Akal Takht
intervenes to reset Sikh religio-political discourse
Ground Zero
Jagtar Singh
Chandigarh, Dec 8: The
Sikh religio-political domain has the tendency to dictate religio-political
discourse of Punjab whose polity is different from other regions in the
country. This is the state where a national dynamic minority is in majority. This
minority was the third entity in all the political negotiations leading to
India’s independence.
What happened in Punjab
on December 2 has to be reviewed in this backdrop as this development is going
to have far-reaching impact not only on the future of the Shiromani Akali Dal
but also the political tendencies at several levels.
It is pertinent to
mention at this stage itself that the Sikh religio-political discourse is
presently affecting even India’s geo-politics, especially in the American
sub-continent in the context of the activities of a section of the Sikh
Diaspora.
December 2 was
unprecedented in the history of more than a century old Shiromani Akali
Dal created at Akal Takht on December
14, 1920 by the newly set up Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. The Akali
Dal metamorphosed over time as the voice of the Sikhs from being the volunteer
forces to fight for liberation of the gurdwaras from the priestly class..
On December 2, the
entire leadership of the Akali Dal, including the section that had rebelled
earlier on the issue of party leadership, stood with folded hands in front of
the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of the community created by Guru
Hargobind, the Sixth Guru, as the Throne of Almighty, in front of Darbar Sahib
(Golden Temple). This seat evolved as a democratic platform to resolve issues
facing the community and take decisions on contentious issues through consensus.
It must be understood that this is not just another gurdwara as there was no
need for one in front of Darbar Sahib. It was created by the Guru as the state
symbol.
Akal Takht
It is a must to briefly go into creation of Akal Takht to
understand the present discourse. The martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth
Guru, was a turning point in the dynamics
of the Sikh Faith. Darbar Sahib was conceived and built by Guru Arjan
Dev whose successor and son Guru
Hargobind qualitatively transformed this religion under diktats of the changing
situation in the context of confrontation with the state but within the
framework of the thought of Guru Nanak Dev. This is the concept of miri-piri. The
institution of Akal Takht symbolising synergy of temporal and the spiritual
opposite Darbar Sahib was his creation that gave new direction and dynamism to
the Sikh Faith. This synergy is defined by the concept of Miri-Piri.
This institution has been intervening in the
religio-political dynamics of the Sikhs whose religious arm the Shiromani Akali
Dal had evolved into. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was ordered to be whiplashed for
misconduct by Akal Takht chief Akali Phoola Singh but the punishment was withdrawn
as the Maharaja sat down with bare back.
Many of the Akali Dal presidents and other leaders have had to undergo punishment from Akal Takht.
Ironically, the Akali Dal has the history of humiliating exit of many of its
presidents who had been stalwarts during their time. They include Master tara
Singh, Sant Fateh Singh, Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Sant Harchand Singh Longowal
and Surjit Singh Barnala. The party turned dynastic after Parkash Singh Badal
took over.
As the shock of December 2 was being absorbed, another dreadful
development triggered yet another turbulence and this development was attempt
to gun down Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal at the main gate
of Darbar Sahib when he was performing Sewa of a Sewadar awarded to him. The
attacker, 68-year old Narain Singh Chaura, is a well known former militant
turned author who has penned several books.
Legacy of Parkash Singh Badal Undone
On December 2, in a historic move, this supreme institution
articulated through its Jathedar revoked the highest honour of Fakhr-e-Qaum
Panth Rattan conferred on December 11, 2011 on Akali doyen and 5-time chief
minister Parkash Singh Badal. This award was especially created for him for his
services to the Panth. This revocation of the award amounts to entire legacy of
Parkash Singh Badal having been wiped out.
The five Jathedars headed by Akal Takht chief Jathedar
Raghbir Singh directed the Akali Dal working committee to accept resignation
of Sukhbir Singh Badal within three
days. That time period has expired. A 7-member committee headed by SGPC chief
Harjinder Singh Dhami was set up monitor
fresh enrolment, the 6-month process after which the election of the president
would be held.
Almost all the Akali leaders present were handed out
indictment for the sins and mistakes committed from 2007-2017 when the Akali
Dal was in power in the state.
One has to go into the entire background of the December 2
event.
The Complaint
A section of the senior Akali Dal leaders including 4-time
SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Sikandar Singh Maluka,
Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Gurpartap Singh Wadala and Surjit Singh Rakhra after a
meeting at Jalandhar called upon Sukhbir to step down holding him
responsibility for the continuous decline of the party fortunes. It was the
major revolt since 1999 when party stalwarts Gurcharan Singh Tohra and Parkash
Singh Badal had parted company. The party, facing humiliating defeat in the
2022 Assembly elections, was reduced to the lowest ever three seats. Not only
that. Both the Badals too were rejected by the people in Lambi and Jalalabad.
It was the second defeat of Badal senior since the beginning of his legislative
career in 1957. The party was completely routed in 2024 Lok Sabha polls with ten
of its candidates losing even the security deposits. Only Harsimrat Kaur Badal
managed to retain her Bathinda bastion.
