Situation of Sikh Gurdwaras before partition of India in 1947:

The advent of Banda Singh Bahadur was a powerful magnet for the rural people of the Punjab to join the Khalsa Panth; but their wholesale conversion to Sikhism did not affect their existing neighborly relationship with the Muslims. It was the invading forces of the foreigners and their local satraps, with whom the Khalsa waged wars and ultimately prevailed, that the Sikhs had conflict.

For about a half century of Sikh rule, Sikhs practiced their religion and looked after their sacred places with devotion and dignity. The number of Gurdwaras began to increase throughout the length and breadth of the Punjab. Practices became uniform and were reflective of the real precepts that had been laid down by the Sikh Gurus.

The effect of the creation of SGPC in 1925:

The Act of 1925 finally gave the control of the Historic Sikh Gurdwaras of the Punjab to a representative committee of Sikhs, which got down to rectifying the unsatisfactory situation that was hastening the destruction of Sikh religious places and principles. The Sikh community at that time had woken up to the realization that, unless it took charge of its own affairs, the sacrifices of its ancestors to propagate and sustain this great religion would have been made in vain.

Many prominent institutions came into being and many devoted and able Sikhs gave their all to uplift the grass-root Sikhs. The result was spectacular. Malwa, Doaba, Majha and Pothohar produced Sikhs of vision and ability. There was an all-round improvement in the understanding and psyche of the Sikhs that reflected itself in a clear and unadulterated practice of Sikhism.

Situation of Gurdwaras in Pakistan after partition of India:

The partition of India had a debilitating and damaging effect on the Sikhs, particularly on those who had established for themselves flourishing farms and businesses. Leaving everything behind, and fleeing from West to East Punjab was a very painful, traumatic and disheartening experience. Perforce, the Sikh sacred places in West Punjab had to be abandoned.

Since partition, Sikhs have been praying for the opportunity to be granted to them to visit the shrines in West Punjab, sacred to the memory of the Gurus and to those of the Sikh ancestors who had given their all for the preservation and promotion of the Khalsa Panth. For many decades after the partition of India, the Congress governments held continuous control of the country.

When time began to heal the wounds sustained by the partition, the Sikhs began to stir for some kind of an approach to the sacred shrines. Inherently there never has been any rivalry between Sikhism and Islam. The rural population of the Punjab had no causa belli with their neighbors before the advent of Islam in 1001 AD. Although they saw some of those neighbors convert to Islam, they still remained friendly and co-operative neighbors.

The alien rule of the British and their "divide and rule" policy brought about certain slackness in their devotion to the Sikh Code of religious and social ethics. This trend was, however, arrested and slowly reversed after the creation of the S.G.P.C in 1925.

Sikh Gurdwaras in former British Colonies:

a. China: The advent of Communism drove all religions out of the country. The flourishing Sikh Gurdwaras, for example, in Shanghai were abandoned; there was no Sangat for these.

b. Fiji: The racial prejudice against non-Fijians inhibited and cramped the growth and practice of Sikhism.

c. East Africa: The professional and business opportunities for Asians were severely curtailed and, for political reasons, large numbers of people emigrated to UK or India. The reduced Sikh population made many Gurdwaras redundant.

The effect on Sikh Gurdwaras of the division of post-1947 Punjab:

Unlike the partition of India, the dismemberment of the Punjab into the States of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, did not involve a movement of populations. It, however, put a brake on the expansion of the Sikh religion in these areas.

Status of the SGPC:

When the SGPC was created in 1925, it was charged with the functioning and upkeep of the Historic Gurdwaras of the Punjab (as it was then). Thus, the Gurdwaras of Punjab, in what later became "Pakistan", "Haryana" and "Himachal Pradesh" were all subject to the jurisdiction of SGPC. However, as Pakistan was created as a sovereign Islamic republic, the jurisdiction of the SGPC over the historic Sikh Gurdwaras in the West Punjab ipso facto ceased. The Sikhs could have access to these sacred places only in the manner - and to the extent - that the Pakistan government permitted.

Gurdwaras in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh:

The position is, however, different. These two states being an integral part of India, the jurisdiction of SGPC over the Sikh Historic Gurdwaras there has remained intact. Of the three Takhts in the Punjab, namely, Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Sri Kesgarh Sahib, and Sri Dam-Dama Sahib, the first two were included in the 1925 Act, but the Central Government left the inclusion of Dam Dama Sahib in abeyance. On the Vaisakhi tercentenary celebrations this year, it has at last been included. Now the legal status of these three Takhts is equal, both ipso facto and de jure.

Gurdwaras of Delhi:

These are within the jurisdiction of DSGPC, which was created by a parochial Act enacted for the purpose.

The Takhts, Sri Patna Sahib and Takht Sri Hazoor Sahib:

These two Takhts were not a part of the 1925 Act, but these were made subject to the laws of Bihar and Maharashtra States, respectively. The satellite Gurdwaras of these Takhts are included in the jurisdiction of the Committees appointed thereunder.

Laws of India and Pakistan:

As Pakistan is a sovereign country, and the Laws of India cannot apply to it extra-territorially, there is no point in the SGPC having a shouting match with Pakistan. By establishing its own PGPC, the Pakistan government is simply mirroring the jurisdictional legislations of India. No exception can, therefore, be taken by anyone for its creation; in any case, it gives jurisdiction and control over the Sikh Gurdwaras within its realm to its Sikh citizens.

On the face of it, the SGPC gives the impression that it is either ignoring the existence of Sikhs in Pakistan, or it considers them to be an inferior species. It is high time that this myopic condition is remedied.