Gravesend Gurdwara Statue of Baba Band Singh Bahadur: * Clarity between Idol Worship and Educational Need
(Continued from last week)
Issues of Sikhi principle should be resolved with Gurmat-based clarity before escalation into internal time-wasting disagreements. One such issue raised recently is the statue of legendary Sikh general and martyr, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur installed at Gravesend Gurdwara.
Sardar Tarlochan Singh (Ex-M.P, Former Chairman Indian National Commission Minorities), wrote on 22 April 2026 to some UK contacts, to quote: Earlier I wrote to S. Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, MP, who is from Gravesend, objecting to placing of Banda Singh Bahadur Statue in Gurdwara premises which is against our tradition. Statues should be on main roads or crossing and not in the Gurdwaras.
The column this week summarises some views received. Direct wording has been used with some editing:
The distinction between idol worship (ਬੁੱਤ/ ਮੂਰਤੀ ਪੂਜਾ) and the educational use of images, statues, and films is necessary. All forms of visual representations of Sikh martyrs and great Sikh historical figures, including Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, should be looked at and presented from an educational angle and not treated as idols to be worshipped. Visual representations, when approached with intellectual clarity and discipline, can serve an educational purpose. Sikh history, especially in the diaspora, often requires such mediums to communicate across generations and cultural contexts.
The concern lies not in the existence of such representations, but in the context and gradual transformation of their meaning. Sikh tradition, as shaped by Guru Nanak and culminating in the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib as the Eternal Guru, made a conscious and radical shift: from form to Shabad, from external focus to internal realisation. It is for this reason that the Gurdwara space has historically remained not merely as a community complex, but also as a spiritually disciplined environment centred on the Shabad Guru. The line between educational representation and symbolic reverence can, over time, become blurred. In this sense, what is in the eye (mind) of the beholder, becomes precisely the reason for exercising long-term caution. The lives of our great figures must not remain confined to visual recall, but must be embedded within structured learning.
Examples from the UK and India are important and reflect evolving realities.
UK situation re statues in public places: Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend occupies at 8.5 acre site. The statue of Banda Singh Bahadur is in a prominent position in the Gurdwara complex and outside the Gurdwara. In the UK statues of this nature are only suitable or allowed on land owned by Gurdwaras. Only exception is Maharaja Duleep Singh in Thetford. Singh Sabha Gurdwara Derby has a fantastic Sikh museum and statues. We also have the Jassa Singh Ramgharia statue in Derby. The only Sikh statues in public spaces in the UK owned by the authorities relate to Sikh sacrifices in the world wars: Gravesend, Smethwick, Leicester, Huddersfield etc.
As pointed out, statues of Ardas and other martyrs have been on educational display at Gurdwara Mehdiana Sahib for decades and include the statute of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. There is at least one Gurdwara on GT Road from Ludhiana to Delhi with a statue at the entrance. There has been no objection from Akal Takht Sahib.
There is need for better understanding of the times, educational needs and local situations in the Sikh diaspora.
Gurmukh Singh OBE
E-mail: sewauk2005@yahoo.co.uk
https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Gurmukh_Singh_OBE