Politics, like a temperamental racehorse, detests both boastful upstarts and mercenary adventurists. And powerful political movements often go awry when handled by unaccomplished leaders, History has no record of many a stately ship wrecked in the shallows for lack of experienced crew. Divorced of brain, brawn and bravado invariably flounder. Intention and commitment are important but not enough. An occasional review of the policies, priorities and mistakes is a necessary lubricant to keep the functional components of a movement in top gear.
Sikh politics today is in doldrums. Instead of self-propelling and forward looking, it has become reactive and hopelessly factional. The abundance of mercenary adventurists among the Akali Old Guard is the singular most damaging factor that Delhi has been craftily exploiting to deflate the movement and blunt the thrust of the militants. The initiative is no more with the Sikhs. It was handed over in a platter to Delhi when the hollow RajivLongowal accord was signed. The gains of the Dharam Yudh Morcha, which had grown into an unprecedented Sikh National movement and which was further steeled by the wanton destruction of the Akal Takht, massacre of innocent pilgrims and martyrdom of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, were frittered away by Barnala Balwant gang of self-seekers.
The protagonists of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, who had taken a solemn vow at the Manji Sahib Congregation not to compromise on any solution short of the Resolution, felt no qualms in going back on their vows when Delhi dangled a superficial carrot. They betrayed their community, little realizing that they were being used to torpedo the mounting Sikh indignation that had solidly and compulsively veered around the concept of Sikh sovereignty. To arrest this palpably dangerous trend, Delhi devised a clever plan. The plan envisaged temporarily handing over of power to the Akalis and use the Akali government for eliminating the militant Sikh youths and also to stage-manage another attack on the Golden Temple by the Akali rulers so that the indefensible outrage of the operation Bluestar was somewhat mellowed down and justified.
Akali leaders, however, refuse to learn from their past humiliations. They are again anxious to hobnob their way to the corridors of power. They have even stopped talking about the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. All that they want is the release of. Innocent Sikhs detained in various Indian jails. They are not at all serious about the prosecution of the murderers responsible for November 1984 holocaust. The digging of the SYL canal does not concern them anymore. They have forgotten about the Punjab’s riparian rights and the left out Punjabi speaking areas. They have neither interest nor sympathy with the Sikh aspirations.
The militant camp also does not inspire much hope. They are a committed lot, braye and self-sacrificing, but the consumptive malaise of factionalism has lamentably bogged them down. The divisions and rivalries among them have provided a golden opportunity to the Indian government for creating its own killer squads of confirmed criminals who prowl the state under police protection posing as militants. The task of these squads is to kill Sikhs, preferably Amritdhari Sikhs, loot, rape and plunder in the name of the known militant organization so as to alienate the Sikh masses from the movement. The militants are aware of the government strategy but have taken no step to neutralize it. Most of the militant leaders are ill-equipped to face the exigencies that unexpectedly crop up from time to time. They lack the wherewithal to make their plan of action rewarding enough, especially in a terrain as unfavorable as that of the Punjab.
They have yet to realize that their strength lies in the sympathy and involvement of the Sikh masses. They must develop the requisite infrastructure to politically mobilize them. More than gun power, they need to develop an elaborate network to educate the common Sikh both about the government strategies and Akali leader’s selfish games. They must involve the intellectuals more meaningfully and formulate a blueprint of the sovereign Sikh homeland. It is imperative to dispel misplaced apprehensions about its polifico-economic structure. Without a definite identification of priorities and perceptive planning, the movement is likely to drift along its present unproductive course.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 6, 1989
