Akal Takht
chief should first visit sacrilege epicenter Bargari to unite Panthic forces
Ground Zero
Jagtar Singh
The
sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari and the related issues is the narrative
that has dictated the religio-political dynamics of Punjab since the army
attack on Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex code-named Operation Bluestar in
June 1984.
It can be
termed as unfortunate that no Jathedar (chief) of Akal Takht, the institution
symbolising Sikh sovereignty and state power, has ever visited Bargari.
Not only
that.
Sant Jarnail
Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale, the commander of the Sikh militant forces during
Operation Bluestar, was head of the Damdami Taksal.
However,
Baba Harnam Singh Dhumma, present head of this seminary, is the second eminent religio-political
leader who has so far shunned Bargari.
The fight
that Sant Bhindranwale commanded was triggered by blasphemy committed by the
Nirankari sect against which the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee had
passed a resolution way back in 1973. It was following this resolution that the
Damdami Taksal then headed by Sant Kartar Singh, and the Akhand Kirtani Jatha
had started their campaign against Nirankaris.
Following the
decimation of the Shiromani Akali Dal in February 2022 Assembly elections, Akal
Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh has been calling upon the Sikhs to
unite. In his latest ‘outburst’, he lamented the degeneration of the SGPC in
the context of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal not receiving delegation
led by H S Dhami. However, he stopped short of pointing out the persons and the
politics responsible for that state of affairs.
Bargari is a
stumbling block on the way of unity of Panthic forces.
Protest dharna
has been going on at Bargari for the last several months demanding action in
the cases of sacrilege and against police officers responsible for killing of
two Sikh protesters at Behbal Kalan on October 14, 2015 in the avoidable
firing. Chief minister at that time was Parkash Singh Badal and Home department
was with his son and Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh in his capacity as the
deputy chief minister.
The House of
Badals has been in the eyes of the religio-political storm since then.
A delegation
Punjab Assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandwan including minister Harjot Singh
Bains met the protesters at Bargari yesterday and tried to persuade them to
postpone dharna by making commitment to take these cases to logical conclusion
within the next six months. Earlier, they had been given three months and now
they wanted another extension.
It may be
mentioned that AAP leaders, in the run up to the elections, had promised immediate action after forming
the government.
The issue
here, however, is the role of Akal Takht Jathedar.
He should
visit Bargari and meet the protesters to convince the Sikhs at large that he
means business when he talks of Panthic unity.
His predecessor
Giani Gurbachan Singh earned anger of the Sikhs in 2015 by exonerating Dera
Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim of the blasphemy on the basis of a flimsy
letter in September 2015. His action was sequel to the meeting of the high
priests summoned by Badal at his official residence in Chandigarh in September,
ostensibly to facilitate the release of Dera Sacha Sausa chief’s film in
Punjab. The SGPC defended this exoneration in the newspapers advertisements for
which about Rs 90 lakh was spent.
This
summoned by Badal was in brazen violation of the Sikh values as the Akal Takht
can’t be summoned by anybody. This meeting reduced the Akal Takht chief to just
a rubber stamp to the wishes of the political leaders in the Sikh matrix.
Giani
Gurbachan Singh was not allowed by the Sikhs to conduct himself even at Akal
Takht and faced angry Sikh masses. Giani Harpreet Singh subsequently replaced
him in acting capacity and he continues as such.
It is Dera Sacha Sauda whose name later surfaced
during investigations.
When Giani
Harpreet Singh talks of fall of the Sikh institutions, he should tell the
people as to what went wrong and not give the impression that his every
utterance is directed towards reviving the Badals.
Although the
Damdami Taksal has recently distanced from the House of Badals, its head should
take the next logical step and go to Bargari. Interestingly, the differences
between Taksal and Badals had started emerging following the Bargari narrative
but the troubled relationship had continued.
Giani
Harpreet Singh should visit Bargari, Behbal and Burj, the three main spots that
adjoin each other associated with this highly sensitive sacrilege narrative.
This visit
might force him to take the next logical steps towards Panthic unity.
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