Sikh head dies after heart attack [View All]

[jamesinca]

Sikh head dies after heart attack
By Asit Jolly
BBC correspondent in Chandigarh, Punjab

Veteran Sikh leader Gurcharan Singh Tohra died on Thursday following a prolonged heart ailment.
Mr Tohra, 80, headed the Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the body administering Sikh religious and cultural institutions worldwide.

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Mr Tohra, who was elected president of the SGPC for a record 26 terms, passed away at a hospital in Delhi.


Political impact

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Mr Tohra's demise days ahead of the Indian parliamentary elections could prove to be a major political loss for Punjab's main Sikh party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, which is the main opposition party in Punjab.

President of the party, Parkash Singh Badal, described Mr Tohra's death as "a colossal loss".


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3588831.stm