AMRITSAR SAHIB, Punjab—Taking a historical decision, Namdhari faction led by Thukur Dalip Singh on Sunday announced to join mainstream of Khalsa Panth in a religious function held at Pataka market here.

In thepresence of various Sikh leaders, Thakur Dalip Singh wore full Sikh attire with kirpan and also asked his Namdhari followers to do so.

Addressing the function, he said Namdhari Sikhs are followers of maryada of Panj Kakars which was implemented by 10th Guru Sri Guru Gobind Singh. He made it clear that during British regime, rulers imposed ban on wearing long Kirpan. In view of this, Baba Ram Singh asked Sikhs to keep minor kirpan along with ‘Kangha’ (wooden comb) so that maryada of Panj Kakars is not violated, he said.

“At present, there is no ban on it and Namdhari Sikhs are allowed to wear long Kirpan right from today. We believe in Sikh tenets firmly even today and we will start to follow Maryada of Khalsa Panth completely”, he added.

On the occasion, Thakur Dalip Singh placed the Kirpan on Namdhari Sikhs with his own hands.

SGPC member Bhai Manjit Singh said it is quite appreciable that Thakur Dalip Singh has taken steps towards panthik unity. He said portraits of Namdhari martyrs should be installed in central Sikh museum (Sri Darbar Sahib).

It is worth mentioning that the Namdhari sect remained an integeral part of Sikhs but after the death of Baba Ram Singh during British rule, the following heads parted ways with Sikh mainstream. They changed Sikh code of conduct also. They even refused to follow Guru Granth Sahib as ‘Guru’. After the death of Jagjit Singh two years ago, the sect divided into two factions over the headship of the sect. One faction was led by Uday Singh and other is led by Thakur Dalip Singh.