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib near Lahore,
where the 538th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev is being observed,
Haider said that the Sikh leadership in Pakistan should help him
to see the passage of the Act in Parliament.
Dr. Pritpal Singh, the convener of the American Gurdwara Parbhandhak
Committee, said that the Sikh Diaspora welcomed Haider's announcement.
Dr. Singh said that today the Sikh diaspora is spread all over
the world and they are recognized by their physical appearance as
a separate community. By enacting a separate Anand Karaj Act, Sikh
will feel more satisfied in Pakistan.
Bishen Singh, president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhak
Committee (PSGPC) said that this was a long pending demand of the
Sikhs living in Pakistan, as it would remove confusion internationally
about Sikhs being seen as Hindus.
Bishen Singh informed that the Government of Pakistan had also
announced plans to construct accommodation for 2000 devotees in
Nankana Sahib. (ANI)
No Need Of Sikh Marriage
Act: Tulsi
KTS Tulsi
Attari: Posted in: Asia
By
Dec 9, 2007
KTS Tulsi has now raised the hackles of the Sikh clergy by raising
objections over a separate Act for registration of Sikh marriages
in India. "We follow all Hindu traditions," the Gujarat
government's special counsel in Supreme Court, KTS Tulsi, told press
in Attari.
Tulsi was part of the delegation of senior Sikh advocates and intellectuals
that left for Pakistan along with a draft proposal of Sikh Marriage
Act. The delegation, led by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee
(DSGMC), returned on Saturday.
Hindus and Sikhs share the same basic values and the conditions
for a valid marriage, grounds for judicial separation and procedure
for divorce by mutual consent, among others, are included in the
Hindu Marriage Act, he said. "There's not much need for a Sikh
Marriage Act in India," he added.
But it must not come as any surprise to those who know K T S Tulsi.
He is the man who represented the Punjab police against Sikh terrorists.
He supported the action against Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Tulsi
also defended former Punjab director general of police K P S Gill
in a sexual abuse case.
Tulsi clarified, there was an urgent need for such a legislation
outside India. In other countries, he claimed, Sikhs don't have
any personal law and their issues get intermingled with the laws
of societies they live in, he said. "It (Sikh Marriage Act)
would prove to be a boon for girls who are married abroad and are
subjected to torture or are abandoned by their husbands. There is
a likelihood of other countries adopting Sikh Marriage Act,"
he added.
Angry at the statement, Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)
president Avtar Singh Makkar reacted by saying: "Who is Tulsi
to dictate to us?" There are more than two crore Sikhs in India
who want a separate law for the registration of marriages in the
community, he said. Condemning Tulsi's take on the Act, DSGMC president
Paramjit Singh Sarna too was quick to clarify: "I differ with
Tulsi."
"We have a separate religion and registering our marriages
under the Hindu Marriage Act is like living under oppression. It
hurts when we are referred to as a part of Hindu society."
Though he reiterated the need the Act in India, he was unable to
explain his failure to take the initiative (of getting a separate
Sikh Marriage Act implemented) here. "It was Pakistan that
had first started Punjabi radio programme. We thought that after
the (Sikh Marriage) Act is implemented in Pakistan, India would
follow suite."
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