The vibrant Sikh community, which has played a unique role in shaping the political destiny of India, out of all proportion to its small numbers, is passing through a crucial phase. The multi - dimensional crisis in Punjab has attracted national and inter­national attention in the recent years. This study is an exposition of Sikhism as a religious and social system and throws light on the Sikh doctrines and traditions which have enabled the community to grapple with the grave socio-political challenges confronted by it, over the centuries. The author contends that the positive and life-affirming faith of the Sikh Gurus, in which the sacred and the secular are inextricably mixed, has its socio-political relevance for all times. Recently the Akali Dal has been castigated for mixing religion and politics. The author has placed before the readers the Sikh perspective from an academician's point of view. The themes taken up in the book are :— Religion and Politics : the Sikh pers­

pective.— Durbar Sahib : the focal point of Sikh

faith.— The role played by the Singh Sabha

Movement in reviving the Sikh tradition and restoring Sikhism to its pristine purity.

— The ‘Save Democracy Morelia’ launched by the Akali Dal, during the Emergency and its political ramifications for the future.

— The true nature and roots of the crisis, which has brought Punjab to the brink of political disaster.

— The much - debated Anandpur Sahib Resolution for which the Akali Dal has come under sharp attack.

(Contd. on Inner last flap)

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RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

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RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGIONAND HISTORY

G. S. DHILLON

SUMEET PRAKASHAN1621-C, SECTOR 35-B, • t

C H AN D IG AR H (IN D IA ) r : : Tele : 32159

Published by :(Dr.) G. S. Dhillon.

© Copyrights reserved with the author.

Price : Rs. 150/- In India$ 20/- Outside India

Place o f Publication : CHANDIGARH (INDIA)

Date o f Publication : 30th September, 1989

Printed by :Roxana Printers,SCO 83-84, Sector 16-D, CHANDIGARH-160016.

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T o t h e s w e e t m e m o r y o f m y b r o t h e r -

i n - l a w , E r . H a r i n d e r S i n g h S i d h u ,

w h o l e f t u s in t h e p r i m e

o f h i s l i f e .

Contents

Pages

Preface VII

1. Religion and Politics : The Sikh Perspective 1—56

2. Darbar Sahib : The Focal Point of The Sikh 57—68Faith

3. Singh Sabha Movement: A Revival 69—98

4. The Role of The Akali Dal During The 99—112Emergency

5. Roots of The Current Punjab Crisis 113—126(1966-1982)

6. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution 127—148t

7. Select Bibliography 149—160

Preface

This book is a collection of my articles published in various research journals of history. It covers the salient features of Sikh religion and history. It is an attempt to bring into focus the true nature of Sikh ideology, not in its isolation but in the light of the teachings of the Sikh Gurus and the broad historical perspective. Recently many scholars, both in India and abroad, have tried to trace the origin of the Sikh doctrine to the earlier religious traditions and to split it into various strands, linking them to earlier sources. This has led to many distorted versions and erroneous interpretations of Sikhism. An impartial historian must view the revealed Sikh doctrine in its totality and not in fr\ gments.

The basic tenets of the Sikh faith have been clearly laid down in its scripture, the Guru Grcmth. In the Sikh world-view, there is no place for the doctrine of the world being Mithya (illusion) and the resultant renunciation, escapism or pessimism. One of the positive features of Sikhism is the welding of the spiritual and temporal aspects of human existence. The Sikh Gurus viewed the world of sense and form as true and meaningful. They stressed the combination of spiritual devotion with social responsi­bility. According to their integrated vision, the social aspect is a religious responsibility and the religious has to be expressed in the social. Religion thus viewed could be an effective vehicle of promoting the values of social harmony, love, equality, freedom and brotherhood of man. In the long and highly cherished Sikh tradition of Miri and Piri, initiated by the Gurus, and the conse­quent heroic ideal of Sant-Sipahi, one supplements the other and makes for a stable and just polity and society.

It is hoped that the book will help the reader to under­stand the true import of Sikh doctrines. The other subjects discussed in the book are the significance of Durbar Sahib as the nucleus of Sikh faith, the nature of the Singh Sabha Movement,

; role of the Akali Dal during the Emergency, roots of the current Punjab crisis and the Anandpur Sahib Resolution.

In free India the basic issue faced by the Sikhs is that of preserving their distinctive identity. The strength of the Indian polity lies in reconciling the diverse elements, in resolving the differences in a spirit of peaceful co-existence. Each religious community has its own well-developed identity, history and tradition. Any attempt to obliterate these differences is bound to lead to reaction. What India needs is unity, not uniformity. Any measure which aims at repression or centralisation of power would result in tensions and conflicts in the body politic. The demand for more state autonomy is nothing but an embittered response to such arbitrary measures. The much-maligned Anandpur Sahib Resolution, which has often been interpreted as a threat to country’s unity, must be viewed in this light. The heroic role played by the Akali Dal, a small regional party, during the Freedom struggle and the Emergency, has not received the attention it deserves. It is noteworthy that the Anandpur Sahib Resolution has found greater vindication in the eyes of the people after the Emergency.

The Government has often blamed the Punjab crisis either on the extremists or the outside forces who do not want to see a strong and united India. What is the true nature of the Punjab problem ? How and why has the crisis been aggravated ? What is at the root of crisis ?. In this book an effort has been made to find answers to these questions and arrive at a fair assessment of the issues.

I am deeply indebted to S. Daljeet Singh I. A. S. (Retd.) and Prof. Jagjit Singh for their valuable help and suggestions. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Rajesh Bindra, proprietor, Roxana Printers, who extended all help in the preparation of this book. My thanks are also due to Professor Jodh Singh, Head, Fine Arts Department, Government College for Girls, Sector 11, Chandigarh, who took pains for the cover design. Last but not the least, I must say a word of thanks to my little daughter, Puneet, who bore with me, during this laborious work.

Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon Reader in History, P.U.E.C.,

Sector 14, Chandigarh (INDIA) T ele: 33145

30th September, 1989.

v ' Jfi

1RELIGION AND POLITICS — THE SIKH PERSPECTIVE

What is the role of religion in relation to human society ? Can a religion be altogether abstract and other-worldly ? Can there be a clear demarcation between the boundaries of the spiritual and the empirical ? Are the two realms entirely separate and incompatible ? Or can there be harmony between the two ? Is it right to ask the Sikhs to separate religion and politics ? In the present study an attempt is made to seek answers to these questions.

The most important task before us is to find the answer the Sikh Gurus give on the issue of combining religion and politics. For this purpose, we shall deal with three aspects of the issue. The first is the ideological answer given by the Gurus in their Bani in the Granth Sahib. The second aspect is the history of their lives and how they have conducted themselves in relation to the ideology they prescribe. This aspect will also indicate the kind of society the Gurus organised, the nature of institutions they built and the targets they laid for that society. The third aspect is how the Sikh society has lived and stuck to these ideals in its history during the post-Guru period.

Inseparability of religion and politics has been one of the chief characteristics of Sikhism. Want of a clear perception of Sikhism has led to many controversies and misconceptions regarding this doctrine. Sikhs, as a religious and cultural, group have been in a minority, yet they have played a significant role in the Indian affairs, out of proportion to their small numbers. It is so because of their unique historico-political position and their spiritual and social vitality bestowed upon them by their faith. The Sikhs have had to pass through great ordeals to preserve their strength and distinctiveness.

Before the advent of Sikhism, Islam was the only religion which welded the spiritual and the temporal into a harmonious

2 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

whole.1 The Christians believed in a dichotomy between the Churr h and the State. For the Buddhists, there could be no ‘Nir'- na’ for those who did not withdraw from the phenomenal world. Vedanta, too, held out no hope of liberation for the worldly life. Among the Hindus, the hierachical character of the social structure was an integral component of the spiritual system, causing a serious deterioration in the position of Vaishyas, Sudras and women, with no hope of redemption. Guru Nanak’s spiritual message had an inalienable social content. It sought to establish equality between man and man and reconciliation between the religious and the secular, as a means of achieving the most har­monious blending of a life of love.2

Sikhism, a revelatory religion, originated in the 16th century as a new revolutionary force, aimed at the spiritual rejuvenation, moral-upliftment and the social emancipation of people3. On the one hand, it confronted the dogmatism and religious formalism of the priest-dominated and caste-ridden society4 and on the other it challenged the political oppression of the contemporary rulers.6 I t introduced new modes of thought, gave new content and orienta­tion to the existing categories and formulated new concepts of man’s relations with God6, his role in society and the goal of human life. In due course of time, the inner values of the Sikh faith got more and more crystallised and became no less real than .the more visible outward forms.

' ' In order to arrive at a correct evaluation of the ideological andpractical implications of Sikhism it is essential to understand the Sikh way of life and some of its key concepts of the world, God, ‘Dharma’ and society, which became the moving impulse of a people. The vibrant Sikh community has had a long tradition of inseparability of religion and politics. This inseparability is impli­cit in the basic postulates of Sikhism and must be viewed in its true perspective.7

The Sikh Gurus did not look upon this world as illusory or unreal. This world is said to be ‘the home of the Supreme Lord, wherein He Himself dwells’.8 The Sikh ideology is basically

RELIGION AND POLITICS— THE SIKH PERSPECTIVE 3

governed by the kind of God the Gurus define and envisage. There are innumerable verses in the Granth Sahib giving the attributes of God. Sher Singh in his book, ‘Philosophy of Sikhism’, has devoted almost a whole chapter to this subject. But for our purpose a few salient features are relevant. According to the Sikh Gurus, God is both Transcedent® and Immanent.10 Guru Amar Das acknowledges the world as a creation of the Lord. A vital concept of Guru Nanak’s philosophy is that ‘through visualising nature one is convinced of the existence of God’. The Guru’s assertions about the immanent aspect of God are to stress the spiritual and meaningful character of life and universe and its capacity for relationship with God. The term transcendent describes Him as ‘wholly other’.11 The immanent aspect indicates that He permeates this world and reveals Himself through His creation.12 This gives relevance, authenticity, sanction and direction to the entire spiritual and moral life of man and his institutions and goals. It also emphasises God’s nearness to man and His deep and abiding interest in the world.13 In the Mul Mantra, Guru Nanak visualises God as creator-Father (KartaPurkh) whose will (Hukam) constitutes the autonomous moral order on the empirical level of existence. The Hindu view is that Divinity can be malignant as well as benign and careful propitiation is more urgent than a request for favours.14 Guru Nanak’s concept of God is of a Benevolent and a Gracious Being, who helps the erring according to His innate nature.16

Further, Guru Nanak says that He not only creates the world but also watches His creation with a benevolent eye, being happy about it and directing it with His Will.16 God is called the ocean of virtues and He is milk to the child, eyes to the blind and riches to the poor, besides being shelter of the shelterless, helo to the helpless17 and destroyer of the tyrant. In short, the God of the Gurus is deeply interested in the world and is directing it with His Will towards righteousness and a moral order. It is in this con­text that Guru Nanak prescribes the role for a true man. In the Japuji he categorically answers this question by saying that the wall of falsehood can be broken only by carrying out God’s will.

4 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

And His Will being attributive, the role and ideal for the true man (iSachiara) is clearly laid down.18 A similar answer is given by the Guru when asked about the nature of God. He replies that God is ineffable but the only thing he could say was that He is All Love.19 And God’s love can be expressed only in a becoming world and for man and life. Therefore, clearly and logically, the ideal the Gurus prescribe for man is of love for his fellow beings, namely, it is an ideal of an active spirituo—moral life in this world. According to this concept, God is interested in all aspects of life and following Him the Sikh Gurus, and consequently their disciples, accept in toto life and responsibilities in all aspects.

Sikh religion is a religion of the householder. ‘Householders and hermits are equal, whoever calls on the name of the Lord’.20 Guru Nanak believed that the pious hermit and the devout house­holder are one in the eyes of God. He rejected the path of the recluse and the ascetic, who sought alienation from the world of sense and form. He declared that ‘do not touch at all the feet of those who call themselves Gurus and fakirs and go about begging’.21 For him there can be ‘no love of God without active service.’22 Renunciation or withdrawal from life, which at that time was an integral part of the Indian religious tradition, had no place in the teachings of Guru Nanak.23 So much so that Guru Nanak set aside the claim to Guruship of his son, Sri Chand, since he had exhibited ascetic tendencies. Guru Amar Das emphatically declared that the Sikhs had nothing to do with the Udasis, a sect of ascetics.

It is not our object to detail the spiritual thesis of the Gurus but the salient points valid to our subject have to be noted. Four aspects of social responsibility have been logically envisaged by the* Gurus. Withdrawal from life having been rejected, the house­holders life becomes a natural corollary and this is what the lives of the Gurus show. The second consequence of this responsi­bility is granting the equality of status to women. We are aware that in religions recommending Sanyas and monasticism, woman has been deemed to be a temptress or is generally downgraded.

Guru Nanak was the first man of God, who questioned this view and said that how could we downgrade a woman w'hen, without her, theie would be no life.24 The second part of the responsibility is the equality between man and man. Guru Nanak, therefore, emphatically condemned the concept of discrimination or strati­fication of any kind. The importance he gave to this aspect of his responsibility is clear from the fact that his first activity after his enlightenment was to choose a low caste Muslim as his first companion during his mission. This was something unthinkable in those times. Thirdly Guru Nanak clearly recommended the idea of work and sharing as the path to a spiritual life.25 He condemnded the ascetic and the medicant who did no work and begged their food. The fourth aspect of the householder’s res­ponsibility is to react against every wrong to one’s neighbour or a fellow being because love of man becomes an empty slogan if the spiritual man does not go to the succour of the suffering and the victimized.26 The important point is that all these principles of life were laid down by Guru Nanak himself. That Guru Nanak’s thesis was entirely opposed to the religious views of his times is evident from his dialogue with the Sidhs as reported by Bhai Gurdas. The Sidhs asked him how he was claiming to tread the spiritual path, while living a householder’s life. The Guru’s reply was that the Sidhs were not acquainted with even the elementaries of spiritual life.27 Again it is Guru Nanak who in a way epitomises his thesis in the following words, “Higher than everything else is Truth (God), but higher still is truthful living” .28 In following the path of righteousness, a Sikh carries out His Attributive Will. In short, the Sikh ideal is not isolation from the world or merger in the Absolute or a kind of individual Mukti or salvation. All his life he has to follow the path of deeds and that is the methodo­logy prescribed by the Gurus i.e. both the goal and the methodo­logy are different from those indicated in the earlier Indian religions.

Sikhism is qualitatively different from Hinduism and other religious philosophies and practices, both in its metaphysical postu­lates and social dynamism. In the quest for mysticism, Indian

RELIGION AND POLITICS— TUB SIKH PERSPECTIVE 5

experience had been one of self-negation and self-abstraction on the psychological level.29 On the political level, it had been one of passive acceptance, a kind of self surrender, a fatalistic capacity for suffering, that centuries of persecution had shaped. What the Indian mystics preached was usually a means of other-worldliness, a lament on life’s futilities rather than a programme of reconstruction of the world-order. They deemed the amelioration of man’s social condition unworthy of any religious thought. The quietistic Hindus, who bore everything with placid calmness were not able to bear the challenge of activistic Islam. Guru Nanak propounded a positive philosophy of life and world affirmation and brought about a far-reaching transformation in the outlook of the people.

