The highest-ranking Sikh priest Giani Gurbachan, the chief of Akal Takht, has kicked off a row after calling for Sikh couples to have at least three to four children each, saying it is the only way to halt the community’s dwindling population.
Pointing to Muslim community he said “On one hand, you have a family of two or only one child and on the other, a family of 10 children.
He invoked vote-bank politics trying to drive home his point saying “obviously is anybody’s guessing who has more votes and who will win”. This is one of the reasons I ask Sikhs to produce more children. In Islam, families have more children and hence they call the shots in politics. Politics is votes based and Muslims are a big votebank,” Singh clarified after his remarked kicked off a row.
“This is not for the first time that I have asked Sikhs to have three to four children. I have said this in the past too. Only one percent is opposed to the idea while remaining 99 per cent agree with my views,” he said.
Singh also counted name of prominent people in the community with three or more children. The names are – Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar.