Just days after the spectre of Khalistan was raised at the so-called "Sarbat Khalsa", the deliberative community assembly of Sikhs called by some radical organisations near Amritsar on November 10, the role of the "foreign hand" that pushed the agenda at the hugely attended event, has caused much dismay among the Sikhs in Punjab.
Indeed, in the days leading up to the event, Sikh organisations in the US and Birmingham in the UK, who sent representatives to Amritsar held "summits" of their own to deliberate on what should be their stand.
Secessionist propaganda was stepped up on radio talk shows and the social media from several Sikh radio and television channels that cater to the diaspora in Europe, the US and Canada.
On November 1,, the Federation of Sikh Organisations held a "summit" in Birmingham, claiming that delegates from across the world attended. The resolutions passed here bear a striking similarity with those that were eventually approved at the controversial "Sarbat Khalsa".
Chief among them are removal of the head priests appointed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and replacing them with new ones, stripping Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal of the awards "Faqr-e Quam" and "Panth Rattan" given to him by the Akal Takht and to unite all Sikhs and create their own parliament. The resolution also called for a commitment to work towards the Sikh nation’s goal of self determination and a sovereign Sikh rule.
Though the one passed at Amritsar stopped short of accepting this, the idiom of its resolution spoke of "capturing the political will of the Sikh nation".
On the same day as the Birmingham meeting, members of around 100 gurdwaras gathered at Yuba City in the US to extend support to the "Sarbat Khalsa". The meet called for appointment of interim head priests and independence from the SGPC-controlled Akal Takht.
Both the meets passed resolutions to hold another "Sarbat Khalsa" on Baisakhi day in 2016, by when they proposed to firm up new procedures to appoint head priests and run apex Sikh institutions. This is the next major item on the Sikh agenda at home and abroad.
Unease in Punjab
But while there is consensus on the need to free Sikh institutions like the Akal Takht and the SGPC (which administers gurdwaras) from the clutches of the ruling Akali Dal, which has exploited its control over these bodies to further its politics, there is distinct unease within Punjab at the manner in which the diaspora Sikh organisations abroad mobilised men and resources for the "Sarbat Khalsa" as also the oblique introduction of their separatist agenda in what was meant to be a purely religious historic deliberation.
Says Sikh scholar and senior member of the newly formed Punjab Lok Lehar Party, Dr Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon, “We totally reject the talk of Khalistan and propping of convicted militants to sacred offices. This was envisaged as a collective to reform the drift in the Sikh religion and restore the sanctity of its high offices, but unfortunately that opportunity has been lost for the moment.”
The organisers of this "Sarbat Khalsa" have been booked for sedition and arrested, along with the priests appointed by them. Even the Dal Khalsa and Akali Dal Panch Pardhani, both pro Khalistan outfits in Punjab that claim to be working for a sovereign Sikh nation through peaceful democratic means, have distanced themselves from the AK-47 imagery on display at the event. Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh was quick to clarify, “We do not subscribe to the resolutions passed at the gathering, though some of our members attended it as devotees”.
There are two key takeaways from the current turmoil in Punjab.
Get Akali Dal out
First, despite the resurgence of latent separatist Khalistani elements, the majority in the Sikh community is firm that its resolve to free its top institutions from the control of the Akali Dal should not be confused with a desire for Khalistan.
As Gurpreet Singh convener of the Kendri Singh Sabha points out, “Though we sent a representative to the "Sarbat Khalsa", it was only to show solidarity with a movement to free Sikhism from politics and we do not believe that it was a gathering that is representative of entire Sikhism. We do not believe in the idea of Khalistan either.”
Historically Sikh ethos is governed by the concept of "Miri Piri" where the spiritual has guided the temporal. But the anguished refrain in the Sikh world now is that in the last 50 odd years the concept has been reversed, with politics dictating the functioning of top religious institutions.
It is noteworthy that except for the two radical Sikh organisations Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and the United Akali Dal, who convened the assembly and a handful of small groups who supported it, all major Sikh groups in Punjab distanced themselves by citing different reasons.
The diaspora groups such as the North American Gurdwaras and the South Birmingham Gurdwara supported it wholeheartedly and their representatives held press conferences in Chandigarh and Amritsar to explain their view points. Their associates abroad criticised those who did not support the assembly in radio talk shows, labelling them enemies of the Sikh panth, but few cared to listen.
