Bhindranwale146;s legacy

The battle to control a seminary once headed by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale took a turn today with the Akali Dal-led SGPC laying a foundation...

The battle to control a seminary once headed by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale took a turn today with the Akali Dal-led SGPC laying a foundation stone for a memorial to the militant leader in the presence of the five Sikh high priests.

SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur and the priests, led by Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, performed the ceremony at a Batala gurdwara. Alongside, a function was held to anoint the new head of the Damdami Taksal, the seminary headed by Bhindranwale.

Describing him as the 8220;greatest leader of the Panth who fought for its glory8221;, Bibi Jagir Kaur and Jathedar Vedanti said a 8220;suitable memorial8221; would also be built inside the Golden Temple complex for him and those who died during Operation Bluestar.

Jagir Kaur even asked the man she had appointed head of the Taksal, Bhai Ram Singh, to continue the tradition of nurturing 8220;brave men to protect the Panth8221; and make the Taksal a 8220;nursery of fighter Sikhs8221;.

The SGPC8217;s announcement of a memorial for Bhindranwale was intended to snub a faction of the Taksal8217;s clergy that refuses to accept that the militant leader is dead. This group has also refused to acknowledge the candidate put up by the Parkash Singh Badal-controlled SGPC.

Apart from achieving direct control over the Taksal, a significant religious organisation for the Sikh community, Badal is expected to garner hardline Sikhs votes by getting Bhindranwale declared a 8216;martyr8217;.

However, the rival Panthic faction also held a ceremony today to anoint another head for the Damdami Taksal. While SGPC has backed a former priest of the Golden Temple, Bhai Ram Singh, the Panthic Morcha has thrown its weight behind a Taksal insider, Harnam Singh Khalsa.

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With this, the split in the Taksal that was widening since the death of the previous head Baba Thakur Singh last week is now complete.

Both groups today lashed out at each other. Panthic Morcha chief Baba Sarbjot Singh Bedi, accompanied by former Akal Takht Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh, accused Badal of dividing the Taksal through politics. They urged the community to recognise Khalsa as the 8220;real8221; chief of the Taksal.

The Damdami Taksal trains Sikh priests, raagis and missionaries, and hence occupies an important position in Sikh theology. After Operation Bluestar, the Taksal has maintained that Bhindranwale is 8216;8216;alive8217;8217; and Baba Thakur Singh was appointed acting head.

It was after his death that the two contenders surfaced: Bhai Ram Singh, a former priest of the Golden Temple, and Harnam Singh Khalsa, a Taksal organiser. Ram Singh has claimed that he was formally anointed by Baba Thakur Singh before he passed away. And as proof, he has circulated a CD which shows him receiving a siropa a traditional robe from Thakur Singh.