Glorious 300

For Sikhs arriving at Anandpur Sahib from all over the country and many parts of the world, the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Khalsa provide an occasion both to look back with pride at the achievements of the community and to reaffirm the essential values of their faith. In recognition of the exceptional qualities of an exceptional community, Indians everywhere will endorse the tributes paid by the prime minister and other leaders to the Sikh community and their gurus. In thus bringing people together, the celebrations will have achieved their main purpose. The spiritual and temporal realms inhabited by Sikhs and which Akali Dal politicians try with mixed results to straddle are symbolised in the festivities. Anandpur Sahib has been made into a “white city” to host a week of commemorative events at a reported cost of Rs 400-crore. However, the pomp and show will be well justified if Punjab emerges united and more confident of its future.

In an important sense thecelebrations mark a watershed in the history of Punjab. Sikh enterprise, a byword in every gully and mohalla, and hospitality deserve their share of praise. But uppermost in many minds will be the resilience and courage shown in the face of hardship and tragedy; at no time were these qualities demonstrated more clearly than during the terrorist violence of the 1980s and the aftermath. The wounds are healing but there is still a way to go before the past can be buried. It is here that recent political events are significant. With the moderate faction of the Akali Dal appearing to gain complete control of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandak Committee (SGPC), after the ouster of G. S. Tohra, there will be more confidence that new militancy will be nipped in the bud. By finally being able to assert his authority and preside over the Khalsa celebrations, in cooperation with the five jathedars, Parkash Singh Badal can give Punjab the kind of assurance it is looking for. In some quarters there will bequestions about excluding Tohra and his faction altogether. The parallel celebrations they are conducting will feed some anxieties about where the continuing political-religious feud will lead. But on balance there is reason to be optimistic.

The people of Punjab have demonstrated their preference for a multi-cultural society and secular polity and will give short shrift to politicians who attempt to divide communities or whip up old animosities in the name of religion. Herein lies the strength of the moderate majority in the Akali Dal. They need also to reinforce the egalitarian values of Sikhism which are being celebrated this month. The elevation for the first time of a woman, Bibi Jagir Kaur, to head the powerful SGPC will be of more than symbolic value if it is followed by more opportunities for women in the political and religious institutions that the Badal faction now controls. To Badal and Bibi Jagir Kaur also fall the task of building bridges between the ancien regime and the new and erectingsturdy firebreaks between religious and political power centres.