Asserting identity

Hum Hindu Nahin'', asserted Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha in 1898 itself when efforts were being made to project Sikhism as being part of Hinduis...

Hum Hindu Nahin8221;, asserted Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha in 1898 itself when efforts were being made to project Sikhism as being part of Hinduism. The book written by the Sikh scholar under this title is now being yanked out of the archives to counter what is being described as the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh8217;s RSS policy of assimilation, one that projects Sikhs as a militant arm of Hinduism created to confront Islam.

More than a century after Bhai Kahan Singh underscored a separate Sikh identity in his critique, the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat symbolising sovereignty of the Sikh doctrine, has reinforced the thesis that the Sikh identity is exclusive and autonomous. It has come in the form of a unanimous resolution gurmata passed at a meeting of representatives of Sikh organisations convened by the Akal Takht8217;s acting Jathedar, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti and his associates from other takhts in Punjab last week. The Akal Takht itself represents this logic of exclusive Sikh identity. Going a step further, the Akali Dal has been directed to present a case for an exclusive Sikh identity to the Constitution review panel.

With the RSS fanning itself out in the Punjab countryside to project Sikhs as being part of the Hindu fold under the garb of celebrating the Khalsa tercentenary, such a vociferous reaction was not unexpected. In the recent past, tempers have been rising, with rightwing radical Sikh organisations demanding a ban on the activities of the RSS in the state. This demand has been getting the support of liberal and democratic Sikh organisations as well, causing a great deal of embarrassment to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The RSS is under attack for trying to freeze Sikhism into history by ignoring how it developed and evolved. The Akali Dal alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party is considered more than a compulsion of legislative politics. If not handled properly, the issue has the potential of posing a serious threat to the alliance.

Spearheading the campaign against the RSS has been the Dal Khalsa, which was involved in the first hijack during militancy in Punjab. Though the demand to ban the RSS in the state was first raised in February last, Badal, who also heads the Akali Dal, looked the other way.

The Sikh identity as an issue is part of a process of evolution. Badal himself was part of the campaign launched by the Akali Dal against Article 25 of the Constitution, which clubs Sikhs with the Hindus. The only difference is that now, he is in power. His political agenda is now Punjabiat as against Panthic, a paradigm shift that the Akalis made in 1996 at their conference at Moga. The move paid rich dividends in legislative politics. Finance Minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh in his budget speech in March last, while referring to the Moga Declaration, reiterated the commitment of the Akali Dal to Punjabi unity, saying, 8220;Through this and this path alone can Punjab be transformed into a modern and model state.8221;Now, Badal8217;s worry is that the issue might lead to the raising of slogans like 8220;The Sikhs are a separate nation8221;, a sentiment that in the past preceded the rise of militancy. A demand for separate cremation grounds for the Sikhs has also been voiced.

Badal is much too aware of the threat that the Sikh identity issue can pose to the Punjabiat agenda. The BJP and the RSS had reacted strongly to the issuance of the Nanakshahi calender which was at clear variance with the Bikarmi calendar, arguing that it would divide Punjabi society. The involvement of the Akali Dal government in the Khalsa tercenteray celebrations was interpreted by many as going back to the Panthic agenda.

The results were disastrous. The Akali Dal was wiped out in the Lok Sabha elections which followed despite the fact that about 70 lakh Sikhs participated in the tercentenary celebrations at Anandpur Sahib. Urban Hindus and the dalits also distanced themselves from the party.

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If the present tendency is allowed to dictate the political discourse, Badal would not be able to get the unstinted support of the BJP. Presently, the RSS sees him as the best bet to spread out in Punjab8217;s countryside. He is compelled to continue with the agenda of Punjabi identity. His only problem is that now, he lacks a cushion to absorb the shocks of prickly issues like this one. Earlier, he had one in the form of Gurcharan Singh Tohra.

At the political level, Badal8217;s best bet is to continue with the BJP, though it is the Congress that subscribes to the ideology of the exclusive Sikh identity. But the Congress is and would continue to be untouchable to the Sikhs as long as the backlash of Operation Bluestar and the November 1984 anti-Sikh riots is fresh in memory.

At the socio-cultural level, the Sikhs and the Punjabi Hindus are a closely knit society. But then, the population in Pakistani Punjab also shares the same folk heritage. If the situation has to be tackled well, Punjabi identity and development politics would have to be on top of the agenda. In such a situation, Badal would have to take a very clear position.

It is also for the RSS to allow Badal more space to function freely. It would have to project its intentions in a positive framework, not by hegemonising Sikhs as a sword of the Hindus.