Sikkim HC advises out of court settlement

AMBALA: Close to five years into the dispute between the Sikhs and Buddhists over the alleged conversion of Gurdwara Guru Dongmar Sahib in Sikkim into a Buddhist shrine, the Sikkim high court has pushed “for an amicable out of court settlement”.

The verdict has rekindled the hope of the Sikhs to reestablish the historic gurdwara and enshrine Guru Granth Sahib there. The place was reportedly visited by Guru Nanak Dev, first Sikh master, during his return from Tibet.

In its April 27 order, the Sikkim high court bench of Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai stated: “Additional advocate general of the state (Sikkim) respondent Nos. 1 to 3 and 5, submits that in consultation with petitioner (Sabha, Siliguri), and respondent 4 (the Lachen Dzumsa, North Sikkim) presently there is an agreement between the parties to work out modalities for an amicable out of court settlement, for which some time may be afforded.”

The issue over the shrine had started in 2017, when local Buddhist people had allegedly removed the religious items, including Guru Granth Sahib, from Gurdwara Guru Dongmar Sahib.

The Sikh community and its representative organisations, including the Akal Takht and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), had taken note of the incident and started efforts to regain the possession of the gurdwara.

Notably, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) had also taken note of the incident and then NCM under-secretary A Senugupta had on December 13, 2017 written to the chief secretary, Sikkim government on the issue. The NCM had sought a report in the matter and action taken to restore the enshrinement of the Sikh Guru. As no reply was received even after a lapse of more than one month, the NCM again wrote to the chief secretary on January 16, 2018. Another letter was written by the NCM to the Sikkim chief secretary on May 5, 2022, forwarding a representation on the subject of a party in this case, Ajmer Singh Randhawa.

The NCM, however, did not receive any reply from the Sikkim government. On January 2, 2023, NCM chairman Iqbal Singh Lalpura wrote to Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang, referring to the commission’s letters dated August 8, 2022, August 18, 2022 and October 27, 2022. “I shall be thankful if you could look into the matter personally and arrange to send the reply before January 14, 2023, as this matter is close to the emotional Sikh community world over,” read Lalpura’s letter to Tamang.

When contacted, Lalpura said: “I talked to the Sikkim CM in January and also wrote to him. They (Sikkim) have agreed to change their stand.”


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