PATIALA: The 9th World Punjabi Literary Conference being organised on the theme ‘Guru Nanak’s Bani Chintan: Global Context’ faced a protest on its very first day at Punjabi University on Tuesday. By Wednesday, the protest gave way to arguments between students.
The conference’s theme is dedicated to the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and it is being organised by the Punjabi literary studies department of the varsity. It was inaugurated on Tuesday. However, Academic Forum of Sikh Students protested it.
Arguments took place after research scholars alleged that a limited number of Sikhs were invited to the three-day conference in which Guru Nanak was being presented as an individual human instead of a divine guru. The forum alleged that even in the panel discussion, Sikh scholars were not invited. However, organisers of the conference refuted these allegations and claimed that they had balanced the event by taking various scholars into the event.
One of the invited dignitaries objected to the views of Simarjit Singh, president of the forum, following which heated arguments took place. The dignitary walked out after a woman scholar intervened to pacify them.
Gurmeet Singh Sidhu, head of Guru Gobind Singh Chair at Punjabi University, who released life and experience of Satgur Nanak said his name was included in the panel discussion only after some Sikh students raised objections against the organisers for not involving Sikh scholars to the discussion. He said there are less Sikh scholars in the conference as religion is not taken as part of academics. Bhiminder Singh, event organiser and head of the organising department, said, “We balanced the event by getting scholars from different fields into the fold and even in panel discussion we have Sikh scholars. There was nothing wrong in writing Guru Nanak as a ‘personality’ and protesters saying we limited Guru Nanak to a person, was invalid talk.”
Punjabi University’s Shri Guru Granth Sahib studies department head, Dr Sarabjinder Singh, said there had been a decline in Sikh scholars across the country. He said Guru Nanak had talked about diversity.
The conference’s theme is dedicated to the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and it is being organised by the Punjabi literary studies department of the varsity. It was inaugurated on Tuesday. However, Academic Forum of Sikh Students protested it.
Arguments took place after research scholars alleged that a limited number of Sikhs were invited to the three-day conference in which Guru Nanak was being presented as an individual human instead of a divine guru. The forum alleged that even in the panel discussion, Sikh scholars were not invited. However, organisers of the conference refuted these allegations and claimed that they had balanced the event by taking various scholars into the event.
One of the invited dignitaries objected to the views of Simarjit Singh, president of the forum, following which heated arguments took place. The dignitary walked out after a woman scholar intervened to pacify them.
Gurmeet Singh Sidhu, head of Guru Gobind Singh Chair at Punjabi University, who released life and experience of Satgur Nanak said his name was included in the panel discussion only after some Sikh students raised objections against the organisers for not involving Sikh scholars to the discussion. He said there are less Sikh scholars in the conference as religion is not taken as part of academics. Bhiminder Singh, event organiser and head of the organising department, said, “We balanced the event by getting scholars from different fields into the fold and even in panel discussion we have Sikh scholars. There was nothing wrong in writing Guru Nanak as a ‘personality’ and protesters saying we limited Guru Nanak to a person, was invalid talk.”
Punjabi University’s Shri Guru Granth Sahib studies department head, Dr Sarabjinder Singh, said there had been a decline in Sikh scholars across the country. He said Guru Nanak had talked about diversity.
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