Land willed by grandfather belongs only to sangat: Dalip Singh

With the vast properties and businesses of the Namdhari sect being seen to be behind the succession war, Thakur Dalip Singh on Monday claimed that not even an acre of the hundreds of acres under the Bhaini Sahib and Jeewan Nagar deras had been willed by his grandfather Satguru Partap Singh to his sons, Satguru Jagjit Singh and Maharaj Bir Singh.

With the vast properties and businesses of the Namdhari sect being seen to be behind the succession war, Thakur Dalip Singh on Monday claimed that not even an acre of the hundreds of acres under the Bhaini Sahib and Jeewan Nagar deras had been willed by his grandfather Satguru Partap Singh to his sons, Satguru Jagjit Singh and Maharaj Bir Singh.

Thakur Dalip Singh(HT Photo)

“The property had created bad blood between my father and his brother. But I used to tell both that the property belonged to the sangat (community) as it had been created by donations. There is no will that entitles you two to it,” Dalip Singh told HT.

He said the Bengaluru farm of Namdhari Seeds was spread over 175 acres when bought around 1972, adding that he had no information about the properties his younger brother, Uday Singh, the incumbent sect head, bought in India and abroad later. “I was never involved in the properties being bought or those owned by the Bhaini Sahib dera. My grandfather had bought 1,200 acres in Sirsa, including Jeewan Nagar and Mastangarh. Of this, he donated nearly half to an educational institute. Of the remaining, 125 acres are in Jeewan Nagar and 375 at Mastangarh, which is under the control of Bhaini Sahib. My father did not will the land at Jeewan Nagar in my name, neither did I take it. It belongs to the sangat (community). After Satguru Jagjit Singh passed away, unlike Uday Singh, who was never approached by the sangat to ascend the guru gaddi, I was forced by my followers to sit on the guru gaddi. But after two months, I declared that I did not want the dera or the gaddi and came to Jeewan Nagar as my mother still lived there. I do not want to get into the power tussle and am happy that my brother has earned millions,” he added.

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On Chand Kaur’s daughter, Sahib Kaur, too pointing fingers at him, he said she would say whatever they asked her to say. ‘They do not allow her to meet me. Why is she not allowed? Why could she not be her father’s successor? Is there a law that prohibits a daughter from succeeding the father?” he asked.

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