At a time when the political atmosphere in the state is in turmoil, any attempt to soothe Punjabis for their anger results in more
unrest and acts as salt over their wounds. In the tenth article of this series,
I threw light on the farmer unrest and the Dera Chief’s pardon row, and now
in the sequel it is apt to discuss about the aftermaths of the same. There is
no denying the fact that religion of the majority community of the state i.e.
Sikhism has acquired center-stage in today’s political landscape of the state
especially after the desecration incidents of the holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib
on multiple occasions. Two youths have lost their lives in the aftermath as a
clash erupted between the police and the sikh protesters in Kotkapura. On the
other hand, “Panj Piaras”- the five beloveds have summoned all the
Jathedars of the five takhts for pardoning the Dera Chief- Gurmeet Ram Rahim. I
believe that it is a very bold decision but the timing of this decision isn’t
right. The decision of summoning the Jathedars would’ve been much more
meaningful before they took a U-turn on the pardon row. It was only after the
sikh high priests cancelled their pardon, the five beloveds summoned the high
priests and paid the consequences.
The five beloveds who are actually the paid employees of
SGPC and are playing a symbolic role of the five real beloveds i.e. Bhai Daya
Singh ji, Dharam Singh ji, Himmat Singh ji, Mohkam Singh ji and Sahib Singh ji. It wasn’t
of much surprise to see the five beloveds suspended and then reinstated again
by the SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar. This whole episode actually seems to
be a pre-planned drama to exhibit the superiority of the rational-legal
autority over the traditional/ charismatic authority. And this is the fact that
we sikhs mustn’t deny. Sikhism has lost its traditional glory in the era of
modernization where the rational legal authority is considered above the
traditional or the charismatic authority and similarly the professional elites
have replaced the traditional/ religious elites. It’s not that I’m putting
forward only theoretical concepts but a practical example to substantiate my
argument is the 1984 incident which resulted in the demolition of Sri Akal
Takht sahib. I feel more than disturbed to share this photo:
Let us stop living in denial as Sikhs and as Indians because
this photo proves that the power and glory of Sri Akal Takht sahib was
overshadowed by the Indian Army on the orders of the then Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi. Though PM is the second highest constitutional office of the country
which is below the President who is the supreme commander of the Indian Armed
forces. The incumbent President at that time Giani Zail Singh couldn’t do
anything as the President is more of a symbolic head of the state in India and
the real power lie with the PM and his cabinet. My point here is that deadly
force was used on the behest of the constitutional authorities of the country
from being overshadowed by a traditional politico-religious institution. I have
always advocated that Akal Takhat should be treated as an extra-constitutional
authority as the successors of the same Congress government have set an example
by introducing the concept of UPA-chairperson
who very well exercised her extra-constitutional authority over the Prime
Minister of India for 10 years.
Well I think the need of the hour is to bring forward those
sikh leaders who not only practice sikh ideals in their life but are also aware
of the intricacies of the Indian polity and have a global vision. Only such
leaders can counter the rampant “panthic-crisis” in the state. The entire
politico-religious turmoil is definitely complicating things for the the novice
party that is looking forward to enter the poll arena in 2017 but I believe
that a hypothetical alliance or an alliance of situational benefit can prove to
be fruitful for AAP if it collaborates with some panthic party that hasn’t
established much base in the state assembly or the local governments (like
municipal corporations, Zila parishads, Panchayats etc.). Parties like SAD (Amritsar),
SAD (United) or SAD (Panch Pardhani) may have a meager presence in the SGPC (considered
to be the Mini-sikh-Parliament) but in order to make their voice heard even at
the panthic level, they need to strengthen their presence in the mainstream
government institutions. As I mentioned in my article Current Sikh Politics, it is natural for SGPC to act as a second fiddle to the most
influential political parties in the region and its loyalty will automatically
gets gravitated towards the mainstream political party in the region except Congress
even if it comes to power as it has a bad reputation with the radical sikh
outfits. SGPC’s lack of autonomy and government-dependence increases when the
lucrative benefits like police protection, red beacons, pilot gypsies and Z+
security covers are extended to the Jathedars and Office-bearers of SGPC. These
benefits are immaterial for religious leaders who don’t have any genuine threat
assessment.
Coming back to the hypothetical alliance, it is worth doing
a comparative analysis of the two personalities who have successfully cracked
UPSC Civil services, acquired high ranks in bureaucracy and then given it up to
join mainstream politics. One is the incumbent Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal who in
considered to play a decisive role in the upcoming polls. The other one is an
aged sikh leader Simranjit Singh Mann who was an IPS officer until June 1984 and
resigned from Indian Police Services as a mark of protests for the demolition Sri
Akal Takhat Sahib. Many sikhs resigned from elite services at the time to
protest against the demolition of the Takht but Simranjit Singh Mann’s name
stands out because he has wholely-solely dedicated his life to the panthic
cause ever since. He has also created some fuss in the politico-religious space
of the state out of his proximity and family ties with the former CM of the
state Capt. Amrinder Singh. He can create a place in the mainstream
politics of Punjab if he softens his stand on the separatist ideology.
Unlike the media-friendly Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal who are comfortable
with the limelight and are interested in forming the government in the state,
Simranjit Singh Mann is currently an inert geek who prefers to keep a low profile and is
feared by many political honchos of the state as his ways aren’t much
pro-government. Mann is also a 2-time MP from Tarn Taran and Sangrur in 1989 and 1999 respectively.
Though the current Badal government has been taking some hard decisions recently, like removal of the Badal-loyalist Saini as the DGP of the state, as a face-saving exercise, it'll be interesting to see Punjab government's take on "Sarbat Khalsa" as SGPC has denied the interested "Jathebandis" on holding it in the Golden Temple complex. I'm sure that Badal government will try its best to look pro-panthic before the Sikh congregation and could take some more hard decisions and could go to the extent of demanding the resignation of the SGPC President, another Badal loyalist. It'll be interesting to watch the turn of events in the near future.
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