Sehajdhari Sikh Party (SSP), formerly known as Sehajdhari Sikh Federation (SSF), is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

registered under section 29(A) of the Representation of the People Act 1951 by the

Election Commission of India The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established by Constitution of India, the Constitution of the Republic of India empowered to conduct free and fair elections in the Republic of India. It is headed by a Chief Ele ...

. It claims to be the world's first organization that represents the

Sahajdhari A sahajdhari (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਸਹਜਧਾਰੀ ; Meaning "spiritual state of equilibrium adopter"; alternatively spelt as sehajdhari) Sikh is a person who believes in Sikhism but is not an Amritdhari. A Sahajdhari adheres to th ...

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

s. Dr. Paramjeet Singh Ranu is the founder National President of the Party.Sehajdhari Sikhs back Cong
The Times of India, 20 April 2004.

Mission

SSP aims to spread the teachings and principles of

Guru Nanak Dev Guru ( ; IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential figure to the disciple (or '' s ...

and the other

Sikh Gurus The Sikh gurus (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ; Hindi: सिख गुरु) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established the religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year ...

with the preaching of

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib (, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth (), its first rendition, w ...

, to "spread the Message of Peace worldwide". It also aims to "prevent the fascist forces to divide the religion or the nation on caste basis".

History

Sehajdhari Sikh Federation was formed on 13 April 2001 by holding Ardas at Gurudwara Tahliana Sahib Raekot by certain likeminded secular persons, especially those Sikhs who were born in Sikh families, when resolutions were passed by

SGPC The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee) is an organization in India responsible for the management of ''gurdwaras'', Sikh places of worship, in the states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and t ...

to disenfranchise the voting rights of Sehajdhari Sikhs in SGPC elections. The organization was registered under the Society Act at

Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...

. On November 4, 2001, the federation held a large congregation of thousands of Sehajdhari Sikhs before

Akal Takht The Akal Takht (; ), also spelt as Akal Takhat and historically known as Akal Bunga, is the most prominent of the Takht (Sikhism), five takhts (Seat (legal entity), seats of authority) of the Sikhs. Located within the Golden Temple, Darbar Sah ...

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

and held Ardas by turning the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation into a political outfit, naming it Sehajdhari

Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Eternal Party'') is a centre-right Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are ma ...

SSAD. Later an application was filed with the Election Commission of India to register the organization as a political party under section 29(A) of the Representation of the People Act 1951. The Akali Dals in Punjab opposed the name Sehajdhari Shiromani Akali Dal and the Election Commission directed them to change the words ''Shiromani'' and ''Akali'', as the word ''Akali'' means

Khalsa The term ''Khalsa'' refers to both a community that follows Sikhism as its religion,Khalsa: Sikhism< ...

(Amritdhari) and Sehajdharis are not Khalsa. Hence, the old name was selected by the National Council of the Organisation and the Election Commission of India registered the name Sehajdhari Sikh Federation as a political party under section 29(A) of the Representation of People Act 1951. The Election Commission has approved the change of name of the party to Sehajdhari Sikh Party (SSP). The party has held a legal battle in the Punjab and

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

High Court for the voting rights of Sehajdhari Sikhs in the SGPC elections, which have existed since 1959 and were disenfranchised in 2003 by a notification. The High Court quashed the notification and revived the voting rights of Sehajdhari Sikhs. The SGPC filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict and the matter is under adjudication.

References

{{reflist

External links

sehajdharisikh.in
Political parties in India Sikh political parties Political parties established in 2001