Claim of Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal having spent 15-17 years in jail needs to be substantiated

 

Sardar Badal’s claim of 15 years in jail during Punjabi Suba agitation is questionable

 

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

 

Five times Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal has from time to time made claims of having spent from 15 to 17 years in jails during various agitations launched by his party that is now a century old, the second oldest in the country and the oldest regional party.

His latest claim appeared in an interview in a Chandigarh based English daily on October 8, 2021 datelined Badal (Muktsar). He talked of having spent 15 years in jail in this interview. Sardar Badal is among the talles and the oldest politicians at more than 90 years of age and it goes to his credit that he continues to be active and alert.

Here is the question and the answer reproduced verbatim:

“Q: Where do you place the Congress and the AAP vis-à-vis the Akali Dal?

A: Both the parties take directions from their leaders in Delhi. People of Punjab, in my opinion,  will chose the one that understands their issues and stay close to tyhem. Local parties serve people better and  regional should unite for a bigger say at the national level…People have a short memory. SAD has fought for the Punjabi Suba for which I was jailed for 15 years”.

His son Sukhbir Singh Badal who succeeded his father as the party president has been saying that Sardar Badal had spent 16 years in jail for the cause of the people of Punjab and he compares him to South African leader Nelson Mandela.

Nothing wrong except that these claims continue to be unsubstantiated.

This journalist has been trying to get the record over the years through RTI route but not much information is available.

Finally, communication was sent to Sukhbir Singh Badal through the party office on WhatsApp.

Here goes the communication:

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From Jagtar Singh, Journalist, Chandigarh.

 

To Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal, President, Shiromani Akali Dal.

 

Through Dr. D. S. Cheema, Official Spokesman, SAD, Chandigarh.

CC: Mr. Harcharan Bains, Political Adviser.

 

Sub: Information on jail term of S. Parkash Singh Badal, Patron, SAD.

 

I am a journalist and author based in Chandigarh. I have written two books- Khalistan Struggle: A Non-movement and Rivers on Fire-Khalistan Struggle- on Sikh affairs during the post-partition period.

I need information regarding break-up of total jail term of Sardar Parkash Singh Badal. I have tried from the government earlier under the RTI Act.

Sardar Badal has himself has claimed in a video that is with me that he spent 17 (rpt seventeen) years of his life in jail. You yourself in your speeches has been talking of Sardar Badal having 16 years in various jails as part of his political struggle for Punjab and the Panth. He has repeatedly been compared with human rights leader Nelson Mandela of South Africa.

I need complete information on this subject for my next book.

I would be obliged in case you can provide it by August 15, 2021.

With high regards.

 

June 11, 2021

e-mail: jagtarsingh201@gmail.com

M: 9779711201

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This message has remained unacknowledged despite reminder.

The Record:

 

An effort has been made here to calculate his jail term on the basis of what is in common knowledge along with the record supplied by the Punjab government under the RTI.

The reference of Sardar Badal’s arrest first appears in the context of the First Punjabi Suba Morcha (Agitation) that started on May 10, 1955 and ended after 64 days on July 12.

It is easier to start with his main jail terms.

His longest jail term was during Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi on June 25, 1975. Sardar Badal was among the first group of Akali leaders including Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Jagdev Singh Talwandi and Basant Singh Khalsa  who courted arrest on July 9, 1975. Though the Emergency regime ended on March 21, 1977, election to the Lok Sabha was announced on January 18, paving the way for the release of most of the political leaders. The Akali Dal withdrew its Emergency Morcha on January 22, 1977. It can be safely presumed that Badal remained in jail for 19 months during Emergency.

His next major term was after Operation Bluestar when he was arrested on June 11, 1984. Jathedar Tohra and Sant Harchand Singh Longowal had already been arrested by the army from the Golden Temple complex. Badal was released on April 25, 1985. Jathedar Tohra was released earlier on April 19, 1985. This period can be rounded up at 11 months.

