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Editorial
The arrests
and the verdict of history
How ridiculous
can ridiculous be? Well, here is a sample. The SGPC president, Avtar
Singh Makkar, appointed by Sardar Prakash Singh Badal, ensures that
a huge portrait of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale is installed in
the Sikh Museum in Amritsar. The panth hails the move.
Sardar Prakash
Singh Badal knows he will be nowhere without the panthic
constituency, so it is per force that he has to send such signals
from time to time.
A few months
down the line, the Punjab Police working under the direct command of
the Home Minister of Punjab, Sardar Sukhbir Singh Badal, arrests
Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu, on the grave charge, among others, that he
is somehow vitiating the atmosphere of Punjab by distributing
T-shirts and stickers bearing the image of Sant Jarnail Singh
Bhindranwale.
Bhai Daljit
Singh Bittu's remand is being extended on the plea that he was
involved in conspiracies to revive terrorism in Punjab. Meanwhile,
the Badals and the police chief are busy underlining that there was
not even the remotest possibility of terrorism's revival in
Punjab.
Thank you very
much. Now you understand why Balraj Khanna named his novel A Nation
of Fools years back!
The fact of the
matter is that democracy is the art of managing contradictions,
dissent, differences, even demands for separatism. All healthy
democracies know this and work hard to accommodate, engage with and
have a dialogue with diverse sections of opinion.
Unfortunately in
Punjab, such is the fate of panthic politics that the ruling Akali
Dal has to tread huge gulf of contradictions. It has to maintain a
cordial relationship with the Congress that is ruling at the Centre.
It has to keep an eye on the panthic vote bank. And it has to
sustain a completely unholy unprincipled alliance with the Hindutva
spewing hate agenda party, the BJP.
Having attained
mastery, this is how Prakash Singh Badal does it. Go after the
panthic leaders, have ties with RSS, an outfit that even the Akal
Takht considers Enemy Number One of the Sikhs, keep a direct line of
understanding with the brahamanical forces and proclaim himself as
the champion of Sikhism.
But why Bhai
Daljit Singh Bittu? Well, it is not very difficult to seek answers.
Look around and try to zero in on your upcoming leaders. Which of
the leaders today has the image, the background, the credibility,
the sacrifice, the attraction whose call will be heeded by the
sangat, by the youth?
This is
something that the Badals are keenly aware of. But they fall for the
propaganda that some sections of the panthic leadership are hardcore
or are more radical than the acceptable limits imposed by the
brahamanical establishment and the estimates of Indian intelligence
agencies.
But just look at
the RSS. Just look at the wide pantheon of opinion that the RSS
takes under its umbrella, from the Shiv Senas to the Ram Senas to
the ABVPs to the VHPs to the BJPs to the Sant Sabhas to the Yoga
gurus to the teacher organizations to Ram Lila committees to the
last tire of mandir committees.
The Dal Khalsa’s
open letter to Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal points to
this and gives out a clarion call to learn from the enemy. It
suggests that the Akali Dal can be the big magnet and can find ways
and means to work alongside, if not to work with, the many many
shades of panthic bodies.
It is a
creditable suggestion, and one understands the circumstances in
which it has been made, coming just before the Chintan Baithak of
the Akali Dal in Shimla.
But are men like
Sukhbir Singh Badal visionary enough to build upon in it and see the
future through the panthic prison? For those who even name their
brainstorming sessions with a terminology of the Sangh, “Chintan
Baithak”, one can only guess to what extent has the corruption of
thought seeped into the political veins of a party that was once
panthic.
Sections of
panthic leadership may be today in a crisis, some may be in jail,
some have been languishing for years, but history is witness to the
fact that historical verdicts are much more lasting than the gains
or losses of today. Just look at the spirit of Bhai Jaswant Singh
Khalra. They tortured and killed him, and he is still fighting,
inspiring us all.
9
September 2009
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