Concern over foreign groups
Second, even though Khalistan groups abroad, taking advantage of the liberal values in their foreign homes, have been hyper active in recent years, their efforts never really impacted public opinion in Punjab. But now, the active involvement of such organisations in the organisation and resolutions passed in the "Sarbat Khalsa" and some other events that led to the turmoil of the last few weeks are worrying pointers.
For one, out of the 30 million estimated population of Sikhs worldwide, some eight million are non-resident Indian Sikhs and a vocal section of these NRIs is clearly making a pitch for greater participation in running Sikh religious affairs that has the potential of resurrecting their separatist political aspirations in time.
Internet radio stations and face book pages of these organisations are exulting at what is described by them as the “first significant resurgence of the Khalistan movement after 1992”. On November 4, Radio Voice of Khalsa, an internet radio station in the United States, held a talk show, later put up on several Facebook pages, that urged Sikh diaspora to call up their political contacts in Punjab and urge them to unite to make the "Sarbat Khalsa" a success or be warned that they would not be given any help (read financial assistance) in future.
Punjab watchers like Daljit Ami, an independent filmmaker have pointedly asked whether it is in the interest of Punjab to allow the numerically smaller Sikh diaspora to steer all important decisions about procedural reform in the religion, mainly on the strength of their affluence.
The Punjab police has also reportedly urged the Union government to ban the "Sikh channel" in the United Kingdom for supporting a separatist movement in Punjab and allegedly sending £2,500 to the Sikhs militants in Pakistan for this purpose. The channel, which has sponsored at least one recent function in Sarwaan village, in the run up to the "Sarbat Khalsa", has since denied these charges and asserted that it is the first dedicated Sikh faith television station which enjoys worldwide viewership.
As the Sikh world gears up for a bigger, more representative gathering on Baisakhi on April 13 next year, organisations with a separatist agenda buoyed by their success in pulling off a huge gathering at the "Sarbat Khalsa", will accelerate their activities. One of them has started an online petition seeking release of Jagtar Singh Hawara (appointed Akal Takht jathedar at the Sarbat Khalsa) the Babbar Khalsa terrorist convicted for assassinating then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995. So far Punjab has stood firm and resolutely refused to look in the direction they point. The coming weeks and months will test this resolve even more.
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Indeed, in the days leading up to the event, Sikh organisations in the US and Birmingham in the UK, who sent representatives to Amritsar held "summits" of their own to deliberate on what should be their stand.
Secessionist propaganda was stepped up on radio talk shows and the social media from several Sikh radio and television channels that cater to the diaspora in Europe, the US and Canada.
On November 1,, the Federation of Sikh Organisations held a "summit" in Birmingham, claiming that delegates from across the world attended. The resolutions passed here bear a striking similarity with those that were eventually approved at the controversial "Sarbat Khalsa".
Chief among them are removal of the head priests appointed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and replacing them with new ones, stripping Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal of the awards "Faqr-e Quam" and "Panth Rattan" given to him by the Akal Takht and to unite all Sikhs and create their own parliament. The resolution also called for a commitment to work towards the Sikh nation’s goal of self determination and a sovereign Sikh rule.
Though the one passed at Amritsar stopped short of accepting this, the idiom of its resolution spoke of "capturing the political will of the Sikh nation".
On the same day as the Birmingham meeting, members of around 100 gurdwaras gathered at Yuba City in the US to extend support to the "Sarbat Khalsa". The meet called for appointment of interim head priests and independence from the SGPC-controlled Akal Takht.
Both the meets passed resolutions to hold another "Sarbat Khalsa" on Baisakhi day in 2016, by when they proposed to firm up new procedures to appoint head priests and run apex Sikh institutions. This is the next major item on the Sikh agenda at home and abroad.
Unease in Punjab
But while there is consensus on the need to free Sikh institutions like the Akal Takht and the SGPC (which administers gurdwaras) from the clutches of the ruling Akali Dal, which has exploited its control over these bodies to further its politics, there is distinct unease within Punjab at the manner in which the diaspora Sikh organisations abroad mobilised men and resources for the "Sarbat Khalsa" as also the oblique introduction of their separatist agenda in what was meant to be a purely religious historic deliberation.