Islam and Sikhism are religions of deed and others of word and interiority. Sikhism is not concerned with divinity in abstrac­tion from human reality. It holds out the ideal of a multi—dimen­sional human personality, which actively seeks and realises the fullest expression of all the faculties latent in man. This all-em­bracing ideal assumes active responsibility for the world in which man lives and operates. Inner fulfilment can be attained along with commitment to the demands of the outer world, here and now. Thus the dichotomy between the world here and hereafter, between the physical and the metaphysical, between the empirical and the sacred, is broken. Such a view advocates a healthy blend of the two realms. A Sikh must lead a life of activity and action, moral and just, and not of mere contemplation. The three cardi­nal principles of Sikh faith are Kirt Karo (work with one’s own hands), Vand Clihako (share the fruits of your labour with others) and Nam Japo (contemplation of God’s name). Guru Arjan says :

“One can achieve liberation,Even when participating in life,Laughing, playing, wearing finery and eating delicacies.”30

Sikh religion is not restricted to prayers and worship of God in personal solitude. It is connected to the day-to-day issues of

6 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

the life of man. Religion, as viewed and practised by Sikh Gurus, is not an individual affair. It enjoins upon the Sikhs the cultiv­ation of all those spiritual, moral and ethical virtues which enable man not only to elevate and liberate himself but also to help in the elevation and liberation of his fellow human beings. Accord­ing to the Sikh way of thinking, it is not legitimate to ask whether it is a religious or a political idea, for no such dichotomy between the religious and the political exists therein. Life to a Sikh is an integrated whole and its rules are laid down by the Guru, who unites and synthesises the different segments.

Sikhism envisages a comprehensive view of human life and seeks improvement in moral and ethical standards without which it is not possible to attain the spiritual goal. Mere mystical quest is not the Sikh ideal. The Sikh Gurus felt that religion, in the true sense, must fulfiil its obligatory social function.31 It must uplift man, both individually and socially and enable him to grapple with the practical issues of human life - moral, social and political. Spiritual insight into the nature of things should lead to an enlight­ened understanding of the phenomenal world. The highest ideal of human life does not lie in escapism, self-negation or socio­political alienation. Gurus brought true religion to bear upon the day-to-day problems of life. Religion thus viewed is not merely a set of abstract ideas concerning God and the mystery of life and death. The realm of religion is widened to cover man’s worldly concerns and social responsibilities. H. R. Gupta writes, “Nanak’s religion was not a system of philosophy like Hinduism. It was a discipline, a way of life, a force which connected one Sikh with another as well as with the Guru” .32

The Sikhs are no run-aways from life. They assume active responsibility for the society in which they live. They cannot be silent spectators to any act of injustice, violation of human rights or exploitation. The Gurus envisaged a new world, based on the ideals of equality and fraternity, freedom and fearlessness, peace and harmony. They not only preached these ideals but also gave a practical shape to them. The twin institutions of Sangai and

RELIGION AND POLITICS— THE SIKH PERSPECTIVE 7

8 fcESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

Pangat, started by Guru Nanak, are the living examples of the ideals of unity and human equality preached by him. The Guru laid stress on love, peace, harmony and tolerance. God in Sikhism is viewed as an embodiment of love and grace83. Among the divine attributes required of a Sikh are fearlessness (nirbhai) and rancour- lessness (nirvair). A Sikh is advised ‘to hold none in fear, nor to suppress or oppress the others.’34 Sikhism does not permit any compromise with fear.

The Sikh concept of peace is quite different from the Gandhian concept of non-violence, Gandhi advocated passive resistance or passive suffering but such a policy can be pursued only to rouse the conscience of a certain type of adversary. A Sikh is not supposed to submit to fear merely for the sake of maintaining peace. Peace at all costs, is not worth having. However, the fight must be peaceful to begin with but when all other means fail, one is justified in taking up arms. But fight in the true sense of the word must not be for narrow selfish gains. It must be for the sake of ‘Dharma’ or righteousness. In Sikhism the word ‘Dharmyudh’ does not stand for fight for one’s personal benefits. It signifies a much higher ideal - a fight for a just and true cause. Sikhism attaches great significance to peace but at the same time it holds that justice, righteousness, freedom, harmony and honour cannot be compro­mised to buy peace. A Sikh is enjoined by his religion to lead a dynamic life, to keep himself strong and fit, to wear arms but to use them with restraint, only in aid of righteousness.

The Sikh Gurus fought against the political-cum-religious persecution by the Mughal rulers. Guru Nanak, an apostle of peace, justice and harmony, through his verses, raised a strong voice of protest .against oppression, and an unjust social order. He made very harsh comments on the abuse of political power and policy of religious bigotry followed by the Mughals. As a man of God, the Guru could not remain indifferent to the act of aggression and tyranny to which the people were being subjected. About the sharp social consciousness that characterised the Gurus,

RELIGION AND POLITICS— THE SIKH PERSPECTIVE 9

Niharanjan Ray writes, “Any student of Sikhism and Sikh society cannot fail to notice how the Sikh Gurus, especially Guru Nanak, Guru Arjun and Guru Gobind Singh, were very sensitively awake to and critical of not only the social but also the political abuses and consequent miseries of people, which is another aspect of their attitude of social criticism and protest.’’35 Castigating the ruling class of the day, Guru Nanak called ‘the rulers ferocious tigers and their officers hounds’.86 He worked not only for religious uplift but also for social regeneration. “The followers of Guru Nanak could no longer be a mere fraternity holding advanced views on religion and attempting to work their ideals through some re­cognised institutions of their own but their outlook perforce had to be broadened and made to take in its purview all important aspects of social life.”37

In the above context, let us see what Guru Nanak did. He accepted the householder’s responsibility and even after his long missionary tours he lived a householder’s life, doing a peasant’s vocation. Again it was he who started the institution o f Langar, with the dual object of eliminating discrimination between man and man and bringing food to the poor. Caste and pollution prejudices were a major curse of the social life of the times. Guru Nanak took tangible steps to eliminate these prejudices in the society he created. In the political field, he condemned the mis­rule of the establishment and oppression of the invaders. He not only identified this socio-political problem but he took clear steps indicating his objective and the target he laid down for his society. Political evils can be undone only by an organised society. Any individual effort in this field can hardly be of any meaning. Therefore, he took three steps which were at clear variance with the path other religious leaders had trodden. He did not just preach for individual salvation. In fact, he positively organised a Panth and a society, which was to be conditioned with new moti­vations and values. Secondly, he started the institution of appoint­ing a successor so that his society could be organised, developed and new institutions created, so as to face the socio-political chal­lenges and shoulder the necessary responsibilities in that regard.

Ahimsa (non-violence including vegetarianism) has been an integral part of the religious life in all earlier Indian religions, including Buddhism, Jainism, Vaishnism etc. Even Bhagat Kabir has been recommending strict practice of Ahimsa because of the dichotomy between the religious and the socio-political life.38 Ahimsa always has been an integral part of the Indian religious man, since he was never supposed to dabble the socio-political sphere. But, since in the ultimate analysis, quite often, the solution of political pro­blems involves the use of force and since Guru Nanak clearly envisaged a political life for his society, in defence of righteousness and in opposition to oppression, it was he who clearly eliminated this hurdle of Ahimsa for his Panth. Guru Nanak says, “Men discriminate not and quarrel over meat eating; they do not know what is flesh and what is nonflesh or in what lies sin and what is not sin.’’39 In the whole hymn, he exposes the cant of non-meat -eating and the allied doctrine of Ahimsa. In Babur Bani, Guru Nanak deplores the brutality of the invaders and the unprepared­ness of the local rulers. He goes to the extent of complaining to God, as the guardian of man, in allowing the weak to be oppres­sed by the strong.40 In doing so, he was not just blowing hot air, nor was he suggesting to anyone to perform a miracle. He was in fact laying down one of the basic principles of his religion where under he not only sanctioned the use of force for righteous causes, but also prescribed that it was both the duty and the res­ponsibility of the religious man and the society he was creating to resist aggression and brutality. History clearly records that meat was cooked in the Langar in the times of Guru Angad. This clarification given by Guru Nanak has a far reaching significance in indicating the course of life and its development the Guru envisaged for his society. It is in this light that we have to see the course of Sikh history in the Guru period. It is this contrast bet­ween Guru Nanak and the earlier religious leaders that is espe­cially pointed out by Niharanjan Ray, “ He (Guru Nanak) gave them after many centuries a system of ideas, images and symbols and a set of discipline all in precise and clear terms and in a very coherent and consistent manner.”41

10 RESEARCHES ; IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

It was Guru Nanak who challenged the conventional yards­tick of religion and led the path of universal love and emancipa­tion of man. The call for this revolutionary mission was given by him in unambigious terms : “ If you want to tread the path of love, then enter upon my path with your head on your palm. Once you set your foot on this way, then find not a way out, and lay down your head.”42

The Guru thus kindled the spark in human nature that inspired men to suffer and make sacrificies for the cause of truth and justice. In a religious milieu, marked with negative and com­placent trends, the Guru’s positive message of social and religious uplift assumed great significance and relevance. Through his words and deeds ‘he laid the firm foundations of institutions and trends which flowered and fructified later on.’43 To call Guru Nanak a mere reformer is to underestimate the dynamism of his creative vision—a vision in which the timeless and the temporal blend beautifully and evolve a new and saner path for humanity. Sir Muhammad Iqbal paid the most befiitting tribute to the Guru when he said, “A man of perfection woke Hind from its world of dreams.”44 In the words of John Clark Archer, “there was something positive and realistic in his (Guru’s) life— something which Panjab, at any rate, could utilize and make permanent in religious and political reconstruction.”45

Our subsequent narration of the development of the Sikh society will show that, in view of the combination between the spiritual and the empirical in the thesis of Guru Nanak, the later Gurus have been developing the Sikh society not for any individ­ual salvation as an end in itself but for the salvation of the society as a whole, with the religious individual as an integral component of the spiritual society they were creating.

Angad, the second Guru, fortified the Sikh identity by adopting Punjabi language as the vehicle of communication in religious as well as day-to-day life. The Guru was opposed to mendicancy and parasitical living. He earned his own living by twisting coarse grass into strings used for cots. Guru Amar Das

r e l ig io n a n d p o l it ic s — t h e SIKH p e r s p e c t iv e 11

l l RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION ANd HISTORY

emphatically declared that ‘the active and domestic Sikhs were wholly separate from the passive and recluse Udasis (a Hindu cult).”46 There was a clear drifting away from the orthodox Hindu fold. The Guru established twenty two new centres or parishes for conveying to the people the message of Guru Nanak. They administered both to the religious and secular needs of the people.

The fifth Guru, Arjan, took some very important steps for the consolidation of the Sikh Panth. He compiled the Granth Sahib47 and built the Harmandar and came to be looked upon by his disciples, not only as the light or Satguru (spiritual guide) but also as Sachcha Padshah (The true King). The assembly of his followers came to be known as ‘Durbar’ or Court and his seat a ‘Takhat’ or throne. It was on this account that the Harmandar also came to be known as Durbar Sahib, which emerged as a self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating institution. In the words of G. C. Narang, “the Sikhs had already become accustomed to a form of self-government within the empire. Their power and prestige had increased and they were fast becoming a factor in the political life of the province.”48 The use of words like ‘Sachcha Padshah', ‘Durbar' or Takhat' was thought to be fraught with dangerous motives by the state, which could no longer look upon the growing strength of the Sikh community with indifference. “The expression {Sachcha Padshah) could be adopted to any circumstances and its mystic application seem to have preyed upon and perplexed the minds of the Mughal princes.” 49 One of the charges levelled against Guru Arjan by Jahangir was that he had called himself Sachcha Padshah or the true King and was an aspirant to sovereign power.60

The Guru had a well organised central establishment which included the maintenance of a contingent of horses and elephants. He paved the way for the military organisation of the Sikhs that was to follow from the time of the sixth Guru. It was during the life time of Guru Arjan that his son and successor Guru Hargobind started learning how to weild the sword and going on trips for hunting. Daljeet Singh points out that, “Guru Arjan’s multifarious

RELIGION AND POLITICS-THE SIKH PERSPECTIVE 13

activities, apart from making a very major contribution to the organisation of the mission, demonstrate, as laid down by Guru Nanak, that no field of life, whether secular, social or political, is excluded for the operation of a mystic. Slowly but surely, the movement came out with a distinct identity of its own with clear-cut religious and socio-political facets.”51

Guru Arjan’s parting message to his people reveals a resolve to fight, a recourse to arms, which gave Sikhism an urge to carry on its mission with fresh vigour. “ I have succeeded in affecting the object of my life. Go to my son, the Holy Hargobind, and give him from me an ample consolation. Bid him not to mourn me, nor indulge in unmanly lamentation, but sing God’s praises. Let him sit fully armed upon the Gaddi and maintain an army to the best of his ability. I bear all my torture to set a good example to the teachers of True Name, that they may not lose patience, nor rail at God in their affliction. The ture test of faith comes in the very hour of misery.”52

The Guru’s words stirred the Sikhs to a grave concern of their plight. The mood to take up fight soon became noticeable, ‘some ploughshares were being beaten into swords and there were pruning hooks becoming spears.’53 Guru Arjan was tortured to death and became the first martyr of the Sikhs. Thus ‘a situation was arising in which a conflict between the forces of the state and those of Sikhism was becoming more or less inevitable. The state could not but regard the Sikh organisation as one of immense possibilities which might at one time become a rallying point of disaffection.’54

Guru Arjan’s successor, Hargovind, was fully aware of the new socio-religious challenge with which he was confronted. The Sikhs must be armed to defend themselves, he thought, and be ready likewise for offence, if necessary. At the very time of his installation as Guru, he directed Bhai Buddha to amend the ceremony followed on such occasions and adorn him with two swords of Miri and Piri, signifying the blending of religious and temporal authority. He told his followers ; “ My rosary shall

14 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

be my sword belt and on my turban I shall wear the emblem of royalty.”55 He made it clear that worldly pursuits were quite compatible with the deepest religious spirit and highest piety and to bear arms in defence of righteousness was a paramount religious duty. The Guru organised an army and by winning continuous victories showed his followers the possibilities open to their race.

Here it will not be out of place to record a meeting which took place between the Guru and a Maharashtran saint, Ram Das, who said that he found it difficult to comprehend how Guru Nanak’s successor carried on his spiritual pursuits along with being a soldier and maintaining an army. The Guru replied that Guru Nanak had given up mammon but had not renounced the world. He clarified that the sword was for the double purpose of protec­tion of the poor and fight against tyranny.56 This reply left such a profound impression on Sant Ram Dass’ mind that he undertook to train the Maratha leader Shivaji, on the same lines.

Some of the people committed and conditioned to old tradi­tions and doctrines found it difficult to understand the full impli­cations and the true character of the military development in Sikhism. Some historians, who do not have a clear perception of the integrated spiritual thesis of Guru Nanak, have viewed the spirituo-political organisation of the Sikhs as a departure from the original tradition. But as already seen, the steps taken by Guru Hargovind were simply the visible, natural and inevitable outcome of the doctrine of the combination of the spiritual and the empiri­cal, laid down and founded by the first Guru.

The Akal Takhat, which symbolises the unique doctrinal position of double sovereignty of the Sikhs, was built by Guru Hargovind as a seat of the temporal authority, as distinct from the place of worship. He also set up two flags fluttering before it, one distinctly signifying the religious and the other temporal authority. Such steps were fraught with meaninful portents for the future.57 The Durbar Sahib thus became a visible symbol of what the predominant form of Sikhism had become.

