Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has taken a calculated risk in rejecting and defying the Akal Takht verdict on him. On June 15, the Akal Takht Jathedar, the highest temporal authority of Sikhs, declared Mann as “anti-Guru” and “anti-Sikhism”. The stringent censure was based on an old video in which one person, that Akal Takht says is Mann, is seen sprinkling liquor drops on a photograph with pictures of all ten Sikh Gurus. Besides, he is seen trying to urinate in front of a table-top statue of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, militant preacher of the 1980s.
Mann’s defiance has also placed the Akal Takht Jathedar in a piquant situation. As Mann continues with defiance, the Jathedar will find it difficult to enforce the verdict that is binding on all Sikhs. Perhaps, the Jathedar did not anticipate Mann’s defiant stance.
Mann has been maintaining that the person in the purported video is not him. Earlier Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party had maintained that the videos were generated through artificial intelligence. After Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj declared that the videos were authentic and had been forensically investigated, both Mann and AAP took a stand that the person seen in the video is not him. Besides, the forensic investigation, while validating the authenticity of the videos, reportedly has not clarified who the person is in the purported video.
The Akal Takht does not hold any legal authority. But as an institution, it commands moral and divine authority over the Sikhs. It is one of the two important symbols of the ‘miri-piri’ doctrine founded by the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind. The Akal Takht is always the last word in the Sikh affairs. Never ever in recorded history has anyone defied the Akal Takht edicts/ orders. The legendary Sikh emperor Maharaja Ranjit Singh also appeared personally before the Akal Takht when he himself commanded immense power and ruled a large part of South Asia.
Also read: Akal Takht declares Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann ‘Guru Dokhi’
However, the actions of certain Jathedars during the recent past were seen as partisan and alleged to be taken at the instance of the Shiromani Akali Dal that controls the appointment of the Jathedars. The worst example was when Giani Gurbachan Singh, the then Akal Takht Jathedar pardoned Dera Sacha Sauda head, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who was accused of blasphemy. The Dera head was pardoned without even appearing before the Takht. The pardon was obviously granted at the behest of Sukhbir Singh Badal, who that time, besides being Akali Dal supremo, was also deputy chief minister.
That was the lowest point for any Akal Takht Jathedar. It led to widespread anger and outrage. It eroded the Jathedar’s credibility, which is still to be restored. There was so much anger against the pardon to Dera head, that tens of thousands of people attended the Sarbat Khalsa (the general house meeting of the community), organised by the radical Akali groups. Jagtar Singh Hawara, who was serving a sentence for assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, was appointed the “parallel” Akal Takht Jathedar. However, majority of the Sikh community had expressed strong reservations against appointing Hawara as the Takht Jathedar whose only qualification was that he was involved in the killing of Beant Singh.
Giani Gurbachan Singh was replaced by Giani Harpreet Singh as the acting Jathedar. He tried his best to restore the credibility of the Jathedar. In due course of time, Giani Hapreet turned politically ambitious and fell apart from the Akali Dal leadership. He was eventually removed and replaced by Giani Raghubir Singh.
In the meanwhile, the Akal Takht did take some decisions, although under public pressure, like taking back the Panth Rattan award bestowed upon legendary Akali leader and five-time Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, imposing ‘tankha’ (religious punishment) on Sukhbir Badal and several other such moves to restore the credibility of the institution among the Sikh masses.
Since the appointing authority of the Akal Takht Jathedar is the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which is controlled by the Akali Dal, its decisions that have political implications will always be questioned and may not command the same appeal as those on religious matters.
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Mann, given the shrewd politician he has emerged to be, with his hand on the pulse of Punjabis, particularly the Jatt Sikh community, has played up the same issue that the Akalis are the “bosses” of Akal Takht Jathedar and he would always do their bidding. He quoted past examples, without specifying any. At the same time, he reiterated and reaffirmed his faith and respect for the Akal Takht as an institution.
Anyone in Mann’s position and under the given circumstances would do the same as he did by rejecting and defying the Akal Takht Jathedar’s orders. He has no other option. He is playing up the credibility issue of the Takht Jathedars and it is finding resonance with some sections of the Sikh community. But despite that, it is going to be a tricky path for him to tread.
While the credibility of the Takht Jathedars is definitely an issue, that will certainly not straightway exonerate him of the charges he is accused of, if these are found to be true, as claimed by Jathedar Gargaj. While an accused is presumed to be innocent till proven guilty, but someone in public life and that too a Chief Minister, will be presumed guilty till proven innocent. That is the handicap of being in public life and also popular.
Onus is on Mann to prove himself right. But given the challenge and the challengers who have posed this test to him, it will not be so easy for Mann. In the perception battle, particularly when it is linked to a religious issue, people are mostly not prepared to take any chance and give you any benefit of doubt.
Mann has a tough battle ahead. He has taken on a powerful institution that is endowed with sacred authority. Irrespective of his strong emphasis that he respects the Akal Takht as an institution, his defiance can prove to be a risky affair and that too when people’s sacred faith is involved.
For the Akal Takht Jathedar, it is equally an unprecedented situation. If Mann continues with defiance and emerges politically stronger, it will be a great setback for the Jathedar.
Punjab may be headed for a church-state conflict situation akin to medieval Europe. Maybe not at the same scale, but definitely a similar one.
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