Sardar Badal and Jathedar Tohra were again arrested on December 2, 1986 when Surjit Singh Barnala headed the Akali Dal government in the state for aiding and abetting militancy as the situation deteriorated in the state. He was released on December 2, 1987. Jathedar Tohra was released on December 2, 1989 and thus this was his longest jail term. Sardar Badal was re-arrested after Operation Blackthunder against armed militants in the Golden Temple complex on May 14, 1988 along with Sukhjinder Singh. Badal was shifted to Coimbatore jail and released on December 2, 1989 after the Lok Sabha elections. This time he spent 18 months under detention. This was the last main jail term.

Along with Sardar Badal and Jathedar Tohra who were released on December 2, 1989 after the Lok Sabha election was former Indian Police Service officer Simranjit Singh Mann who had been elected to Lok Sabha with a massive margin from Tarn Taran.

Sardar Badal’s main jail terms during post 1966 period  thus total five years.

The second Punjabi Suba agitation kickstarted with the arrest of Master Tara Singh and scores of other activists including five Akali MLAs on May 24, 1960. The Akali Jathas of 11-members each started courting arrest from May 20, 1960. There was no formal announcement of the launch of the agitation till then. Following Punjabi Suba Convention at Amritsar  on May 20, 1960, Master Tara Singh was to mobilise people for procession to be taken out in Delhi on June 12, 1960 demanding Punjabi Suba. Master tara Singh was arrested as he to thwart the Delhi march thereby provoking the agitation.

A total of 57,129 Akali activists and volunteers were arrested under this agitation that ended on October 1, 1960. (Harjinder Singh Dilgree, Sikh Twareekh, Vol. 4, p 117).

Punjab was re-organised on November 1, 1966  and this was also the period when the Akali religio-political discourse entered a new phase. The Shiromani Akali Dal came into power for the first time in Punjab since 1947 during this phase.

The party entered agitational mode again only when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency in the country on June 25, 1975 suspending civil liberties and detaining most of the opposition leaders. However, the Akali Dal leaders had not been touched as Indira Gandhi favoured some sort of understanding with this party.

The working committee of the party met on June 29 to discuss the situation.   The first batch that courted arrest on July 9, 1975 included Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Parkash Singh Badal and Basant Singh Khalsa. This agitation was withdrawn in January, 1977 with the announcement of Lok Sabha election and the release of detained leaders. This was the longest period Badal was in jail.

The next phase of agitation after Emergency started in 1980 after the dismissal of the Akali Dal-Janata Party government on February 17, 1980.

The Punjab government has provided record of Sardar Badal’s jail terms in the state jails after this period.

Sardar Badal was in Borstal Jail, Ludhiana from August 5/6, 1982 to October 16, 1982 under section 107/151 IPC. This was his arrest under the Dharamyudh Morcha. His next term in this jail was from August 28, 1992 to October 1, 1992 under section 107/151 IPC. His third term here was from January 5/6, 1993 to January 13, 1993 U/S 107/151 IPC.

He was kept in Pathankot jail for 13 days. His first term was from  October 26, 1993 to November 1, 1993 under FIR No. 12 of October 20, 1993 U/S 107/151 CrPC Police Station Lambi and second term from November 1, 1993 to November 6, 1993 under DDR No. Nill dated..Nill U/S 107/151 CrPC as per the break up provided by the Pathankot sub-jail authorities under letter No. 4272 dated March 19, 2014.

He was detained in Patiala jail for 10 days from December 1, 2003 to December 10, 2003 in the case registered against him under section 420/467/468/471/120-B IPC and 13 (1) DER/W 13(1)88 PC Act.

He was detained in Tihar jail in Delhi for some days in April, 1984.

There is yet another way of looking at the claim of his jail term.

Sardar Badal’s first reported political detention was under the first Punjab Suba Morcha in 1955 when he had just entered the politics. He contested the first Assembly election in 1957.

He became the chief minister for the third time in 1997. The agitational phase of the Akali Dal was over by that time.

Thus from his arrest in 1955 and the beginning of his third term as the chief minister, there   is a gap of 42 years.

The total period of Akali agitations during this phase is around eight years stretching even the  outer limits.

The jail period of Badal thus cannot be 16 years going by this simple calculation, even if the entire record is officially not available.

Detailed update in case provided by the party or Sardar Badal would be as such reproduced in this column.