The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which manages affairs of the Sikh shrines, on Monday decided to prohibit photography and videography inside the Golden Temple.

The photography and videography is already prohibited inside the sanctum sanctorum and on the passage from ‘Darshani Deodi’ to sanctum sanctorum. However, it was allowed in ‘parkarma’ of the sarovar (holy tank) and the devotees could be seen taking selfies, clicking pictures and shooting videos with their smartphones.

However, the SGPC now has put up a notice in three languages — Punjabi, English and Hindi — prohibiting photography and videography in the precincts of the Golden Temple.

Golden Temple manager Jaswinder Singh Deenpur said, “The Golden Temple is centre of spiritualism and its holiness and sanctity is recognised across the world. Many devotees come here for peace of mind, meditation and enjoying the spiritual atmosphere”.

“As use of smartphones has increased, the craze of taking selfies, clicking photographs and videography have also increased. This craze vitiates the religious and spiritual atmosphere of the shrine. So, we decided to impose this ban,” he added.

When asked, if the ban also implies on professional lensmen/videographers and photojournalists, the manager said a policy will be formed for them in coming days. He said the decision has been taken at the level of the Golden Temple management. SGPC chief secretary Roop Singh wasn’t available for comments.

First Published: Jan 08, 2019 08:39 IST