Pal Singh Purewal

The name of S. Pal Singh Purewal is quite familier in Sikh circles as he is the author of the original Nanakshahi Calendar, which was adopted by Sri Akal Takht Sahib in 2003. This calendar was in operation till 2010, when it was amended and readopted under the name Nanakshahi Calendar. Purewal dedicated almost his entire life in preparing Nanakshahi Calendar. He advocated a separate calendar as he believed that the Bikrami Calendar (BC) was a Hindu calendar which had been used by Sikhs. Stating that the year of advent of Guru Nanak Sahib was 1526 Bikrami Samwat, Purewal claimed, “This means that the calendar had been there long time before Guru Nanak Sahib.” In the recent past, Sikh clerics had announced to form an 18-member committee comprising Sikh representatives from across the world to reframe NC to end the confusion over religious days. Purewal said Sikhs had their own distinct identity even before NC, but it was incomplete. “Calendar is a necessary and an important part of the identity,”

he said. Pointing out flaws in BC, he said, “Its year is sidereal, which means its months slip in seasons. The length of the calendar Manjit Singh GK 500 Sikh 58 Role Models year has to be based on the length of the tropical year. Only then can months and seasons have permanent relationship.” NC’s year was based on the length of tropical year and was shorter by about 20 minutes from that of BC, he added. “Its calendar months will always have the same relationship with seasons as mentioned in gurbani. Whereas the months of Bikrami Calendar have already shifted by about eight days since the time of Guru Nanak Dev,” he reasoned. When asked about the opposition to NC, he replied, “Opposition is not from common people. It is from groups with vested interests. There has been excellent acceptance of NC by Sikhs and Sikh organizations abroad because they are not influenced by politics in Punjab.” He is not happy with the proposed changes and has appealed to the Akal Takht to re-implement the original calendar irrespective of the disagreement on it by Sant Samaj and other Sikh bodies. Although the Calendar conterversy need to be sortedout by collected wisdom of the Sikhs, till it is not settled, we should not disunite ourselves by making seprate groups. The role model Calendar maker, S. Purewal must be appreciated for his sincere efforts and he also must be associated in all kinds of deliberations before the issue is finally decided in interest of and for the benift of entire Panth.