A Window To Perceptive Journalism

Marginalised Akal Takht and Marginal Voices

S P Singh

When Pope John Paul II got a new vehicle, Craig Kilborn reported that the holy father’s new Fiat can withstand direct machine gun fire and that the Pope will use the $1.3 million car to fulfill one of his major duties – waving at the poor. To what end did the popes of the Sikhs use their position as they gathered in the holy presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib? They didn’t even wave. I am sure their conscience could have even withstood machinegun fire. So what if a few swords were flashing!  

Shame and horror were writ large on the collective face of the Sikh community as followers of the world’s youngest religion watched the tragic happenings at the Akal Takht last week. At the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, rival Akali groups clashed in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Turbans flew and swords flashed for the benefit of prime time TV as top clergy watched, sangat gasped and the rot within lay exposed for the world to watch. 

Ostensibly, the occasion was meant to mark the 400^th anniversary celebrations of the Akal Takht’s foundation, but it is the community’s worst-kept secret that the celebrations were largely planned and hogged by Parkash Singh Badal-led Akali Dal. An attempt by Simranjeet Singh Mann and his supporters to have a word on the occasion resulted in the fracas. 

At a time when both, the ruling Congress as well as the Badal-led Akalis, are racing to find occasions for ‘shatabdis’ (centenaries), and a bemused community watches the shenanigans of blue-turbaned saviors of the panth with a stoic silence, efforts would now be afoot to make political capital out of the shameful scenes of July 3. The clergy has called for boycott of Mann; Badal has accused the radical leader of being a Congress’ agent; Punjab Congress president S.S.Dullo has said the ugly public clash has exposed the Akalis; and each hue of Akalis has started shooting off its mouth a perfectly predictable statement in line with its petty factional politics. 

And prey! What was to follow logically? A hard-nosed introspective gaze at the rot within and hyper-activity to restore the sangat’s faith and assuage the hurt that the community’s collective gasp of shock personified? Oh come on, by now you understand the current crop of self-styled saviors much better. 

So the sequel came as Shame Part II. Certain enthusiastic activists of the Mann-led Akali Dal thought it was absolutely a democratic exercise to protest against BJP’s Arun Jaitley who had publicly talked about asking the Akal Takht to withdraw the edict against the RSS. As they gathered in Ludhiana where the Badal-Jaitley duo was stitching up seat-sharing arrangements, lathi-wielding supporters of the “panth’s tallest leader” delivered blows all around to underline their loyalty. “Civil War among Sikhs”, inferred the newspapers. As for assuaging the community’s feelings, obviously it was an effort to first inflict the hurt properly. Leaders need something substantial to assuage. No? 

Centenary celebrations are expected to be an occasion for the community to take stock of the times past, and prepare itself for the challenges of the future. If the 400^th anniversary celebrations were apolitical and a “purely religious affair”, as described by the organizers, then where were the myriad representatives of other forums representing the Sikhs?  

At a time when the institution of Akal Takht and the very construct of ‘jathedars’ has been engaging a near continuous attention of not just the Sikh community but of even non-Sikhs, the fourth centenary occasion presented a golden opportunity to make things clear. Pragmatics of real politics rarely allows sweeping aside all partisanship, but Badal and his men clearly lost an opportunity to play statesmen. 

If the intention was to derive political benefit, Badal should have no reason to pat himself at least this time. Of course, the role played by those vociferously demanding to hog the microphone on the occasion is also open to criticism. Fifteen minutes of fame must have a price lesser than losing your turban, or depriving the other of one. 

One wonders to what glorious purposes could the occasion have been used. The Akal Takht is a singularly effective voice of the community. At a time when the marginal voices are increasingly finding that their ability for assertion of their rights is under attack everywhere, a resolute stand by the Akal Takht on real issues can catapult the community to a stage where the Sikhs will find their relevance in the global world. To what purpose do we refer to the religion of Guru Nanak-Guru Gobind Singh as ‘Jagat Dharam’?  

Should the world not know the Sikhs’ stand on Iraq? Should the community, whose Gurus attained martyrdom fighting off Mughal tormentors of Hindus, not react ever to ongoing struggles for democracy, human rights and against state repression?  Since when has the community decided that it has nothing to do with the heights of dams? Happenings in Punjab have even stopped figuring in national media, except for some perfunctory news item about an ultra caught. 

But perhaps in this irrelevance lies the comfort for those preferring petty squabbles in religious domain to attain the ‘larger’ political goal of chieftainship of Punjab. For long they have pulled even the temporal seats into this game. It is time the community raised its voice that the Akal Takht is a much hallowed institution than merely a forum meant to issue edicts banning public debate about one or the other book or ordering social boycott of opponents of those at the helm of Akali Dal and SGPC. Punishing a granthi looking after a Gurdwara in a village can be tended to by the local Sikhs of that mohalla, instead of figuring at the highest temporal seat. 

Does the Pope ever come down addressing the problems of a little wayward parish in Gurdaspur?  

At the end of World War II, FDR suggested that Pius XII should be among those consulted on the fate of post-war Europe. Stalin disagreed. “How many divisions,” he contemptuously asked, “does the Pope have?” 

Jathedars too have no divisions of their own in the SGPC’s general house, but they must remember that they may have Akal Purakh on their side if they acted honorably. But does He matter these days? Not even at the Takht named in His name? 

"Panth is in danger," they tell us all the time. Now you know from whom.

July 5, 2006

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