Punjab: Meeting on reprinted copies of 'Mahan Kosh' remains inconclusive

A high-level meeting here on Saturday to take a decision on scrapping of 24,000 copies of 'Mahan Kosh', an encyclopedia of Sikh literature, remained inconclusive.

The expert committee meeting, held at Punjabi University, was called in the wake of "mistakes and distortions" pointed out by scholars and authorities in the reprinted copies of 'Mahan Kosh', varsity officials said.

Dean of academic affairs of Punjabi University Dr G S Batra chaired the meeting.

In Saturday's meeting a decision on 24,000 copies of 'Mahan Kosh' could not be taken, the officials said.

Dr Batra said the next meeting will be called soon and a decision will be taken in this regard.

'Mahan Kosh', written by Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha and first published in 1927, is considered one of the greatest works of Punjabi.

It was reprinted during the tenure of Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in 2002-2007.

In 2016, some Punjabi language enthusiasts brought the "distortions" in the book to the notice of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex body of the Sikhs responsible for upkeep of gurdwaras, which formed a four-member committee to prepare a report.

Besides the "distortions", 132 pages that were added to the work by Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha during his lifetime have not been included in the translated English copies, an expert committee member Dr Harpal Singh Pannu had said.

Acting on the report forwarded by the SGPC to the chief minister, the university had stopped the sale of the copies last year.