CHANDIGARH: Mao Zedong’s popular slogan, “Power flows from the barrel of a gun”, would perhaps seem out of context in today’s radical approach of perestroika and glasnost: except may be in India.

In this be leagured state it is the politics of the gun that has come to rule: and indeed he rules more effectively who draws the gun faster.

And the one man who has come to influence the politics of the state most effectively is none other than a former director of health services in Punjab govt, Dr.Sohan Singh, and his five member panthic committee which commands the support of the four most powerful Sikh nationalist organtions.

These nationalist organisations, considered the most committed and haying the most effective supply line of weapons from Pakistan are: the Babbar Khalsa International, the KLF led by Gunjant Singh Budhsinghwala, a KCF faction led by Paramjit Singh Panjwar, and the SSF led by Daljit Singh Bittu.

Indeed, Dr. Sohan Singh and his associates have virtually come to call the shots in Punjab through their demonstration power And Dr Sohan Singh’s panthic committee succeeded in converting Mr Simranjit Singh Mann to supporting Khalistan.

What has gone comparatively unnoticed is Dr.Sohan Singh’s behind the scenes involvement in the Punjab drama over the past several years, which has led to his emergence as a powerful force.

Dr.Sohan Singh, currently in his seventies, was a close associate of the late Kapur Singh, a former ICS officer who was the brain behind the drafting of the 1973 Anandpur Sahib resolution. He had organised a series of seminars soon after his retirement from service in January 1975.

FIRST SALVO: Significantly, the first seminar held at Chandigarh’s Panchayat Bhavan had the theme, “Khalistan, why not”. In that same seminar, a leaflet was reportedly distributed stating that in 1947, the Sikhs had reposed trust in the Hindus to run the govt. Since the Hindus had ruled India for almost 30 years, they should now hand over the reins of govt to the Sikhs. The leaflet added that since the Hindus were unlikely to part with power, the Sikhs must be given an independent country, Khalistan.

Around that time, emergency was declared and the Akalis launched a morcha against it. Towards the end of 1976, when Sant Harchand Singh Longowal had almost decided to call off the agitation reportedly on the advice of his senior party colleagues, Dr.Sohan Singh was said to have persuaded him to continue with it.

But after emergency was lifted and the Janata Party govt announced assembly elections, Dr.Sohan Singh drifted away from Sant Longowal. This was after the latter had declined Dr.Sohan Singh’s suggestion to press for concessions for the Sikhs as a condition for participating in the elections,

Again, Dr.Sohan Singh was reportedly instrumental in having a hukamnama (edict) passed against the Nirankaris at a Sikh congregation’ in the Golden Temple soon after the NirankariSikh clash in April 1978. Dr. Sohan Singh subsequently became a close associate and adviser of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

The first case against Dr.Sohan Singh was registered in 1981 on the charge of delivering a communal speech at a seminar held at Punjab University, Chandigarh. Interestingly, Dr.Sohan Singh was acquitted in the case by arguing that the term “Hindu “did not denote a particular community but in fact meant chor (thief) in Persian. He had contended that all nonMuslims had been termed “Hindus” by the Muslim rulers.

DEATH REPORTS: After “Operation Bluestar”, there were. Reports that he had died. But Dr.Sohan Singh was alive, although he had withdrawn from active political militancy. Instead, he began visiting various religious congregations keeping an eye open for committed youth. These youth, under his advice, formed the Khalistan Commando Force, the first post Operation Bluestar militant body, in 1986.

Before the formation of the KCF, Dr.Sohan Singh was instrumental in arranging a Sarbat Khalsa on January 26,1986, where the first panthic committee was announced as “traitors of the panth”, and the SGPC was dissolved.” Later, he drafted the resolution declaring Khalistan as the objective of the panthic committee announced by it from within the Golden Temple on April 29,1986. Only a few days before the announcement, Dr.Sohan Singh had gone underground. His son, Mr S.S.Boparai, is a senior IAS officer and is at present irrigation secretary to the Punjab govt.

In March 1988, Dr.Sohan Singh, apparently disillusioned with the earlier panthic Committee, formed a new panthic committee involving for the first time the Baar Khalsa, the most respected militant group in the state, which had till then been operating independently. Three other militant outfits the KCF, the KLF and the SSF (Bittu) announced allegiance to the new panthic committee.

Interestingly, Dr.Sohan Singh, during his tenure as director of health services, was credited with the setting up of about 200 dispensaries. Before that, he often said that despite Punjab being a prosperous state, not a single new dispensary had been opened since 1947.

Following criticism by medical quarters, the then Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, sent a team of experts to Punjab which concluded that a “medical revolution” had been brought about by Dr.Sohan Singh in Punjab.

MEDICAL TEAMS: Dr. Sohan Singh had literally started a “medical Manthan” in Punjab which involved visiting rural areas with medical teams for testing people for fitness and recording for Statistical purposes illnesses and diseases. This was followed by medical camps that would treat people at their doorsteps in the rural areas.

He also involved students to test adulterated food grains being sold by shopkeepers, creating ripples among traders.

Dr.Sohan Singh is also reported to have played a major role in the former Akal Takht Jathedar, Mr Darshan Singh’s quitting the political scene in August 1987. He is believed to have met Mr Darshan Singh an hour before he announced his resignation.

But the most significant role he played was in May 1987 when the then Prime Minister, Mr Rajiv Gandhi’s emissary, Acharaya Sushil Muni, through talks held in the Golden Temple, almost succeeded in persuading the militants to surrender their arms at the Akal Takht which was to be followed by negotiations. When some militant leaders met Dr. Sohan Singh to seek his advice, he reportedly suggested that all this should take place only if Khalistan was included in the agenda for the talks. Acharya Sushil Muni then flew to Delhi, never to return.

 

Article extracted from this publication >> October 12, 1990