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Sikhs go marching to hold high the
Takht edict
But
Jathedar says he will take action against them, issues gag order
till Vaisakhi
Gian Inder Singh
 TALWANDI
SABO: In a move that signifies many contradictions at one go,
several panthic organisations saw themselves pushed into a corner to
defy the verbal directive of Akal Takht jathedar and continue the
efforts to get Salabatpura dera of fraudster and murder-convict
Gurmeet Ram Rahim shut down and thus ensure implementation of the
considered directive of the Akal Takht issued in May last year and
reiterated repeatedly by one and all in the community.
So a jatha of 11
Sikhs, termed 'Marjeevras,' held an ardas at the Takht Damdam Sahib
but was soon arrested by a heavy police posse near Maur Mandi, 45 km
short of Salabatpura even as Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan
Singh stuck to his guns that no one has a right to use force to
implement the Akal takht hukumnama and that only he can be the
arbiter of any community-wide programme.
Now, the
Jathedar has warned Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu of Akali Dal (Panch
Pardhani) and others of action in the forthcoming meeting of the
clergy, Takht damdama Sahib jathedar Balwant Singh Nandgarh went
back on his plans to honor the Marjeevras with siropas while the
radicals who are widely seen to be representing the Sikh community's
aspirations vowed to not only send the next Jatha to Salabatpura on
March 29 but also to lay a siege to the Badals' house at their
village on April 2.
 The
action by the panthic leaders comes close on the heels of a clash
between Sant Baljit Singh Daduwal and the police, and the subsequent
arrest of Daduwal. The Akal Takht jathedar advocated that the
panthic forums should postpone all plans till Vaisakhi and that the
clergy will give a new programme, but obviously his stance was seen
as something that suited the electoral calculations of Parkash Singh
Badal who plans to field either his wife or daughter-in-law from
Bathinda Lok Sabha seat and for whom the Dera Sirsa votes are
crucial for a victory.
At a
broad-spectrum meeting on Tuesday at Gurdwara Haji Rattan Sahib in
Bathinda , Khalsa Action Committee convenor Bhai Mohkam Singh,
former Akal Takht jathedar Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode, Sant Daler Singh
Kheri, Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu, Akali Dal (1920) general secretary
Gurdeep Singh, Youth Akali Dal (1920) president Paramjit Singh
Sahili, Sikh Youth Federation prsident Gurjinder Singh, Dal Khalsa
general secretary Bhai Kanwarpal Singh, Akali Dal councilor Rajinder
Singh Sidhu, Advocate Gur Iqbal Singh Chahal, Kulbir Singh Barrapind,
Akali Dal (Amritsar)'s Principal Ranjit Singh, Baba Balbir Singh
Rajasthan, Sant Resham Singh, Sant Sukhchain Singh, Sant Bohar
Singh, Darshan Singh Mand and Lok Janshakti president Jagjit Singh
discussed the situation emerging out of the Marjeevra plans and the
arrest of Sant Daduwal.
It was at this
meeting that the decision to lay siege to the Badals' house in
village Badal was taken, and the sangat was told that the programme
will be carried out peacefully and sangat will march to the jaap of
Satnam Waheguru towards the Badals' village on April 2. 
The panthic
leaders, who had all backed the March 22 march of the Marjeevras
towards Salabatpura, reiterated the need to implement the hukamnama
banning all activities of the Sirsa sect. Any organisation building
relationships with the Sirsa-based Dera would be punished severely,
they warned.
But
contradictions that have emerged from the latest developments were
galore. Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Balwant Singh Nandgarh, who had
thus far been spearheading the campaign against the Dera, seemed
distancing from the radical plans. At one stage he was advocating a
"off with his head" plan and now he does not even want to seen as
presenting a siropa to those he hailed earlier.
In an
interesting tit-bit, moments before the march was begin on March 22,
Takht Damdama Sahib manager Jaspal Singh handed a fax message
containing the Akal Takht appeal to Bittu, who in turn asked the
Panj Piaras to decide. Soon after, Jathedar Nandgarh called the Panj
Piaras for discussion. An hour later, the Jathedar declared they had
agreed to abide by the Akal Takhat directive, but with the condition
of immediate release of arrested Sikh activists, including Sant
Samaj leader Baljit Singh Daduwal.
The Panj Piaras
later ignored Nandgarh’s advice saying the so-called latest Akal
Takht directive had been signed only by Giani Gurbachan Singh, while
the 2007 hukamnama was signed by all five high priests.
Speakers lashed
out against Chief Minister Paraksh Singh Badal for “sabotaging the
campaign” against the Dera by misusing the authority of the Akal
Takht. Nandgarh also came under fire from the radicals.
Most Sikh
experts have seen the latest stance of the clergy as playing into
the hands of the Badals and said the efforts to gag the vocal
section of the community leadership will also eventually end up
reducing the leverage that the ruling Akalis enjoy in the Indian
system.
Meanwhile, Rajya
Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh has demanded that Haryana must ban public
meetings by Dera Sirsa chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim as these led to
threat to peace. He said he has already written to Haryana CM
Bhupinder Singh Hooda in this regard, and expressed happiness that
the Rajasthan government has banned public appearances by the Dera
chief accused of rape and murder and a prime suspect named by CBI in
these cases.
As for the Akal
Takht jathedar, he said, “Except the Akal Takht, no one has the
right to impose any programme on the panth. All sections of Sikh
society should restrain from imposing any programme on the panth in
the future, as only the Akal Takht clergy can issue such a programme.”
25 March 2009
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