Sangrawan

Sangrawan is a village near Batala in Punjab. The Tribune, in its reports of 2004 and 2005, spells it Sangrai. Sangrawan is the base of the group of the Damdami Taksal headed by Baba Ram Singh, which parted from the Taksal at Mehta Chowk after the death of Baba Thakur Singh in December 2004.

Key moments

• 24 December 2004: Baba Thakur Singh, head of the Damdami Taksal, died in Amritsar at the age of 89 (The Tribune).
• 27 December 2004: The Tribune reported that the Taksal had split again after the nomination of Baba Harnam Singh Dhumma, a US citizen aged 36. Baba Ram Singh claimed that Baba Thakur Singh had nominated him as the 15th Jathedar of the Taksal in the USA on 17 June 2003. His supporters said they would hold a parallel antim ardas at Gurshabad Parkash Gurdwara, Sangrai, near Batala, instead of at Chowk Mehta, to avoid a confrontation, and the report said the gurdwara would be the parallel headquarters of the breakaway group. It added that the breakaway group believed Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had died in Operation Bluestar, while the Chowk Mehta side kept alive the belief that he was still alive.
• By 1 January 2005: The Tribune reported that the SGPC had passed a gurmata backing recognition of Baba Ram Singh, and that the SGPC said its decision rested on a fax to the Akal Takht bearing Baba Thakur Singh's signature.
• 2 January 2005: the breakaway faction held a parallel function at Gurdwara Gurshabad Parkash, Sangrai, where, after his formal installation as 15th Jathedar of the Taksal, jathedars presented dastars to Baba Ram Singh. At Chowk Mehta the other side held the dastarbandi of Baba Harnam Singh Dhumma. Bhai Rajinder Singh Mehta alleged that Baba Ram Singh had concocted the story that Baba Thakur Singh installed him (The Tribune, 3 January 2005).

What it means today. The village stays on the map of the Taksal's divide. In June 2017 a former SGPC secretary, Manjit Singh Calcutta, said another Taksal headed by Bhai Ram Singh was situated at Sangrawan village in Batala, and that the one that performs better will shine (The Tribune, 12 June 2017). For Sikhs outside the Taksal, Sangrawan is where one of the claims to the jathedari of the Taksal was made, and the record of that claim is set out on the page for the succession dispute.