A Heritage Gone Bust
S P Singh
The row over the auction of a bust of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the initial plans of the SGPC to make efforts to buy the bust, the later opposition to the move, and the resultant focus on the way the community is approaching some of the externalities requires a brief comment.
There could be different, diametrically opposite and still bonafide views on whether or not the SGPC or any other Sikh organization should have picked up the bust of widely perceived Sikh hero, Maharaja Duleep Singh, fashioned by British sculptor John Gibson almost 150 years ago. The bust was sold for £1.7m at Bonhams Indian and Islamic Sale.
The fact that Sikh pilgrims from around the world seek out the grave of Duleep Singh and reflect on the fate of their fallen king bears testimony to the genuine interest vast sections of the community could possibly have, and this had fuelled the desire to possess the bust.
But as the controversy was on, Sikhs in India, more so the Akal Takht clergy and the SGPC, were also fighting off another ostensibly serious attack on the sensitivities of the Sikhs -- a tattoo depicting Ek Onkar in Gurmukhi was sported on her back by a small-time Indian TV actress turned cricket commentator-presenter. There is a certain dignity associated with the seat of the Jathedar Sahib of the Sri Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of the community, and the idea of issuing two statements a week about a tattoo on a girl's back should not be of top importance for such a high cleric. The poor girl rushed to offer an apology and ensured that it is published in main newspapers under her name. The clergy promptly issued a statement that they haven't received it officially. And when they did, the cleric's associates were quick to point out that the signatures were not appended. Pronto, a duly signed letter also arrived, apologizing for the tattoo in abject terms. No one is putting his good money on a bet that the clerics have spoken for the last time.
India's Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had recently announced that the new trains will be adorned by a photograph of the Golden Temple, Amritsar, but he had to scrap the move following opposition by the SGPC which said it could hurt Sikh sentiments. Would it have?
And while views have been aired about the bust of Maharaja Duleep Singh, there are many other ways in which the Sikh community activists and the SGPC can contribute in stressing their sensitivity towards their rich heritage. The Jallianwala Bagh, where virtually every dignitary pays tributes to the innocents killed during the freedom struggle, will continue to be incomplete till a statue of Shaheed Udham Singh, who avenged the senseless killings, is installed there. What have been our efforts in that direction?
Just 20 miles away from Ferozepur, on the Ferozepur-Moga road, is a memorial to commemorate the Anglo-Sikh wars. It had been erected due to efforts by the late Giani Zail Singh but is in poor shape today. For nearly a decade, several media reports have focused on the issue, but not our SGPC.
What have been our efforts at commemorating General Sham Singh Attariwala’s contribution? Now that the Punjab Government has taken up a project with a Gateway-To-India style memorial plan, reports are already trickling in that the plan to install a statue of the Sikh General are being scrapped.
For how many years did the statue of Master Tara Singh lie covered in gunny bags and tarpaulin sheets in Delhi? When did you last spot the statue of Master Tara Singh anywhere in Punjab? Quick: Where did you last see the statue of Sikh General Baghel Singh? He was one of the most important military generals in the turbulent eighteenth century Punjab and died in 1802. If there was great noise over celebrating his bicentennial in 2002, I am sorry I missed it. ■
April 23, 2007