Tale of
Akali Dal’s two constitutions, one Panthic and the other non-Panthic
Ground Zero
Jagtar Singh
There is
nothing wrong with any political party including the Shiromani Akali Dal to effect changes including in the constitution dictated
by the changing times and expediency.
In this
context, there should be no objection to the Akali Dal opting for a new
constitution.
After all,
Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal recently raised slogan of Jai Shri Ram in
the party office in Chandigarh that symbolised total transformation of the once
Sikh party.
However, the
problem can arise in case the party tries to take advantage of both the constitutions.
At times, Sukhbir Singh Badal can be heard talking of the Akali Dal being a party
articulating Sikh concerns.
The
controversy regarding two constitutions has come under focus following
direction issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to party patron, former
president and former 5-time chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, former deputy
chief minister and party president Sukhbir Singh Badal and party secretary Dr.
Daljit Singh Cheema to appear in
Hoshiarpur court and join the proceedings in the case relating to two
constitutions.
The case in
Hoshiarpur court was filed by activist Balwant Singh Khera against the Akali
Dal alleging the party was using two constitutions and this amounted to fraud. The
case has been on for years without making any progress.
The
Shiromani Akali Dal contests elections to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee as a party. Both
these bodies are engaged in activities that relate to religious domain of the
Sikh community, mainly management of the gurdwaras under their respective
territorial jurisdiction.
Both
constitutions are different
It is
pertinent to mention that the Akali Dal was created by the non-statutory SGPC
on December 14, 1920 at Akal Takht, the seat of Sikh sovereignty created by
Guru Hargobind, as its volunteer force for the gurdwara liberation struggle and
evolved over the years as the
organisation to articulate aspirations and ambitions of the Sikhs.
The earlier
constitution was adopted under this framework.
This
constitution was “Adopted by the Working
Committee unanimously at its meeting on September 2, 1974 in accordance with
the authorization from the general house on October 1, 1972 and amended in
general house on October 28, 1978.”
Its first
two objectives are very important:
Main Objectives:
1. Propagation of Sikh religion and its
code of conduct, denunciation of atheism and apostasy. To take steps for the
management of gurdwaras and reforms therein.
2. To reinforce the exclusive Sikh
identity and strive for the creation of geo-political environment in which
national sentiments and aspirations of the Sikh Panth are fully manifested and
flourish.
(Translated
from the 1978 copy)
The 1974 copy
was released under the print line of party secretary Giani Ajmer Singh and the
1978 version by Giani Bhan Singh. Both these copies are available but the main objectives remain the same.
Then there
is another copy that has been downloaded from the Election Commission of India
portal and it is undated.
It states:
“CONSTITUTION
OF
SHIROMANI AKALI DAL (ENGLISH
VERSION)
The political principles on which the
body is based.
The Shiromani Akali
Dal is
a political
party, which is formed on
the basis
of democratic principles and
to create
an environment
through democratic and peaceful means to
secure better standard of living
, equality
and justice
for all
sections of society and especially
to safeguard the interests of National
Minorities in general and
Sikhs in particular. The Shiromani
Akali Dal realizes that India is
a federal
and republican
geographical entity of different languages,
religions and cultures. To
safeguard the fundamental rights of
the religious
and linguistic minorities, to fulfill the
demands of the democratic traditions
and pave
the way for economic progress,
it has become imperative that the Indian
constitutional structure be given
a real
federal shape by redefining centre
state relations and rights
on the
lines of the aforesaid principles
and objectives.
AIMS AND OBJECTS
“ The Shiromani
Akali Dal realizes that India
is a
federal and republican geographical
entity of different languages ,
religions and cultures. To safeguard
the fundamental rights
of the religious and linguistic minorities, to fulfil
the demands of the democratic traditions and to pave the way for economic
progress it has become imperative
that the Indian constitutional structure be given
a real
federal shape by redefining the
Centre and State relations and
rights on the lines of aforesaid
principles and objectives.”
“Shiromani Akali Dal
has ever
stood firm on this principle
and that
is why after very careful consideration
it unanimously
adopted a resolution to this
effect first at All India Akali Conference , Batala,
then
at Shri Anandpur
Sahib endorsing the principle
of Federalism.
As such, the Shiromani Akali Dal emphatically urges upon the
Government of India to
take cognizance
of the
different linguistic and cultural sections, religious minorities as also
the voice
of millions
of people
and recast
the constitutional structure
of the country on real and meaningful federal
integrity of the country
and further
, to
enable the states to play
a useful
role for
the progress and prosperity
of the Indian people in their respective areas by
meaningful exercise of the
powers”
These are
the two different versions and the second one is focused on federalism. The
religious dimension has been dropped in the version submitted to the poll panel.
However, nothing is known as to when was this
constitution adopted, as going by the earlier practice, it is first adopted by
the working committee and then ratified at the general house meeting.
Importantly,
the Panthic objective in the 1978 version is again significant as it is the
same as resolved under the Anandpur Sahib Resolution adopted by the general
house in 1977.
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