an-assertion-of-identities-through-flags

Members of the Sikh community installed the ‘Khalsa Panth’ flags atop their houses and other places in response to the directive from the Akal Takht on April 9. 

 

The five high priests in a meeting on April 9 had issued a directive to all the Sikhs to recite the ‘Mool Mantra’ for five minutes at 9 am (IST) on the day of ‘Khalsa Sajna Divas’ (Baisakhi) and also install the ‘Khalsa Panth’ flags atop their places everywhere. 

 

The message was for the Sikhs living across the globe. The timing of the installation and recitation of the Mool Mantra obviously could be adjusted locally depending on the time zones people are living in. The ‘Khalsa’ flags, orange in colour, were seen aflutter across Punjab. 

 

 

 

This is the second time that the ‘Khalsa Panth’ flags were installed atop houses in recent times. 

Earlier, around 2012, the Khalsa Panth flags were also installed to express solidarity with former Punjab CM Beant Singh’s assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana, while he was on death row. 

 

It was a bright brilliant spectacle of orange-coloured flags seen atop most of the houses across the state. It somehow reminds us of the flags installed by the devotees of Lord Ram on the day of the inauguration of the Ram Temple.

 

Earlier, during the ‘Pran Patishtha’, the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the followers of Lord Rama had also installed saffron flags atop their houses across India. 

 

The timings of both the ceremonies are important. 

 

When the devotees of Lord Rama installed the flags, it was seen as an assertion of their identity. Although the inauguration of the Ram Temple is attributed to the Bharatiya Janata Party government and the Prime Minister Modi, Lord Rama’s followers, cutting across the party lines, installed the saffron “Ram Flags” atop their houses. 

 

For the inauguration ceremony in Ayodhya, the organisers had invited members and representatives of all religions and political parties. 

While most of the political parties participated, some like the Congress and the Communist Party of India declined to attend as the event was seen to be organised by people having allegiance with the BJP.

 

In the case of the Akal Takhat directive, it was not viewed in a partisan way for the obvious reason that the Akal Takht is the supreme temporal authority of the Sikhs. Members of the Sikh community cutting across party lines installed the ‘Khalsa flags’ atop their places.

 

Even though the occasion was organised on the directive of the Akal Takhat, the Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal leaders were seen more actively involved than others, suggesting to claim credit. Social media platforms were full of people posting “selfies” with the ‘Khalsa Panth’ flag, most of them being the Akali leaders like Bikram Singh Majithia and Virsa Singh Valtoha.

 

Although there was nothing political about the occasion, it did provide a chance for the SAD-B leaders to assert the “Panthic” identity of their party. 

The party is desperately trying to re-establish its roots in the community after witnessing a long bad patch in its electoral fortunes. 

 

With the General Elections already underway and the Akalis fighting it alone, independent of the BJP, they gravely needed an occasion to help them reaffirm their Panthic credentials. 

 

As mentioned, there was nothing political about the Akal Takhat directive,  and the message was not lost on the leaders of other political parties either. They did not let themselves lag in any way to install the flags atop their places as directed by the Akal Takhat.

 

Senior Congress leader and former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was among those who also installed the ‘Khalsa flag’ in his place. 

Irrespective of the apolitical nature of the event, the Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal is trying to earn some political capital out of it. 

 

After all, the SAD-B is a “panthic” party claiming to represent the Sikh Panth, although a large section of the Sikh population may not agree with that. 

 

But the Akalis did make a strong point today, rather than a big “Panthic Statement”. 

 

The message may have been subtle, but it was clear at the same time. In the battle of assertion of identities, nobody would like to be seen lagging in any way.