Prof, Manjit Singh has returned to India after his brief visit to the U.S.A., Canada and the U.K, while he denied his trip had anything to do with the Indian government or its Agencies, the acting Akal Takhat Jathedar has asked the Sikh Sangats to deal with the “incidents of this kind.” He said the Sikh sangats have been rallying round Akal Takhat but such a development is not to the liking of the ant religion and anti Panth forces. This statement may not be off the mark.

No one knows for certain the authorship of the fake letter. S.G.P.C, Chief Gurcharin Singh Tohra threatened to prosecute the newspapers which published the letter. He entrusted the job to Delhi gurdwara management President Manjit Singh Calcutta, Instead of prosecuting The Tribune of Chandigarh and Aj Di Awaz of Jalandhar, Tohra and Calcutta developed cold feet. The latter requested Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to hold an enquiry and find out the truth. The reaction of the Indian government is not known. Manjit Singh Calcutta’s request to Rao obviously rests on the premise that the Indian intelligence is out of the fake racket. Instead, hints have been thrown that the fake letter has been authored by someone in the Badal camp or by Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode or Dr, Jagjit Singh Chauhan. No doubt, the Badal group is the direct beneficiary of the deal in so far as it has shown to the Sikh sangats at large that the Akali Dal (Amritsar) through its nominee on Akal Takhat is linked up with the “RAW” and other Indian intelligence agencies. Bhai Jasbir Singh, too, nurses a grudge against the S.G.P.C. President and the Takhat Jathedar for deposing him from the post. As for Dr. Jagjit Singh Chauhan, almost every mischief played under the sum is freely attributed to him. The real authors may still be eluding the public.

The clue is provided by none else than Manjit Singh Calcutta whose record as Sikh leader has been suspect all along. He was dubbed by militants a few years ago as a “D.1.G.level officer of the Indian Intelligence.” The Indian “RAW” may have tried to cover up its own involvement by. Diverting attention to the rivalry within Sikh groups. The RAW is not innocent of such dirty tricks. RAW and other Indian agencies do rely on half-truths and half lies to achieve their political aim. The immediate aim was to lower the prestige of Akal Takhat; a feature initiated by Indian authorities when they propped up Badal against Akal Takhat, The letter may be unfounded but claim that Prof. Manjit Singh did meet a few officers of RAW on the eve of his visit to the western Countries still remains to be denied. True, Prof. Manjit Singh may not be aware of the identity of persons he met in Delhi While Seeking the government’s Clearances of his foreign visit. The culprit, again, may be none else than Manjit Singh Calcutta who is the eyes and cars” of Gurcharan Singh Tohra in Delhi. What lends credence to the shady role played by Manjit Singh Calcutta and his accomplices in the Indian Intelligence is the farmer’s appeal to the prime minister to hold an enquiry about the fake letter issue. Is Narasimha Rao the protector of Akal Takhat’s reputation? Why not prosecute The Tribune and its reporter as well as Aj Di Awaz and its reporter? The Tribune reporter, in particular, will have to disclose who delivered the fake letter to him. It will also become known as to who passed on the letter to the reporter of Bhai Jasbir Singh newspaper, Aj Di Awaz. Our information is that both these reporters eat out of the hands of RAW. And other Indian intelligence officers. The prosecution of The Tribune and Aj Di Awaz does not suit the RAW. Consequently, the efforts through Manjit Singh Calcutta to point an accusing finger at Bhai Jasbir Singh and Dr. Jagjit Singh Chauhan. The Akal Takhat Jathedar will be vindicated only if the two newspapers are prosecuted and not otherwise. The ends of justice will not be met by asking the prime minister to hold a private, secret enquiry by the same agencies who may have a hand in the dirty, anti Akal Takhat trick to politically benefit the Badal Akali Dal. The real culprits must not be allowed to go scot free.

Article extracted from this publication >>  September 2, 1994