HVK Archives: Depoliticisation key to reforming SGPC
Depoliticisation key to reforming SGPC - The Times of India
Jasbir Singh Ahluwalla
()
8 October 1996
Title : Depoliticisation key to reforming SGPC
Author : Jasbir Singh Ahluwalla
Publication : The Times of India
Date : October 8, 1996
On the eve of the elections to the general house of the
Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee, on October 13,
it would be appropriate to highlight some of the issues
that are of deep concern to the Sikh community, as dis-
tinct from those that may be immediately relevant for the
contesting parties.
The Badal-led mainstream Akali Dal is striving to
strengthen its hold over this religious body to reinforce
its legitimacy - gained through the recent Lok Sabha
elections - as the sole Panthic organisation. This
would, it is argued, brighten its prospects for capturing
political power in the state. But if the new SGPC is
"new" only in name. and not in substance, that might lead
to the Sikhs being disenchanted with the Dal. The rival
Akali Dais would endeavour to secure some breathing space
in the Shiromani Committee to demonstrate that they
continue to be a force to reckon with. For the Sikh
people, the struggle for power among rival Akali Dais
will mark the culmination of the process of polarisation
between the moderate and extremists streams in the Akali
parties.
The interest of the Bahujan Samaj Party in the SGPC
elections seems to be more political than religious since
it would like to emerge as the voice of the Dalits among
the Sikhs. This would affect the political fortunes of
the mainstream Akali Dal in the assembly elections next
year.
The Congress, it appears, will wait in the wings for
"opportunities" likely to be provided by situational
variables - cross-fighting between the Akali Dais as well
as the infighting within each Dal over the distribution
of tickets; the volatile nature of the "cordial" rela-
tionship between Prakash Singh Badal and Gurcharan Singh
Tohra; electoral adjustments between the BSP and the
Akali factions opposed to Badal Dal, and so on.
And if the issue of "corruption" in the management of
Sikh shrines is raised by anti-Tohra forces as a major
poll issue, the main Akali Dal may find it a difficult
situation. Already, a sizable section of Badal Dal's
working committee is apprehending this dilemma - precipi-
tated by revolts of party vice-president Kuldip Singh
Wadala, Captain Amrinder Singh, Prem Singh Lalpura and
others. The target of corruption in the Gurdwara manage-
ment committee is Jathedar Tohra and the coterie around
him.
In the larger perspective, the root cause of the present
state of the Gurdwara administration is the 1925 Sikh
Gurdwaras Act that treats the shrine as a "property," a
jagir and not an institution. No single party or leader
can be held responsible for the kind of jagirdari system
of the Gurdwara management that has gradually grown over
the last 70 years.
Only systemic, structural changes in the administration
of the Sikh shrines to the extent possible within the
framework of the present Act, and all the more through
amendments and updating, radically transform the present
state of affairs.
While for the political parties, the SGPC elections are
opportunities to weigh their relative standing among the
Sikhs with an eye on political power through religious
power, the significance for the Sikh community is whether
the elections could serve as a catalyst for a second Sikh
awakening.
How do the parties in the poll fray intend to bring about
systemic changes in the Gurdwara administration and
structural changes in the SGPC functioning? The parties
and candidates will have to answer these two questions.
The liberation of the Sikh shrines from the degenerate
hereditary priests in the 1920s resulted in the formation
of the SGPC and the Shiromani Akali Dal. This led to an
inner symbiotic relationship between these two Panthic
institutions, even" as the Akali Dal emerged as a full-
fledged political party claiming to represent Punjab and
Punjabiat. This symbiotic relationship bluffed the
distinction between the religious and the political
domains and made it possible for each to exploit the
other. The time has come to end this inter-dependent
relationship to make way for a new equation that would
make room for their autonomous functioning.
This necessitates the depoliticisation of the SGPC. it is
also necessary to make the Akal Takht independent of the
SGPC management with the stipulation that no Takht Jathe-
dar shall take active part in day-to-day politics during
his tenure. It is only when the SGPC becomes depoliti-
cised will its members turn their attention to reforming
the Gurdwara administration.
Luckily, for the first time in about 70 years, the Sikh
intelligentsia as a class is playing an active role in
raising certain fundamental issues involving the SGPC
poll. Consequently, under this pressure to make the SGPC
poll issue-based, the political parties and other groups
are coming up with their respective manifestos and policy
programmes.
(The authors is chairman of Guru Gobind Singh
Foundation Properties Trust, Chandigarh)
Back
Top
|
