LUDHIANA: The United Akali Dal (UAD) has no faith in the Akali unity efforts being made by the acting jathedar of the Akal ‘Takht, Bhai Manjit Singh, because he is neither a consensus jathedar nor was he acting independently.

The UAD president, Captain Harcharan Singh Rode, made this observation while talking to media persons here last week.

Speaking after announcing the UAD working committee and district presidents, Rode said in fact his party did not even recognize Manjit Singh as the true jathedar of the highest temporal seat of Sikhism because his appointment was controversial. Even Ranjit Singh, who was appointed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to his post and is presently lodged in the Tihar Jail in Delhi, was not the true jathedar, he added. Rode, who is a brother of the slain Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, went to the extent of tracing the roots of the present Akali fragmentation to the policy of misuse of the August post of jathedar by politicians for their narrow political ends. He felt that Akali unity may remain elusive so long a consensus jathedar was not appointed.

He said that he believed only in Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode, who was appointed jathedar in January 1986 and this was ratified later by the SGPC. However, he was later removed from the post but he had stepped down claiming himself to be still the jathedar.

Rode held the policy of ‘hire and fire’ adopted by the SGPC in recent years and summary dismissal of four Jathedars without serving them any notice or giving an opportunity to be heard, responsible for the current demoralization and disintegration within the Sikh ranks. He compared the harm done by this to the August institution to the demolition of Akal Takht in 1984. Emphasizing the need for Akali unity, Rode said the jathedar should be selected carefully from amongst a panel of qualified persons by a gathering of Sikh sects and organizations and should be ,approved by a‘sar but Khalsa’ and. ratified by the SGPC general house, He expressed concern that the SGPC was violating the tradition by not following this practice, ‘Asked if his party would merge with the Akali Dal (Amritsar) if so directed by Manjit Singh, he shot back that the latter should first set his house in order before inviting others to join him, He said that the AD (A) leaders did not think alike even on the issue of the Amritsar Declaration.

Rode revealed that his party would contest all future elections, including the SGPC general house polls and would not mind entering into seat adjustments with like: minded parties.

He has convened the first meeting of the newly elected working committee of his party at Gurdwara Dukhinwaran here on December 20 at 11 am. Those appointed of office-bearers of this committee include Darshan Singh Mand, senior vice-president, Virsa Singh Fatuwala, vice-president, Shiy Charan Singh Samewa and Gurdip Singh, general secretaries and Gurdey Singh, organizing secretary.

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 16, 1994