Sri Maan
Baba Harnam Singh

ਬਾਬਾ ਹਰਨਾਮ ਸਿੰਘ
15th Jathedar of Damdami Taksal
Assumed office
2004
Preceded byBaba Thakur Singh
Personal details
Born
Harnam Singh

Punjab
Residence(s)Mehta Chowk, Punjab
Known forFifteenth Jathedar of Damdami Taksal

Harnam Singh, or Baba Harnam Singh is an Punjabi Sikh preacher and the 15th Jathedar of Damdami Taksal after Baba Thakur Singh.[1]

Personal life

It is unclear about the origin of Baba Harnam Singh in terms of his upbringing and native village. However, Baba Harnam Singh had been connected with the Damdami Taksal since a young age and had enrolled into the organization through the ceremony of Amrit Sanskar.

Being a member of the Damdami Taksal, Baba Harnam Singh had always been involved with the profound influence that this organization had held in Punjab. The Taksal has been very active throughout the 1980s, constantly preaching within the rural villages of Punjab, under the leadership of the controversial figure of Sikh politics, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who had later been killed alongside hundreds of other Sikhs, a lot of which belonged to the Taksal, during Operation Blue Star in 1984.[2]

During the age of Insurgency in Punjab, India, it is claimed that Baba Harnam Singh had been imprisoned by the Punjab Police and tortured within custody though there is no evidence to support this allegation. Baba Harnam Singh had been a Sevadaar of the successor to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Baba Thakur Singh, who was an elderly member of the Taksal and had been assigned by the Jatha to carry on organizational (Karajkari) duties.

In the early 1990s, Baba Harnam Singh has been said to have moved to the city of Manteca, California, where he resided for 14 years. It is believed that he spent these years in the US meditating in the house of Sikhs which belonged to the Taksal, and that he gained dual citizenship of the United States.[3]

Jathedari

The story surrounding the Jathedari of Baba Harnam Singh has always been quite controversial. After the death of Baba Thakur Singh in 2004, it is said that Baba Harnam Singh had been flown in from America instantly to undergo the Dastarbandi ceremony. The immediate arrival of him was seen by the public as very unusual, but the Damdami Taksal had supported his accession to the seat with a letter which has been claimed to have been written by Baba Thakur Singh which states that Baba Harnam Singh would succeed him. However, this letter itself has been seen as untrustworthy.

During the same time as the Dastarbandi ceremony of Baba Harnam Singh, another prominent figure within the Damdami Taksal, known as Baba Ram Singh Sangrawan, had claimed to have been the justified successor, and his own faction held a separate ceremony, in which all Sikhs were invited to attend. Despite this situation, most of the Sikh community acknowledged Baba Harnam Singh as the rightful heir. In 2017, he was officially declared as the heir to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and the 15th Jathedar of Damdami Taksal by the SGPC.[4]

Controversy

In 2016, another prominent Sikh preacher, Ranjit Singh Dhadrian Wala, who had been seen as an opponent to Baba Harnam Singh, was attacked alongside his Jatha in his vehicle while travelling near Barewal village. Ranjit Singh had survived despite having several injuries, while a member of his Jatha, Bhupinder Singh, had been killed. It is claimed that his Jatha was attacked while they had stopped at a 'Chabeel' stand, when unidentified individuals began the attack while raising slogans of "Khalistan Zindabad".[5]

Baba Harnam Singh and Ranjit Singh Dhadrian Wala had been at the heart of a philosophical conflict for a long period of time, as they had profound disagreements on various matters regarding Sikh faith, such as controversy on the Dasam Granth. After this attack had been carried out, most people of Punjab, India had suspected Damdami Taksal under the leadership of Baba Harnam Singh to have had a hand in the event. Within a few days, Baba Harnam Singh had openly spoken about this attack and stated that some students of the Taksal had taken part of what had occurred, but that he was unaware and had condemned the atrocity.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Baba Harnam Singh Acting chief of Taksal". The Tribune India. 3 January 2005. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Punjab in the days of the 1980s". India Today. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Background of Harnam Singh Dhumma". Sikh24. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Taksal Chief Dhumma hailed as heir to Bhindranwale". Hindustan Times. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "One dead in attack on Sikh preacher Dhandrianwale". Hindustan Times. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Harnam Singh Admits To 'Taksal Hand' In Dhadrianwale Attack". Darpan Magazine. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
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