Atta-dal question

A Month is a long time in politics. End May, the Dera Sacha Sauda controversy seemed to have waned, Punjab had receded from headlines and the national gaze had moved on. Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh had tendered an apology 8212; of sorts 8212; for offending Sikh sentiments by allegedly dressing up as the 10th Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, and mimicking the ritual of amrit sanchar. Now, on the eve of July, the Punjab government8217;s decision to sanction the arrest of the Dera chief 8212; after a Bathinda court had issued conditional arrest warrants 8212; has invited the spotlight back to a state that is once again nervous about the future. What will the arrest of the Dera chief mean, given the Dera8217;s large following in Punjab8217;s backward southwestern districts? Will he even be arrested? Or is the announcement of sanction only a ploy by Punjab8217;s government to buy more time while ensuring the initiative does not pass into the hands of the hardliners searching for ways to re-enter the game? Whatever the answers may be, there is only one man who will be held answerable. He is Parkash Singh Badal.

Parkash Singh Badal is truly the man of this moment in Punjab. He is the chief minister. He is president of the Shiromani Akali Dal. His party controls the SGPC, which in turn nominates the jathedar of Akal Takht. So, it can be said that authority in Punjab, both temporal and 8216;spiritual8217;, can be traced back to his door. It is on him that the onus rests now 8212; to ensure that issues of religious identity do not hijack the public debate once again.

In many ways, today8217;s Punjab provides an anachronistic setting for a return of the old spectres. Its people are preoccupied with secular atta-dal issues. The so-called radicals have been politically marginalised and electorally decimated. The state is ready to take on the challenge of restoring its economy to health. The chief minister must now ensure that he and his government don8217;t let the focus veer from the electoral promise of bringing development for all.