Akali Dal chief has only one while Akal Takht chief 3 choices in turbulent Sikh matrix

 

Akali Dal chief has only one while Akal Takht chief 3 choices in turbulent Sikh matrix

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

Chandigarh, November 14: The present turbulence in the Sikh religio-political matrix is unprecedented.

At the centre of this turbulence is mainly the role of Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal over a decade but at a broader level, that itself is not the issue.

The basic issue is that of the future of the 104-year old Shiromani Akali Dal that had evolved as the global voice of the Sikhs. That voice has now gone mute. Should the fifth largest religious denomination be voiceless at the political level?

The situation has also to be viewed in the context of the global Sikh concerns as the Diaspora Sikh narrative has come to impact India’s geo-politics under the Narendra Modi government whose self-proclaimed muscular nationalism has come under suspicion. (Ghus Kar Marenge)

The Shiromani Akali Dal has been virtually indifferent to this geo-political narrative associated with the Sikhs in countries like Canada, USA and England.

The present crisis can briefly be traced to June 1, 2015 when a Bir (copy) of Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh holy book) was reported missing from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot district in the Malwa hinterland that otherwise used to be Akali bastion.

Ruling Punjab at that time was the Akali Dal-BJP alliance headed by Parkash Singh Badal with Sukhbir Singh Badal as the deputy chief minister who also headed the Akali Dal.

The crisis deepened as the pages of this Bird were found scattered in the streets of Bargari village adjoining Burj on October 12.

The state government badly mishandled the situation.

This is just one aspect as the issue turned multidimensional with the accusing finger being pointed at politically important Dera Sacha Sauda, headquartered in Sirsa in Haryana but with main following in Malwa tract of Punjab.

Sukhbir presently is faced with crisis a that is rooted in this narrative following the representation filed by a section of the Akali Dal senior leaders after parting company with him. One of the main dimensions of the complaint relates to the exoneration of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in 2015 by the highest Sikh clergy headed by Akal Takht chief that was allegedly managed by Badals following the summoning of high priests at official residence of the chief minister in Chandigarh.

Sukhbir was indicted (declared Tankhaiya) on the basis of this complaint on August  30, 2024. This complaint also referred to some other issues too but those were mainly administrative decisions.

Sukhbir yesterday approached Akal Takht (supreme temporal seat symbolizing transcendental Sikh sovereignty created by the Sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind himself) to expedite the quantum of punishment (Tankhah) to be awarded to him as the same had been inordinately delayed thereby hampering his functioning.

In this process, however, he stirred yet another controversy by claiming that complaint against him on which he had been indicted was baseless.

Earlier, he had given in writing that he humbly owned all the acts of omission and commission. Now he has reversed his own stand, thereby posing a challenge to Akal Takht chief Giani Raghbir Singh.

The case should definitely be expedited but not without going into every aspect of it as it also involves role of Parkash Singh Badal who is not now in this world and some other players.

Akal Takht Jathedar has already initiated the process of consultations with various section.

It may be recalled that the entire Sikh world had adversely reacted to the exoneration of Dera chief in 2015 and that decision had to be reversed within weeks. Then Akal Takht chief Giani Gurbachan Singh faced anger of the Sikhs who stopped him from entering Akal Takht and he subsequently exited in disgrace.

Giani Raghbir Singh has three choices - to follow the example of Akali Phoola Singh who as Akal Takht chief had indicted Maharaja Ranjit Singh, face the fate of Giani Gurbachan Singh, or quit as the middle path.

Sukhbir has only one choice - he can resign as the president of Shiromani Akali Dal.

It is being clarified here that the Shiromani Akali Dal is supposed to be accountable to Akal Takht as this party was created at this very institution with which it has organic relationship.

The Akal Takht has been interfering in affairs of the Akali Dal all along. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee that is the appointing authority for Takht chiefs acts as a bridge between the Akal Takht and the Akali Dal.

It has been conveyed to the Akali leaders that any non-political Tankhah (punishment) would not help the Akali Dal in the revival of its fortunes but would definitely further damage credibility of the Akal Takht going by the strong Panthic sentiment as reflected in the downfall of this second oldest political party in the country since the 2017 Assembly elections.

The dominant Panthic sentiment is to fix accountability of this degeneration as the Akali Dal has virtually become irrelevant in the political landscape.

And the Sikh institutions in the process have also suffered.

At stake is not only the future of Shiromani Akali Dal but also that of the Sikh institutions.

Changes in the leadership of the Akali Dal had never assumed such importance till 1996 when Parkash Singh Badal took over the command. He was unprecedently followed by his son Sukhbir Singh.

The issues are larger than the future of any particular leader.