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.
Comments
Post a Comment