Hold out a biscuit and a trained dog will sit or give its paw. Add a pat on the head and it will do it again. For people, the rewards take other forms: a post, an award, a place beside someone important, or the praise that follows them into a room. These rewards become dangerous when a Sikh leader starts shaping what he says and does to keep them.
The people around a leader play a part too. We are quick to praise people we regard as being in our camp and to look past their failings. Our admiration can protect the conduct we should be questioning.
Malar ki Vaar, a composition in Shabad Guru Granth Sahib Ji, helps us see the problem more clearly. Guru Nanak Sahib Ji describes trained creatures trapping their own kind, then rulers preying on people through their officials. The Salok, or verse, also tells us what true learning requires.
The Roman line is only a reading aid, not the translation. The English sentence gives the plain meaning.
Guru Nanak Sahib Ji says:
ਹਰਣਾਂ ਬਾਜਾਂ ਤੈ ਸਿਕਦਾਰਾਂ ਏਨੑਾ ਪੜੑਿਆ ਨਾਉ ॥
ਫਾਂਧੀ ਲਗੀ ਜਾਤਿ ਫਹਾਇਨਿ ਅਗੈ ਨਾਹੀ ਥਾਉ ॥
ਸੋ ਪੜਿਆ ਸੋ ਪੰਡਿਤੁ ਬੀਨਾ ਜਿਨੑੀ ਕਮਾਣਾ ਨਾਉ ॥
ਪਹਿਲੋ ਦੇ ਜੜ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਜੰਮੈ ਤਾ ਉਪਰਿ ਹੋਵੈ ਛਾਂਉ ॥
ਰਾਜੇ ਸੀਹ ਮੁਕਦਮ ਕੁਤੇ ॥
ਜਾਇ ਜਗਾਇਨੑਿ ਬੈਠੇ ਸੁਤੇ ॥
ਚਾਕਰ ਨਹਦਾ ਪਾਇਨੑਿ ਘਾਉ ॥
ਰਤੁ ਪਿਤੁ ਕੁਤਿਹੋ ਚਟਿ ਜਾਹੁ ॥
ਜਿਥੈ ਜੀਆਂ ਹੋਸੀ ਸਾਰ ॥
ਨਕੀਂ ਵਢੀਂ ਲਾਇਤਬਾਰ ॥੨॥
Simple reading: harnaan baajaan tai sikdaaraan enhaa parhiaa naau.
faandhee lagee jaat fahaain agai naahee thaau.
so parhiaa so pandit beenaa jinhee kamaanaa naau.
pahilo de jarh andar jammai taa upar hovai chhaau.
raaje seeh mukadam kute.
jaai jagaain baithe sute.
chaakar nahdaa paain ghaau.
rat pit kutiho chat jaahu.
jithai jeeaan hosee saar.
nakeen vadheen laaitbaar.
Plain meaning: Deer, falcons and officials are called trained. They trap their own kind in the snare; in the Master’s presence they find no acceptance. Those who have practised Naam are truly learned and discerning scholars. First the root takes hold within the ground; then shade appears above. Rulers are lions and their officials dogs. They go and rouse those sitting or asleep. The servants are the rulers’ claws that inflict wounds; through these dogs the rulers lick up the people’s blood and bile. Where beings are judged, these untrustworthy ones stand disgraced, as though their noses had been cut.
Reference: Malar ki Vaar, Salok Mahalla 1, Guru Nanak Sahib Ji, Panna 1288. Complete ten-line Salok, numbered 2, immediately before pauri 22. The plain meaning follows Professor Sahib Singh Ji’s Darpan on the officials as claws and the rulers acting through them. Panna means page. [1]
These officials use their skills to help rulers harm people. They know the people’s language and understand their lives. That knowledge helps the ruler reach them. The warning matters to us when a Sikh holds office: sharing our name or background gives us no protection if he uses that position against Sikhs.
The root must grow before the tree can give shade. In the same way, Naam, the Creator’s Name, must take root within us. The Salok calls those who practise Naam truly learned. The following pauri, a section of the Vaar, turns us towards reverence for the Creator through the Guru and the peace found in Naam. [1]
That warning makes me examine how governments and Sikh leaders exercise power over our Gurdwaras. Freeing our Gurdwaras from government control is part of our responsibility. We must also consider how we live and whom we serve.
Office and approval
We can see the problem in the way our Gurdwaras are run. Sikh voters have had no general election to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) since 2011. This body manages many historic Gurdwaras. Its executive committee appoints and removes the Jathedars who lead the three Takhts, seats of Sikh authority, in Panjab. Separately, the government appoints the Chief Commissioner, Gurdwara Elections, who sets the election timetable and polling date. Sikh voters depend on that process to elect a new SGPC. [2]
At Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, Maharashtra’s 2015 law gives the state government power to choose the management board’s president from among its members. [3]
A person may accept a post believing he can help. If he says his position gives him influence, he should explain whom he has helped, what he has challenged and what happened when he spoke up. Staying close to powerful people cannot become the purpose of holding the post.
