Are the ghosts of Khalistan coming back?

 

 

The Bourbons are said to have learnt nothing and forgotten nothing from history. If a contemporary analogy is to be drawn with the ruling French dynasty, it would have to be the Congress in Punjab. Nearly three decades after terrorism was triggered in Punjab in 1978 at the behest of the then prominent Congress leader, Giani Zail Singh, who backed and blessed the creation of an alternative political leader – Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale – to counter the Akalis, the terrifying spectre of history repeating itself looms on the horizon. It is not too large at the moment, but potentially destructive. The infamous role of the Congress is being reenacted with aplomb and sections of the party, after being voted out of office in the state, have decided to keep the pot boiling.

As in1978, when Nirankari Baba, Gurbachan Singh, adopted the attire and nomenclature of the revered 10th Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, at the behest of Congress leaders (who had been voted out of office), a similar scene is being enacted in Punjab today. Barely weeks after being sworn into office, Akalis are caught in a Catch-22 situation. A little known sect, based in neighbouring Haryana, Dera Sacha Sauda, created a massive furore recently when its chief donned the attire of Guru Gobind Singh offering `karha prasad’ to his followers on 14 May, sparking violent protests in the state. This included an attack on Sikhs by Dera followers. The politics leading up to incidents are hazy and need chronicling. Between 5 February and 13 February this year, in the run-up to the state assembly elections, a series of advertisements appeared in mainline newspapers in the state, both in English and Punjabi, where the head of the Dera, Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, issued a clarion call for the voters to pitch in for the Congress. “Full page advertisements during polls are not exceptional, but the curious thing about them were that they were issued after deliberately provocative photos of the Baba dressed as Guru Gobind Singh were distributed as press releases into local newspaper offices. Given the sensitivity of the pictures, as well as Punjab’s immediate history, the journalists ignored them. But, the same pictures appeared a day or two later in the full page advertisements of the Dera,’’ Kunwar Pal Singh, general secretary of the Dal Khalsa, told the TSI. Since then, the spectre of the last millennium, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, has the state in its grip.

Virtually every section of Sikh opinion has been outraged. The SGPC chief, Avtar Singh Makkar, told TSI, “We strongly condemn the blasphemous acts of the Dera chief and demand that he tender a public apology for attempting to replicate religious practices of Sikhism. It is not the dress alone, but the very act of the panj pyara, preparation of Amrit and other such acts, which have hurt the sentiments of not just Sikhs, but all religions.’’ What makes the signs more ominous is that the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of Sikhs, decided to come into the picture. After 1978, it is for the first time that the Akal Takht issued a Punjab bandh call. 22 May marked a bandh nearly as total as anything that has occurred in the state’s chequered immediate history.

What is the Dera Sacha Sauda? Based in Sirsa in Haryana, its followers comprise almost entirely of low caste Hindus and Mazhabi Sikhs. The differences between the Nirankaris of the 1970s and the Dera followers in 2007 is quite immense. Unlike the Nirankaris, who were almost wholly Sikh, the Dera has followers from all religious, including a sprinkling of Muslims. The common binding thread between most of the followers is that they belong to the lower castes. The area of influence for them – outside of Sirsa – is the Malwa region of Punjab and it is here that Dera followers were expected to make a difference to the Congress prospects in the assembly elections. They did so, because the Congress gained in the polls from the districts of the Malwa region.

Already there are reports of Sikhs associated with the Dera moving out of the fold or temporarily disassociating themselves with the sect. Other sect properties like congregation places for the followers – called `naamcharcha ghars’ - in Sangrur and Patliala have been vacated on the advice of the Dera chief. A source in the Dera based at Chandigarh told TSI that the premises were vacated after the Dera followers had been told not to hold congregations so as to avoid confrontation with the Sikhs and the Akalis.

The tussle between the Dera and the Akalis is basically a caste conflict, which has assumed political overtones due to the open support of the Dera to the Congress. Upper caste Jat Sikhs, who form core of the support base of the Akalis, have found a cause in Baba’s calumnious act. Sikh leaders reacted strongly on being prompted by Akali leaders, but the former were wary of Dera’s growing clout among the lower caste Hindus, Sikhs and to a certain extent, Muslims as well. This is the reason why chief minister Parkash Singh Badal too asked the Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, to issue an unconditional apology. The hardline factions of the Sikhs, like the Dal Khalsa and the AISSF are unlikely to settle even at that. Dal Khalsa’s Kunwar Pal Singh lays down the conditions. “First, Rahim has to be arrested and then his Deras have to be sealed. An apology means nothing from a man who does not mean it in the first place.’’ On both counts, their implementation could lead to further chaos. In any case, Badal toeing a hardline doesn’t portend peace for the once trouble-torn state.