RELIGION AND POLITICS— THE SIKH PERSPECTIVE 15

The Sikh ideal of blending the sacred and secular fully blossomed in the life of the ninth Sikh Guru, Teg Bahadur. His name signified ‘Hero of the Sword’. Moving from supreme spiritual awareness to 'supreme sacrifice, the Guru practised his spiritual ideal to counter the forces of tyranny and injustice. His was a living example of fusing the timeless spirit with the spirit of history, of harmonising the self-enlightenment with the urgent demands of the world without. Once a deputation of Kashmiri Brahmins waited upon the Guru and complained to him regard­ing the excesses committed by the Mughal Governor of Kashmir. After patiently listening to the tale of woes narrated by the Brah­mins, the Guru is said to have remarked that in order to put an end to Mughal tyranny, it was necessary that a great man should come forward to sacrifice his life. Guru Gobind Singh, who was merely a child of nine at that time, promptly remarked that none was more worthy than his father to make this sacrifice. The Guru was very much struck by this remark of his young son and made up his mind to sacrifice his life. Here it is important to state one fact. Aurangzeb had specifically conveyed to the Guru that he would even give aid to the Guru if he confined his activities to the reli­gious sphere and did not dabble in political matters58. The Guru definitely declined this offer and continued his spirituo-political activities in espousing the cause of the Brahmins and the freedom of man to practice his religion.

The Guru was arrested and executed. His body was cut to pieces and exhibited in many parts of Delhi. “ Sacrifice your head but do not desert those whose hand you have taken as a protector, but do not give up your Dharma (righteousness)” exclaimed the Guru59. The Guru’s execution was a sacrifice to uphold the right­eous cause that strengthened the resistance against the policy of religious persecution, followed by the Mughals. It was a major landmark that paved the way for the growth of Sikhism.

The revolution stemming from the creative vision of Guru Nanak reached its highest pitch under Guru Gobind Singh, who started the final phase of the development of Sikhism in the Guru

16 RtSEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

period. Through his prophetic vision, the Guru had imbibed the spirit of a free, creative and spiritual life. As a true saint, his moral reaction to the policy of persectuion was reflected in the will to resist and sacrifice. Pulsating with human love and spiritual robustness, the Guru responded to the crying need of the hour to restore justice and harmony in the human affairs. The Guru created the Khalsa - a disciplined body of the Sikhs. This gave them a distinct look, a community name, Singh (Lion) and symbols, the five K’s-Kesh (uncut hair), Kangha (comb), Kara (steel bangle), Kirpan (sword) and Kacha (short reeches). The inner unity of faith was strengthened with external uniformity. The Guru also furnished the order of the Khalsa with the institu­tions of \Panj Piara’ (Five Beloved ones) and Daswandh (voluntary contribution of one tenth of one’s income to the exchequer of the Panth). The succession of personal Guruship also ended with Guru Gobind Singh. Henceforth, the function and authority of the Guru was vested in the Granth Sahib and the corporate decisions of the community, the Khalsa Panth. Thus, the spiritual sovereignty was bestowed on the Granth Sahib and temporal sovereignty on the Panth. The Guru brought “a new force into being and released a new dynamic force into the arena of Indian history.” 60 He raised the Indian spirit from servility and self­prostration to the dynamic ideal of heroic resistance against tyranny.

Inspired by a divine mission to right the wrongs of the world, the Guru exhorted his followers to come upto his ideal of Sant- Sipahi (Saint-Soldier). Surcharged with such inspiration, a Sikh was urged to combine in him the virtues of a saint and the strength and sternness of a soldier. ‘Take the broom of divine knowledge into thy hand and sweep away the filth of the dirty61’ said the Guru. In his army, each Sikh called himself a unit of one lac and a quarter. The Guru aimed at creating a nation that would be pure and strong enough to free itself from the oppression of the rulers and priests. Guru’s fame for holiness, wisdom and bravery attracted large crowds. Among his supporters was also a Muslim saint called Pir Buddhu Shah of SadhaUra who understood and

RELIGION AND POLITICS— THE SIKH PERSPECTIVE 17

admired the spiritual status of the Guru because of his ideological affinities. He also sent his followers and sons to help the Guru. Two of his sons died fighting on the side of the Guru.62 Here it is noteworthy that no Hindu saint or spiritual man came to the Guru’s aid, on account of the ideological gap between Sikhism and the earlier religious traditions.

In fact, the Hill Rajput Rajas, worshippers of the Devi-cult, actually spurned the offer of the Guru to join him in fighting the Mughal oppression, because they felt that the Guru’s mission of establishing equality and anti-Durga ideology was opposed to their Dharma. Rather they fought against the Guru and invited the Mughal forces to suppress him. These historical events, thus, on the one hand clearly establish the ideological contrast between the mission of the Guru and the faith of the Hindu Rajas, and on the other hand the evident ideological affinity between the cause and ideals of the Gurus and the Sufi views of men like Budhu Shah, Mian Mir and others, since in Islam too Miri-Piri are combined.

Tt was under the tenth Master that Sikh ideas on religion, society and politics got crystallised finally and governed the subse­quent development of Sikhism. For called into being because of the Will of God (Agia Bhai Akal Ki, tabi chalio Panth), the Khalsa was also to be His agent in the world to restore justice and righteousness (.Khalsa Akal Purkh Ki Fauj). Guru Gobind Singh’s trifacial doctrine-(a) individual is the true source of power, (b) he is an end in himself and must never be enslaved and expended by others and (c) prosperity and happiness, in ever-increasing measure, is the birth right and destiny of mankind-left an indelible mark on the Sikh tradition. Martyrdom of the Guru and his sons, for the cause of righteousness, was unique in the annals of mankind.

In the ranks of the Khalsa complete equality was practised. All were equal, the lowest with the highest, in race as in creed, in political rights and in religious hopes. It is noteworthy that four out of the five Piaras were Sudras. This complete contrast with earlier religions is epitomised in the Nash doctrine of the Guru which enjoins on a Sikh to make a total break with earlier

traditions, ideologies and practices.63 He resolved upon awakening his followers to a new life and upon giving precision and form to the broad and general institutions of Nanak. “In the heart of a powerful empire he set himself to the task of subverting it and from the midst of social degradation and religious corruption, he created simplicity of manners, singleness of purpose and enthusiasm and strength for the cause.”64

The above history of the Sikh Panth in the Guru period is a clear fulfilment of the spiritual thesis of Guru Nanak, which envi­saged the creation of society for the maintenance and promotion of righteousness. This history shows that Guru Nanak had outlined the structure and laid down its foundation. The subsequent Gurus developed the various institutions that were essential for the growth and well-being of such a religious society. The Gurus, by their lead, clearly demonstrated how to make sacrifices to achieve their spiritual and socio-political aims. When the society became mature enough, the tenth master gave it a final organisational shape, clearly defining by his personal leadership and the institution of Panj Piaras, the spiritual ideals to be aimed at, the social structure to be maintained and the socio-political ideals to be fought for. At the end of the two centuries, ‘the Sikh faith had become esta­blished as a prevailing force and guiding principle to work its way in the world.’65 The subsequent history of the Sikh society and struggle has to be seen and understood in this light.

The man chosen by the Guru to conduct the final phase of the Sikh struggle against the Empire was Banda Singh Bahadur, with an advisory council of noted Sikhs, including a living Piara. He was a wandering ascetic, who finding the futility of his path, entered the fold of the tenth Master and beseeched him to enrol him as a member of the Khalsa. The Guru roused his dormant spirit and put it into practical application. He conferred on him the title of Banda Singh Bahadur and appointed him as his military lieutenant. Banda attacked and defeated the Governor of Sirhind, who was the spearhead of Mughal oppression in the area, involving the execution and death of thousands of Sikhs and

18 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

RELIGION An d POLITICS— THE SIKH PERSPECTIVE 19

Hindus. He defied the mighty Mughal empire and won a series of victories. He liberated the country from the oppressive Mughal rule by destroying it root and branch. He made Sikhism so popular with the people of Punjab that more than one lakh persons embraced Sikhism and became the Khalsa of Guru Gobind Singh in about a year, not through the force of arms but because of the inspiring deeds of the Khalsa. Banda Singh remained cool even in the face of death and none of his 740 followers, who were arrested with him, renounced his faith to save his life.®* His defeat was not due to any weakness in him or in the cause but due to the overwhelming might of the Empire and odds against him.

Banda brought about a social revolution by appointing swee­pers and cobblers as big officers and breaking down the barriers of caste.67 He abolished the feudalists Zamindari system and replaced it with peasant-proprietorship, making the actual tillers of the soil its masters.68 This eventually led to the emergence of the masses, as the dominant section of Sikh society, giving it both firmness and cohesion. In contrast, Hindu society, because of its hierarchical caste structure and the resultant economic dis­parities, has been known to be elite society, with an increasingly wide gap between the ten per cent rich and about 50% below the poverty line.

Banda occupies a unique place in history. Hari Ram Gupta, the eminent historian, calls him a great spiritual and political genius.69 His achievements, both in the political and military fields, are indeed phenomenal because he virtually shook the very foundations of the Mughal empire, never to be established again and brought about a socio-economic revolution in the masses, unheard of earlier.

Let us briefly recapitulate our narration which seeks to bring out clearly and emphatically the combination of the spiritual and the empirical life and how the acceptance of social responsibility, including political tasks, becomes an integral part of Sikh religion and the Sikh society. It was Guru Nanak who not only laid the the foundations of the Sikh society but also clearly set before his

20 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

successors and his society the spiritual mission of bringing about equality and justice in the social field and combating oppression and aggression in the political sphere. Seen in this context, the role of each Guru in promoting the spiritual mission of Guru Nanak and creating and constructing with a singleness of purpose, Sikh social institutions becomes quite evident. Except to persons burdened with old pacifist ideas or accepting the divorce between the spiritual life and the empirical life, the clear growth of a people, with a new scripture and a new faith, charged with a new mission, becomes perceptibly and prominently obvious to every student of the lives of the first four successors of Guru Nanak. In the times of Guru Arjan, he had not only formed a state within a state and given a scripture to the Sikhs and created a centre of their faith, but the direction he gave to his society was clear and bold enough to arouse the fears and suspicions of the great Mughal to provoke him to take the step of executing the fifth Guru, so as to nip the political ferment in the bud. It is indeed unfortunate that what the emperor of the day could clearly perceive and discern is not understood by some of the present-day historians. To-day there is no doubt that Guru Hargovind’s wearing of two swords, on the very day of his installation as the Guru, was the result of a specific direction from the fifth Master. Similarly, Guru Hargovind’s military struggles and the construction of Akal Takhat and the raising of the flags of Miri and Piri in the courtyard of Harmandar Sahib, are just symbolic of the combination of spiritual and empirical lives in the ideology of Guru Nanak. Since that time, the pursuit of the ideal of combating simultaneously, both political oppression and social inequality has continued unabated. The ninth Guru’s declining the offer of Aurangzeb for help, if he confined his aciivities only to the spiritual sphere, and his martyrdom and the tenth Master’s creation of the Khalsct epitomises the development of the Sikh society to a level of maturity. It is in this context that we understand, on the one hand, Guru Gobind Singh’s closing the succession and on the other hand, vesting the Guruship in the Shabd (Scripture) and entrusting the pursuit of the mission to the Panth. In this background, let us proceed to the pursuit of Sikh mission in the 18th century.

Eighteenth century was a period of complex socio-political turmoil when the Sikhs embarked on a historic mission, entrusted to them by the Gurus to meet the challenge of suppression. They lived precariously and had to undergo unprecedented suffering. There was a price on every Sikh head. But they displayed un­paralleled courage, endurance and fortitude and waged a valiant struggle against the worst political persecution of Mir Mannu. Their unflinching faith in the ultimate success of their mission is epitomised in the well-known slogan :‘Mannu is the sickle, we are the grass; the more he cuts us, the more we grow’.70

The consequences of this heroic struggle, in the socio-political life of the country, were significant and far-reaching. It stemmed, once for all, the cruel and imperial tide of oppression which had been threatening to destory the Indian society for the past one thousand years. Apart from upholding the religious and human rights of the people, the Sikhs played the most important role in the politics of Noithern India. They organised the most formid­able resistance to hordes of foreign invaders, including Ahmad Shah Abdali, known to be the greatest general of the eighteenth century. All foreign invasions from the North West were finally stopped.

The institutions of ‘Sarbat Khalsa* and ‘Gurmatta' shaped the destiny of the Sikh people during their ascent to political power during the eighteenth century. The Sarbat Khalsa institution represented the unified corporate personality of the Khalsa, while Gurmatta signified taking decisions in the name of the Guru. Before and after the battles, the Sikhs assem­bled at Amritsar, performed ablutions in the sacred tank and passed regular Gurmattas. In 1764, on the eve of Ahmad Shah Abdali’s last raid, the Sikhs passed a Gurmatta ‘proclaiming the independence of the Sikh state’.71 The Sikh Gurdwaras were the centres of free thought and the integrated Sikh activities. In order to liquidate the Sikhs, prominent Gurdwaras were made the chief targets of attack by the enemy. Durbar Sahib, the headquarters of the Khalsa, was thrice attacked by Abdali72, ‘as it had become in his eyes a rock of offence because of what it represented of the religious and political importance which Sikhism had acquired.’78

kEtiGioN And politics—the sikh perspective 1 \

2 2 Researches in sikh religion and history

It was deep faith in the mission of the Gums which sustained the Sikhs to bear the ordeals so bravely. A striking and an integral feature of the Sikh mission was the maintenance of the ethical standards during their militant programmes. Qazi Nur-Ud-Din bears testimony to the fact that the Sikhs never killed a coward and did not obstruct one who flew from the field of battle74. Something which is in glaring contrast to the victorious armies of all times including the armies of the civilised world of the 20th century, is the attitude of the Sikh soldiers towards women who, according to Qazi Nur-Ud-Din, were never molested or robbed by them76. There is ample evidence in the history that the Mughals tortured the Sikhs, whenever they they fell into their hands, with the cruelest available methods.76 But the Sikhs observed ethical restraint and did not resoit to these methods. Even in retalition, they tried to follow the injunction laid down by the Gurus: ‘To exercise forbearance in the midst of power; to be humble in the midst of honour.’77 Sikh confederacies called the Mis Is, often, met at the Akal Takhat at Amritsar to discuss matters of common welfare and chalk out plans of joint action against their enemies. The common bond of being the Khalsa bound them together. Each Misl bore its own distinctive title and had its own Sirdar who gathered followers from local nearby villages.

When Ranjit Singh came to power, he did not establish a Sikh state, nor did he interfere with the religious and cultural life of the other communities. In his kingdom, the key positions of power were shared by Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims alike. The Muslim state in India, being entirely subordinate to the church, had believed in the orthodox ideals of waging war {jihad) against infidels. The conversion of fhe entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent was the ideal .of the Muslim state. According to this ideal, non-Muslims were not considered equal citizens of the state. They had to undergo political and social disabilities and pay a toll tax (Jaziya) to secure the right of exercising their religion.

Ranjit Singh was an enlightened and benevolent ruler, who endeared himself to all classes of people. He took keen interest

R e l i g i o n A n d p o l i t i c s — t h e s i K h p e r s p e c L i v e 25

in the social and economic well being of his subjects, without any discrimination on the basis of caste or creed. While he spent money on the decoration of the Golden Temple and other Sikh Gurdawaras, he was no less generous in his endowments to the Hindu and the Muslim places of worship. Although the Muslims and the Sikhs had fought the bloodiest battles against each other, yet the Maharaja bore no malice to the Muslims. His most trusted minister was Fakir Aziz-ud-Din, a Muslim. In dealing with his fallen enemies, he displayed unprecedented generosity. Not only the Sikh nobles and Sardars but also the .deposed Muslim nobles were provided with jagirs and treated equally and generously. He ruled for forty years but did not sentence even one person to death. His rule was known as ‘Raj halimi’ (rule of the humble). A great conqueor and a brilliant administrator, he possessed the rare combination of strength and humility.

