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Cases relating to sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib return to electoral arena of Punjab

 



 

 

Sukhbir Badal rightly says Panth want justice in Bargari  sacrilege cases

Issues stage come back to electoral arena

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

Punjab’s political dynamics has by and large been dictated by the Sikh religio-political dynamics for long although this may not be entirely so in case of electoral dynamics.

The issue relating to the Bargari related sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib returning to the centre-stage of the electoral dynamics in the run up to the February 2022 Assembly elections in Punjab is important. Bargari had led to the disgraceful exit of Badals from power in 2017 with Shiromani Akali Dal failing to emerge even as the main opposition.

Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the Panth demand justice in sacrilege cases while expressing the apprehension that he might be framed up by the Chranajitr Singh Channi government by roping in false witnesses. He claimed this information from “sources”.

Interestingly, he today again stopped short of extending categoric apology on this issue. He said, “Jihra Beadbi Da Issue Hai, Bhaven Saadi Sarkar De Dauran Hoiya, Sabh Ton Jyada Dukh Saanu Hoiya…Main Pehlan Vi Sangat Ton Maafi Mangi, Saanu Dukh Hai Ki Saadi Sarkar Dauran Hoiya”. (Though the sacrilege issue took place during our government, we were pained the most. Earlier too I had apologised…We regret that it happened under our government). (From video).

From saying Panth want justice he shifted to Punjabis demanding justice.

His media interaction today at Phagwara was focussed mainly on this very issue.

First the issue itself.

The series of incidents relating to sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib took place in 2015 when Parkash Singh Badal was the chief minister heading the Akali Dal-BJP alliance government in which his son and Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal was the deputy chief minister who as the home minister directly controlled the police department.

The Bir (copy) of Guru Granth Sahib was reported missing from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in the afternoon of June 1, 2015. This was the first reported case of theft of Guru Granth Sahib in the history of the Sikhs. However, neither the chief minister, nor the deputy chief minister, not even any other minister, visited the village.

Then suddenly on September 24, abusive posters appeared in nearby Bargari village challenging the Sikhs to find out their Guru (Guru Granth Sahib is Guru Incarnate for Sikhs) hidden in the same village. Similar abusive hand written poster appeared in Burj village simultaneously.

A shocked Bargari village woke up on October 12 to find the pages of Guru Granth Sahib scattered in the streets. The incidents triggered anger and shock waves in the surrounding villages. Villagers started gathering in Bargari and took the torn pages in a procession to the nearest town of Kotkapura in the afternoon where they sat on dharna.

The protesters included, men and women, old and young, and children. The police from several districts surrounded the dharna spot early in the morning on October 14 and the action started.

Three hours after Kotkapura action, the police targeted another dharna near Behbal Kalan village on a link road next to Bargari. The police opened fire killing two protesters. In the first information report registered at Bajakhana police station, the police were described as “Unidentified”. Police being unprecedented was unprecedented as every piece of arms and ammunition issued to the force is duly recorded.

Protests spilled out to entire state and every major highway was jammed.

This in short is the narrative per se relating to sacrilege at Bargari.

However, it is the narrative before and after these incidents that is equally important.

Now that the people who carried out the sacrilege have been arrested, information point to the hand of Dera Sacha Sauda behind these incidents.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who heads this Dera, is in Rohtak jail serving terms in two murder and a rape case.

This narrative dates back to early May 2007 when picture of Dera chief attired like Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th and the last Sikh Guru, appeared in the papers evoking strong protests by the Sikhs. The Sikh religio-political establishment led by Akal Takht Jathedar came into action and ordered boycott of the Dera. This Dera has main following in the Malwa belt of Punjab. This Dera supported the Akali Dal in 2009 Lok Sabha election and made this announcement at a press conference.

It was in 2015 that this edict was withdrawn in a controversial directive based upon a letter that did not  amount to apology from Dera chief. What is important is that the members of the Sikh clergy were summoned to official residence of Badal days before this exercise to exonerate Dera chief was executed. This again was violation of the Sikh religious code as these high priests can’t be summoned by a chief minister of a court in relation to their functioning.

As anger erupted against this action of the high priests, this decision to forgive the Dera chief was withdrawn. In the process, however, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee spent about Rs 90 lakh on ads released to newspapers defending controversial exoneration of Dera chief. SGPC is controlled by the Shiromani Akali Dal.

As the protests intensified against Bargari sacrilege, the Shiromani Akali Dal tried to counter the Sikh mobilisations by holding peace and communal harmony conferences.

The Sikh organisations excluding the Shiromani Akali Dal started dharna at Bargari from June 1, 2018 demanding justice and the Akali Dal again countered this protest by organising parallel conferences. The leaders leading the dharna at Bargari were attacked sharply by Akali leaders by referring their links to the militant struggle.

The issues are not just the criminal part but also the political dimension in the context of the role of the Akali Dal, both in 2015 and 2018.

The Congress swept to power as the party promised to deliver justice. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh failed to deliver and faced humiliating exit.

Now is the turn of his successor Charanjit Singh Channi to deliver.

He is under pressure from his state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu too who is functioning as his main opposition to deliver.

Sukhbir Singh Badal and Aam Aadmi Party too want the issue to be taken to the logical conclusion.

The issue is back in the electoral arena, both in case Channi delivers or fails to deliver.

 Channi has promised to act.

 


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