Earlier after the 2017 defeat, senior leader Sukhdev Singh
Dhindsa had come out of the party on the issue of leadership as he wanted Badal
Senior to again take over the reins. His proposal was rejected.
The rebels did not see any future under the leadership of
Sukhbir who had been under fire for his corporate style. Now the party being
controlled as a company had suffered a massive loss and several of the
shareholders quit.
The party termed the rebels as agents of enemies of the Akali
Dal, Panth and Punjab sponsored by BJP to float a parallel party. The Akali Dal
had been in alliance with the BJP from 1996 to 2021.
It may be mentioned that labelling the rebels as the agents
of other party has been the old tactic under Badal’s leadership. Even the
Panthic stalwart Gurcharan Singh Tohra was attacked as the agent of the
Congress when he questioned Badal’s leadership as the party president. Badal
held the office of both the chief minister as well as the party president.
Tohra had proposed the appointment of a working president. Now it is the BJP and the RSS that has been
under attack from the SAD for trying to control the Sikh institutions. This
narrative had started after the alliance between the two parties ended on the issue of the three farm laws that the
Akali Dal had earlier brazenly supported but had to change its stand under
pressure.
Another turn came in the Akali narrative on July 1 when the
rebel group appeared at Akal Takht and sought forgiveness for four mistakes
that were committed when the party was in power from 2007-2017. This letter
seeking atonement set the ball rolling as they submitted that they had
committed the sin of not raising their voice when these mistakes were committed.
The signatories included Bibi Jagir Kaur, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, his son
Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Surjit Singh Rakhra and Gurpartap Singh Wadala. This
complaint named Sukhbir and former Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh.
One of the major complaints was the exoneration of Dera
Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim from the charge of blasphemy. This
exoneration had been facilitated by summoning Akal Takht chief Giani Gurbachan
Singh and his associates in September 2015 to official residence of chief
minister Badal and it constituted blatant violation of Sikh Maryada as the
jathedars can’t be summoned for a meeting to the residence of the chief
minister. An apology was finalised that day and released in the form of Gurmata
on September 24, 2015. As this exoneration angered the Sikhs, the SGPC inserted
ads in papers defending it. However, it had to be later withdrawn on October
16, 2015. Giani Gurbachan Singh faced boycott from the Sikhs and could not even
attend to his duties at Akal Takht.
Exoneration Blunder
This September 24 exoneration was for the act of blasphemy
going back to May 11, 2007. On that day, Dera Sacha Sauda organised a function
at its Punjab headquarters at Salabatpura in Bathinda district to perform the
ceremony of Jaam-e-Insan copying the
Amrit ceremony of the Sikhs. Ram Rahim appeared in the dress akin to that of
Guru Gobind Singh. Punjab was rocked two days later when pictures of this
ceremony appeared in an advertisement with description. This ceremony was
imitation of creation of Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh on the Baisakhi of 1699 at
Anandpur Sahib. The Sikhs reacted angrily and Punjab was in turmoil for two
days.
Akal Takht chief Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti called
meeting of the Jathedars at Takht Damdama Sahib in Bathinda district on May 17,
2007 and issued Hukamnama directing the Sikh Sangat to snap all ties, including
social, religious and political, with Gurmit Ram Rahim, head, Dera Sacha Sauda,
and its followers. The Sikh clergy directed the Punjab, Haryana and Central
governments to ban the anti-national activities of the Dera chief.
A committee of the SGPC officials had been set up to assist
the Jathedars to draft this Hukamnama which had SGPC secretary Dr. Roop Singh
as the member. Dr. Roop Singh last week shared with this writer that the committee
came under pressure from a particular Akali leader who wanted the political
boycott dimension dropped from the draft. He resisted the pressure.
At the same time, a criminal case was filed by one Rajinder
Singh Sidhu for hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikhs on May 5, 2007 in
Bathinda. The police filed application in a Bathinda court a few days before
the Assembly election in 2012 to withdraw this case. The court gave permission
to withdraw this case in 2014. The Akali Dal government was in power. This
withdrawal of case is one of the complaints with Akal Takht.
The complaint also listed appointment of Sumedh Singh Saini
as the director general of police and induction of retired director general of
police Mohammad Izhar Alam in the Shiromani Akali Dal. Both these officers had
come under the cloud at one time for human rights violations and were among
those against whom the Akali Dal had promised action in 1996 Lok Sabha and 1997
Assembly election manifestos. Badal had backtracked from this promise after
forming the government.
Sukhbir Indicted
Sukhbir Singh Badal was indicted by Akal Takht on the basis
of this complaint and declared “Tankhaiya” on September 2.
The Akal Takht summoned all Sikh members of the Badal
cabinet from 2007-17 and members of the Akali Dal core committee on December 2
after getting written explanations from them.
Earlier in history, individual leaders had presented
themselves at Akal Takht.
However, what happened on December 2 was unprecedented as
the entire leadership stood before Akal Takht from where they were questioned
on the complaints and given the option to say yes or no.
It was only after questioning them that the verdict was
announced.
