Op/Ed: After Sarbat Khalsa – What Next For Freedom In Panjab

Many impassioned words have been exchanged about the recent Sarbat Khalsa, some pleasant, some not so.

Whatever one’s position on the legitimacy of the gathering, there can be little doubt that the reported congregation of quarter to half a million Punjabis denouncing the ruling elites of Punjab, has already had a seismic impact on the politics of Punjab.

However, there still seems, amongst Panthic circles, to be an utter obsession with personality clashes and identity politics at the expense of unity in articulating the real aspirations of the long suffering people of Punjab. Sikh philosophy is against both personality cults and social divisions based on allegiance to a particular sect, caste, race, ethnic group and and it is time to move towards unity and consensus building amongst the oppressed people of Punjab. Gurmukh Behso Safa Bishay (The God�conscious�men fold out a sheet and sit together); Manas Ki Jaat Sabhai Ekai Pechanbo�(Recognise the whole human race, as one).

What leaders�with�sincere feelings for the ordinary people of Punjab need to focus on is justice not jathebandhi – solutions, not selfishness.

The first priority must be the removal of the criminal dictatorship that is running Punjab. It seems like power has already shifted from the more amiable senior Badal, who has recently been offering apologies for the fiasco surrounding the pardoning of Gurmeet Ram Rahim and the criminal actions of the Punjab Police at Bagrari, and his hot headed son Sukhbir Badal.

Sukhbir’s�recent undiplomatic threats to anybody that dare question the state will be ‘dealt with’, surpasses anything that his father has ever uttered and one might speculate that the Badal family is itself going through an internal power battle; only time will tell.

So, in a rapidly evolving situation where the crisis seems to be deepening by the day, what can be done? Unless the Akali Dal is able to rapidly reform itself from the inside, there are two options, both of which is likely to result in the destruction of the oldest political party in India; direct action or democratic action to dislodge the Badal hegemony.

Direct action in the form of political assassinations would destabilise the situation leading to central rule and large scale repression and bloodshed. Nobody wants to go down this path, given the experience of 1984 and the decade of state repression. The only way this strategy could work with limited damage is if the security services align themselves with the people, as for example the Arab Springs. So this would be a high risk strategy that could lead to many innocent people suffering and further divisions within the Panth.

The other strategy is to exploit what democratic structures are still available in Punjab. The advent of social media could be a game changer in this regard. The Badals have a near monopoly over the TV and print media in Punjab and this, along with networks of nepotism, has been a key reason, why they have been so successful in recent elections. But the balance of public opinion has definitely shifted and the recent pathetic outbursts of Sukhbir Badal are evidence of this.

Most Punjabis have no regards for the ruling elites. That is for sure. The Sarbat Khalsa gathering has given them a great fright, which also accounts for the rabid and panicked outbursts of Sukveer Badal in recent days. Far from a leader confident about his position, he comes across as a desperate authoritarian figure who is staring at his own mortality, political or otherwise.

Another key issue in the debate is the role of RSS and Hindutva. There is little doubt that the Akali Dal’s deal with BJP is on the basis of them offering support for the Hindutva form of Indian nationalism. As Sikhs are opposed to both the ideology of Hindutva and the undemocratic activities of the Akali/BJP alliance, it makes sense to form a third front which is built on secularism, democracy and self determination. This will mean either creating a new party, which could be a long term solution. However, more pragmatically, the obvious move would be to link up with AAP and BSP. We should avoiding d Congress due to its own terrible track record, but individuals who have some ethics should be supported.

The key to forming a stable alliance is to put the key differences aside, and clearly the major one is the question of Khalistan. There is an easy solution, which is to use the Anandpur Resolution as a basis for a policy on greater autonomy for the Punjab and other states. Some form of wording to accommodate the aspirations of the Khalistanis could easily be found.

And so to conclude, now is the time for mature and principles politics. The AAP has given us a lead, now the rest needs to join in solidarity. Above all we need to be very weary both of the corrupt political elites in Punjab and the ‘God men’ who show�them with a smokescreen. So called religious people have done so much damage to the Sikh cause in recent years and the cause of humanity more generally. It is now time for secularists, leftists and humanitarians, many of whom have been silent on the issue of oppression in Punjab to step up and lead the struggle for freedom and liberation.