Ban 'Dastan-e-Sirhind' film: Dal Khalsa

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 25

The film ‘Dastan-e-Sirhind’, has generated a controversy after the reports surfaced that the ‘Chhote Sahibzade’ (sons of Guru Gobind Singh) have reportedly been personified through animation, thereby inviting the ire of the Sikh community at large.

A delegation of the Dal Khalsa, under the leadership of party spokesperson Paramjit Singh Mand, met Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami and urged him to take steps to ban movie ‘Dastan-e-Sirhind’, the screening of which is scheduled for next week.

Mand said he had also spoken to the director of the film, Navi Sidhu, and asked him to withdraw the film, about which he has said he would take a decision in two-three days. “He has been conveyed that any film that violates Sikh principles and undermines the Sikh beliefs will not be allowed to be screened. He should go to the Akal Takht and cancel the screening of the film,” he said.

Sikh principles prohibit the depiction and filming of Gurus and their immediate families whether in human form or through computer graphics.

After receiving some questions about whether the Sikh body has given any approval to the said film or not, SGPC spokesperson Harbhajan Singh Vakta had issued an official statement saying that the SGPC takes a decision only after a thorough review of every aspect of any film related to Sikh history, hence no approval has been given to run the film. He said the matter was connected to the religious sentiments of the sangat, therefore, the SGPC was mindful.

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