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RSS wants Sikhs to make changes
in Guru Granth Sahib
DIKTAT:
Remove Muslim Bhagats’ Bani, Change Langar Menu, Do Not Display Sant
Bhindranwale’s portrait
WSN Bureau
 AMRITSAR/FREMONT: It should come as no surprise, but even then is
nevertheless been seen as a shocker. After persistent and shameless
silence from the House of Badals, the ruling Akali Dal and the SGPC
about continuing alliance with a completely brahamanical
Hindutva-spouting ultra nationalist BJP-RSS, there is sudden anger
over an article on the official website of the RSS that denigrates
Sikhism.
On its part, the
RSS seems to have cast aside all pretence and shame in its efforts
at assimilating the Sikhs and attacking their unique identity, but
the latest instance also involved an attack on the scriptures of the
Sikhs.
The Sikhs are
understandably angry, and the Akali Dal is understandably silent.
Silent in the face of a development so provocative. Silent even
after the official RSS website www.sanghparivar.org carried an
article by one Ramakant Tiwari, a known RSS preacher, which only
suggested, rather explicitly stated, that Sikhs were a part of
Hinduism, but asked them to remove the bani of Muslim
faqirs from Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji.
This is how the
agenda laid out by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat of making entire India
“Sangh Mayee” is going to be unfolded. For centuries, no one had
dared to make such a suggestion, and now that the official RSS says
it, tells it to the whole world, the Akali Dal is silent. Prakash
Singh Badal has not uttered a word, and Sukhbir Singh Badal has long
stopped engaging with panthic affairs.
 So their
alliance partner heaps insults on Sikhs, propagate myths that are
highly provocative, derogatory and objectionable. By any stretch of
imagination, the writer and the website managers should have been
immediately booked under section 295 A for spreading enmity between
communities and hurting sentiments of Sikhs but we have not seen a
demand being made by any Akali leader.
True that the
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh has warned the RSS off
Sikh affairs and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Dal
Khalsa and Sikh Panthic Council have condemned the derogatory
remarks, but is it enough?
Sikh sangat
worldwide is wondering why the Badals remain silent even when
official RSS website carries postings that describe Sri Harmandar
Sahib as a “Shivalya”. And he presumably wrote the article
after a visit to the Golden Temple!
Read the way
Tiwari went on to ridicule the concept of distinct identity of
Sikhs.
“Your roots are
in Hinduism. Your holy hymns are all about Ram, Govinda and Shiva.
Then, how could you think of surviving or flourishing without
Hindus?” it reads.
True, very true.
How can the Sikhs even think of, mind the word Tiwari uses,
“surviving” without Hindus? Read between the lines: Sikhs have no
right to even think about surviving in a Hindu country. Not at least
if they thought they are outside the pale of Hinduism. This is the
kind of thought process being inculcated among thousands and
thousands of young children in India in the morning RSS shakhas
where five year olds are made to sing songs about Mandir Vahin
Banana Hai with fists clenched.
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“Your roots are
in Hinduism. Your holy hymns are all about Ram, Govinda and Shiva.
Then, how could you think of surviving or flourishing without
Hindus?” it reads.
True, very true.
How can the Sikhs even think of, mind the word Tiwari uses,
“surviving” without Hindus? Read between the lines: Sikhs have no
right to even think about surviving in a Hindu country.
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Provocations
were galore in the article that this so called social organization
of radical Hindutva, the RSS, carried. Here is what it wants you to
do in your langar kitchen that serve food to the sangat without any
discrimination of religion, race, creed, gender or caste: it wants
to change the menu to conform to puritan orthodox forms of Hindutva
with similar dogmas.
Terming onion
and garlic as “impure” foods, the RSS website article raises
objections to their use in the `langar' served at Harmandar Sahib.
So much so that
it even wants to decide whose portrait the Sikhs should be putting
up at their museum. Attacking the
Sikh
Museum on
the precincts of Harmandar Sahib, the article raises objections to
venerating Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and Beant Singh, Satwant
Singh and Kehar Singh who avenged Operation Bluestar.
In a reaction
that can be termed as suitably meek to conform to the policy of his
bosses Badals, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar merely demanded
that the article be removed and the RSS tender an apology. No
apology came, and Mohan Bhagwat remains steadfast on his goal of
turning India into a “Sangh Mayee” country, goes around saying that
Sikhs are Hindus, and wants everyone in India to proclaim his
nationality as Hindu, but Makkar is satisfied with a mere statement,
and that too, once.
 The Dal Khalsa
leaders asked the SAD head, Akal Takht jathedar and SGPC president
to explain their position over the RSS stand towards Sikhs but so
far there has been no response. None, as we say on the pain of
repetition, was expected since these are the people that
“We condemn the
SAD, SGPC and Sant Samaj for lending credence to RSS theory that
Sikhs were part of Hindu religion by mixing Nanakshahi with Bikrami
calendar,” said the leaders.
The SGPC also
demanded an unconditional apology from Tiwari for using “derogatory,
provocative language against Sikhs and Sikhs principles”. In a
statement, SGPC head Avtar Singh Makkar said: “The RSS is trying to
hit at Sikhs, which is unfortunate.”
27January 2010
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