History is a record of Man’s fantastic feats and fatal follies. Its each page is an enlightening lesson for the posterity. Those who heed not the warnings, necessarily kiss the dust. Wise men, it is said, learn from the follies of others but fools learn not even from their own experiences. Disregarding Napoleon’s disastrous experience in invading Russia, Hitler forced Russia and America to plunge World War II and thus sealed his own fate. A folly of equal magnitude was committed by late Indira Gandhi when she sent the ‘Armed Forces storming into Sikh’s holiest shrine, the Golden Temple. She was prompted to exercise military option not by the exigencies of the situation but by her short-sighted calculation of temporary electoral gains. In her anxiety to project herself as a kind of Dura -incarnate, she arrogantly dismissed the writings on the wall and refused to consider the consequences of grievously hurting the Sikh psyche. By her outrageous action, she not only signed her ‘own death warrant but also brought the country to the brink of disintegration.
Her pilot-turned-politician son, advised by a pack of salesmen- turned ministers, is also doggedly following in the foot-steps of his late mother. He was bent upon forcing Barnala to send troops into the Golden Temple. He had two motives-(1) to justify to the world his mother’s operation Blue-Star as inevitable and-(2) to erase from Sikh psyche the impression of the inviolability of the Golden Temple. He has tried to use Barnala as a convenient alibi to keep his own hands clean and thus avoid the inexorable destiny.
By ordering Para-military troops into the Golden Temple who wantonly killed and arrested
Kar-Sewa volunteers, Barnala may have earned for himself accolades from his ‘master’, Rajiv Gandhi. In the Sikh reckoning, he has joined the ranks of despicable traitors like Lal Singh and Teja Singh – the men responsible for the rout of Sikh Kingdom.
Ironically, the step that he has taken to strengthen his position is bound to spell his doom. Already serious cracks have come in his Cabinet with the resignation of Sukhjinder Singh, Amarinder Singh and Sucha Singh Chhotepur. Resignations of Parkash Singh Badal and Gurcharan Singh Tohra from Akali Dal’s working committee and a large number of members from the S.G.P.C. show that Barnala’s star is in for a total eclipse.
Sukhjinder Singh, Amarinder Singh and others have done well in resigning from the Cabinet as a protest against Barnala’s ill-advised action. It is true that no Sikh with a conscience can continue in Barnala’s Cabinet after his shameless surrender before the rulers of Delhi. But the sincerity of their protest, however, would be judged from the way they act in the event of Barnala’s fall. Their resignations can result in rich political dividends. One who starts angling for the Chief Minister ship will not be able to wash the impression of being Delhi’s horse-in-waiting. The shrewd rulers in Delhi know full well that Barnala may not last now as Chief Minister. His utility is also over because, in popular imagination, he would be equated with Indira Gandhi. To meet the resulting contingency, Delhi must have an alternative acceptable to the Sikhs. The resignation exercise, therefore, can also be a stage-managed ploy to increase the acceptability of the prospective incumbent. We hope it is not, as it would mean yet another ‘Barnala’ replacing the spent out Barnala.
Sikhs can hope to survive as a political force only if they succeed in undoing 38 years of injustice to Punjab, if they can help restore the honor and glory of the path and free themselves from Delhi’s perverse influence. For this grand performance, they need another Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Akalis, have neither the scope nor the stomach for a Bhindranwale. Only a miracle can transform domesticated Akali sparrows into hawks of destiny. That miracle is presently taking shape elsewhere in the developing crusade of Damdami Taksal and All India Sikh Student Federation, flowering of this miracle, Punjab will continue to bleed.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 9, 1986
