Akal Takht Jathedar should initiate move for restoring credibility and status of Sikh institutions

Akal Takht Jathedar should initiate move for restoring credibility and status of Sikh institutions

Within hours of the Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh creating ripple during Operation Bluestar anniversary function by reviving the issue of Sikh homeland, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Gobind Singh Longowal went on record seeking permission of the government to serve Parsad and Langar in Sikh shrines. These are the two extremes in the religio-political dynamics. Seeking permission from the government to serve even Parsad and Langar reflects yet another level of the degradation of the highest Sikh institutions. The Sikhs shrines don’t function within any government outlined framework.

This statement of Longowal, however, is not the provocation for this write-up. It is just another example.

This is mainly in the context of Operation Bluestar narrative of GIani Harpreet Singh.

The problem is that the highest Sikh institutions like Akal Takht and the SGPC have lost their credibility during the last two decades and have started stinking.

It may be added here is that at one level, the Shiromani Akali Dal too is part of the Sikh institutions going by its genesis and not just a power hungry political party to which it stands reduced to.

The restoration of credibility involves certain process that also includes retrospection and review  without which concrete steps can’t be taken for revival. Both the Akal Takht and the SGPC has been representative of the Sikh aspirations from time to time. The SGPC elected under this very Sikh Gurdwara Act has been playing crucial role in dictating the Sikh religio-political discourse for years.

Depth in this case has no measure and as such, one can’t say the functioning of these institutions has hit rock bottom.

The Akal Takht Jathedar should unleash steps to evolve institutional framework for the autonomous functioning of these institutions. The framework is now all the more needed in view of these institutions having been tuned to serve the political interests of the dominant leadership. Just change in leadership is not the remedy, such is the degradation.

It is because of the lack of credibility that certain Sikh sections have questioned the legitimacy of Giani Harpreet Singh in going back to the issue of the Sikh state while justifying the raising of Khalistan Zindabad slogans. Despite the earlier Supreme Court ruling, such slogans are now inviting action from the state under colonial sedition laws.

The Akal Takht over the years has been reduced to yet another gurdwara where Guru Granth Sahib has been installed at more than one place and long Golaks (Cash boxes) placed in front creating barrier between the devotee and the Guru. This was not the functioning of this institution earlier that symbolises Sikh state power. There was no need  for Guru Hargobind to set up a gurdwara in front of the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple).

Broader consensus needs to be evolved on this sensitive issue by involving the Sikh institutions and organisations functioning at the global level. The working of many of these institutions and bodies has been taken over un-Sikh practices. This includes several prominent ones. This process could be a long haul.

The events of 2015 are a pointer to the level of exploitation of the Sikh institutions by the top political players of the time. This institution needs to be insulated from such players who might change from time to time.

Similar is the situation with the SGPC. This institution was corrupted beginning 1999 as part of the design, the degeneration in its functioning being a different issue. It may be mentioned that the design of the state during the pre-Operation Bluestar was to get this institution dissolved and replace it with a board. With its present level of rot, there is no need for that. Introducing reform is a must. This institution needs more than reforms in its functioning. The pressure has to be built from the grassroots.