The most important part of the Hukamnama of December 2 is
the revocation of the title of Fakhr-e-Qaum bestowed upon Parkash Singh Badal.
This decision has put a question mark on the domination of this leader over the
Akali politics from 1999. His entire politics stands undone.
The sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib is rooted in the
activities of Dera Sacha Sauda. Bir of Guru Granth Sahib was reported missing
from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot district on June
1, 2015 whose torn pages were found scattered on the streets of adjoining
Bargari village in the morning of October 12 sending shock waves. The police
fired on people demanding arrest of culprits first at Kotkapura in the morning of
October 14 and 3 hours later at Behbal Kalan near Bargari killing two persons.
Punjab was at standstill for days as protesters blocked the
highways against the Badal government. A massive Sikh gathering was witnessed
at Chabba near Amritsar on November 10, 2015 that decided to purge all the
jathedars who had signed the exoneration of Ram Rahim. It was this gathering
that revoked the honour of Fakhr-e-Qaum and it is that very decision on which
the Akal Takht put its stamp in December 2, nine years later.
It was with the Bargari narrative that includes Chabba
gathering that the downfall of the Akali Dal started and this historic party
lost its space even as the main opposition in 2017 Assembly election. It was
replaced by Aam Aadmi Party. The Akali Dal faced the worst in 2022 having been
reduced to just three legislators.
The party stands completely marginalised in the political
discourse. However, the Panthic stream is active.
Akalis and Dera Sacha Sauda
The issue is as to why this soft corner of top Akali
leadership for Dera Sacha Sauda. The answer is in delimitation of constituencies
before 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Faridkot, the Badal bastion, was declared
reserve. The Badal family now shifted to Bathinda, the constituency that has
massive following of Dera Sacha Sauda. Harsimrat Kaur Badal has been
representing this constituency since 2009. It is also important that she won in
2024 too despite this confrontation between the Sikhs and Dera Sacha Sauda.
It is the present structureof Akali Dal that is also said to be one of the factors
responsible for this situation. Akali Dal, which for years had multiplicity of
leaders at the top, turned bipolar in 1995 when Badal and Tohra united. The
turning point was the shift in ideological position of the party beginning with
1995 from Panth and Punjab to Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat that was reflected
in the speech of Parkash Singh Badal at 75th anniversary conference
at Moga in February 1996. Though no resolution to this effect was passed, this
articulation came to be known as Moga Declaration later. The ideological
repositioning of the party from Panth and Punjab to Punjab, Punjabi and
Punjabiat started with this conference.
It is this repositioning that dictated the strategy and
tactics of the Akali Dal under Badal. The party started drifting away from the
Panthic stream and despite the massive response to the Khalsa Tercentenary
celebrated at Anandpur Sahib in April 1999, the party lost badly under unipolar
leadership in Lok Sabha elections held a few months later, having won only one
out of 13 seats.
It is this shift under which the party started looking to
other vote banks and gave the highest ever about a dozen tickets to Hindu
candidates in 2012 Assembly elections. The Dera Sacha Sauda narrative is rooted
in this shift. The shift to Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat should have been
balanced with the articulation of Panth, Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat.
This shift brought the Akali Dal in confrontation with the
Panthic forces. Interestingly, these forces can’t directly win elections but
has the tendency to make a strong impact. It was this section that sided with
the Congress under Capt Amarinder Singh who had promised to deliver justice on
Bargari issue but failed. It was this section that supported AAP in 2022
elections.
Due to its peculiar political discourse, Punjab needs a
strong Akali Dal as voice of the Sikhs, not just in Punjab but at the global
level. The Sikhs across India and the world look to SGPC and Akal Takht for the
resolution of their issues and these bodies are directly linked to Akali Dal.
It is not just the Akali Dal that has been witnessing continuous fall but also
these two highest institutions.
The December 2 narrative has restored the glory and
commanding role of Akal Takht.
Reshaping the Future
The issue is what next as the Akali Dal has to be reshaped,
not just to function as a strong electoral machine but also as a voice of the
Sikhs.
The Hukamnama issued on December 2 has indicted the present
entire leadership by stating that the present leadership was unfit to lead the
community while pronouncing religious punishment. However, even on December 6,
the party spokesman struck to the line that the Akali Dal was being weakened
under a conspiracy.
The attack on Sukhbir has diverted the narrative for the
time being but the basic issues as outlined in the Hukamnama has to be
addressed.
The Shiromani Akali Dal, after rejuvenation, would have to
formulate new policy programme. This has been the practice of the party going
by the Batala resolution of 1968, Anandpur Sahib Resolution of 1973, policy
programme of 1978 and Amritsar Declaration of 1994.
Though expecting harsher punishment to Sukhbir, the Akal
Takht decision of December 2 has been welcomed by the Sikhs at large.
It is expected to trigger a new beginning in the Sikh
domain by reshaping the Sikh polity in consonance with the changing situation.
Presently, the indicted leadership is undergoing penance. Would
this atonement change them? This is a big question.
The Panth expects legacy of the earlier selfless leaders to
be restored.
Comments
Post a Comment