The Maharaja was a devout Sikh and declared that he was subservient to the Khalsa discipline. He listened daily to the readings from the Granth Sahib and his official seal bore the words Akal Sahai meaning an invocation to God for His Grace. But he never made any forcible conversions to the Sikh faith nor did he make any conscious efforts to propagate his religion. This policy was fully in consonance with the principle of universal brotherhood and peaceful co-existence, propounded by the Sikh Gurus. Known for religious tolerance, social harmony and justice, Ranjit Singh’s state was the most progressive state in India.

After the fall of the Sikh kingdom, Sikh soldiers displayed a good deal of sportsmanship. They talked of their defeat as the vagaries and chances of war. But confidence in their future destiny was never shaken. The sentiment that held them together was the deepest commitment to the faith and the nostalgic memories of the Khalsa rule.

The British Government resolved to follow a policy of justice, moderation, neutraility and toleration in accordance with the customs, feelings and prejudices of the people. No state religion was proclaimed. But religious tensions were visible due to the

24 RESEARCH ES IN S IK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

machinery of conversion, set in operation by the Christian mission­aries, who took advantage of the fact that Christianity was the religion of the ruling class.78 The British used the Gurdwaras as channels for the indirect control of the Sikhs.79 Such a policy was bound to generate tensions and discontent. All this was a portent of coming events. The Sikhs had to take up fight with the government for the freedom of the Gurdwaras and for the freedom of the country. True to their doctrine and tradition, the Sikhs played a heroic and historic role in the political life of the vcountry.

The first revolutionary movement against the British rule, with the clear object of establishing a system of liberty, equality and fraternity in India was organised, directed and principally manned by the Sikhs. The Sikhs formed a microscopic minority in the country but their participation in the Ghadr Movement was more than 90%.80 This was due to their age old tradition ofsacrifice and martyrdom for the cause of freedom and justice.

In 1920, the Shiromni Akali Dal was established, which came to be regarded as the supreme organisation of the Sikhs. ‘The religio-political struggle of the Akalis directed against the priests,Mahants and other vested interests in the Sikh shrines and con­sequently against the British imperialism—was one of the most +powerful movements of modern India.’81 The Akalis professed independence of any earthly leaders and acted in devotion to Akal (The Timeless one). They had to struggle very hard to restore the religious liberties of the Sikhs. It was, therefore, felt by the Sikh masses, who formed the backbone of the community, that the panacea for all their social, economic, political and religious ills lay in their political liberation. The Sikh masses became increas­ingly conscious because of subtle attack on their religious identity, made through the Government support to the Mahants and Pujaris controlling their religious shrines. The struggle lasted for several years, in which a number of Morchas (all launched from the Akal Takhat, Amritsar) such as Guru Ka Bagh, Keys of the Golden Temple and the Akal Takht, Bhai Pheru Guidwara and Gurdwara Gangsar (Jaitu) figured prominently. After tremendous sacrifices

and sufferings, the Akali movement secured to the Sikhs, in the form of the Sikh Gurdwaras and Shrines Act, an undisputed and exclusive control over their religious places. This was a great achievement because these holy places have always been the very life blood of the Sikh way of life and the extent to which these places are free has always had a strong bearing on the socio-politi­cal status of the Sikhs. Here it is necesrary to state that the Jaitu Morcha, which constituted the most significant part of the Akali struggle involving death by bullets of 150, and arrest of more then 5000 persons82 related purely to a political issue, regarding the deposition of the Sikh Raja of Nabha. During the Jaitu Morcha, Nehru went to the extent of courting arrest along with the Akalis, as a gesture of cooperation with them.83 At this time, the Congress supported the Sikh struggle for the control of their Gurdwaras. The Gurdwara Reform Movement succeeded in liberating the Gurdwaras from the control of the Government and the corrupt practices of the Mahants and Pujaris, thus re-establishing the unique religious identity of the Sikhs. The success of the Sikhs exploded the myth of the invincibility of the British power in India. This also helped to boost the confidence of the freedom fighters. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya was so much impressed by the Sikhs that he advised the Hindus to baptise at least one member of their family as a Sikh, if they wanted to be free from British bondage.84 The Gurdwara Reform Movement had political dimensions, in as much as it was a protest against the governmental interference in the Gurdwaras, in connivance with the Mahants.

Thus the Akali Dal emerged as a formidable force and the next phase of its struggle was directed towards the freedom of the country from the foreign yoke. The Akali leaders always utilized the religious platform for their political propaganda. The conten­tion that never had the Sikh nation fallen so low or was in so wretched a plight as during the British rule, made the Sikhs very unhappy with the British, who were responsible for the destruction of their sovereignty and consequent backwardness and poverty. There was a feeling that the British bureaucracy was bent on

r e l i g i o n A n d p o l i t i c s — t h e s i k h p e r s p e c t i v e 25

destroying the Sikh religion and its identity. The deposition of the Maharaja of Nabha, who was deemed to be pro-Sikh because of his leanings and having sponsored the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, involving separateness of Sikh Maryada and social custom and identity, was also considered to be a part of the plan to throttle the independence of Sikh religion. It is significant that this struggle had the backing, not only of the masses but all sections of the Sikh community.

During the Sikh struggle against the Raj, the Congress leaders never objected to the combination of religious, social and political objectives of the Akali Dal and the executing of their plans from the precincts of the Gurdwaras. In fact, when the Sikhs gained the control of the Golden Temple of Amritsar, Gandhi complimented them in the following words ..of his telegram: “First Battle of India’s Freedom Won. Congratulations.”85 Rather the Akalis were projected in such flattering terms as ‘the only living wing of the national movement’, and ‘the strongest community in India.’86 In their statements, the Congress supported the Akali Dal and the S.G.P.C. in all their programmes and activities. On one occasion, it described the official attack on the Akali Dal as ‘a direct challenge to the right of free association of all Indians and a blow aimed at all movements for freedom’.87

The unique contribution of the Sikh Gurus, in breaking the shackles of man in all fields of human endeavour, has been recognised but the great role played by the Sikh community, out of all proporation to their small numerical strength (2%), towards the country’s freedom has not received the attention and recogni­tion that it deserves. The following table would give an accurate picture of the Sikh contribution during the freedom struggle :

26 KESEAr c R E S IN S IK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

Punishment suffered Sikhs Non-Sikhs TotalHanged 93 28 121Imprisoned for life 2147 449 2646Killed at Jallianwala Bagh 799 501 1300Killed at Budge Budge Ghat 67 46 113Killed in Kooka Movement 91 — 91Killed in Akali Movement 500 — 500

In the Indian National Army, led by Subash Chander Bose, 60% of the officers and soldiers were Sikhs. 89 Thus the battle for country’s freedom was won, with the Sikhs in the forefront. All Sikh agitations, whether social, religious or political in charac­ter, were launched from the platform of the Gurdwaras. Not a single eyebrow, from any quarter, was raised against the use of Gurdwaras for political purposes. The Sikhs kept their martial tradition alive through the assertion of their separate religio-poli- tical identity. Congregational prayers held in the Gurdwaras re­vived the old spirit. It brought before them the vision of the mighty deeds of their Gurus and martyrs and the sacrifices the Sikhs had made for the cause of their religion and the glory of the Sikh banners, temples and the Panth. This constantly reminded them of their heroic past and inspired them to forge their future with courage and confidence (Chardi Kala). Here it is necessaryto mention that the Akali Party and the S.G.P.C., the twin premier institutions of the Sikhs, have almost invariably been fighting for the Sikh religious, social and political objectives, not only together but also from the premises of the Gurdwaras.

Before independence, the Indian National Congress had consistently propagated a federal structure for the free India, with unilingual states and had pledged constitutional safeguards for the minorities. A committee was formed by the Congress, in 1928, under the Chairmanship of Moti Lai Nehru, to prepare a framework of the constitution for free India. In its report, the Committee upheld the principle of communal reservation for the Muslims, while denying the same to the Sikhs and the other minorities.90 When Sikh leaders expressed apprehensions con­cerning their future in India, the Congress Party, in its annual session at Lahore, in 1929, passed a resolution, which said that “no future constitution would be acceptable to the Congress that did not give full satisfaction to the Sikhs.”91 Such categori­cal assurances were repeatedly held out to the Sikhs, right upto the partition of the country. At a function in Gurdwara Sis Ganj, which was attended by Gandhi, a Sikh leader, Madhusudan Singh, voiced the fears of the Sikhs that the Congress, once in power,

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might go back on its assurances to the Sikhs. Gandhi, in a bid to allay the fears of the Sikhs, declared : “ I ask you to accept my word and the Resolution of the Congress that it will not betray a single individual, much less a community. Let God be the witness of the bond that binds me and the Congress to you. I venture to suggest that non-violence creed of the Congress is the surest guarantee of good faith and our Sikh friends have no reason to fear that it would betray them. For the moment it does so, the Congress would not only thereby seal its own doom but that of the country too. Moreover, the Sikhs are a brave people. They know how to safeguard their rights by the exercise of arms, if it should ever come to that.” 92

It was in this background, and on the basis of the promises made to them that, in 1947, the Sikhs threw their lot with the other people of India, hoping that the assurances extended to them would be fulfilled and they would be able to maintain their identity and chalk out their own development in the future Pandit Nehru declared at a press conference, on the eve of the All India Congress Committee meeting at Calcutta, in July, 1946, that the brave Sikhs of the Punjab are entitled to special consideration. I see nothing wrong in an area and a set-up in the North, wherein the Sikhs can also experience the glow of freedom.”93 Another pledge was repeated by Nehru while moving the executive resolu­tion at the opening Session of the Constitutent Assembly in 1946. This resolution “envisaged the Indian Union as an Independent Sovereign Republic, comprising autonomous units with residuary powers, wherein the ideal of social, political and economic demo­cracy would be guaranteed to all sections of the people and ade­quate safeguards would be provided for minorities and backward communities and areas.” Nehru described the Resolution as a “declaration, a pledge and an undertaking before the world, a contract of millions of Indians and, therefore, in the nature of an oath, which we mean to keep.”94 In view of such assurances, the Akali Members of the legislature voted for the division of the Punjab, thereby limiting the boundary of Pakistan to Wagah, instead of its coming close to Delhi.

28 RESEARCH ES m S l k t t R B L lG lO N A N D H IST O R Y

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Throughout the pre-independence era, the Sikhs, like the Muslims, have been struggling for their identity and independence as a separate community, which envisaged no dichotomy between its religious and political interests. It is as such that they had been struggling with the British government and negotiating for their rights with the Congress or the Muslim leadership. In fact, the assurances which Gandhi gave were during the course of his speech in a meeting held at Gurdwara Sis Ganj, which, for that matter any Gurdwara, is a recognised place for politico-religious activities and deliberations of the Sikhs. Invariably, it is to repre­sent and safeguard Sikh religious, social and political interests that Sikh leaders have been meeting the Government. And they , were chosen by the Sikh bodies that were incharge of both Sikh religious and political interests namely, the S.G.P.C. and the Akali Party, with a common leadership. It is in this context that the British government approached the Sikhs, through Baldev Singh, who spurned the offer, because of his faith in and assurances by Gandhi and other Hindu leadership.

The Sikh history, of the pre-independence days, shows two things that the Sikhs as a homogenous community, while they have been fighting for their separate rights, have always been in the forefront of the struggle for independence of the country. Baldev Singh’s refusal to have separate negotiations with the British95 in England is an epitomic act of the Sikh political and religious ideology, namely, while all sacrifices have to be made for the cause of the community, moral and universal ends have to be supreme compared to narrow communal interests. It is in this context that the Sikhs got the biggest shock when the Congress after partition ceased to be a national body and became swayed with Hindu out­look.90 It went back in relation to the Sikhs on both of its pro­mises, namely to frame a federal constitution with autonomous states, empowered with all subjects, except Defence, Foreign affairs, Currency and Communication and secondly to create linguistic states, including a Punjabi speaking state in East Punjab. It was in this context that, in 1949, when the central Government formally elicited the views of Punjab legislature on the draft

30 RESEARCHES IN SIK H RELIG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

Constitution, the Akali representatives reiterated their stand for a federal constitution saying: “ It has been the declared policy of the Congress from the outset that Tndia is to be the Union of autonomous States, and each unit is to develop in its own way, linguistically, culturally and socially. Of course, Defence Communication and Foreign affairs must and should remain the Central subjects. To Change the basic policy now is to run counter to the oft-repeated creed of the Congress. In the considered opinion of the Akali Dal, residuary powers should be with the States. The list distributing the legislative powers should be based on the principle that the Centre or Union Parliament should be limited to Defence, Communication and Foreign affairs.”97

Our narration of the Sikh struggle, since 1947, should be understood in the above context. Sikhs have been, in pursuance their basic principle of unity of religious and political ideals, wag­ing a dual struggle both for the preservation of their identity, ethos and culture and for the progress and promotion of universal inter­ests of the country, as a whole. It is important to understand that this struggle, at the two fronts, has been, as before in its history, fought from the platform of the Gurdwaras, by a unified party (Akali Dal), which fully represented its religious, political, economic and social interests and aspirations. Here in retrospect, it is indeed painful to record one fact of Indian history, namely, that since the days of the Cabinet Mission proposal, it is the Hindu point of view, detrimental to the national interests, that dominated the outlook of the leaders. It led to the unfortunate partition of India and has been increasingly responsible for its post­independence policies and perspectives.98

After independence, the Indian leaders adopted a basically unitary form of consitution, thus flouting their promises made to the Sikhs. In protest, the Sikh representatives in the Constituent Assembly, refused to sign the Constitution.99 Suddenly, the rulers discarded the concept of ‘unity in diversity’ Unfortunatly, diversity was made synonymous with disintegration. A sense of natural pride in one’s ethnic identity or tradition came to be viewed as a threat to national unity.

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Since independence, the most important problem that has faced the Sikhs is that of identity and survival as a distinct community, separate from the Hindus. The Sikhs were confronted with a subtle but visible cultural domination of the Hindus. Addressing the Indian parliament, soon after independence, Hukam Singh said, “The Sikhs are told, when they remind the Congress of their past pledges in 1929, 1946 and again in 1947 that circumstances have changed” .100

In a pamphlet, Harchand Singh Longowal expressed the Sikh apprehensions in these words: “India is a multilingual, multireligious and multi-national land. In such a land, a microscopic minority like the Sikhs, has genuine forebodings that like Buddhism and Jainism earlier, they may also lose their identity in the vast ocean of the overwhelming Hindu majority.”101 As a result of linguis­tic reorganisation of the country, the Panjabi speaking Pepsu, a Sikh majority state, should have been joined to the Panjabi speak­ing area of Punjab but instead Pepsu was merged with Punjab. This was considered by the Sikhs as a deliberate move to reduce them to a state of political ineffectiveness, by making them a minority.

Henceforward, the Sikhs agitated and reminded the Central Government of their earlier two promises to make linguistic states and to frame a federal constitution. The Congress Government, because of its communal or narrow policies, backed out on both the issues, by framing a unitary type of constitution and denying a Punjabi speaking state in Punjab. The communal angle became almost naked when, in 1955, all other states in India, except Punjab, were re-organised on linguistic basis.102 The only reason for not creating a linguistic state in Punjab could be that the Sikhs would be in a majority in any lin guistic Punjabi speaking state. In fact, this narrowmindedness became even more evident when, in 1955, instead of creating a linguistic state in Punjab, authorities applied the reverse gear by merging the Sikh majority and Punjabi speaking state of Pepsu in the Punjab, thereby forming a bilingual Punjab103 and reducing the Sikhs to a minority therein,104 .

