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Ex-cop's Writings Trigger Off Academic Duel On Hukumnama Issue

S P Singh

Writings of a dismissed police officer, who immigrated to Canada after Operation Bluestar and has through his books provoked Akal Takht jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti to summon him, have now split the Sikh scholars vertically with one side challenging the very powers of the Akal Takht to issue 'hukumnamas' while the other is spoiling for an academic duel on the row.

As pro and anti-Gurbaksh Singh Kala Afghana lobbies fish out arguments to buttress their respective positions, the Akal Takht's decision to summon the cop-turned-Sikhism scholar on February 10 has raised the hackles of several established Sikhism scholars including National Professor of Sikhism Gurtej Singh and Justice Ajit Singh Bains (retd) apart from Khalsa Panchayat.

The pro-Kala Afghana scholars have virtually challenged Akal Takht's authority to issue any edicts and, in unusually strong language used for the top temporal seat, said "the disease of firing off hukumnamas is spreading rather fast and is eating into the vitals of Sikhism."

They argued that the practice of issuing hukumnamas was a distorted form of earlier practice of 'gur matas' which envisaged unanimity and will of entire panth.

Signatories to the joint missive challenging Akal Takht's authority to issue edicts included, apart from Gurtej Singh and Justice Bains, General Narinder Singh (retd), formerly of World Sikh Council, Prof Gurdarshan Singh, head of History Department at Punjabi University, Joginder Singh, editor of 'Spokesman', a community journal and Rajinder Singh, convenor of Khalsa Panchayat.

Now, a wider front of scholars, most of them professors of Punjabi University, have joined issue with these pro-Kala Afghana scholars and have challenged them to "a seminar anywhere to thrash out the issue about Kala Afghana and Akal Takht's powers."

"Kala Afghana has been insulting the Sikh core traditions and values for too long now, and now that Akal Takht has summoned him to seek clarification, these scholars have virtually joined hands to dare the Takht itself. We are ready to take upon these defenders of Kala Afghana," Dr Harpal Singh Pannu, Head of Religious Studies Department of Punjabi University told The Indian Express.

The varsity professors have, in fact, formed a 'Sikh Intelligentia Forum' where, Pannu said, the issue has been discussed threadbare and a decision was taken to challange "Gurtej and company" to discuss out the controversial writings, on which a ban by Akal Takht is in force but which are easily available.

Members of the Forum, headed by Dr D S Dhillon, include Dr Gurnek Singh, head of Encyclopaedia of Sikhism department, Prof Ajit Singh Bhatia, head of Economics Department, Prof Paramjit Singh Goraya (Physics), Prof Sharanpal Singh (English), Dr Kulbir Singh (History), Dr Sukhminder Kaur (History), Dr Pushpinder Kaur (Law), Sukhvinder Kaur (Hindi) and Surinder Kaur (Political Science).

The Forum has also objected to the language used in the how-dare-you style of missive backing Kala Afghana. 

"Now you, without taking into confidence the Guru Panth, take all decisions and then call these hukumnamas...Just by sitting at Akal Takht and scribbling out something does not make it a hukumnama, neither do signatures of five jathedars turn it into one," Gurtej Singh and other' letter said. 

These scholars have also predicted the possible action by Vedanti saying "The decision that you are going to take now will once again split the panth and half the Sikhs will term it a decision taken under pressure of RSS."

Kala Afghana's writings questioning tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh's compositions, have often led to bitter rows in the community earlier.

Meanwhile, renowned Sikh legislative and religious affairs expert G S Lamba has also slammed those challenging the Akal Takht's authority saying the real aim seems to get annulled some of the earlier edicts which were against Nirankaris and other anti-Sikhism forces.■ 

January 7, 2004

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