Amid controversies related to their origin, the centuries old and huge gates at Darshani Deori, which serve as entrance to the sanctum sanctorum of Golden Temple, were removed on Sunday for “preservation”. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) decided to remove the gates as they were in need of immediate repairs. The sandalwood base had started crumbling and the ivory carving and golden screws on the doors had suffered damage after withstanding the vagaries of time.
Since their installation in 1800 AD by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, this was for the first time that the gates were unhooked. While these traditionally-decorated doors have been at the Golden Temple for the last 210 years, a section of historians believes the gates were originally from Gujarat’s Somnath Temple, which were looted by Afghan invaders in the 12th century, and which were later brought back by the Sikhs from Afghan hands.
A few Sikh bodies have raised suspicion that the doors are being removed to be sent back to Somnath under pressure from the BJP, which shares power with the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab. They say the Sikh warriors, after possessing the precious gates from the Afghans, had offered them to Hindus but the Somnath management had refused to accept the doors, terming them “impure” as these had been looked at by the Afghans.
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with thanks : source : Express India
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