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The slogan of national unity and integrity has become a plea for systematically eroding cultural plurality. Democracy means a rule of the majority and in the case of India it, inevitably, means a rule of the Hindu majority, there being no safeguards for the rights of the minorities. Such majority rule, coupled with the gospel of secularism, has naturally alienated the minorities, who feel that they are being discriminated against. It is being increas­ingly felt that taking shelter behind the cloak of democracy and secularism, the ruling power, consisting of the majority community, often, throws all moral scruples to the winds, while framing its policies and programmes. This has led to many social and political conflicts and contraditions in the body politic. The present crisis in Punjab is the outcome of these conflicts and contradictions, which have grown alarmingly and cannot be resolved till the policy of unity and diversity is honestly accepted and implemented.

The Sikhs, being calculatedly reduced to a minority in their homeland, started a struggle for the creation of a linguistic state, as has been done in other parts of the country. This struggle, for the removal of a clear discrimination, continued peacefully, from 1948 to 1966, involving the deaths of dozens and arrests of more than 60,000 Sikhs.105 It is significant that through­out this period, there was no Hindu-Sikh riot or tension in the Punjab because it was launched and run from the precincts of the Gurdwaras. This, therefore, involved a high level of moral discipline in the execution of the Morchas. Even though the movement continued for ten years, for the same reason, there was no sense of frustration among the Sikh masses nor any untoward sym ‘rtoms like Hindu-Sikh tension in the villages and towns, on that account. The moral tone of the struggle and the patriotism of the Sikhs is evident from the fact that, in 1965, before the Indo- Pakistan War broke out, the Sikhs instead of trying to fish in troubled waters, suspended their struggle and wholeheartedly joined the war.106 Their contribution to the war effort, both on the field and on the supporting civilian population, has almost become a legend. But finally instead of creating a linguistic state

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powers as the other states in the country, a truncated sub-state, with limited powers in the field of irrigation and hydel power, was created.107 Irrigation and power are the very base on which the entire development of a state depends. But the control, creation and development of hydel power was unconstitutionally kept in the central hands, involving ultimately the drain of 75% of its river waters to non-riparian states.108 This drain was something unheard of in our country, or for that matter in any country, being in violation of the provisions and guarantee in our constitution.

The Reorganisation Act of 1966 and decisions thereunder were considered to seal the economic fate and future of Punjab. This opened the eyes of the Sikhs. Hence, started the struggle both for undoing the unconstitutional drain of the waters and hydel powers of the Punjab rivers and for autonomy, as envisaged in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, so that further encroachments on the rights of the Punjab do not take place. In fact, the Anand­pur Sahib Resolution was nothing new, it was just a reiteration of the Sikh demand, made in 1949, in the Punjab Assembly for im­plementing the promises made by the Congress in the Constituent Assembly, in 1946. 109 Incidently, the Tamils for similar cultural and ethnic reasons had made the same demand for state autonomy by adopting in their Assembly in 1971, the Rajmannar report.

Thus the demand is essentially for the maintenance of Sikh religious and ethnic identity, and not for any separatist or seces­sionist purpose, as misrepresented by the Government. The Sikh struggle for the redressing of the discrimination and injustice thus started again. Here it is necessary to mention that whenever there was a question of fighting for a universal or national cause as in cases of the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars, the Sikhs always came in the forefront. In 1975, Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency and virtually suspended the Constitution and abrogated all human and fundamental rights.110 All candles of liberty were blown off and the entire country was plunged into darkness on account of the Emergency. It was left to the Akali Dal to keep the torch of liberty ablaze.111 Indira Gandhi, finding strong criticism from the

34 RESEARCHES IN SIK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

Opposition, approached the Sikhs to support her stand, in lieu of solving their problems and conceding their demands. 112 But the Sikhs d-dined to bargain, when it was a question of national or universal cause. The Akali Dal, in its meeting held at the pre­cincts of Da^bar Sahib, Amritsar, passed a resolution to start an agitation agamst the imposition of Emergency. Thereafter they started the ‘Save Democracy Morcha’, daily offering voluntry arrests. 113 Throughout the period of Emergency, the Morcha was organised and conducted from the precincts of Darbar Sahib. The Morcha continued throughout the period of Emergency involving the arrests of over forty thousand Sikhs.114 It is significant to note that from the rest of the country not even half the number of volunteers offered arrests. The use of Akal Takhat for political purposes never came into question, then or later on.

After the Emergency, the elections were held and the Akalis came into power in the Punjab. They decided to follow the constitutional path and filed a case in the Supreme Court to re­dress their grievances, regarding river waters and hydel power. Tn 1980, Indira Gandhi again came into power and d :smissed the the Akali Ministry in the Punjab. 115 The Akalis still stuck to the constitutional path and started negotiating with the Central Government. But towards the end of 1980, she contracted what was called a forced deal between the Congress Government of Funjab and the Haryana and Rajasthan Governments, on the other hand. 1,6 Thereafter, the case pending in the Supreme Court was withdrawn and she virtually bang d the door against the Akali negotiators, who were having talks on those very issues with her. All peaceful efforts to settle the issues, through the channel of the Supreme Court or through negotiations with the Central Govern­ment having been frustrated, the Sikhs again held their meetings at the Golden Temple Complex to sta *t a struggle for their rights, leading finally to the Dharam yudh Morcha of 1932. This Morcha, too, as in the case of earlier Morchas, continued to be conducted from the premises of the Darbar Sahib. Both Sant Harchand Singh Longowal and Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale lived at the Golden Temple complex, which as before continued to be the

central place cf all S kh social, political and religious deliberations, meetings, gatherings and conferences.

The above narration makes it clear that for the Sikhs the defence of universal causes and the defence of the cause of Sikh identity has not been separated and cannot be separted. Because for them both categories of causes are righteous causes f t for the religious man and the community to struggle and make sacrifices for. A question may be raised that a state would not and should not countenance violence from wherever it should emanate. So far as the question of violence or aggression is concerned, the answer is clear enough. But for the Sikhs all righteous causes are worth fighting for in a righteous way. In the present sequence of events of 1980’s, three things are relevant. Sikh mlitancy, it has been openly asserted, had been introduced into the Sikh struggle by the Congress as a means to embarrass, divide and weaken the A kali leadership under moderates.117 Secondly, it is quite well known that the violence used against the Sikhs, going to Delhi during the period of Asiad, was both unjustified and provocative.118 But far more provocative was the violence that took place during the course , of the counter-Bandh, of February 1984, when Sikh Gurdawaras, properties and Guru Granth Sahib were attacked and burnt and Sikh men, women and children passing through Haryana were either injured, killed or humiliated.119 At Amritsar, the paintings of Guru Ram Dass, the founder of the city, were trampled upon.120 This exhibition of unchecked mob violence, for days on end, in Haryana, was consi­dered by many to be a calculated provocation for the occurrence cf counter-violence in Punjab, which could give the Government an opportunity to side track the Sikh demands to undo the dis­crim nation against them and to dub the Akali agitation as only a law and order issue. It is significant that though there were re­taliatory killings in Punjab, there has never been any mob violence against the Hindus. In the above context, the ‘Operation Blue Star’ attack has been considered by the Sikhs simply unprovoked and pur ly a diversionary measure by the Government, so as to camouflage the r al issues. That it has been unproductive has since been generally accepted. ; •

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The above three points do not strictly follow from the dis­cussion of our subject yet they are relevant to the extent that, con­sidering the Sikh world view, it is impossible for them to separate issues concerning the Sikh identity and the future of the community from socio-political issues. The history of the above struggle is a classic example of how a state, while trying to pursue its nairow cultural policies, would ultimately employ state machinery and political tools of oppression to throttle the voice of freedom and morality or of any ethnic minorities, howsoever legitimate be their grievances. The above statement also leads to the clear conclusion and corollary that ethnic and. religious minorities, even though, pursuing their purely cultural, moral or religious objectives, would inevitably come into conflict with a state which, for one reason or the other, is disinclined to accept their separate existence or the vocal existence of any centre, raising the call of social or moral justice.

Unwarranted delay in solving the issues of water, territory and Chandigarh led the Akali Dal to launch the ‘Dharmyudh Morcha’ —a battle for righteousness, not a religious war as misinterpreted by many. The Akali Dal put up a list of political, economic and religious demands. Surprisingly, the government, which had often impressed upon the Akalis to keep religion and politics apart, found it more convenient to listen to their religi ous grievances rather than secular grievances, involving politico-economic issues. During the course of negotiations, between the Government and the Akali Dal, the main stumbling blocks were the pol itico-economic issues and not the religious issues. In a sudden dramatic move, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced a unilateral award regarding religious demands. She donned a salwaar-kameez, went to Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in New Delhi, and announced that she had accepted all the religious demands of the Akalis. But these concessions did not satisfy the Akalis. However important the religio-cultural aspects of the problem were, the crisis in Punjab was intimately connected with the politico-economic issues concerning the people, the Sikhs as well as the Hindus. By making a unila­teral announcement regarding the acceptance of the religious

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demands, the Prime Minister had conveniently evaded the more important economic and political demands. In a write up, in the Guardian, London, Baljit Malik made an analysis of the Govern­ment’s Punjab policy and observed :

“All through the tangle in Punjab, the Government has pre­ferred to talk religion instead of economics and politics, in its dealings with the Akali party, which represents the interests of Punjabi peasants and farmers, the majority of whom are Sikhs. The framers say, ‘Give us more of our own river waters to irrigate our fields or refer the matter to the Supreme Court’. The Government replies, ‘We will allow you to broadcast religious music over All India Radio, as for the water, we shall appoint a tribunal to give a ruling on the dis­pute’............The Akalis say that Punjab and other states,throghout India, should be given greater economic powers and allowed to manage their own affairs. New Delhi retorts, ‘This is talk of secession, it must be inspired by foreign powers.”121

Unrest in Punjab was nothing but an embittered response against the biased and unjust policies of the Government, leading to economic erosion of the state and consequment erosion of Sikh identity. Economic-cum-political and cultural issues, which were at the root of the crisis, were relegated to the background, and Government and the government controlled media kept projecting the Sikhs as fundamentalists and secessionists. The crisis in Punjab was kept alive due to the government’s failure to find a political solution. The forces of extremism were propelled to the forefront. It is widely believed that initially it was Congress (I) that encouraged Sikh militancy as a counter to the Akalis. Little did the government realise that a strong militant leadership would be more difficult to bargain with than a strong Akali leadership.

Unmindful of the consequences, the Congress leadership played its power game in a manner so as to eliminate any future political challenge either from the Akalis or the B.J.P. - the two main political parties in the Punjab. Hindus were made to shift their

loyalty from the B.J.P. to the Congress (I). The pretence of a negotiated settlement of the Funjab problem was put up by Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, several times but, as noted by Harkishan Singh Surjeet, ‘each time the interests of Hindus of Haryana weighed more heavily with her than a settlement with Sikhs’ .122

'This created a sharp wedge between the Hindus and the Sikhs of the Punjab. Government made this an excuse to skip the real issues and prevent a constitutional settlement of the Punjab’s legitimate grievances, regarding unconstitutional drain of 75% of its river waters and territorial and other economic and political dis­crimination. In view of th e . Asiad episode and Haryana killings, Bhindranwale attributed the escalation of violence to the engineer­ed attacks on the Sikhs and Government policies of repression. As noted by M J. Akbar, the most unique thing about the long tale of violence in Funjab from 1981 to June 1984 was that, “despite all this provocation and opportunity, despite all the engineered tension and suspicion, there was no outbreak of massmeyhem and rioting on the 1947 pattern ......... any such riotswould have led to massacres” .123 The phenomena of ‘extremism’ in Punjab have to be viewed in the context of policies that aimed at sheer repression and intimidation, without providing justice. Baljit Malik observed: ‘The Congress party’s obsession with power, its dwindling standards of political behaviour and its aversion to losing elections, is what led it to become the nrdwife of extrem­ism and terrorism in the Punjab.’124 The Akalis, often, alleged that the Congress was breeding terrorism in the Punjab to defame the Sikhs and hide the real underlying issues.

The Indian polity has failed to establish its credentials as a dispenser of justice and fair play. The political climate in the country has been vitiated by wide spread corruption, pseudo- secularism and short-sighted and even communal policies, aimed at electoral gains. Erosion of moral values and lack of vision and direction are at the root of prevailing chaos and uncertainty. Such trends are essentially the manifestations of a national trauma—the trauma of shattered values and convictions. The position to-day is, as observed by Syed Mir Qasim, Ex-Congress

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Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, “If a refrendum was held in 1948, about 70 per cent would have voted for Pakistan. To-day it would be 90 per cent.” 125 And, in the other border state, the Sikhs who made the greatest sacrifices and defiantly declined good offers from Jmnah, on the basisof the unambiguous promises of the Congress leaders, are seriously voicing the slogan of Khalistan. As stated earlier, it is obvious that it is the influence of communal considerations that made the leaders of the Congress reject, in 1946, a solution that would have maintained the integrity and unity of India, as it had existed before. In the North West, it was purely the signal achievement of the Sikh movement that had after a thousand years not only stopped all future invasions but had also securely carried the boundaries of India beyond Peshawar. Leaders of N.W.F.P., Nationalist Muslims and the Sikhs were deeply dismayed, when Gandhi supported the move to accept partition of India. The western borders were moved from Peshawar to Wagah and would have been nearer Delhi if the Sikhs had not categorically declined the offers of Jinnah. It is the irony of history that the Sikhs, the strongest opponents of partition, not only suffered the greatest uprooting and migration in history involving colossal loss of innocent men, women and children and their properties but are again today at the receiving end, being dubbed as fundamentalists, separatists and sectarian. Prevarication apart, the fact is that the credibility of the mdian leadership, in regard to its integrity, motives and lack of communal bias is so low, that the religious, cultural and ethnic minorities feel seriously threatened.

The Sikhs, known for their unmatched valour and patriotism, can also prove to be the bravest element in exposing injustice, perpetrated under the camouflage of secularism and democracy. India’s salvation lies in the willing sacrifices and patriotism she can command from its people, but not in police and military action against its own people and their religious places, involving the killing of thousands of them. Large scale killings of its own people and use of tanks and guns agaisnt them is a known feature of centralised dictatorships but not of democracies perceptive to

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40 RESEARCHES IN S IK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

the feelings and aspirations, of all sections of their peoples. This will only drain all capacity for progress. The strength of the country is not shown by the battles fought against her own people. Respect for authority can be commanded through wisdom and statesmanship and not demanded through the use of guns. The so-called guardians and representatives of democracy in India have committed the fatal mistake of confusing unmitigated repression with display of strength and firmness. Opportunistic politics, stripped of morals and faith, have led to the failure of both secularism and democracy. There is an ethical and moral vacuum all around. And there is nothing left to fill the vacuum, so created.

Conclusion :

Not only India but a large part of the world is in a flux. Profound changes and stirring events taking place in China, Russia, Poland, Iran and Afghanistan suggest that people all over the world are in desperate search of some canons of morality, fair play and justice. At the moment, the world of old ideas is tottering under its own weight. A world of new ideas granting dignity, equality and human rights to its own people is yet to be born. The all pervasive moral degradation is at the root of the problem.

