Monday 17 November 2008

Changing Guru Granth Sahib and the Girls school.

Babu Teja Singh (1867-1933) was given a girls school by the authorities, the British, as he was a civil servant and loyalist of the British colonial Raj ( a sub-overseer in the Irrigation Department of Patiala State). Not only did he inspire the girls of this school to wear Keski's, Turbans, he also inspired them to write a new version of Guru Granth Sahib. See Prof. Sahib Singh's authobiography for the original in Gurmukhi.
Sahib Singh Ji once going to meet Ran Singh the son of Babu Teja Singh, found alot of the girls had ink on their hands. He asked them what they had been doing? They answered that they are writing the Hazuri Birh of Guru Granth Sahib. They took him into a room, and there were many papers and ink, and an attempt had been made to make the new writing look old.
On questioning Ran Singh, he replied that they wanted to create a new Guru Granth Sahib and bury it at Hazur Sahib and claim it was original to put the Sikh Panth at rest due to all the controversy at that time about Gurbani.
This involved adding in some writings of Guru Gobind Singh, and taking out Bhagat Bani, Rag Mala, Bhatta Di Svaiye, as well as changing that heading orders in bani. It was shortly after this Teja Singh was excommunicated from the Panth for life, along with his family and wife. This was "Babu Teja Singh's zealous efforts to prune Sikh doctrine and practice of Hindu icons".

See. Sociology of Diaspora: A Reader, by Ajaya Kumar Sahoo, Brij Maharaj, 2007 - p. 666
To make matters worse many girls were sexually abused. For example every summer there would be requests by the Maharah of Patiala to shift the girls near his summer house.
See. Praja Mandal Movement in East Punjab States - p. 21, by Ramesh Walia.
There are also three recorded accounts of the sexual abuse that took place at Panch Khand, by three former students of the Girls school. These will be added to this blog at a later date.
In conclusion Bhai Randhir Singhs association and intiation into the Panth by the heretic, British loyalist, and potential sex abuser Babu Teja Singh, adds little credibility to the authenticity of the neo-maryada of the AKJ.

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