Gurcharan S. Tohra, 79; Headed Sikhism’s Top Official Body
Top Sikh religious leader Gurcharan Singh Tohra, who headed Sikhism’s highest administrative body, died Thursday in New Delhi after suffering a heart attack, officials said. He was 79.
Tohra was president of the Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, or SGPC, the body that administers Sikh religious and cultural institutions worldwide. He had held the post 26 times since 1960.
Religious groups heavily influence politics in Punjab state, where Sikhs are a majority. The Punjab-based SGPC operates from the most revered Sikh shrine: the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, 280 miles west of New Delhi.
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