The 20th century has seen an astonishing diversity ofideas and ideologies, ranging from the speculative thought ofliberalism, on the one hand, to the scientific materialistic socialism of Marx, on the other. Freud, one of the most influentialfigures of the 20th century, was an athiest and was deeplyinfluenced by the positivism of the French philosopher Comte. His theories about religion rest on the positivist claim that all knowledge comes through science. He described religion as the ‘The universal obsessionist neurosis of humanity.’ 126 But others questioned how far science had actually led to human welfare. They argued that the evils of the Industrial Revolution and urbani­sation far outweighed its benefits. Arnold Toynbee, the eminent historian, suggested that the great world religions had been

replaced in the modem times by three new ideologies—nationalism, communism and individualism. Nationalism was an ideology of tribal exclusiveness, which eventually came to be identified with militarism, imperialism and racism. 127 A hostility to all religion was the central theme in Marxism-Leninism. 128 Some of its unsavoury aspects were curtailment of individual freedom and excessive or centralised state control. In a recent article entitled, ‘Collapse of a World View’. Ashish Nandy makes a good analysis of the recent events in China. He writes, “The tragedy of China cannot be explained away as only an expression of the blood thirstyness of its rulers. It symbolises the failure of a World- View” .129 No wonder, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky declared that socialism and communism are a deadly prelude to atheism and materialism. The American liberalism was reflected in a rugged individualism.130 It emphasised freedom but classical Economics and Social Darvinism reduced liberalism to a self-seeking, self-serving and highly profit—oriented competitive individualism, in which strong people dispossess and destroy the weak. While people are still arguing over the value and validity of these ideologies, there is no denying the fact that all of them have failed to meet the need and the challenge of the times. Growing international tensions, escalation in the arms race and the two world wars have brought nothing but frustration and disillusionment in the minds of people. An internationally known political scientist, Rajni Kothari, says that ‘there is a moral vacuum all over, arising out of the decline of all visions’.131 He believes that the phenomenon of religious upsurge, seen in the recent years, is a part of the world wide process of liberation from the shackles of modernity and secularism. He adds, “ It is not surprising at all that in large parts of the world, including our own, there is this fundamentalist revival or revolt against modernity. In some ways this is a search for a more authentic identity than is provided by the homogenising gospel of modernity” .132 He adds that ‘India’s distinctive role lies first in working out its own transition towards a post-modern, post­secular social order, the second in providing clues to the rest of

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42

the world in dealing with their own crises’.133 The secularism, which is unconcerned about, if not actually hostile to Dharma, has shaken the moral foundations of our society.

Secularisation has posed even a bigger threat to the religious identity and future of small communities like the Sikhs. It has been looked upon as a subtle weapon to destroy all dissent. While the majority community, by virtue of its numerical superio­rity, can imbibe its religious symbols in the day-to-day functioning of the state, the religious aspirations of the minorities are sought to be crushed in the name of secularisation. Here it will not be out of place to record the views expressed by representatives of the Christian Churches at their world meets and conferences. The American view was that there are three realities : Christianity, other religions and secularism, and that these three realities can be either allies or enemies. It was argued that Christians had to choose whether they were to ally themselves with the other religions against secularism. The Americans, especially the Boston personalities, who were leading the debate at that -time took the view that secualarism is a common danger for all religions and, therefore, there must be an alliance of all religions to fight secularism. - European theologians particularly Barth, Brunner and Kramer, took a totally different view.- They maintained that secularization, not secularism, is the primary process. It is a process in which some of th e values of Christian faith have been put into a secular framework, bringing about a powerful force, which is destroying all old ideas. Hence seculariza­tion is an aliy, because it will destroy Hinduism, Islam and other forms of what they considered to be superstitition. So we should ally oursel ves with secularization and see it as the work of God’. That was Bonhoffer’s, Barth’s and Kramer’s point of view. That is why at the World Council of Churches it was almost impossible to begin any kind of dialogue.

Man, in his search for utopia, has not yet invented a form of political machinery which the ingenuity of the devil would, not find a way of exploiting for evil ends. But in a world, ridden by materialism and plagued by proverty, social injustice and racial

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discrimination, and oppression, religion and morals can still play an important role in bringing humanity into a greater experience of love, freedom, peace and justice.

It has been proved beyond doubt that politics, without religious and moral backing, is pure opportunism. Likewise, religion without socio-political responsibility, is simple negativism. But the three elements, politics, religion and morality, must be kept in proper relationship and delicate balance. Self-realisation being the aim of human life, all human activities must have a moral base. Some of the hindrances in the way of social salvation are exploita­tion, discord and injustice and ail these are political in nature. Without the moral basis supplied by religion, man cannot come out of this malaise. Human happiness depends on full opportunity for the mental, moral and spiritual growth of the individual, in a healthy socio-political environment.

The Gurus iegarded it as their moral duty to fight not only social injustice but also political oppression. They organised their followers to achieve the ethical ideals of human freedom and equality. Their fight for religious and political freedom is a unique phenomenon in the history of India. They placed the Sikhs in the vanguard of a socio-political revolution—a revolution which captured the imagination of the people all over the country.

In the vision of the Sikh Gurus, a sane human society is essentially a plural one, in which every one is afforded the opportu­nity to work out his genius to his fullest possibilities and poten­tialities, without any interference by any outside authority. The role of a state in enforcing a particular faith on the people is viola­tive of man’s inherent desire for freedom. In Sikhism, there is no corpus of civil and political laws of divine sanction. Nor do the Sikhs have an ordained priestly class, who can rule in accordance with the laws of divine origin or sanction.

Throughout Guru Granth Sahib, a Sikh is conceived of as an individual, passionately devoted to freedom, justice and Dharma. His Dharma is not confined or limited in its operation within a narrow sphere. It is universal, the echo of which is heard in the

R E L IG IO N A N D P O L IT IC S — T H E SIK H PER SPEC TIV E 43

44 R e s e a r c h e s i n s i k h r e l i g i o n A n d h i s t o r y

daily Sikh prayer : ‘May God bless the entire humanity (Sarbat da hhala)\ Sikhism is thus committed to the brotherhood of man. its basic theme is that the inward and the outward, religion and politics are inextricably interwoven. Thus, it stresses that the external order must be preserved by moral and ethical imperatives, and by abiding values that constitute ‘Dharma’. Sikhism, inspired by the integrated perception of the Gurus, can usher in a new era of hope for mankind, confronted with manifold challenges, the biggest of them being the prospect of nuclear annihilation.

It is the faith of the Sikh Gurus that religion and all aspects of social life, including economic and political, cannot be separated. In fact, it is the lesson of Sikh history that the separation of religion and politics will not only mean their enervation and atrophy but also lead to stark materialism, individualism and chaos in the social life of man. The history of the Sikh struggle, from the times of the Gurus to-date, gives us the clear lesson that the combination of both aspects of life is not only most fruitful but also essential.

References

1. Iqbal, Muhammad; Reconstruction o f Religious Thought in Islam (London, 1934), pp. 155 and 166.

2. “Fra tfe ?ra sravfe 11 Fra §a Fra warra 11 Fra Ha Eras Hag girara 11

FfH’f Heft 3JSdH HH UTHHTiU I I •••

fed TT3I HH oft 3 3331 H3 W feiH ? TH II— Guru Granth, p. 463.

R E L IG IO N A N D P O L IT IC S — TH E S IK H PER SPEC TIV E 45

3. HT<£H tTSH I I—Guru Granth, p. 751;

Uoth tnar3t w & m fM ijuhjtht i i

—Guru Granth, p. 785;H?> ZR £THaTH c5TH I I

—Guru Granth, p. 916; s ro r s w h^I mf3»fT HHTa f a f 11

—Guru Granth, p. 1095.

4. “You wear necklaces, put sacrificial marks on your foreheads, carry two dhotis, and put towels on your heads.If you know God’s designs, you would know that yours is verily a vain religion.’’

—Macauliffe, M.A. ;The Sikh Religion, Vol. I, (Delhi, 1963), p. 237 ;

“The Qazi telleth lies and eateth filth, The Brahmin taketh life and then batheth. The ignorant jogi knoweth not the way of union with God - The whole three ruin the world.”

Macauliffe, M.A. ; Ibid., p. 338;

“The sense of high and low, and of caste and colour; such are the illusions created in man.”Guru Granth, p. 1243, trans. by Gopal Singh, Vol. IV,

p. 1188.

5. Jagjit Singh; The Sikh Revolution (Chandigarh, 1981), pp. 136-38.

6. Daljeet Singh; Sikhism - A Comparative Study o f its Theology and Mysticism (New Delhi, 1979), pp. 194-97.

7. Ibid., p. 183.

8. MTU Wiftg I IOTT lOTfH f s t I I

Guru Granth, p. 463.

9. MTO off MHITO oT >n§- HcS fcTOM BTH BhtfT I IGuru Granth, p. 940;

mbto ............ . i ife? 3fe g g Hag to HHTfg sgpfse1, i i

Guru Granth, pp. 1035-36.

10. w u w m crfe wmIb w t o 11

46 RESEARCH ES I n SIK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

oT Hfe Mi&BM TO I I

Guru Granth, p. 788;

Guru Granth, p. 294.

1 1. Bid iSB JHM orfe BBdf- fe w 'tP3T 3 3 3 h t I IGuru Granth, p. 612;

12. TOW MBTO W iU <?fH BMW WU BFI IIw fu MBV w fe ie 3 fodTO ufcl 33ft I I

Guru Granth, p. 514; 3 b fw fe f3*3 tro w s oT0"?t m m mtob i i

Guru Granth, p. 937.

13. 5 HB'T filBT B 3 H3T HTO I 1 B TO* TOU B Hgt BJBt I I g H3T 3W HBBi 3p3f HT g f B3T o r ^ tf lf I I

Guru Granth, p. 103.

14. Dasgupta, S. ; A History o f Indian Philosophy (Delhi, 1975), p. 17-18.

15. TOUH HUT z \S TOT TOT TOr ^ TBT3 I IGuru Granth, p. 660.

T O M T O # T O t U i'M M fe ? T O M T? T O I IGwrw Granth, p. 263-64.

16. TO yfe TO fe'doPH offd orfg 33 oTto feu1® 11fro ftT? BofH m 3 fBB ofTB TO TTOTT offB BTBrd‘ I I

Gt/rw Granth, p. 8. ;“Nirankar the formless commands the way of truth,He who made creation and rules it with delight.”Archer, John Clark ; The Sikhs (Princeton, 1966), p. 132.

t

17. rr itW uifH une nGuru Granth, pp. 263-64;

MTO feor y?> uTfe§ ^ ?vor »r?7R i i' Guru Granth, p. 830.

18. Gwrw Granth, p. 1.

19. hu o d§ §y ?> or* i 3 ; hrh otzjj oth} n ferf ‘Rm? tTlfiR HT< II|U <5 HVW RTB ?R 33} H§ MTOTt* H Rig IIa ifs TUT?) RH 3Hfu 3 3 h© Rfg wQ TTUoPg ||?U?> #y MRUU H HR HRH II

Gz/rw Granth, pp. 945-46.20. Translation of v4se/ Ragni (Nanak from Guru Granth).

Cunnigham, J.D.; History of' the Sikhs (Delhi, 1966), p. 334.

21. “Touch not the feet of those, Who call themselves gurus and pirs, and go about begging.They who eat the fruit of their own labour and share it with others are the people, Nanak, who have found the right way. Var Sarang, Translation, Teja Singh; Essays In Sikhism (Lahore, 1944), p. 24.

22. “There can be no love of God without active service.” Japji, Translation, Teja Singh, Ibid., p. 20.

23. RTR R § offd TH H3 HkJ fTURT ?R%. IIGuru Granth, p. 878;

H H W y£T€»{ US’W yT£f€*L f e i u l HRfT II.Guru Granth, p. 522.

24. “ It is by woman, the condemned one, that we are conceived, and from her we are born; it is with her that we are betrothed

and married.It is woman we befriend, and she who keeps the race going; When one woman dies, another is sought for; it is with her

that we get established in society.Why should we call her inferior who gives birth to great

men?”

Translation by Teja Singh; op. cit., p. 65.

RELIGION AND POLITICS—THE SIKH PERSPECTIVE 47

A as-di-Var

48 RESEARCH ES IN SIK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

25. Ibid., p. 24.26. ?? B »refu SBB II

Guru Granth, p. 962.

27. fefa oTHr8t >tf II 3* ITHt M IIGuru Granth, p. 26.

28. “Truth is higher than everything, but higher still is true living.”

Sri Rag, Translation, Teja Singh; op. cit., p. 23.

29. “ Indian fatalism, whether the root or the foliage of Hinduism is plainly an essential part of the growth. The scriptural injunc­tions to pursue the Dharma of one’s caste and condition uncomplainingly, to cultivate the capacity to act without desire, the interpretation of life as a necessary trial with the verdict contained in a subsequent incarnation, all make of indifference the ultimate Hindu virtue. The whole system of caste nourishes resignation.”Segal, Ronald; The Crisis o f India (Bombay, 1968), p. 126.

30, UHfeMT T O fW UcSfBM1 3# HSTiB IGuru Granth p. 522.

31, >HTfU HfB afbtf1 m RfB II

oTT'fe»r U'fBHBB ufcf MT-flT H3T§ IIGuru Granth p. 294;

fBR feg Ufa tftf H3T§ II

TPKot fafaw U3 HJTO f t#Guru Granth, p. 1059; IIGuru Granth, p. 1095.

32. Gupta, H.R.; The Sikh Gurus, Vol. I (Delhi, 1989), p. 102.33. Teja Singh, op. cit., p. 20.34. Guru Granth, p. 74.

35. Ray, Niharranjan; The Sikh Gurus and The Sikh Society (Patiala, 1970), p. 68.

36. Guru Granth, pp 360, 417-18.

37. Bannerjee, Indubhushan; Evolution o f The Khalsa, Vol. I (Calcutta, 1963), p. 163.

49

38. Macauliffe, M.A.; op. cit., Vol. VI, p. 141.39. Guru Granth, pp. 1289-90.

40. Guru Grctnth, pp. 360, 417 and 722.41. Ray, Niharranjan; op. cit., p. 61.42. Guru Granth, p. 1412.43. Daljeet Singh; op cit., p. 268.44. Iqbal, Muhammad; Bange-i-Dara.45. Archer, John Clark; op. cit., p. 61.46. Bannerjee, Tndubhushan; op. cit., Vol. I, p. 162.47. “ The compilation of the Granth was a process at once indica­

tive in itself of what Sikhism was to be. Arjan, the compiler, was an observant, keen and sound critic of all about him, and the trend of practicahtv and realism in his movement was

■1- proving stronger than tendencies toward the mystical and negative.”Archer, John Clark; op. cit., p. 150.

48. Narang, G. C.; Transformation o f Sikhism (Lahore, 1946), p.74. '

49. Archer, John Clark; op. cit., p. 59.50. “A situation was arising in which a conflict between the

fore s of the state and those of Sikhism w'as becoming more or less inevitable. The state could not but regard the Sikh organisation as one of immense possibilities which might at one lime becom-' a rallying point of disaffection.”Banmrjee, Tndubhushan; op. cit., p. 266.

51. Da1jeet Singh; op. cit., p. 271.52. Macau1 iffe, M. A.; op. cit., Vol. ITT, p. 99;

Archer, John Clark; op. cit. p. 171.53. A ’-chei,.John Clark; Ibid.54. Bamvrjee, Tndubhushan; op. cit., Vol. T, p. 266.55. Sarkar, J. N.; A short History o f Aurangzcb

(Calcutta, 1928), p. 156. .

