PMC Bank crisis dampens Guru Nanak’s birth celebrations

Sikh delegation to meet former PM Manmohan Singh

Crisis at hand: Account-holders of PMC bank protesting at the Esplanade court in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank fraud has dampened the Sikh community’s celebration plans for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

This year, the birth anniversary falls on November 12 but community members and gurudwaras are yet to start planning in full swing.

10-member delegation

To seek guidance to deal with the crisis, a 10-member Sikh delegation will meet former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who will be in Mumbai on Thursday to deliver a talk on the Indian economy.

“The agenda of our meeting is to get Dr. Singh to suggest ways to revive the PMC Bank which can be communicated to the Reserve Bank of India. We also want to seek his guidance on what the community can do to overcome this crisis,” said Jasbir Singh Dham, president of the gurudwara in Chunabhatti and a trustee of the Guru Nanak Vidhyak Sanstha, who is a part of the 10-member delegation.

Landmark year

Referring to Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary, Mr. Dham said, “This was a time when our thoughts should have been focussed on charting out the programme for celebrations and making this landmark year a grand success. Unfortunately, concentration has shifted to the PMC bank issue.”

Mumbai has nearly 130 gurudwaras. Many schools, colleges, and medical institutions are also run by the community. According to Mr. Dham, an estimated ₹100 crore of all these institutions is stuck in the PMC bank. “With the crisis, celebrations may be affected.”