Balwant Singh Nandgarh is a Sikh politician and Jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, one of five seats of temporal authority of Sikhism. Balwant Singh was a farmer in Nandgarh, Bathinda, Punjab, India. In 1997, he became a member of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). According to

Gurcharan Singh Tohra Panth Rattan Shiri Gurcharan Singh Tohra (24 September 1924 – 1 April 2004) was a president of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), a Sikh body in charge of controlling Gurdwara (Sikh places of worship). He died of a heart attack ...

, Nandgarh was given ticket to contest elections for SGPC because he was the only applicant to introduce himself as " Khalsa". In 2003, he was made the Jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib. In 2007,

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan (born 15 August 1967), known also as MSG, is the head of the Indian social group Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) since 1990. Prior to a 2017 rape conviction, he was a religious leader, actor, singer, writer, songwriter, ...

, head of

Dera Sacha Sauda Dera Sacha Sauda ("Camp True-Deal"; colloquially DSS) is an Indian non-governmental organization described as a "religious cult" and "non-profit social welfare dera" that was established on 29 April 1948 by Mastana Balochistani, an ascetic f ...

had appeared in an advertisement dressed up as

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Sing ...

, 10th Sikh guru. This resulted in a widespread clashes between Dera followers and Sikhs. Nandgarh formed a Sikh group called Ek Noor Khalsa Fauj to stop the religious gathering of Dera Sacha Sauda.

Nanakshahi calendar

Nandgarh has supported the 2003 version of Nanakshahi calendar, a

solar calendar A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The Gregorian calendar, widely accepted as a standard in the world, is an example of a solar calendar. T ...

also known as the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar created by

Pal Singh Purewal Pal Singh Purewal (1931/1932 – 22 September 2022) was a Canadian engineer, author, scholar and a teacher. He was commonly known as the architect of the Nanakshahi Calendar and the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar. He was also known as a role model in th ...

to determine the dates for various

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

events. In 1999, this calendar was adopted by SGPC, replacing the

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

Bikrami calendar Vikram Samvat ( IAST: ''Vikrama Samvat''; abbreviated VS) or Bikram Sambat B.S. and also known as the Vikrami calendar, is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent. Vikram Samvat is generally 57 years ahead of Gregorian Calen ...

. However, the Nanakshahi calendar created some confusion, as the dates of some festivals such as Holi and

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

, and birthdays of Guru Nanak and

differed from the corresponding dates in the Bikrami calendar. In 2009, SGPC amended the calendar and fixed the dates of these festivals according to the Bikirami calendar. In 2014–15, according to the amended Nanakshahi calendar,

's birthday fell on 28 December 2014, which overlaps with the martyrdom day of his younger sons. To resolve this, SGPC announced 7 January 2015 as the new date for celebrating Guru Gobind Singh's birthday. Later, SGPC backtracked and re-announced 28 December 2014 as the date for the event. As per the 2003 Nanakshahi calendar, the date of this event was 5 January. Nandgarh asked people to celebrate the event on 5 January. He was supported by various other Sikh organizations which demanded that the 2003 Nanakshahi calendar should be re-implemented. Nandgarh's support was seen as going against the SGPC and the ruling party of Punjab Shiromani Akali Dal. In 2011, the Nanakshahi calendar had been released by Ek Noor Khalsa Fauj under the patronage of Nandgarh. On 17 January 2015, Nandgarh was removed from the office of Jathedar by the SGPC. According to SGPC president

Avtar Singh Makkar Avtar Singh Makkar (1943–2019) was a Punjabi politician and former President of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Life and career After the Partition of India he with his family first settled at Mustafabad then in Roorkee and finally i ...

, Nandgarh had violated the Sikh Rehat Maryada (religious code of conducts) and disobeyed certain decisions made by SGPC. Several Sikh organizations such as Dal Khalsa, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee criticized the manner in which Nandgarh was removed from his post.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nandgarh, Balwant Singh Sikh Jathedars People from Bathinda district Living people Indian Sikh religious leaders Year of birth missing (living people)