People
Ganga Singh Dhillon Passes Away
HINDUSTAN TIMES, et al
GANGA SINGH DHILLON
July 5, 1928 - September 24, 2014
Sardar Ganga Singh Dhillon, US-based Khalistan leader and chairman of the Sri Nankana Sahib Foundation, passed away at his residence in Washington, DC, USA on Wednesday, September 24, 2014. He was 86.
One of the founding members of the Khalistan movement, Ganga Singh was an ardent and vociferous advocate of the ‘Sikhs are a Nation’ principle. Denied entry into India since the 1980s, he made America his home as a Sikh-American.
As the chairman of the Sri Nankana Sahib Foundation (since 1975), he worked for Sikh welfare and played a pivotal role in the formation of the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in 1999.
Remembering the Sikh leader, international journalist Nirpal Singh Shergill wrote: “A very wise, very resourceful and a visionary Sikh community leader.”
His cremation will take place in Washington, DC, on Saturday, September 27, 2014.
FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS
Cremation on Sunday, September 28, 2014 at 1:00 pm, at the Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home, 9902 Braddock Road, Fairfax, Virginia 22032
Reception to follow at 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm at The Sikh Foundation of Virginia, 7250 Ox Road, Fairfax Station, Virginia 22039
[Edited for sikhchic.com]
September 26, 2014
Conversation about this article
1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), September 26, 2014, 6:13 PM.
Unfortunately the whole concept of this movement was doomed from the start so Dr Ganga Singh's dream has not materialized because of ONE particular reason and that is the Sikh Nation has been corrupted by Brahmin practices and can give the Hindus a run for their money in caste, morbid superstition and seeing the female as not equal to the male! You can't have passion for having your a state for your own people if the men are donkeys dressed as lions! And many of the females too are decadently superstitious, living out their lives in hinduized soap operas!
2: N Singh (Canada), September 26, 2014, 11:46 PM.
Wow, Baldev Singh ji! Well said.
3: Gurdev Singh Bir (Columbus, Ohio, USA), September 27, 2014, 2:32 AM.
Well said, Baldev. At my own local gurdwara, many sangat members have no interest in learning any of the gurmat virtues enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib. It's more like a mela/social gathering on Sundays. They come for the dollar menu and plenty of gossip to share. Many members still having amulets and talismans strung to their wrists and necks. Not an iota of interest in any vichaar blaring from the speakers. if you tell anyone certain actions are not in line with maryada, we are hushed as being too critical or "talibanistic" and told to let people do what they "feel" due to their "bhaavna". Prabandhaks are too busy trying to solicit money to keep the place running to pay any attention to a total lack of Sikhi dissemination. Very sad state of affairs for our young and priceless religion.
4: Bhupinder Singh Holland (Almere, The Netherlands), September 27, 2014, 4:11 AM.
A great leader of the Sikh Nation.
5: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), September 28, 2014, 12:12 AM.
One of Dr. Ganga Singh's last wishes was to see the Harmandar Sahib one last time before he passed away. Unfortunately this dream never came true. Could you imagine being denied access to the Harmandar Sahib for your entire life? For those of us who live outside of India, we must be aware of the fact that if we make our views on Punjab even slightly public, we risk the chance of being denied access to the land of our forefathers. My brother-in-law raised this very issue with me a few months ago, now with the passing of Dr. Ganga Singh I am taking his words to heart. In fact, this reminds of a recent incident when a young Amritdhari Sikh politician from Ontario was denied a visa by the Indian government when he was invited to come to Amritsar to accept an award for his efforts to bring attention to the Indian government's role in the 1984 Sikh Pogrom. This is the unfortunate result of our oppressors controlling our land. I will not resort to jingoism and insist that our people need our own country, but we do need recognition that the land of Punjab is Sikh in character and that no government has the right to deny us our freedom to visit our holy sites. Dr. Ganga Singh was a great man, I hope he finds peace with Waheguru.
6: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), September 28, 2014, 8:12 AM.
As someone who travels to Amritsar often, I can say that the late Dr Ganga Singh would have been horrified at the state of affairs in Amritsar and Punjab today. All that is left here is the hunger for money, the new endgame. All that the local boors want is money, alcohol and a male child, and that psyche travels with them to the rest of the world!
7: N Singh (Canada), September 29, 2014, 12:48 AM.
@5: If you are worried, use a pseudoyn but don't be dissuaded from posting your views here. Your comments are always welcome.
8: Bikramjit Singh (London, United Kingdom), October 04, 2014, 2:06 AM.
Sardar Ganga Singh was ahead of his time. He pioneered the approach of Sikhs being able to deal with the Pakistan government on a one-on-one basis without the Indian govt being a middle man. This has scared the establishment in India, whether it is the SGPC which lost the right to be considered the management authority of the gurdwaras in Pakistan after the creation of the PGPC or the Indian govt which lost the claim to be the representative of the Sikhs outside of India. It is sad that this approach did not continue and Sikhs of the diaspora were unable to create a unified leadership which could have dealt with other governments on an independent basis.