NEW DELHI: With the Indian Government’s entire attention claimed by the explosive Hindu fundamentalist threat to destroy historical Babri mosque at Ayodhia on October 30, the resignation from Lok Sabha by Akali Dal (M) leader Simranjit Singh Mann has virtually been ignored.

Mann sent in his resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray last week to protest against the extension of Presidential rule in Punjab. The ruling Janata Dal with the help of opposition Congress (I) brought about a constitutional amendment to postpone elections in the state which has been without popular rule since May 1987.

Political developments centered round the Ram Janam bhumibars dispute are taking a fast turn, There is no doubt that the Hindu fundamentalist “chariot. march” from Somnath Mandir to Ayodhia organised by BJP President L.K. Advani is attracting mammoth crowds on the way with ordinary Hindus treating the chariot as almost the one the mythical Rama of the Ramayana used. A few Lakh Hindus received the chariot in Delhi at the weekend.

The chariot is accompanied by hundreds of armed fundamentalist volunteers of the Bajrang Dal, RSS, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Shiv Sena. At many places bizarre scenes were witnessed. Men were seen plunging daggers with one hand into the palm of the other to symbolised their determination to destroy the mosque and build a temple in its place to Honour Rama.

The fundamentalist movement is believed to be secretly supported by senior Ministers like Arun Nehru who would like to replace V.P. Singh as India’s Prime Minister with B.J.P. and a section of Congress (I) promising support to him.

V.P Singh is cautious about dealing with the emerging threat to the law and order in north India already aflame with rising communal passions, Several places in U.P., Bihar, Gujarat and witnessed communal carnage with hundreds of Muslims being slain by Hindu fundamentalist mobs. He telephoned Advani to plead with him to postpone the proposed trip. He is planning to put pressure on the BJP chief by Organisations a meeting later in the week.

However, the Mulayam Singh Government of U.P., the State likely to be affected most by the fundamentalist threat went into action early this week when it arrested D.N. Agarwal, Vice President of V.H.P., along with 4,000. Other Hindu activists for violating section 144 and posing threat to the law and order at Allahabad. Arrests have similarly been made elsewhere in U.P.’s towns.

Chief Minister Yadav on his own built up a powerful movement against the Hindu fundamentalist threat when he organised rallies attended by lakhs of people belonging to the scheduled and backward castes mainly around the Mandal Commission report. Yadav is trying to face the situation with the help of the scheduled and backward castes. Thus the fundamentalists comprise mainly the upper castes who are also ‘Opposing the Mandal Commission Report.

Prime Minister V.P. Singh’s government’s is supported by the BJP in India’s Parliament. Despite the growing tension building up between the V.P. Singh Government and the BJP, the latter has let it be known that it does not plan to withdraw its supports at the moment. The reason is that a midterm poll does not suit the BJP for the present because it has yet to mobilise the Hindu masses behind it, Its plan has been frustrated by the introduction of the Mandal Commission report on job reservation issue. That explains uneasy relations between the two groups.

It is against this background that Mann’s move has not caused big ripples in India’s politics. Also, as usual the Akali Dal (M) chief has not been able to project his resignation as his party’s much less the Sikh Panth’s, stand on the election issue. Earlier, he failed to project the Kirpan issue as no more than an individual issue for him.

Mann’s political managers appear to have convinced him that his individualistic actions would make him a hero of the Sikh masses and that a collective action on the part of his partymen would not be helpful in promoting his leadership. That seems to be the reason why no other member of Parliament belonging to his party has so far resigned although Dhian Singh Mand, Bimal Khalsa and Rajinder Kaur Bulara have offered their Resignations to Mann. Other M.P.s are keeping quiet as if it were an individual affair of Mann.

Yet another ‘factor responsible for the low key treatment of the Resignation issue is the apparently contradictory stand adopted by Mann when on the eve of statute amendment he announced a boycott of the poll if not held under the auspices of U.N. His protestations have not been taken very seriously by many in the country.

Article extracted from this publication >> October 19, 1990