Bhavsagar Granth

Bhavsagar Granth ("Bhavsagar Samunder Amrit Vani Granth") is a 2,704 page religious treatise said to been written by 30 authors, including Dr. Pritam Singh of Dhudhike village, under the direction of Baba Bhaniara.

Several copies of the book were snatched and burned by orthodox Sikhs. The book was banned by the Punjab government in 2001. Bhaniara has claimed that the ban is "illegal and unconstitutional" and is politically motivated.

It is not known if the book contains anything offensive, but orthodox Sikhs consider it to be parallel to the Guru Granth Sahib. They have also determined that one of Bhaniara's photographs, which shows him riding a horse, to be offensive.

Praveen Swamy wrote in Frontline [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1822/18220490.htm Volume 18 - Issue 22, Oct. 27 - Nov. 09, 2001] :

:"Sadly, there has been little debate in Punjab on the legitimacy of the Punjab Government's decision to ban the Bhavsagar Granth. .. The Bhavsagar Granth ..at no point demeans the tenets or practice of the Sikh faith. ..The Bhavsagar Granth falls within a long tradition of insurgent folk religion. The Guru Granth Sahib itself, after all, took on Brahmanism in no certain terms."

It is not known if any copies of the Bhavsagar Granth have survived [ [http://www.epw.org.in/epw/uploads/articles/10652.pdf Rajivlochan21May07 ] ] , as an article in Economic and Political Weekly May 26, 2007 states:

:"The Bhavsagar granth was banned by the government. The copies under circulation were confiscated. Any one found in possession of a copy was arrested. The print ready copy was taken away by the police and perhaps destroyed. Baba Bhaniara’s various deras across the state were destroyed. At least in a few places the deras were forcibly converted into Sikh gurdwaras and brought under the administration of the SGPC. No action was taken against those who had perpetrated these attacks"

References

* "Bhaniara seeks further investigation", "Panthic Weekly", 31 July 2005
* [http://www.onlypunjab.com/latest/fullstory-newsID-1516.htmllink "Baba Bhaniarawala's plea for security rejected"]
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1822/18220490.htm "A godman and a political storm"] , "The Hindu", 27 October – 9 November 2001

ee also

* Punjab plume controvesy
* Banned books