It is often surmised that the Indian state invariably sets the political agenda for the Sikhs. The truth of this statement is borne out in a telling manner by the stannous emergence of a controversy regarding the need for a change in the qualification of voters for the ensuring S.G.P.C. election. Traditionally, all Sikhs have been registered) voters. They have been exercising their voting right even when the electoral battle was joined in by parties and candidates not exactly known for their religious commitment. Thus in the final analysis the voters have been rejecting Congressmen or Communists as and when they tried to make a foray into the peculiar religio-politics of Sikhs. A controversy whether Amritdhari alone should be entitled to vote or non Amritdhari Sikhs, too, should continue to exercise their traditional rights is, therefore, unwarranted. Any apprehension of non-Sikhs under the guise of Sahajdhanis capturing the SGPC is baseless, true, the Indian government wants a plant Sikh leadership to control the SGPC. But for the achievement of that goal, the government does not have to draft “Sahajdharis.” There are plenty of “amritdhari” willing to play to India’s tunes. Harchand Singh Longowal and Surjit Singh Barnala were “amritdhari.” On the other hand, Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh “Sukha” were non amntdhar is. Even men like Ranjit Singh Gill and Sukhminder Singh Sandhu, under.
going a tough prolonged jail term in the USA, are not “amritdhar is.” There are countless other Sikhs who have sacrificed their everything for the Panthic course, without being “amritdharis,” There are also numerous instances of “ammitdharis” being denied their “five Ks” by the Indian police. Either way, itis not a happy situation. It is equally true that many fake “Sants” and “Babas” have emerged in Punjab and elsewhere to mislead the Sikhs. True, every Sant or Baba is not fake. Butmen of Sikh character, like Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale, are not to be found in plenty. Whether an amritdnan or a non amntdhari, a Sant or a Baba or a simple Jjathedar, everybody’s political conduct needs to be assessed dispassionately, Whether one is committed to the cause set out by Guru Gobind Singh namely the creation of a sovereign Khalsa and a free place for it to live in. This will eventually emerge as arc liable yardstick. In the meanwhile, Sikhs have to eschew all divisive, disruptionists controversies. Let the Sikh use their own wisdom to elect appropriate representatives to run the affairs of the SGPC, a vehicle of the spread of “amrit” as well as committed to the cause of Guru Gobind Singh, a forum to provide relief and succor to the Sikhs in distress and a shining symbol of Sikhism, its transnational philosophy, a custodian of everything that is best in Sikhism.
Sadar blast accused Shot in ValleyArticle extracted from this publication >> January 10, 1996
