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Journalism of Courage
Political space in Punjab is occupied by sectarian, religion-based parties like the Akali Dal and the BJP, on one side, and the Congress, on the other. The latter most has always tried to steal the religious agendas of its two main opponents for the purpose of winning an election.
In Punjab, it is the Akali Dal which claims to be a party of, by and for the Sikh minority community. Unlike other parties, it has always tried to control the internal affairs of Sikh religious institutions; and such a deep relationship between a party and religious places of worship makes Punjab a special state where politics is an extension of religion.
The Akali Dal came into prominence in the 1920s, when it launched a movement of the Sikhs for the liberation of gurdwaras from the control of corrupt mahants who were abusing their power. A Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee Act was passed by the British Raj, and the Akali Dal emerged on the scene as the sole protector of the religio-cultural interests of the Sikhs. The Akali Dal jumped into the fray when elections were held for the management of gurdwaras as provided by the law, and this involvement led to the total erosion of the distinction between politics and religion. The Akali Dal, on the basis of electoral performance, controlled the appointments of granthis (preachers) and promoted their political agenda through their control over the gurdwaras, especially the Golden Temple.
Akalis have also frequently launched their purely political movement from gurdwaras, blessed by the priestly class, which is indistinguishable from the Akali Dal. It has openly used the gurdwara platform to convey instructions to the Sikh masses in the name of the Sikh Panth and used the spiritual legitimacy of gurdwaras to give a call to Sikhs to protect ‘panthic’ unity when it felt it was threatened by their opponents. The Akalis have also used the sanctity of the gurdwaras to ask granthis to announce punishments like the ex-communication of their political opponents.
The central place which gurdwaras occupy in Sikh politics was dramatised when the Golden Temple was attacked by the Indian Army in June 1984. The whole Sikh community ‘turned against’ the then Government of India for committing such an assault on their holiest of holy shrines. Giani Zail Singh, then president of India, begged for ‘forgiveness’ from the Sikh priestly class because he feared ‘excommunication’ from the Sikh community for his failure to defend a Sikh religious place of worship.
The Congress has always been involved in gurdwara politics with a view to planting its own supporters and checkmating the Akali influence over Sikh religious organisations. The story does not end here. The Sikh priestly class is activated during the elections with a view to influencing the decisions of the Sikh voters. The upshot is that the Sikh clergy is active in Punjab’s Sikh politics and even in periods between elections, religious preachers continue to exercise their influence at the behest of politicians.
