Back to basics?

The Shiromani Akali Dal, which had laid off issues stemming from core Panthic values, seems to be embracing them all over again. The party has decided to take up the question of a separate religious identity for Sikhs through a private member's bill. It was to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on August 25 before the Monsoon session got disrupted due to the coal blocks allocation impasse.

The bill, to be moved by Dr Rattan Singh Ajnala from the Majha constituency of Khadoor Sahib, was aimed at amending the Explanation II of Sub-section 2(b) of Article 25 of the Indian Constitution which states: “The reference to Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jain or Buddhist religion.” The Bill “proposes to amend Article 25 with a view to distinctively refer to Sikh, Jain and Buddhist religions along with Hindu religions”. It also refers to the recommendations made by the National Commission on Review of the Constitution headed by former Chief Justice of India MN Venkatachaliah during the NDA rule.

According to Dr Singh, the amendment would be a big leap forward after the passage of the Anand Marriage Act a few months back. The Act facilitated the separate registration of Sikh marriages. Akali Dal secretary Daljeet Singh Cheema, too, hailed the bill saying: “This bill would fulfil the long pending demand of the Sikhs.”

The decision comes as an interesting change in the political direction of the party. Exclusive Sikh identity has been a major issue not only with the Akali Dal but almost all other Sikh organisations. In fact, it was at the core of the controversial Anandpur Sahib Resolution in 1973 that sought a “geo-political environment” for the Khalsa. It was also one of the main demands of the party during the Dharamyudh Morcha launched in August 1982. The then Akali Dal president and Morcha dictator Sant Harchand Singh Longowal had written a 10-page letter to all concerned presenting the party case to mobilise support and remove misgivings.

However, with the rise of militancy in the state, the Akali Dal made a conscious shift from the Sikh identity to Punjabi identity at the 75th anniversary conference at Moga in February, 1996. In the process, they came to be ridiculed as the Punjabi Party by the hardliners.

But the party seems to be going back to the basics with this proposed legislation being the second major decision it has taken that is close to its core values. The first was the controversial move to raise a memorial to Operation Bluestar in the Golden Temple complex.

Even during the election campaigns, the party had publicly taken a stance away from the core Panthic issues. But now that the party has come to power, the compulsions seem to have changed. Party chief and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is perhaps performing a balancing act between the political ambitions of the party and the primary objective according to the party constitution: maintaining its religious identity. Perhaps it is a part of this balancing act that prompted the bill to be tabled not by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Sukhbir Singh Badal's wife and the most active Akali MP, but by Dr Singh.

Whatever the outcome of the bill, it would be interesting to note the future political position of the party.