There are indications of hardening positions on both sides. The president of the All India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF), Manjit Singh Bhoma, told TSI, “The Sikh panth’s struggle will continue until the Dera chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, is arrested or he apologises before the Akal Takth. The Sikhs can tolerate anything, but an insult to the Gurus.’’ Other groups like Damdami Taksal have promised an “independent and strong reaction’’ from their cadres in case Gurmeet Ram Rahim is not vanquished and his sect not closed down. But therein lies the rub. The Dera chief has expressed a ‘regret’, but has stopped short of issuing an ‘apology’, so the issue appears stuck in semantics for the moment. As for the apology before the Takht, the Dera followers and its head have refused point blank to do the needful, suggesting that they are not apprehensive of going on a confrontationist path. Its spokesman Aditya Aurora told reporters, “If an effort is not made to understand what we have tried to convey, we do not have another way of addressing the issue. We have full faith in all religions, but no one is willing to understand our feelings.’’

The blame game among politicians is making matters worse. While Congress leaders accuse Akalis of inciting the Sikh leaders to pronounce sanctions against the Dera, the Akalis hurl similar allegations against Congress leaders. Akal Takht Jathedar, Joginder Singh Vedanti (see accompanying piece) told TSI, “The Sikh Congress leaders who sided with the Dera and incited trouble at Bhatinda, will be identified and summoned before the Sikh clergy.’’ In Chandigarh, there is no sign of Amarinder Singh, who is reportedly holidaying in Nepal, while other leaders like Rajinder Kaul Bhattal are maintaining a low profile.

Trouble may exacerbate, lest immediate steps are not taken. It will require a Herculean effort to mollify sentiments. For the moment, analysts agree on only one matter. Come what may, there should be no escalation of violence. After all, the state came back from the brink in the not too distant past. “Even an apology by the Dera may not be enough”

An unconditional apology by the Dera Sacha Sauda head could pacify the hurt religions sentiments of the Sikhs to certain extent, but merely an apology may not be enough. Though the Sikhs have not sought an apology from the Dera chief, but in the event he admits having committed the grave sin of imitating Guru Gobind Singh, and fiddling with Sikh rituals, and realises that he has hurt Sikh religious sentiments, and tenders an unconditional apology to the Panth, he could apply a healing balm. Of course, an apology does not mean the end of everything, it will just help to create a peaceful atmosphere in the state. The five high priests would be meeting on 31 May to decide the future course of action. Sikh leaders of the Congress who had sided with the Dera would be identified and appropriate action would be taken by them. These leaders played the role of inciting the Dera followers against the Sikhs, who were demonstrating peacefully and were assaulted for no fault of theirs. The Congress role in this shameful incident needs to be highlighted further. These leaders have a past history of promoting violence and discord. May I appeal to all Sikhs to be calm in this hour of crisis? Is he a messiah or a mercenary? Two faces of Baba Ram Rahim . . .

It is a typical case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. To his followers the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, is a demigod with magical powers, but for his neighbours, the Baba is a criminal in the garb of a saint. It is this stark contradiction which has turned the Dera into a virtual cauldron.

His followers call him Pitaji and the Dera is christened gaddi. Bansi Lal and Mashru Lal travelled for three days from Udaipur in Rajasthan to reach the Dera. They belong to a criminal tribe of Rajasthan. Their parents have given up their criminal activities on the Baba’s call. Says Mashru,“Pitaji transformed our lives. We were living in hell before meeting him.” His following has reportedly crossed 2.5 crore, making the Sikh leaders wary of his clout.

Outside the Dera, more than 5,000 Sikhs have gathered from the city and nearby villages raising slogans against the Baba. The Dera spreads over 700 acres. People of adjacent villages like Nezia, Arnia, Begu accuse the Dera of grabbing their land. One of the villagers had land next to the Dera. He was tortured until he sold his land to the Dera. Stories of land grabbing and murders abound. People speak of these stories in hushed tones. The TSI team visited many villages and met many ‘victims’ of the Dera. Even followers of the Dera reveal that they had been tortured for land. A follower who owns a plot opposite the old Dera in Sirsa states that he had to fight with the Dera committee members for 12 years for this plot. There is immense lack of faith in the administration as well as the police. The only way to be safe is to be quiet.

Ram Chander Chhattarpati, editor of a local newspaper Poora Sach was allegedly killed by the Dera followers and the case is being investigated by CBI. “My father’s case has been reported and is being investigated. But, 3-4 unidentified bodies are found near the Dera every month but cases go uninvestigated, as no one dares to raise a finger at the Dera,” claims Anshul, Ram Chander’s son.

Ram Kumar of the neighbouring Diwan Khera village who was with the Dera from 1971 till the death of last Guru, Shah Satnam, in 1993, confesses to grabbing land for the Dera. “When Baba Gurmeet Singh took over the Takht, the Dera had only 50-60 acres. Now it has around 700 acres in Sirsa alone,” he told TSI. The Dera allegedly indulges in drug peddling too. The police seized a Jeep owned by the Dera’s newspaper Sach Kahun ferrying 29 kg of drugs in the first week of April this year, but no action was taken. Attempts to extract a statement from the Dera are met with intimidation. Dr. Aditya, spokesperson of the Dera told TSI, “Let me speak to your Editor-in-Chief Arindam Chaudhuri first.”

Vivek Asri