Says Sikh scholar and senior member of the newly formed Punjab Lok Lehar Party, Dr Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon, “We totally reject the talk of Khalistan and propping of convicted militants to sacred offices. This was envisaged as a collective to reform the drift in the Sikh religion and restore the sanctity of its high offices, but unfortunately that opportunity has been lost for the moment.”
The organisers of this "Sarbat Khalsa" have been booked for sedition and arrested, along with the priests appointed by them. Even the Dal Khalsa and Akali Dal Panch Pardhani, both pro Khalistan outfits in Punjab that claim to be working for a sovereign Sikh nation through peaceful democratic means, have distanced themselves from the AK-47 imagery on display at the event. Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh was quick to clarify, “We do not subscribe to the resolutions passed at the gathering, though some of our members attended it as devotees”.
There are two key takeaways from the current turmoil in Punjab.
Get Akali Dal out
First, despite the resurgence of latent separatist Khalistani elements, the majority in the Sikh community is firm that its resolve to free its top institutions from the control of the Akali Dal should not be confused with a desire for Khalistan.
As Gurpreet Singh convener of the Kendri Singh Sabha points out, “Though we sent a representative to the "Sarbat Khalsa", it was only to show solidarity with a movement to free Sikhism from politics and we do not believe that it was a gathering that is representative of entire Sikhism. We do not believe in the idea of Khalistan either.”
Historically Sikh ethos is governed by the concept of "Miri Piri" where the spiritual has guided the temporal. But the anguished refrain in the Sikh world now is that in the last 50 odd years the concept has been reversed, with politics dictating the functioning of top religious institutions.
It is noteworthy that except for the two radical Sikh organisations Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and the United Akali Dal, who convened the assembly and a handful of small groups who supported it, all major Sikh groups in Punjab distanced themselves by citing different reasons.
The diaspora groups such as the North American Gurdwaras and the South Birmingham Gurdwara supported it wholeheartedly and their representatives held press conferences in Chandigarh and Amritsar to explain their view points. Their associates abroad criticised those who did not support the assembly in radio talk shows, labelling them enemies of the Sikh panth, but few cared to listen.
Concern over foreign groups
Second, even though Khalistan groups abroad, taking advantage of the liberal values in their foreign homes, have been hyper active in recent years, their efforts never really impacted public opinion in Punjab. But now, the active involvement of such organisations in the organisation and resolutions passed in the "Sarbat Khalsa" and some other events that led to the turmoil of the last few weeks are worrying pointers.
For one, out of the 30 million estimated population of Sikhs worldwide, some eight million are non-resident Indian Sikhs and a vocal section of these NRIs is clearly making a pitch for greater participation in running Sikh religious affairs that has the potential of resurrecting their separatist political aspirations in time.
Internet radio stations and face book pages of these organisations are exulting at what is described by them as the “first significant resurgence of the Khalistan movement after 1992”. On November 4, Radio Voice of Khalsa, an internet radio station in the United States, held a talk show, later put up on several Facebook pages, that urged Sikh diaspora to call up their political contacts in Punjab and urge them to unite to make the "Sarbat Khalsa" a success or be warned that they would not be given any help (read financial assistance) in future.
Punjab watchers like Daljit Ami, an independent filmmaker have pointedly asked whether it is in the interest of Punjab to allow the numerically smaller Sikh diaspora to steer all important decisions about procedural reform in the religion, mainly on the strength of their affluence.
The Punjab police has also reportedly urged the Union government to ban the "Sikh channel" in the United Kingdom for supporting a separatist movement in Punjab and allegedly sending £2,500 to the Sikhs militants in Pakistan for this purpose. The channel, which has sponsored at least one recent function in Sarwaan village, in the run up to the "Sarbat Khalsa", has since denied these charges and asserted that it is the first dedicated Sikh faith television station which enjoys worldwide viewership.
As the Sikh world gears up for a bigger, more representative gathering on Baisakhi on April 13 next year, organisations with a separatist agenda buoyed by their success in pulling off a huge gathering at the "Sarbat Khalsa", will accelerate their activities. One of them has started an online petition seeking release of Jagtar Singh Hawara (appointed Akal Takht jathedar at the Sarbat Khalsa) the Babbar Khalsa terrorist convicted for assassinating then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995. So far Punjab has stood firm and resolutely refused to look in the direction they point. The coming weeks and months will test this resolve even more.