RLLIGION AND POLITICS—THE SIKH PERSPECTIVE

50 RESEARCH ES IN S IK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

56. Gupta, H. R.; op. cit., Vol. I, p. 163.57. “Such steps amounted to the declaration of a parallel govern­

ment and marked an open change in the external character of movement.”Jagjit Singh; The Sikh Revolution (Chandigarh, 1981), p. 266.

58. Timur Shah, Ahmad Shah Abdali’s son, quoted by Bannerjee, A.C.; Journal o f Sikh Studies Vol. HI, No. 1 (Amritsar, February 1976), p. 61.

59. Gupta, H. R.; op. cit., Vol. I, p. 215.60. Bannerjee, I. B.; op. cit., Vol. II, p. 159.61. Macauliffe, M. A.; op cit., Vol. V, pp. 312-13.62. Pannikar, K.M.; Hindu Society at Cross Roads (Bombay, 1955),

p. 18.63. In order to emphasize the complete independence and sep­

arateness of the Sikh ideology, Guru Gobind Singh introduced the Nash doctrine, involving Kirtnash, Kulnash, Dharamnash and Karamnash i. e. forsaking of all those beliefs, prejudices and traditions that stood in the way of the sole worship of the Supreme Being.For details see :Cunningham, J. D.; op cit. p. 64;Bannerjee, I.B; op. cit.. ,Vol. II, p. 116;Also Daljeet Singh; op. cit., pp. 285-86.

64. Cunningham, J. D.; op. cit., p. 60.65. Ibid., p. 80.

66. Ganda Singh (ed.); Early European Accounts o f the Sikhs (New Delhi, 1974), p. 188. ^

67 Jagjit Singh; op. cit., pp. 124, 143 and 145.68. Ganda Singh; Banda Singh Bahadur (Patiala, 1974), p. 242;

Punjab Census Report, 1868, (77? Punjab Past and Presmt, October 1974), p. 347.

69. Gupta, Hari Ram; History o f the Sikhs, Vol. II (Delhi, 1978), p. 38.

R E M G IO N A N D P O L IT IC S — T H E SIK H PER SPEC TIV E 51

70. Ibid., p. 115.

71. Archer, John Clark; op. cit.y p. 232.

72. Madanjit Kaur; The Harimandir, published in Fauja Singh (ed.); The City o f Amritsar (New Delhi, 1978), p. 32.

73. Archer, John Clark; op. cit., p. 12.

74. Jangnamah quoted by Gupta, Hari Ram; History o f the Sikhs, Vol. II (Delhi, 1978), p. 171.

75. Ibid.

76. Bhangu, Rattan Singh; Prachin Panth Parkash (ed.) by Veer Singh, Bhai; (Amritsar, 1962), pp. 226-27.

77. Guru Granth, p. 85.

78. Clark, Robert; Thirty years o f Missionary Work in Punjab and Sindh (Lahore, 1883), pp. 3, 4, 44 and 45; Letters o f Queen Victoria 1837-1861, Vol. Ill (London, 1908), pp. 68-69.

79. Teja Singh; op. cit., pp. 179-80.

80. These figures are based on the details of the punishments awarded by the British to the Ghadrities, given by Jagjit Singh, in Ghadr Party Lehr (Delhi, 1970), pp. 164-170;Puri, Rajinder; Rediscovery o f India (New Delhi, 1989), p. 107.

81. MohhuLr Singh; The Akali Movement (Delhi, 1978), p. 13782. Mohinder Singn; Ibid., p. 73;

Puri, Rajinder; op. cit., p. 117;Teja Singh; op cit., p. 197.

83. Gopal, S. ; Selected Works o f Jawaharlal Nehru, Vol. I (Delhi, 1972), pp. 369-86.

84. Duggal, Devinder Singh ; The Truth About The Sikhs (Amritsar, n.d,), p. 14.

85. Confidential Papers o f Akali Movement, p. 11.

86. Mohinder Singh ; op. cit., p. 140.87. Ibid., p. 139.

52 RESF ARCH ES IN S IK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

88. Duggal, Devinder Singh ; op. cit., p. 16.

The author has taken these figures from Maulana Azad; Puri, Rajindei; op cit., p. 121;Satindra Singh; Khalistcm, An Academic Analysis (New Delhi, 1982), p. 64;Bharat Mukti Morcha, Punjab; The Sikh Case (Chandigarh, 1989), p. 1.

89. Ibid., Duggal, Furi, Satinder Singh and Bharat Mukti Morcha.

90. Nayar, Baldev Raj; Minority Politics in the Punjab (Princeton, 1966), pp. 145-46 ;Dhillon, Gurdarshan Singh ; Evolution o f The Demand For a Sikh Homeland, a paper published in The Indian Journal o f Political Science, Vol. XXXV, October^December 1974, No. 4, p. 365.

91. Young India, Bombay March 19, 1931; Puri, Rajinder; op. cit.,p. 122.

92. Young India, Bombay, March 19, 1931.93. The Statesman, Calcutta, July 7, 1946;

Puri, Rajinder; op. cit., p. 122.94. Duggal, Devinder Singh; op. cit., pp. 20-21 ;, The Council of Sikh Affairs ; The Anguish o f Punjab (Chandi­

garh n.d.), p. 4.95. Baldev Singh is said to have discussed the pros and cons of this

confidential offer with Jawahar Lai Nehru and in deference to the sentiments of the latter, declined to stay back and came to India after releasing the following message to the Press, “The Sikhs have no demands to make on the British except the

' demand that they should quit India. Whatever political rights and aspirations the Sikhs have, they shall have them satisfied through the goodwill of the Congress and the majority community.”

Kapur Singh; Some Documents on the Demand for the Sikh Homeland (Chandigarh, 1969), pp. 30-31. ; . V.; V . .

96. “The only difference between the Congress and the Hindu Maha Sabha is that the latter is crude in its utterances and brutal in its actions while the Congress is politic and polite. Apart from this fact, there is no other difference between the Congress and the Hindu Maha Sabha.”Ambedkar, B.R.; Pakistan or The Partition o f India (Bombay, 1946), pp. 30 and 90;Shakir, Moir; Khilafat to Partition (New Delhi, 1970), p. 163.

97. The Concil of Sikh Affairs, Chandigarh;The Anguish o f Punjab-11-Sikhs Demand Justice (Chandigarh, n.d.) p. 25.

98. Transfer o f Power, Vol. IX, pp. 1013-14;Seervai, H.M.; Partition o f India : Legend And Reality (Bombay, 1989), p. 108;Akbar, M.J. ; Nehru The Making o f India (London, 1988), p. 275. : , ■.

99. The Council of Sikh Affairs ; op. cit., p. 5.

100. Duggal, Devinder Singh ; op. cit., p. 30.

101. Tully, Mark and Jacob, Satish ; op: cit.,- p. 51. ~

102. The Tribune, October 1 and 10, 1955 "; Government of India ;Reports o f the States Reorganisation Commission (1955), pp. 153-56. -

103. The Tirbune, October 10, 1955; Govt, of India; Ibid.104. Ash ok Mehta, Chairman of the Parja Socialist Party, expressed

his deep anguish at the Government’s reluctance to create a Punjabi speaking State, demanded on the basic linguistic principle. Participating on the debate on the States Reorganis­ation Bill, he observed : “ It is amazing to find that while a great minority community is sought to be integrated, another great community, the majority community is not prepared even in a region to accept the position of a minority. How are we going to integrate a minority on the body politic of our

R e l i g i o n a n d p o l i t i c s — t h e s i k h p e r s p e c t i v e -53

54 R ESBA R C H BS IN S IK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

country, If every where in every condition, in every position, in every state, in every circumstances, the majority community insists upon being majority.”The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ; Punjabi Suba Demand (Amritsar, 1966), p. 17;Gandhi, Indira; My Truth (New Delhi, 1981), p. 177-18.

105. Duggal, Devinder Singh: op. cit., p. 29.

106. The Tribune, September 9 and 10, 1965; S.G.P.C.; Punjabi Suba Demand (Amritsar, 1966), P. 16.

107. “The Congress found itself in a dilemma. To concede theAkali demand would mean abandoning the position to which it was firmly committed and letting down its Hindu supporters in the Punjabi Suba.” Gandhi, Indira; op. cit., p. 117See also Hukam Singh’s article in The Indian Express, April, 11, 1983.

108. Government of India; The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 (Delhi, 1967);The Tribune, June 9, 1966;Kapur Singh; Betrayal o f the Sikhs (Delhi, 1966), pp. 3-4, 11, 12 and 13.

109. The Council of Sikh Affairs, Chandigarh; op. cit., p. 25.

110. The Indian Express, June 26, 1925;The Times o f India, June 26, 1975;The Tribune, July 10, 1975.

111. “This would make the Akali protest, which operated from the Gurdawaras, the most sustained opposition to the Emer­gency offered anywhere in India.”Jeffery, Robin; What's Happening in India (London, 1986),p. 116

112. Tully, Mark and Jacob, Satish; op. cit., p. 75.113. The Tribune, July 10, 1975;

Tully, Mark and Jacob, Satish, op. cit., pp. 74-75;Jeffery, Robin; op. cit., p. 116.

114 Gulshan, Dhanna Singh; Aj Da Punjab Te Sikh Rajniti (Rampura Phul, n.d.), p. 280.

115. Jeffery, Robin: op. cit., p. 198.

116. Dhillon, G.S.; Roots o f the Current Punjab Crisis (1966-1982) in The Journal o f Sikh Studies, Vol. XIV, No. 1, February 1987, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, p. 89.

117. Jully, Mark and Jacob, Satish; op. cit., pp. 60-62, 121; Bhattacharjee, Ajit; Towards an Impersonal Polity, The Indian Express, June 14, 1983;The Council of Sikh Affairs, Chandigarh; op. cit., p. 7.

118. Tully, Mark and Jacob, Satish; op. cit., pp. 86-87;Aurora, J.S., Khushwant Singh, Arun Shouie et. al.,; The Punjab Story (Delhi, 1984), p. 98; The Illustrated Weekly o f India, Bombay, April 10, 1983.

119. Dharam, S.S.; The Only Option For Sikhs (no place of publication mentioned, 1984), p. 23; Gupta; Shekhar and Thukral, Gobind; Punjab Anguish and Anger in India Today, Delhi, March 15, 1984, pp. 20-21.

120. Ibid.; Gupta, Shekher; I*he Spread o f Terrorism, in India Today, Delhi, April 30, 1984.

121. The Guardian, London, June 8, 1984.122. Tully, Mark and Jacob, Satish; op. cit., p. 91.123. Akbar, M.J.; India The Siege Within (London, 1985), p. 199124. The Guardian, London, June 8, 1984.125. Narayanan, V N.; An Alliance o f Non-Parties in The Tribune,

June 21, 1989.126. Thiselton, C. Anthony; An Age o f Anxiety in Dowley, Tim

(ed.) Eerdman’s Handbook to the History o f Christianity (Michigan, 1987), p. 601.

127. Pierad, Richard; An Age o f Ideology Ibid., pp. 570-71.128. Ibid.

R e l i g i o n And p o l i t i c s — t h e s i k h p e r s p e c t i v e 55

56 RESEARCHES in such religion and history - ; "

129. Nandy, Ashish; Collpase o f a World View in The Indian Express, July 29, 1989.

130. Piered, Richard; op. cit., pp. 570-71. ^

131. Kothari, Rajni; Savaraj In Ideas : Comments and Communi­cation in Barlingay, S S. and Rajdendra Prasad (ed.); Indian Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. XI. No. 4, October-December 1984, p. 567.

132. Ibid., p. 568.

133. Ibid.

-9

J

DARBAR SAHIB : THE FOCAL POINT OF THE SIKH FAITH

Sikh shrines called Gurdwaras or Dharmsals1 have p’ayed a very significant role in shaping and governing the life of the Sikhs and the course of their institutions, ethos and tradition. The first few Dharmsals were established by Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, as centres of a new society and a new movement. More Dharmsals and Gurdwaras were added by the other Gurus who succeeded him, and later on by the Sikhs. These have been a source of strength and inspiration to the Sikh community. They have served as repositories of the Sikh religion and helped in maintaining the corporate life of the community. Guru Nanak gave concrete expression to his ideas of unity* equality and fraternity by holding at these centres community prayers and community langars. In the words of Bhai Gurdas, “ Dharmsal is Mansarovctr and the Sikhs flock there like swans.”2 The great message of emancipation from invidious distinctions and caste prejudices was instilled into the,,hearts of the people, through the institutions of Sangat and Pangat, originally held at these centres.

The Gurdwaras not only helped to spread the gospel of the ^ Gurus but also served as meeting places for discussion of general

problems concerning the welfare of the Sikh Panth and as training grounds of social service, public deliberation and other kinds of practical religion as well.5 A great part of the Sikh history is built around these Guidwaras. in the daily Sikh prayer an elo­quent reference is made to the brave heroes who suffered martyr­dom for the sake of Gurdwaras.4 “The freedom of their temples has always been the measure of the Sikhs’ freedom or prosperity.”5

t? Keeping in view' the religio-political developments and thegrowing need of the organisation of the Sikh Sangats, the fourth and the fifth Gurus built Harmandar, the central shrine, which served as the heart of the Sikh faith and played a crucial role in

5 7

:>8 RESEARCHES IN S IK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

1he consolidation of the Panth. Guru Arjan Dev also compiled Guru Granth, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs, consisting of the hymns of the Gurus and other saints. “There was to be one Book as the scripture and one place-the Golden Temple-to be the rendezvous for the organised religion.”6 Guru Arjan Dev further developed Sikhism by giving it more unity and organisation.

Written in Gurmukhi script, the Guru Granth became the nucleus of Sikh way of life and of all religious observances. The Bani, containing spiritual knowledge, became the object of the highest reverence for the Sikhs, as well as for the Gurus themselves. The word of the Guru is equated with the Guru himself. ‘The Bani is the Guru and the Guru the Bani?1 sang Guru Ram Das. On August 16, 1604 A.D. the fifth Guru himself ceremonially installed the sacred volume in the centre of the inner sanctorium in the newly built Harmandai at Amritsar.8 The high level of sanctity and reverence accorded to the Harmandar could not have been possible without the Guru Granth enshrined in it.

Haramandar Sahib, which is also called Darbar Sahib, is an integrated complex, crystallising the principle of equality and unity espoused by the Panth. It has served as the principal place of inspiration, direction and the rallying centre of the Sikhs. It has been the nucleus of the religious and political activities of the Sikhs, over the centuries. Around it are interwined the hallowed memo­ries of their Gurus, saints and martyrs, their hopes and fears, their songs and tales of heroism, their struggles and triumphs. It re­minds them of their great heritage, eventful history and tradition and of so many legends and miracles that have become attached to it through the centuries. It has been to the Sikhs a symbol of their heroic past, running into the turbulent present and un­folding into the future. The City and the Temple reflect many aspects of Sikhism, after it became a separate movement.9

It is a fact that Sikhism in the course of its history and development has banked on Gurdwaras as symbols of Panthic unity. The Sikh doctrines envisage that the Granth Sahib be re­garded as the spiritual guide and the Khalsa as the corporal symbol

59

of the Guru. Harmandar Sahib and the other Gurdwaras vindi­cate this doctrinal position of the Khalsa. Being the major Sikh shrine, the Harmandar Sahib complex has nurtured and sustained the collective strength of the Khalsa Sangat, a corporate body of the Sikhs, invested with Guruship. Bhai Gurdas says that “ the Guru and the Sikh are the same as one light mingles with the other.”10

D A R B A R SA H IB : T H B FO C A L F O IN T O F TH E S IK H F A IT H

Darbar Sahib stands as a living monument of the spiritual yearnings and the socio-political objectives that have shaped the dynamic Sikh people and animated them during the last few cen uries. All Sikh movements, whether religious or political, which have attained any substantial measure of success, have been planned, launched and spearheaded from here. It has been the nerve- centre of Sikh politics. Forces emanating from here have caused not just ripples but great tides in the political ocean of this region.

