lll-boding Ordinance
Promulgation of ordinances by manipulating pretexts is repugnant to the spirit of democracy. It is an unmitigated affront to the august institution of Parliament. Indian Constitution provides for the promulgation of ordinances specifically to meet urgent situations or in times of national emergencies and not to undermine or bypass the prerogatives of the Parliament. But the rulers in Delhi have made a habit of issuing ordinances to further increase their fascist stranglehold as well as to bulldoze whimsical measures. Constitutional obligations, democratic norms and moral considerations are routinely sacrificed at the altar of expediency or to perpetuate the dynastic rule of the Nehru family or to promote Hindu hegemony.
The latest ordinance called the “Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Ordinance belongs to this genre. It says that no religious institution shall allow its funds, properties, premises to be used for storing arms and ammunition, and other contraband goods, for erecting fortifications, for carrying on unlawful, subversive activity, for inflaming animosity between different groups, for sedition. It also forbids the use of the funds, premises, ete, for political activity and political activity has been defined as “any activity promoting and propagating the aims or objects of a political party, or any cause, issue or question of a political nature.”
Through this ordinance, politics has been smartly separated from religion. It is, thus, the most dangerous attack on the basic character of Sikhism and its traditions. Guru Hargobind’s unique act of creating temporal (Miri) and spiritual (Piri) unity has been surreptitiously undone, rendering the sacred institution of Akal Takht within the precincts of the Golden Temple irrelevant and violate of the law. The inalienable right of the Sikhs to hold Sarbat Khalsa convention at the Akal Takht to deliberate over urgent issues confronting the nation has been cancelled with. a casual stroke of a pen. The ordinance, in essence, loudly and clearly proclaims that Sikhs have no rights in India. They are required to live and worship in accordance with the Hindu code. A blanket ban on arms in the religious places is a negation of all that Guru Hargobind and Guru Gobind Singh exhorted their Sikhs to practice as an article of faith.
Indira Gandhi adopted a cavalier course to destroy the Akal ‘Takht — she attacked with tanks and bombs. Her violent end has made her son resort to more subtle tactics. He is operating through agent provocateurs and Ribeiro’s Mafia gangs who pose as freedom fighters and commit outrageous acts to discredit the Sikh movement as well as provide justification for enacting draconian laws.
There is nothing enigmatic about the continuing sacrilege of the Golden Temple. The whole drama is so very transparent. The senior officers admit that “freedom fighters are no longer operating from the Golden Temple but have spread out far and wide in the countryside where they have set up safe houses.” The fact that only eleven weapons were recovered from nearly 200 Sikhs who surrendered to the security forces nails the lie that arms were being piled up in the temple. Yet the media including national dailies like The Indian Express continue, parrot like, repeating the government version. Those who boast of specialization in investigative journalism somehow feel shy of unmasking the truth.
Perhaps their religious loyalty takes precedence over truth and professional obligations. In dealing with minorities, from Rickshawala to Rajiv, all Hindus are the same. Not a single judge, journalist, opposition leader or human rights activist has condemned Ribeiro’s Mafia or Rajiv’s Ordinance.
The proposed demolition of the Parikarma rooms is intended to be a preparation for the ultimate demolition of the Akal Takht. It is ‘a feeler to gauge the Sikh reaction. Will the Sikhs meekly accept the primacy of Delhi over the Akal Takht? Will they reconcile to the issuing of Hukamnamas from Delhi? Will they manage their religious affairs and sacred shrines according to the Guru’s edicts or submit to Rajiv’s perverse ordinances aimed at destroying the distinctive character of Sikhism? These are the questions that the Ordinance has raised and Sikhs all over the world must address themselves to these questions with the seriousness and urgency that they demand if they wish to survive this sinister attack.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 10, 1988
