There seems to be no redemption in sight for the crisis in the religio-political affairs among the Sikh community.
The tussle between the Shiromani Akali Dal, supposedly the representative party of the community, and the five religious institutions, called Takhts, continues unabated.
The latest episode is the sacking of two Jathedars, including Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh and Takht Kesgarh Sahib Jatehdar Giani Sultan Singh, by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee.
The institution of Akal Takht is the supreme temporal authority in the Sikh religion. Akal Takht Jathedar (head) holds the supreme position in Sikh religious affairs. Despite such power and authority vested in him, he remains in office at the discretion of the SGPC only.
This is because the SGPC is an “elected” body where members are directly elected by the Sikh electorate.
The framers of the SGPC Act had devised a perfect way for the appointment of the Akal Takht Jathedar by an elected body, which was supposed to watch and safeguard the ‘panthic’ interests at all costs, independent of any external influence or vested interests.
However, no matter how noble and grand the intent may be, it always boils down to the implementation at the ground level. There was a time when Akal Takht had imposed “tankha” (religious punishment) on the great Sikh ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who willingly and gracefully accepted it. But over the years, there has been a dilution and saturation in the noble ideals.
The sacking of three Jathedars by the SGPC only proves that no matter how much authority they are vested with, they will always remain at the mercy of those who control the SGPC.
In the current case, the SGPC continues to remain under the control of the Shiromani Akali Dal, headed by Balwinder Singh Bhunder, but controlled by Sukhbir Singh Badal, who despite having resigned as the president, continues his firm grip on the party.
The SGPC first sacked the Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, Giani Harpreet Singh, who was earlier the acting Jathedar of the Akal Takht. This was followed by the sacking of the new Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh and the Jathedar of Takht Kesgarh Sahib, Giani Sultan Singh.
The immediate provocation for the sacking of the three Jathedars is obvious. They had been very instrumental and aggressively vocal in awarding “tankha” to Sukhbir Badal. Besides, they had withdrawn the title of “Fakhr-e-Qaum” to the late Parkash Singh Badal.
While the Congress, otherwise a secular party, that rarely comments on Sikh affairs, has maintained that the sacking of the Jathedars was an act of vengeance, opinion is divided among the Sikh community - whether the ‘Jathedars’ had breached their brief the way they dealt with the issue and the matter was decided on basis of facts or in reaction to the public perception created against the Shiromani Akali Dal in general and the Badal family in particular.
By going ahead with sacking of the ‘Jathedars’, the SGPC, as also the Akali Dal and Sukhbir Badal in particular, have taken a calculated risk. A section of public opinion among the Sikhs is already against them. The party does not expect this section to return to its fold in the immediate future. At the same time, there is a dedicated party cadre, which is firmly behind the party leadership.
The Shiromani Akali Dal has been accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of interfering in the Sikh affairs. Although the senior leadership of the party, including Sukhbir Singh Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia, have been avoiding any direct blame, the second-rung leadership, including party spokesperson Dr Daljeet Cheema, has been saying the rebellion within the party was orchestrated by their erstwhile ally the BJP.
It is a strange, rather paradoxical situation. The three sacked Jathedars are being supported by a large section of the Sikh community. The same section of people is fiercely opposed to the BJP. But the SAD leadership has been alleging that those going against the party, including rebels like Prem Singh Chandumajra and Surjit Singh Rakhra, are hand in glove with the BJP. Even former Akal Takht Jahthedar Giani Harpreet Singh is being accused of playing in the hands of the BJP.
The Shiromani Akali Dal, which controls the SGPC that sacked the Jathedars, will likely accuse them of “conniving” with the BJP, to take control of the Sikh institutions, an allegation the party has been leveling for quite some time now. Otherwise, the Akali Dal has no justification or defence for sacking the three Jathedars.
There is certainly an anti-BJP sentiment in the countryside, particularly among the Jat peasantry, the traditional supporters of the Akali Dal. By projecting the sacked Jathedars and the rebel Akali leaders as having connived with the BJP, the Akali Dal appears to be trying to woo this traditional support base which has slipped towards the Aam Aadmi Party.
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Although the SGPC, which sacked the Jathedars, is an elected body, its polls are supposed to be held after every five years. But the last elections of the SGPC were held in 2011. The SGPC elections are overdue since 2016. It is also debatable whether the SGPC has the mandate to sack the Jathedars, when it has already outlived its five-year term by nine years.
The SGPC is the “mini Parliamemt” of the Sikhs. Whoever controls the SGPC controls Sikh politics. The Congress and others have tried to interfere in its working in the past, but failed. Even hardliners like Simranjit Mann tried to gain foot hold but failed. It is mainly the Badals who have retained control over the SGPC for about last three decades.
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