AMRITSAR: There has been a swing in favor of sovereignty in the public prouncements of major Sikh political groups as India stepped up repression in Punjab evidently to pave the way for elections early next year.
Akal leaders Simranjit Singh Mann and Bhai Manjit Singh who represent Akali Dal (Mann) and All India Sikh Students Federation respectively issued a series of Statements last week espousing the cause of Khalistan.
Mann was a little more categorical about his groups stand while the AISSF which represents traditional Akali thinking on major political issues said that a separate country was Sikhs” ultimate goal. Evidently the AISSF leaders find scope for certain setup in between the status quo and the formation of Khalistan.
Mann himself almost compatibly rules oral participation elections now. His Stance reflects a major departure from his earlier stand, The Akali leader had stayed away from the August 11 and September 1 conclaves at Anandpur Sahib which called for boycott of the proposed elections. Manns immediate reaction was critical of former S.G.P.C, Chief Tohra. He evidently saw in the conclave a plot to deprive him of political power. But later Mann took what looks like an allegoric stand against participation in elections.
Nevertheless, a feeling lurks among political observers that the Mann group has yet to show its final cards. For one thing, the group’s new stand has no binding farce. It has not been adopted by a general house of the party. Besides, the party’s senior functionaries have been heard making Statements enabling the party to alter us position when necessary. For instance, a party general secretary asserted that the Indian govt would not hold elections in Punjab. Unmistakable induction is that the party might look back if the Indian govt ordered elections in Punjab.
Bhai Manjit Singh appears to have made a few pronouncements on Khalistan more for the sake of record than as a firm programmatic commitment. These pronouncements have come in the aftermath of statements issued by Mann. Evidently, the AISSF does not want to be “left behind”. He and his colleagues in the AISSF make if a point to state that Khalistan was their ultimate goal. On elections, the AISSFs stand is dubious when asked at a Press conference at Chandigarh last week whether his group would participate the elections, Manjit Singh was hesitant in his reply. Eventually he found the escape route: “The Indian government would not hold the elections, Where is the question of our taking a position when the govt has not ordered the elections”?
Other Akali groups have opted for stance on Khalistan and election. Badal did rally round other groups when the idea of boycotting elections was breached at Anandpur Sahib. But later he maintained silence. As for the Longowal faction, its name is still mentioned by C.P.L leaders as their possible ally but the party’s functionaries are not too sure of themselves or their capacity to influence Sikhs in the event of elections others set the record straight on the Akal Takhat “kar seva™ issue when it said that the “seva” should be started only after mutual consultations and not unilaterally. In other words, the committee tried to frustrate the games of those who want to create confusion among Sikhs on an issue that is relatively not so important as the question of bringing about a consensus among Sikhs in favor of freedom, The Hindu “think tanks” are working hard to take the all-important issue of Sikh freedom off the community’s political agenda by introducing the controversial “seva” issue at this stage. Obviously, most militant leaders have acquired political maturity over the years.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 25, 1991
