Singh Sahib Darshan Singh’s withdrawal from the center of Sikh activity has generated a mixed reaction. Some consider it an unmitigated setback and feel that the resulting vacuum will not only be hard to fill but can push Sikhs into a still deeper mire of sufferings and sacrifices. While others strongly feel that Singh Sahib’s departure has decisively proved that the time for a politics of compromise is long past and angling for a Barnala and Balwant type of opportunism will not anymore be excused, let alone approved, by the Sikhs who have vowed to stake their lives for a life of dignity and freedom. Consequently the Panthic Committee appointed by the Sarbat Khalsa convention is being increasingly recognized as the collective voice articulating Sikh aspirations.

Singh Sahib’s emergence on the scene at the critical juncture of Sikh struggle was widely hailed. There was, however, a section of the Sikhs that was skeptical from the very beginning about his capability to steer clear of the forces that instead of identifying themselves with the Sikh destiny have set their eyes on Delhi’s reluctantly doled out crumbs of fuse less power in Chandigarh. Singh Sahib initially did show enough promise and grit as helped him to develop a fairly strong clout with the freedom fighters. Even Bhai Gurbachan Singh Manochal, who was appointed Acting Chief of Akal Takht in view of Bhai Jasbir Singh’s internment, willingly vacated his position for him and All India Sikh Students Federation also extended an unqualified support to him. But gradually he began to drift towards those who were advocating for a solution within the Indian Constitution and were prepared to settle for some semblance of internal autonomy.

In fact, Delhi appears to have created such a lobby in the Unified Akali Daliand S.G.P.C. This lobby, spearheaded by Amarinder Singh, was able to win over Singh Sahib and persuaded him to convene the August 4, meeting where a resolution for simple autonomy was horridly maneuvered despite spirited opposition by the freedom fighters. Adoption of this resolution proved the proverbial last straw and the Panthic Committee were forced to act to keep the Sikh struggle on the right track. In the process Singh Sahib got himself totally alienated from the freedom fighters and other Singh Sahibs who had all along provided him with the necessary support and were chiefly responsible for protecting him as an independent leader capable of courageously facing the challenges of the Delhi rulers. Singh Sahib’s complicity with the autonomy seekers was taken as a Stab in the back by the freedom fighters and unable to face them, he opted out under the cover of along leave. The Panthic Committee has reasserted itself and is in full control of the situation.

The moral of this development is clear and should serve to remove the cobwebs from the minds of those who still advocate solutions within the Indian framework. The cumulative effect of the covert and overt repression let loose against Sikhs ever since independence has pushed Sikhs to a point of no return and the ongoing process of fake encounters is daily strengthening their resolve to be masters of their own destiny. The autonomy seekers should realize that Delhi has never been and never will be sincere in any commitment with the Sikhs. The latest carrot of autonomy is being dangled to cover its double standards in dealing differently with the Sikh problem in Punjab and Tamil querrillasin Sri Lanka. It is a hollow offer being made to create the impression of being fair to Sikhs and to install another puppet like Barnala as the next Chief Minister of Punjab. Unfortunately, Singh Sahib failed to see through this so very transparent game and, therefore, had to go back to his old world of devotional singing.

Article extracted from this publication >>  August 14, 1987