SGPC opposes the online sale of Sikh scriptures

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chairman Harjinder Singh Dhami on Friday criticized the online sale of Gutka (Gurbani reference book) and Gurbani Sainchi (scriptures) by e-commerce website Amazon and asked for an immediate stop to the sale.

The SGPC president said the online sale of gurbani scriptures through e-commerce sites cannot be tolerated.

“You can’t be respectful of the scriptures in stocking stores. When it reaches from one place to another through parcel or courier, it is natural that respect and due respect given to these writings is not observed,” Dhami said.

He said there is immense devotion and respect for Gurbani in the minds of the Sikh community and devotees and there is resentment among Sikhs over the sale of Gutka Sahib online by Amazon and several other e-commerce sites.

He appealed to publishers to refrain from selling Gurbani scriptures online out of respect for Gurbani.

The SGPC chairman said the issue would be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the dharam prachar committee (panel on preaching of the Sikh religion).

“When such cases came to light in the past, a legal notice was issued to Amazon following which online sales of Gutka Sahib were suspended for some time. Now members of the Sikh community have noticed that the practice has resumed again. In this regard, a letter is being written to Amazon requesting it to immediately remove Gutek Sahib Gurbani from its website and send an explanation to the SGPC,” he said.