Speaking up may cost a leader the approval he wants to keep. Guru Angad Sahib Ji’s Salok at Panna 1290 warns that worldly honours make us forget Naam, yet none goes with us when we die. We need to ask what praise and position are making us forget. [4]
The sangat’s part
The sangat, the Sikh congregation, helps decide whom people trust. We invite someone to speak, praise his work and urge others to listen to him. When we defend someone because he is “ours”, while condemning the same conduct in an opponent, we put our group above the truth.
Being welcomed by an important person can make us feel important too. We may defend him because criticism threatens our place beside him.
This does not put equal blame on everyone. A person threatened into silence, shut out of decisions or denied a fresh vote has fewer choices than someone who holds office or speaks for an influential organisation. The more a person knows, and the more power he has, the more he must answer for what he does. Where we can speak, we should help those asking fair questions, even when the answers may trouble people we admire.
Tarlochan Singh’s record
Consider the public praise for Tarlochan Singh, a former Member of Parliament. He served as Press Secretary to Giani Zail Singh, who was President of India from 1982 to 1987. At the British Sikh Association’s 2011 dinner, an honorary doctorate from the World Sikh University was accepted on his behalf. In 2025, the association honoured him at the House of Lords with its Sikh Jewel Award and called him a “global Sikh icon”. He had received India’s Padma Bhushan in 2021. The association also reports that he condemned the June 1984 army attack on Sri Darbar Sahib in Amritsar. [5, 6]
Government records list 3,325 people killed across India in the anti-Sikh pogroms of October–November 1984, including 2,733 in Delhi. [9] Tarlochan Singh told the Nanavati Commission that he received appeals for protection and passed them to the President. His statement also describes seeing and hearing the attack on Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib from Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President’s official residence. [9] On his own published account, I judge that he did not do enough for those appealing to him. Passing messages to the President did not end his own responsibility to seek protection.
In his 2022 defence of Giani Zail Singh, Tarlochan Singh says the President was kept out of Panjab affairs and denied information. Yet the President publicly defended the June 1984 army operation and invoked Guru Sahib’s name to urge Sikhs to remain in government service. Tarlochan Singh’s defence must account for those choices too. [6] An oath taken in Guru Sahib’s name cannot stand above Guru Sahib’s teaching.
After the Godhra train fire in 2002, Muslim communities in Gujarat were attacked. Gujarat’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government was then led by Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Tarlochan Singh was then Vice-Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities and served as Chairman from 2003 to 2006. The Commission’s duties include looking into complaints that minorities’ rights have been violated. In April 2002 he reported that the Commission had summoned Gujarat officials for answers. In June 2003 he was reported as saying the Commission was satisfied with what the government had done, citing compensation for deaths and injuries and other aid. [10]
In ANI’s August 2025 account, he said: “Delhi is sponsored, Gujarat is natural”, adding: “No government role, not even one person.” In that account, he presents the 1984 killings in Delhi as organised and the 2002 violence in Gujarat as spontaneous. [10]
India’s central government, using figures from Gujarat’s government, told Parliament in May 2005 that 1,044 people were killed and 2,548 injured in the violence after the Godhra train burning. Homes and businesses were destroyed. India’s National Human Rights Commission found a comprehensive failure by the state government to protect people’s rights. Human Rights Watch reported planned attacks on Muslims involving police and state officials. In 2010, a UN committee on women’s rights described torture and sexual violence against women and girls, and criticised failures to hold police officers accountable for participation in the violence, refusal of assistance and obstruction of justice. [11]
In 2005, discussing 1984, Tarlochan Singh said: “Make the police answerable if they fail to control a riot.” [12] Does his denial include the state government’s failure to protect people? How does he answer the reports of police and officials taking part in the attacks? In my judgement, such a blanket denial fails the people whose rights his commission existed to defend. The same concern for people facing violence must govern what he says about Delhi and Gujarat.
An organisation that presents someone as a person the Sikh community should trust must examine serious questions about his record. A family asking what an official did when protection was needed deserves more than a list of honours. A true mark of a leader is whether he stands up for people and their rights when it is unpopular and may cost him.
When a Sikh Home Becomes a Target, on 29 October, will examine what Giani Zail Singh and Tarlochan Singh did when families asked for protection, and what they did afterwards to help survivors obtain justice. I put these questions to Tarlochan Singh in writing on 21 October. Any reply will be published alongside the essays, with a dated update where necessary.
