(The kalgi that has been bought to Amritsar amongst great pomp has not been independently assessed as a genuine article. Until its authenticity has been established this story should be treated with some scepticism – Eds)
The holy Kalgi of Guru Gobind Singh arrives at the Rajasansi International Airport in Amritsar on Tuesday.
The holy Kalgi (plume) of Guru Gobind Singh was brought here today by a research team, comprising Harpreet Singh Sidhu, Punjab cadre DIG, and Kamaljit Singh Boparai, after 160 years.
The Kalgi was handed over to the Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Gurbachan Singh, bypassing the SGPC, which had formed a committee to cross-check its authenticity. However, Sikh leaders, including SGPC secretary Dilmegh Singh, HS Boliana, former OSD to then SGPC president Joginder Singh Vedanti, were present at the Rajasansi International Airport to receive the research committee.
The event was kept a “top secret” and the media was informed at the eleventh hour since earlier efforts of Boparai to bring back the Kalgi had courted controversy. Two years ago, former Jathedar of Akal Takht Bhai Ranjit Singh had called upon the Sikhs to boycott the team.
Researchers claimed that they had pieced together facts bit by bit to examine the authenticity of the Kalgi.
The possession of the Kalgi by Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been proved from the records of the Lahore Durbar and numerous other sources. Court records of the Lahore Darbar and the daily diary of Faqir Azzizuddin testify to the manner in which Maharaja Ranjit Singh daily paid obeisance to the Kalgi.
The fact that Lord Dalhousie took the possession of the Kalgi and later purchased the same from the Court of Directors of the East India Company was also proved from correspondence between the two parties.
That the possession of the Kalgi passed to the daughter of Lord Dalhousie and through her to her husband Col WH Broun. Its possession by Colonel Broun is evident from his correspondence with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, dated 1898.
The keeper of the Asian Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in a letter dated January, 2006, made it clear that after Lord Dalhousie’s death, the Kalgi, along with other relics of Guru Gobind Singh, passed on to in his family.
The correspondence with the present descendants of Lord Dalhousie (through daughters) proves that the Kalgi was indeed sold by Col Broun, either privately or through an auction.
According to the family, many other valuable items, that came in the possession of Col Broun, were sold in a similar manner. Some items that were not sold by Col Broun continue to be in the possession of the family and the Kalgi is not among those.
See PHN report from 2000 on the Kalgi
Additional reporting by Indiaexpress.com
After it was taken to England by the British as one of the rare artefacts of Sikhs after the demise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the kalgi (plume) of Guru Gobind Singh was brought home from London by a chartered flight on Tuesday. The plume was lying at the Victoria and Albert Museum and was received by Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh and SGPC head Avtar Singh Makkar.
The kalgi, one of the t revered relics of the Guru, made its journey home due to the efforts of Kamaljit Singh Boparai, a Ludhiana-based research scholar and secretary of the International Shiromani Sant Khalsa Foundation.
The kalgi, supposed to have been worn by the tenth Guru, who is also known as Kalgidhar (one who wears the plume), will be placed at the Akal Takht first. “The reports reaching here after meticulous research on the relic confirm its authenticity. It is being placed at the Akal Takht at present. A suitable place will be selected for it at the Golden Temple complex,” said Jathedar Gurbachan Singh.
Makkar said efforts of all Sikh leaders, sympathisers had borne fruit. “This is a rare relic of the Guru and it is a matter of great pride that it is with us today,” he said, adding that a special place would be allotted at the Sikh Museum at Golden Temple for the plume.
During the celebrations of the 300th year of Khalsa Panth in 1999 and the 400th year of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib in 2004, the demand was made to bring back the kalgi, but efforts did not bear fruit. “It is a rare honour that the museum authorities finally bowed to our appeals and requests and agreed to hand it over to us,” said a beaming Boparai.
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