Having sown the seeds of politico-religious discord, Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal is now reaping the whirlwind and hoping that God Almighty will come to his rescue. The face-off between Akal Takht jathedar Giani Puran Singh and Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur-both appointees of the chief minister-has put Badal in a quandary.
The blame for the latest crisis has to be laid squarely at Badal's door, says Sikh historian Patwant Singh. It was his brazen attempt to "make the institution of the Akal Takht a government department" which led to the clash between the heads of the two religious institutions.
By ousting his rival G.S. Tohra as SGPC president and then replacing Bhai Ranjit Singh with Puran Singh as head of Akal Takht last year-on the eve of the Khalsa tercentenary-Badal set an unhealthy precedent. Hence Bibi Jagir's defiance of Puran Singh's fiat.
Bibi Jagir and the jathedar fell out over an innocuous issue-the jathedar's stay on the Nanakshahi Jantri, a new Sikh almanac espoused by the SGPC chief. When she did not fall in line, she was excommunicated through a hukumnama issued from Guna in Madhya Pradesh. She refused to honour the hukumnama and offered prayers at the Akal Takht, leading to violent clashes.
It's a no-win situation for Badal. The jathedar has requested him to honour the edicts on Bibi Jagir and her four supporters (jathedars of two important Sikh gurudwaras) and appoint an acting president of the SGPC-difficult, since Badal is Bibi Jagir's patron. On the other hand, if he alienates the jathedar, he risks excommunication himself. And if he ousts Puran Singh, it may have an adverse impact on the assembly elections next year.
Radicals are now accusing Badal of playing into the hands of "Hindu fundamentalists". Says Gurdarshan Dhillon, president of the Chandigarh-based Institute of Sikh Studies: "The RSS has a settled agenda, to demolish the Sikh identity by discrediting Sikh institutions like the Akal Takht. Badal and his stooges are doing doing just that."
Patwant Singh's argument is also similar: "The Akal Takht is an emblem of a faith that commands the respect of the entire khalsa and is a cementing factor for the Sikh diaspora." Anything which devalues the Akal Takht hurts the faith.
Bibi Jagir's appointment as SGPC chief was hailed as a progressive step, but many of her former supporters now feel she has gone overboard and should apologise.
Giani Puran Singh, too, is charged with not having behaved in accordance with his station. He was aggressive when he should have been persuasive and has issued hukumnamas indiscriminately. He was not Badal's first choice; he was brought in at the last moment when Bhai Mohan Singh refused on principle to take over from Ranjit Singh.
The political fallout of the controversy will be considerable, in that it will be difficult for Badal to renegotiate his alliance with the BJP against the backdrop of charges that he wants to please his political master, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, at all costs. Says Prof Darshan Singh of Punjab University: "Badal is the only sufferer in this. What stakes do Bibi Jagir and the jathedar have?"
Sikh intellectuals feel that the crisis may be a boon in disguise for it will compel the qaum to initiate long-overdue reforms-codify the powers and functions of the Akal Takht vis-a-vis the SGPC and lay down procedures for the selection of the jathedar. "The jathedar of the Akal Takht is not just a granthi; his responsibilities go far beyond. It is not an office to be held by illiterate and ignorant sants. He must be a highly educated and deeply committed person," says Prof Darshan Singh.
Sikh intellectuals have suggested a sarbat khalsa, attended by representatives the world over, to sort out the issue once and for all. "It's a clash of egos," says Grewal. "If we have to get rid of both of them, let's do it."
For now, with an SGPC meeting scheduled for March 16 and Bhai Ranjit Singh threatening to reclaim the office of Akal Takht jathedar, the question that begs an answer is: are Badal's chickens coming home to roost? n
Tags