The Master we serve
Bhagat Kabir Ji gives the image of the dog another meaning:
ਕਬੀਰ ਕੂਕਰੁ ਰਾਮ ਕੋ ਮੁਤੀਆ ਮੇਰੋ ਨਾਉ ॥
ਗਲੇ ਹਮਾਰੇ ਜੇਵਰੀ ਜਹ ਖਿੰਚੈ ਤਹ ਜਾਉ ॥੭੪॥
Simple reading: kabeer kookar raam ko muteeaa mero naau.
gale hamaare jevree jah khinchai tah jaau.
Plain meaning: Kabir, I am Ram’s dog; Moti is my name. A rope is around my neck; wherever He draws me, I go.
Reference: Saloks of Bhagat Kabir Ji, Panna 1368, complete Salok 74. Ram names the Creator here; Moti is the affectionate name explained in Darpan. [8]
Bhagat Kabir Ji expresses love and willing surrender to the One. That brings the question home to me too. I value the encouragement I receive for PanthSeva. I must remain willing to question someone whose praise matters to me, and to accept a sound correction from someone who disagrees with me. Otherwise, approval has begun deciding what I will say.
The sangat can ask a leader who appointed him, what he agreed to do, what he will refuse to do and how people can question or replace him. We should compare his answers with what he actually does. A complaint about someone powerful should receive the same serious hearing as a complaint about someone with no connections.
The family seeking protection, the witness asking to be heard and the reader seeking the truth must matter more than protecting a reputation. Our praise should encourage people who meet those responsibilities. When we use it to shield them from fair questions, we have helped hold the chain.
Related work
The Guru’s House, Under Whose Control?
Read article
When a Sikh Home Becomes a Target: The President and the Sikh household. To follow, 29 October 2026.
The Duty to Find Out. To follow, 2 November 2026. This separate essay examines civil administration and policing in Panjab, including Karan Bir Singh Sidhu’s duties as Amritsar’s Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate. [7]
Sources
Checked to 26 October 2026. Checks recorded on 15, 20, 21 and 23 October are retained, including the printed presidential broadcast and the Gurmukhi comparison with Dekho Ji. Focused checks on 26 October covered the Gurbani units and Darpan commentary, SGPC election and appointment sources, the Hazur Sahib nomination provision, Tarlochan Singh’s reproduced testimony and Gujarat statements, the government’s 1984 death count and the Gujarat human-rights findings. A contemporary PTI report was also checked against the Gujarat death and injury figures. No fresh visual comparison of the printed presidential broadcast or parliamentary page is claimed. Individual retrieval limits are recorded below.
Plain-English meanings are learning aids informed by Professor Sahib Singh Ji’s Darpan. The argument and present-day applications are the writer’s.
[1] Shabad Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Malar ki Vaar, Salok Mahalla 1, Guru Nanak Sahib Ji, Panna 1288: complete second Salok before pauri 22, read with that pauri. SriGranth and Darpan; Gurmukhi compared with Dekho Ji. The closing nasal signs are displayed in standard Unicode as ਨਕੀਂ ਵਢੀਂ, as in Dekho Ji.
SriGranth, Panna 1288
Darpan, Panna 1288
Dekho Ji, Panna 1288
[2] Ministry of Home Affairs, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 4143, answered 19 August 2025, pp. 1–2. It identifies the Chief Commissioner, Gurdwara Elections as the authority fixing election stages, “including the date on which polling shall be held”. The answer also reports High Court challenges to electoral rolls and related matters, and a stay. It gives no case number, date or precise scope for that stay. This is the government’s August 2025 account. Charanjit Singh Teja, “Sikh outfits urge Amit Shah to expedite SGPC elections”, The Tribune, 10 October 2026. SGPC, “SGPC announces budget session on March 28; key decisions taken on Jathedar appointments”, 7 March 2025.
Read source
Read source
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[3] Nanded Sikh Gurudwara Sachkhand Shri Hazur Apchalnagar Sahib (Amendment) Act, 2015, Maharashtra Act XVI of 2015, section 3 substituting section 11(1). Gazette, 17 April 2015, provision for nomination of the president from among board members.
Read source
[4] Shabad Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Malar ki Vaar, Salok Mahalla 2, Guru Angad Sahib Ji, Panna 1290, complete two-line Salok before pauri 26; discussed through paraphrase.
SriGranth, Panna 1290
Darpan, Panna 1290
[5] British Sikh Association, “British Sikh Association Dinner held at House of Lords in honour of Padma Bhushan Sardar Tarlochan Singh”, 2025 event report, and its annual dinner report for 14 November 2011. The earlier honorary doctorate was awarded by World Sikh University at the association’s dinner and accepted by Dr Mandeep Lamba on his behalf. These are the association’s written reports, not independently verified transcripts of the speeches. Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, “Padma Awards 2021 announced”, Press Information Bureau, 25 January 2021, Padma Bhushan list, Tarlochan Singh, Public Affairs, Haryana. For his earlier posts, see Hardev Singh Virk, “Book Review: Sardar Tarlochan Singh: A historic Journey”, SikhNet, 17 December 2023, passages on his presidential service and Rajya Sabha membership.
