Journalism of Courage
IN L’AFFAIRE Amritpal Singh, apart from his aides on the run with him and the government chasing them, the one name that keeps surfacing is of Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh. More than once now, the Waris Punjab De head has called upon the Jathedar to summon a Sarbat Khalsa — the highest deliberative assembly of the Sikhs — to discuss the whole episode, while suggesting that he faces allegations of “acting under the influence of a family”.
On the other end, the 48-year-old Jathedar has been attacked by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann — a rare attack by a CM on the Akal Takht head – for seeking the release of hundreds held in the course of the Amritpal chase. By then, the police had anyway started releasing most of them, holding on to a few dozen.
For Giani Harpreet Singh, it is an unenviable position – and one that the Jathedar has tried hard to avoid. Since he took over in the capacity of an acting Jathedar (he is yet to be confirmed) in October 2018, the Giani has worked hard to strike a balance, particularly after the Akali Dal (which calls the shots in the Akal Takht) broke ties with the ruling BJP at the Centre.
After the Centre withdrew the three farm laws in November 2021, after widespread protests in Punjab, the Jathedar thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while elaborating on the “crisis” that he said had been averted. “We were worried there were some groups in the (anti-farm laws) agitation who were trying to distance themselves from Sikh philosophy, tradition, history, sentiment and tradition. There were also groups that attempted to portray the agitation as Sikhs vs the Indian government and Sikhs vs Hindus. This could have had serious implications on the Sikh community… I thank the Indian government and PM Modi for neutralising a potentially big crisis.”
This was exactly a year after he had targeted the BJP while speaking on the occasion of the 100th foundation day of the SGPC. Without naming the BJP, the Jathedar had said: “It’s not a democratically elected government at the Centre. It’s an EVM-elected government… So it’s a must for us (Sikhs) to unite on one platform by forgetting small differences.”
On the same occasion, he had praised the Akali Dal, asking it to start a journey “from Punjab to Panth”.
Before that, in October 2019, when the BJP and Akali Dal were still allies, the Gaini had reacted sharply to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement on Dussehra that India was a “Hindu Rashtra”. The Jathedar had demanded a ban on the RSS, saying its statements “can’t keep the nation together, but divide it”. “The Indian government should rein it in,” he said.
Months earlier, on the anniversary of Operation Blue Star in June 2019, the Jathedar had said: “All Sikhs want Khalistan. If the Indian government gives it, we shall take it… What more can we ask for?”
The turnaround in tone towards the BJP and on the separatism issue, hence, was a significant moment for the Jathedar, who was seen as coming into the job hobbled by the growing unpopularity of the Akali Dal, and its close ties with the SGPC. The Giani even belonged to a Dalit family from Muktsar, the home district of the Badals.
However, the 48-year-old appeared to have not let that deter him, nor the fact that he did not hold full charge of the post, and could have sought to play safe and keep the Akali Dal in good humour.
On Friday, in another show of his growing independence four-and-a-half years into the job, Giani Harpreet Singh sought to hold off the pressure from Amritpal by calling a “special gathering” on April 7 at Damdama Sahib, to be addressed by “journalists dedicated to the panth, Punjab and Punjabiyat”.
Some Akali Dal leaders anxious about the Jathedar’s growing prominence have recently started accusing him of being close to the BJP. With the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee seen as under the influence of the BJP, the Akali Dal’s Delhi unit president openly criticised the Jathedar recently.
Akali Dal leaders also talk about the fact that Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the Jathedar at his office in the Akal Takht last year, and that Union minister and BJP Punjab in-charge Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is known to be in touch with him.
Observers say the Giani has proved a fast learner for the simple fact that he was virtually an known, and unencumbered by expectations, when he replaced the unpopular Giani Gurbachan Singh as Jathedar. Giani Harpreet Singh was at the time pursuing a PhD in comparative religion from Punjabi University in Patiala.
This has also helped the 48-year-old win over the anti-Badal factions within the SGPC, while his outreach towards those jathedars who were appointed by the Sarbat Khalsa and hence were a challenge to his authority as well as that of the SGPC, has earned him much goodwill.
He won praise from outside the community by asking Sikhs to help Kashmiri Muslim girls stranded across North India after the abrogation of Article 370 and the tension back home, and again by opposing the CAA for discriminating against Muslims. His strong stance against the farm laws helped him shed the taint the Akali Dal carried due to its association with the BJP when the legislation were framed.
Speaking to The Indian Express before the 2022 Assembly polls, the Jathedar had again delivered a punch when he said he was not hung up on a Sikh becoming the chief minister of Punjab. “Behtar insaan hona chahiye, achchai pehle number pe (The CM should be a good person, that should be the No. 1 consideration). Whether Hindu or Sikh, that is secondary.”
All this, coupled with good oratory skills and knowledge of Sikh history and the Gurbani, has helped Giani Harpreet Singh quickly grow in popularity.
Lest he be accused of giving up Sikh interests, the Giani has at the same time questioned the “rise” in Muslim population of Punjab, calling it “a serious demographic challenge” for the state, and taken on Christian missionaries for “forced conversions”. In what has become a hallmark of his tenure, the Jathedar has put his point across while simultaneously opening negotiations with various Church representatives.
Another impressive reading of the political winds was the Jathedar’s meeting with Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, when he gifted him a book on why Babasaheb Ambedkar didn’t become a Sikh. The Giani also won many hearts by releasing a song of Sidhu Moosewala after his killing, earning praise from his parents.
In the case of Amritpal too, Giani Harpreet Singh has shown typical flexibility. While he was quick to snub the self-styled leader for his aggressive posturing over the issue of “forced conversions” last year, he gave Amritpal an audience after the attack on the Ajnala Police Station by his supporters while carrying the Guru Granth Sahib.
Perhaps it is this image of not being anyone’s man and his popularity among the laity that explains why Amritpal has chosen to address the Jathedar.
