‘The Punjab Government has taken serious notice of the decision of the All-India ‘Sikh Students’ Federation (AISSF), led by Mr Singh, to set up “Khalsa panchayats” in the State to function as a parallel  government. The decision was announced at a religious function in the Golden Temple complex on Friday.

‘The function marked the “bhog” ceremony of AISSF general secretary Harminder Singh Sandhu who was gunned down in Amritsar on January 24, Akali Dal (Mann) president, Simranjit Singh Mann and three other party MPs attended the ceremony held at the Dowan hall of the temple complex.

An official spokesman said on Saturday that the Government was seized of the matter and the paper on the “Khalsa panchayats” read out at the ceremony was being studied. Apart from the legal experts in the Government, the Revenue Department would also go into the implications of the decisions, he said.

That the “panchayats” are to adjudicate social, economic and religious cases is a matter serious enough to cause concern to the legally established government. If the concept is put into practice, as the sponsors say it will be, an extra constitutional authority will come into being and the Government’s write will be eroded. The AISSF, it is felt, plans to take into its hold the entire rural sector, constituting 80 per cent of the State’s population.

This strategy of the AISSF which is aligned to the Damdami Taksal and the Akali Dal (Mann) is also aimed at reaping political benefits manned by “Amritdhari Sikhs” the panchayats are bound to develop into fundamentalist militant bodies and would, in the present situation, wield considerable influence over rural population. Official and political circles here also feel that the proposed panchayats could become village level nuclei for campaigning in the event of Assembly polls in Punjab. The role of militants in the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab has been controversial; the panchayats would be a more effective medium to “persuade” the voters,

The militants counter the allegation with the argument that social, economic and religious reforms have an in-built justification and should be supported instead of being opposed, But it is the element of coercion and the possibility of even criminal cases being adjudicated by the panchayats which is worrying the administration and the non-Akali Dal (Mann) parties,

Besides coming into clash with the authorities, the panchayats would interfere with the working of other political parties, particularly those having base in rural areas.

The chances of a clash between the panchayats and recognized militant organizations are also not ruled out. There already is enough bad blood between the two after the murder of AISSF leaders, Harminder Singh Sandhu and Sukhwant Singh Alkanwali, the responsibility for which has reportedly been claimed by terrorist organizations. Going by what was said at Friday “bhog” ceremony, the AISSF (Manjit) apprehends accentuation of the hostility between terrorist organizations and its leaders,

Major political parties on Saturday deplored the decision on panchayats by the militants and urged the Centre to take drastic steps to stem the “escalating tide of terrorism and secessionism in the State,”

In a memorandum to the President, Mr. R. Venkataraman, and a 15-member PCC-1 delegation stated the entire police force and. the administration in the State was “demoralized” due to the Centre’s of line,

Article extracted from this publication >> February 16, 1990