2025 dinner report
2011 dinner report
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Read source
[6] Tarlochan Singh, “Giani Zail Singh and Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale: An Overview”, SikhNet, 7 October 2022, concluding account of the Presidency. Giani Zail Singh, “Sanctity of Religion in Secular India”, broadcast of 17 June 1984, reproduced in V. D. Chopra, R. K. Mishra and Nirmal Singh, Agony of Punjab (New Delhi: Patriot Publishers, 1984), Appendix I, pp. 181–186 (book scan): defence of sending security forces, p. 183; appeals to leave government posts and the oath in the Guru’s name, p. 184. The broadcast was checked as a contemporary printed English reproduction; original audio and an official typescript were not checked. Reuters reported the broadcast and its defence of the operation on 18 June 1984; the linked copy is a transcription. For the presidential term, see the President’s Secretariat, “Giani Zail Singh”.
2022 article
Reuters report
Presidential profile
[7] District Administration, Amritsar, “List Of Deputy Commissioners”, entry 149, 11 May 1992 to 11 August 1996. For his roles as Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate, and his public name, see his interview in Devinder Pal Singh, “Bridging Governance and Spirituality: The Journey of KBS Sidhu”, SikhNet, 1 August 2025, section I.
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[8] Shabad Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Saloks of Bhagat Kabir Ji, Panna 1368, complete Salok 74. SriGranth with Darpan, compared with Dekho Ji.
SriGranth, Panna 1368
Dekho Ji, Panna 1368
[9] Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, “Financial assistance to anti-Sikh riot victims”, Press Information Bureau, 1 March 2016, recording 3,325 deaths across India, including 2,733 in Delhi. Government death-count source. Tarlochan Singh, testimony before the Nanavati Commission, witness 134, dated 12 December 2001, reproduced by Discover Sikhism. Read as a reproduction, not an independently inspected signed original. It records his account of receiving appeals for protection and conveying them to the President; it does not establish what protection ultimately reached each family.
Read reproduced testimony
[10] National Commission for Minorities, official functions; Tarlochan Singh’s own biography, recording Vice-Chairmanship in 2000–2003 and Chairmanship in 2003–2006. PTI, “Minorities commission summons top Gujarat officials”, 1 April 2002. The Times of India, “Minorities unhappy with NCM chief’s sermons”, 8 June 2003, reporting his satisfaction with government action after meeting Modi, alongside his references to compensation for deaths and injuries and other aid. ANI, written interview account, 27 August 2025, reproduced by The News Mill. Quotations follow that written account; the complete spoken interview has not been independently checked. His claimed inquiry and booklet have not been obtained. The report’s account of his chairmanship dates conflicts with the chronology above and is not relied upon here.
Commission’s functions · His biography · PTI report · 2003 report · ANI written account
[11] Rajya Sabha, Unstarred Question 5209, “Persons killed in Gujarat riots”, answered 11 May 2005, printed p. 149. The reply attributes the figures to Gujarat’s government; the recorded deaths comprise 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus. These are official recorded figures, not an agreed final toll. Complete indexed official text was retrieved; the legacy link redirects, and the separately hosted copy could not be opened during the 21 October 2026 check. PTI, “Gujarat riots killed 254 Hindus, 790 Muslims”, 11 May 2005, also reports the government’s figures of 1,044 deaths and 2,548 injuries; this contemporary report was checked on 26 October 2026. NHRC, proceedings of 31 May 2002, finding comprehensive state-government failure to protect rights. Human Rights Watch, “We Have No Orders To Save You”, April 2002, Summary, reporting planned attacks, police participation, cooperation with state officials and destruction of homes and businesses. UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW/C/IND/CO/SP.1, 3 November 2010, paragraphs 5, 15 and 19(b), on torture and sexual violence against women and girls, police participation, refusal of assistance and obstruction of justice. The latter are the committee’s findings and recommendations.
Official parliamentary record · Copy of parliamentary reply · Contemporary PTI report · NHRC proceedings · Human Rights Watch report · Official UN committee text
[12] Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr, “Minorities unhappy with riot report”, Gulf News, 15 August 2005, direct interview about the Nanavati report, police accountability and rehabilitation. His quoted principle concerns accountability after communal violence; it is not a previous finding by him about the Gujarat government’s role.
Read interview
Errors will be corrected in this essay with a public, dated note. Anyone named here may reply to the points made, and the reply will be published alongside this essay.
Strong disagreement is welcome. Contempt is not.
Bhul chuk maaf karni Ji.
Gurjit Singh Sandhu
PanthSeva
London