CHANDIGARH: Efforts initiated by panthic committee member Bhai Daljit Singh to bring about unity of the various Sikh student groups functioning over-ground to promote the cause of “Khalistan” have been all but frustrated by the Indian government.

Initially the groups of student federations gave a positive response to Bhai Daljit Singh and even persuaded office bearers to resign their posts to pave the way for unity. But later the situation changed.

The brakes were applied by the Indian government which was evidently quick to comprehend danger to the Indian state from a new over ground political platform sought to be built by the panthic commie.

Bhai Manjit Singh who had been repeatedly arrested and released for no apparent reason during the past few years was released suddenly by the Indian government from Bathinda jail. The first thing he did on release was to give a call for “militants unity” in perfect conformity with the Indian home ministry’s stand which wants such “unity” either for government militant talks or for destroying the militants. On the key issue of a call for Sikh Students Federations’ unity issued by Bhai Daljit Singh, the A.I.S.S.F . (Manjit) President changed positions. He first “welcomed” the move but later held secret talks with Simranjit Singh Mann, Parkash Singh Badal and other Akali leaders to convey to them his resolve to ignore Bhai Daljit Singh’s call and instead to respond to Akalis’ renewed move for “unity.”

In effect, to counter Bhai Daljit Singh’s plan to float a pro Khalistan over ground movement, the Akalis have a parallel program of uniting the various Akali groups including the A.1.S.S.F. (Manjit). These unity moves of the Akalis have the Hindus support, For instance, Indian B.J.P. leader Krishan Dal Sharma and Punjab B.J.P. leader M.M.Mittal speaking in Ropar district on Monday regretted that Akalis remained “disunited,”

What had stood in the way of an Akali unity was the move by Simranjit Singh Mann and Bhai Manjit Singh to remove S.G.P.C. chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra from the political scene. The two leaders through their junior functionaries had engineered a resolution some time ago supporting the charge that Tohra had been instrumental in the killing of a Mann Dal leader Baldev Singh Lang. The resolution further called for Tohra’s resignation as S.G.P.C. chief, This resolution was not to the liking of the Badal Akali Dal as well as the Babbar Akali Dal. It stood in the way of the representatives of the six “panthic organizations” meeting on a common platform. To remove the hurdle, the six “panthic organizations” at a meeting at Amritsar on the  week-end decided to drop the enquiry against Tohra.

The Tohra enquiry had another dimension, too. Soon after the start of the enquiry, the Babbar Khalsa had once again “owned” the Lang murder on the grounds: that he had been preparing to contest the abortive election and had also been collecting funds in the name of the Babbar Khalsa: International. But since some of the B.K.I, men had joined the Bud Singh wala-led Khalistan Commando Force, the latter was: soft towards the anti-Tohra Crusaders. However, the panthic committee issued a clarification on the Tohra issue and disclaimed any association or opposition to it. This clarification left the traditional Akalis with no doubt that they enjoyed no sympathy from militants on the Tohra issue, They thought it wise to drop the matter,

What, then, is the new Akali agenda? The six “panthic organizations” passed a resolution opposing the execution of Bhai Sukhdev Singh and Bhai Harjinder Singh after the Indian Supreme Court held them guilty of the murder of former Indian army chief A.S Vaidya. Manjit Singh, Mann and Badal had been issuing statements highlighting the threatened Indian action against the two Sikh heroes. Interestingly, no militant organization has so far issued any statement on the Vaidya murder case.

it is quite clear that (1) the Akalis are coming to a common platform; (2) they have set a political agenda around the threatened execution of Bhai Sukhdev Singh Bhai Harjinder Singh; (3) the Akalis are trying to make sentimental appeals to Sikhs on the Sukha-Jinda issue.

Observers feel that the Akalis aim is to strike a deal with the Indian government on the Jinda Sukha issue. They would like to return to electoral politics after they have “won the great victory” of having Bhai Sukhdev Singh and Bhai Harjinder Singh released or their capital punishment converted into life terms.

The Jinda-Sukha issue could be a source of embarrassment for the militants. They are keeping a silence at the Akali actions. Akalis do not feel agitated at the slaughter of dozens of “Jindas and Sukhas” daily in Punjab, For most militants, the Jinda-Sukha issue is as important as the killings of more than 1000 Sikh activists since January 1992, The militants could not afford to divorce the Jinda Sukha issue from either the fight for Khalistan or the large scale killings in Punjab and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, there is hardly any doubt in the minds of political observers that the changed Punjab stand on the water issue is in the Indian prime minister’s direction. In the latest move, the Punjab government sent a letter to the Indian government seeking resolution of Punjab’s river water dispute in terms of riparian principles. In other words, the Beant Singh government has asserted the right of Punjab to all the river waters of Punjab. Last month, the Punjab chief minister had written to the central government seeking resolution of the Punjab water issue in terms of the Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966, and pleaded for abrogation of all developments subsequent to 1966 on the water issue.

While Parkash Singh Badal is evidently keeping himself abreast of the developments on the water issue and has already issued a statement “demanding” the assertion of Punjab’s riparian rights to all its river waters, Simranjit Singh Mann and Manjit Singh are silent

The aim of the prime minister in making the Punjab government step up its stand on the water issue appears to be to force Haryana to live with the status quo and enjoy the water supplies already being made available to it through the Bhakra Mainline canal and, in the process, forget about the S.Y.L. canal. This, in turn, will give Akalis an occasion to claim credit. The Indian prime minister’s pressure tactics against Haryana could also persuade it to take steps to settle the boundary issue with Punjab.

Rao’s moves through the Punjab government on the water issue could well be a link in the long chain involving Akalis unity, their slogans on the Jinda-Sukha issue and their disregard for the unity moves initiated by Bhai Daljit Singh, In this scenario, observers feel, the militants will receive a setback if they do not take timely steps to neutralize the political moves of the traditional Akalis through political means.

Article extracted from this publication >> Aug 7, 1992