The Sikhs have never compromised their right to assemble at the Golden Temple complex in complete freedom. In the recent years, a number of controversies have come to be raised regarding the theo-political status of Darbar Sahib and by analogy of the other Sikh places of worship. It has been pointed out that the use of these places of worship for secular, political or ‘extra-religious activities’ is not justified and that the blending of politics and religion is irrelevant in the contemporary political set up. This has come as a big challenge to the established Sikh theology, which is grounded in the postulates of religion, as propounded by Sikh Gurus.

The socio-political relevance of the Sikh faith must be under­stood in the context of the Sikh tradition based on the teachings of Guru Nanak, and other nine Gurus of the Sikhs. The Indian reli­gious tradition laid stress on ascetic or yogic practices as the means of attaining salvation or spiritual bliss. The Sikh view is diametrically opposed to the traditional one. Guru Nanak did not permit any dichotomy between the spiritual and the empirical life of man. His view of religion was multi-dimensional and compre­hensive, embracing all aspects of human life—spiritual, moral,

social, economic and political. He laid stress on leading the life of a householder, whose spiritual salvation was linked with his social salvation.11 Guru Nank’s ideology was thus bound to give birth to such an institution as Darbar Sahib.

In the theology of Guru Nanak, life is one whole and cannot be arbitrarily compartmentalised into separate religious, social or political spheres. His is a unitary and integral view of life.12 As such, the ideal man of Guru Nank’s conception must strive for progress in all spheres-religious, moral and social. Alongwith spiritual progress he must also accept social responsibiliy tor the fulfilment of collective well-being and the service of humanity. In fact, service of one’s fellow beings is indispensable for man’s moral and spiritual growth. Guru Nanak’s faith is life-affirming which views this universe not as an illusion {Maya), but as real and meaningful.13 Salvation cannot be attained through dissociation or withdrawal from society. A religious man cannot shut himself away and shun his social obligations. Any act of injustice or abuse of power calls for reaction or censure from the religious man. He cannot be a silent spectator to tyranny or oppression. Sikhism, therefore, enjoins that a religious life must be lived and practised in the socio-political context.14 Both social and political particip­ation is implicit in the Sikh way of life.

Guru Nanak was a fearless man of God, with broad universal sympathies. In the days when a word dropping from the lips of the ruler was the law of the land and there was nothing to stop him from passing a death sentence against any one, even an innocent man, the Sikh Guru alone had the courage to react strongly against the political oppression of the contemporary rulers. He pointed out that the rulers of Kalyug behaved like butchers, that righteousness had taken to wings and flown away and that in the dark night of falsehood the moon of truth was not to be seen.15

In the Sikh theology the word Dharma signifies righteousness and Dharam Yudh stands for a struggle for righteousness. Generation after generation of Sikhs have repeated the words Dharam Ki Jaikar (Victory of Righteousness) in their daily

6 0 RESF ARCH ES IN S IK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

prayer. The motivation of the Sikh Gurus in their resistance against the Mughal Government was neither personal power nor plunder but the preservation of justice and rihgteousness. Such a view is fully borne out by all the Ten Masters. In Bachittar Natak, Guru Gobind Singh takes a very broad and comprehesive view of Dharma:—

i

“The divine Guru sent me for religion’s sake :On this account 1 have come into the world..... .Extend the faith everywhere;Seize and destroy the evil and the sinful,Understand this, Ye holy men, in your souls.I assumed birth for the purpose of spreading the faith, saving the saints, and extirpating all tyrants..All the first incarnations, caused men to repeat theii names,They killed no one who had offended against God,And they struck out no path of real religion.”16Obviously Dharma here stands for truth which includes all

moral and spiritual values, which is a much higher and broader view than is generally associated with it. The victory of man in righteous action comes to be seen as the victory of the Divine (Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh). The Sikh Gurus sacrificed their lives to uphold certain fundamental and abiding values of human life. Sikhism is a revealed religion and the Bani comprises the commands of God. The lives of the Gurus have been lived in furtherance of that spiritual thesis, involving the creation of a Panth that was anti-caste and anti-class. It is noteworthy that the Gurus’ sacrifices were for the freedom of conscience and belief and even for the convictions of a people belonging to a faith other than their own.17 Such a Dharma is permanent, unalterable and valid for all times. It affects all aspects of human life and is comprehensive in its effects.

A distinguishing feature of the structure of Harmandar is that unlike the Hindu temples which usually.have only one gate, it is made open on all the four sides, indicating open entry to all,

darbar sahib : THE focal point o f TH E S IK H F A IT H 6 1

62 RESFARCHES IN SIK H R E L IG IO N A N D H ISTO R Y

a privilege which was denied in the Hindu temples. Archer believes that the name Harmandar was deliberately chosen to signify ‘everybody’s temple’ (the word ‘Har’ meant harek).lS In the words of Bhai Gurdas, “All are welcome without any distinction of caste.”19 The location of Harmandar in the centre of the pool, symbolises the synthesis of Nirgun and Sargrn, the spiiitual and temporal realms of human existence.

Harmandar became the chief centre of Sikh inspiration and carried the message of Sikhism far and wide. During the days of their persecution a visit to the Temple exercised an invigorating influence in their suffering hearts. “They regarded a dip in the holy tank of Amritsar as an essential preliminary to all their undertakings.”20 Throughout the entire span of its eventful history the Temple has been the centre of free thought and a cradle of mar­tyrs who made supreme sacrifices to defend its sanctity. Realising the significance of the Temple as the heart and soul of the Sikh faith, the invaders made it the target of their attacks in order to liquidate the Sikhs. Thrice destroyed and thrice rebuilt in the 18th century,21 the Harmandar Sahib stands as a symbol of the daunt­less spirit of the Khalsa. In the words ol Rattan Singh Bhangu, “no better death is conceivable for a Sikh than that which over­takes him while defending his faith at this centre of Sikhism”22

The Akal Takhat (the throne of the Immorial), from where the religious edicts called Hukcimnamas are issued to the Sikh community, was built by the sixth master Guru Hargovind in 1609.23 It was here that the Guru used to receive his Sikhs and discuss with them important matters connected with the welfare of the community. It was here that the Guru set the torch ablaze and donned two swords of Meeri and Peeri, symbolising the double sovereignty, one in the secular and the other in the religious sphere. This act of the Guru crystallised the Sikh ideology and its great potential for the future. It was here that the weak and the oppressed came, from far and near, to seek help against tyranny and oppression. Once a Brahmin of Kasur came and laid his complaint before the assembled Khalsa that his bride had been

darbar sahib : the focal point of THE SIKH faith 63

forcibly taken away from him by the local Nawab. The Sikhs stood up and vowed that they would not take rest until they had restored the Brahmin’s wife to him. And they did so.24

It was here that the Sikhs assembled on the Diwali of 1745 and started the practice of Gurmatta25 which gave direction to the activities of the community. It was here that they met in November 1760 and declared themselves as! the Sarbat Khalsa, a theo-political body that retains its validity till the present day. It was also here that maharaja Ranjit Singh was punished for his un-Sikh like conduct.26 The religious sanction and moral authority of the Khalsa kept the Sikh morale in the troublesome period of the 18th century. It was in the meetings of the Akal Takhat that the Sikhs drew up plans of military operations against the enemies of the Panth. These operations were more in the nature of measures of self-defence against a Government, than acts of aggression aga'nst others. Thus it became a seat of the ‘Sarbat Khalsa', a symbol of the Sikh struggle for freedom and the nucleus of a crusade against a malevolent rule. “ It was perhaps hoped that the per­formance of religious duties, and the awe inspired by so holy a a place, might cause selfishness to yield to a regard for general welfare.”27

The bi-annual meetings of the Sarbat Khalsa, on the occasion of Diwali and Baisakhi festivals, came to be held regularly at the Akal Takhat, where all important matters, bearing on the socio­religious and political problems of th : Panth were deliberafed upm and decided. The seats of Budha Dal and Taruna Dal into which the Sikhs were organised in the time of Nawab Zakaria Khan and the Dal Khalsa into which they all cann to b: consolidated in 1748 were located at Amritsar28. This indicates that Darbar Sahib continued to be the capital of the Sikhs. In view of the central role it was playing in the Sikh resistance to the Mughals and subsequently against the Afghan invaders that the enemy attached the maximum importance to the devastation of the Temple as a pre­requisite to the annihilation of the Panth. Being the headquarters of the Khalsa, it became the chief target of enemy attacks. The Sikhs, on their part, were fully cognizant of the gravity of the

64

enemy plans and made every possible sacrifice to defend their holiest of holy shrines.

Darbar Sahib, or for that matter all Gurdwaras bear a basic significance in relation to the Sikh doctrines and the crystallisation of Sikh traditions. The multi-dimensional structure of the Darbar Sahib fully vindicates the doctrinal position of the Khalsa. The buildings of the Harmandar and the Akal Takhat situated close to each other stand out as emblems of the integrated Sikh doctrine of Miri and P/77, a doctrine that represents the thesis of the Gurus. The peculiar socio-religious constitution of the Sikh community, as formulated by their Gurus requires that they shall conduct their affairs on a collective and impersonal basis with their Gurdwaras as the centres of their activities. As the tenth Master got rid ofp,the Massands, he bestowed his blessings on the Sangat and conferred upon it a unique status, giving a new orientation to t i e commu­nity. The strongly entrench d and well founded trad tions of Sangat and Gurmatta, persistent through the centuries, have made the Gurdwaras, the rallying centres of Sikh activities and of their theo-political deliberations. The significant and impor­tance of the Darbar Sahib m -1st be judged from this stand point. ‘The Guru called upon the Sikhs to be humble and dedicate their lives to th e service of the community.'2®

In the manner of his gieat father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, too, was a supreme embodiment of bo'h the spiritual and empirical life of man. His stcrific: fully ac:ords with the general tenor of evolving Sikh tradition of martyrdom for the cause of righteous­ness. The tenth Guru, Gobind Singh by sacrificing his life and that of his sons infused a new spirit of courage, strength and free­dom among his followers. The conferment of Guruship on the Khalsa by the tenth Guru marked a historic event of far-reaching consequences. Through the doctrine of Sant-Sipahi (Saint-Soldier) he gave full religious sanction to the call of the Khalsa to fight against tyranny and injustice. Thus this is the epitome of the thesis founded by Guiu Nanak.

The Akal Takhat, the beehive of the Sikhs,. continues to be

RESFARCH LS IN S!K H R H J G iO N A N D H I S T O V

darbar sahib : THE focal point OF THE SIKH FAITH 6 5

the official seat of authority and a venue of political and secular deliberations of the Panth. Throughout the last three centuries whether the Sikhs were leading a precarious existence as outlaws, or the Harmandar Sahib and its precincts were forcibly governed or destroyed by the state, it has un-questionably coninued to be the centre of the Sikh spiritual and temporal life. As in the past, so in the present, the Harmandar Sahib continues to be a source of inspiration to millions of Sikhs from all parts of the world.

It is significant to note that before independence the Congress leaders never questioned the Sikh doctrine o f inseparability of religion and politics. The Akali struggle for the reform and con­trol of the Sikh shrines had the sympathy of the Congress leader­ship. Nehru described it as ‘Sikh religious nationalism’,80 a term coined by him only. In 1925, when the Akalis won the final battle known as Chabian Da Morcha, against the British Government in the Gurdwara Reform Movement and the keys of the Toshakhana of the Darbar Sahib were handed over to the S.G.P.C. (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee), Mahatma Gandhi sent the following telegram to Baba Kharak Singh , ‘First battle for India’s Freedom won. Congratulations.”31

After independence, when the Akalis launched a Morcha f or the attainment of Punjabi Suba% they were accused of mixing poli­tics and religion. In 1975, when Akalis started the ‘Save Demo­cracy Morcha’ involving the arrest of over 40,000 Sikhs,8* the struggle was started and conducted from the precincts of the Dar­bar Sahib. This voice of their protest against the promulgation of the Emergency in the country won the common applause of the nation as a whole.

Conclusion

Our discussion reveals that the important point to understand about the Sikh institution of Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, is how and in what way it is fundamentally related to the religious thesis of Guru Nanak. Harmandar Sahib is not like a Hindu temple where an individual goes, performs the prescribed rituals of worship and

then returns to do his normal duties of secular life. In the reli­gious thesis of Guru Nanak, we find that the spiritual and the secular life of man stand closely linked and integrated. In retros­pect, it is clear that in pursuance of his spiritual thesis, Guru Nanak took five steps. At every place he visited, he organised his fo l- , lowers into a society, called Sangat. Second, he required his San- gats to meet frequently, or as often as possible, at an arranged place called Dharamsal, or the house of religion. Thus a Dharmsal was the local centre of his society to meet and understand what was the righteous path according to the Guru’s system. Simultaneously, he created the institution of Langar and Pangat, symbolising and effectively giving shape to his ideas of human equality and fraternity. Fourthly, he emphasized the importance of work and production, both by his taking up a peasants life himself and by organising a society of householders in which asceticism andt monasticism were actually taboo. The fifth step he took was the careful appointment of a successor, meaning thereby that organisa­tional and institutional works which he had started needed to be pursued and completed on the lines laid down by him. The Sikh religious centre has been called a Dharmsal, a house of religion or Gurdwara, the house of God. In the Sikh thesis, we find, life is a. spiritual venture and the world has to be the kingdom of God. In the Sikh system' Darbar Sahib is the capital centre of that kingdom. Its appearance and its growth during the time of the different Gurus and its present status as developed from the nu­cleus of local Sangats and Dharmsals created by Guru Nanak have to be seen and understood in that light.

6 6 R ESEARCH ES IN S IK H R E L IG IO N A N D H ISTO R Y

References

1. The word Dharamsal is the earlier nomenclature of the modern Gurdwara. Literally Dharamsal means a free lodge. It was established as a place to carry forward the mission of the

r Guru. In the present context it means a place of worship*

darbar sahib : THE focal point OF THE SIKH FAITH 6 7

where apart from being given free board and lodging, the ^ disciples go to seek religious inspiration.

Kahan Singh, Bhai; Mahan Kosh (Patiala, 1960), (Reprint), p. 496.

2 . “uuhhth 3 h^ hu 3 h aid fanBhai Gurdas; Var 9, Pauri 14.

3. Teja Singh; Essays In Sikhism (Lahore, 1944), p. 180.4. Teja Singh; The Sikh Prayer (Amritsar, 1968), p. 12.

>, 5. Teja Singh; Essays In Sikhism (Lahore, 1944), p. 176.

6. Ibid., p. 86.7. Macauliffe, M.A.; The Sikh Religion (New Delhi, 1963),

(Reprint), Vol. Ill, p. 13.8. Harbans Singh; Installation o f Holy Granth Sahib in the

Harmandar at Amritsar, in The City o f Amritsar (ed.) Fauja Singh (New Delhi, 1978), p. 40.

9. Arhcher, John Clark; The Sikhs (Princeton, 1946), p. 9.

10. “h aid net fw 3 331 3fe hh^ ”Bhai Gurdas; Var 13, Pauri I. -

11. Jagjit Singh; The Sikh Revolutioni (Chandigarh, 1981), p. 90.nr

12. Ibid13. Guru Granth Sahib, pp. 290, 1035-36.\A. Ibid., pp. 8, 15, 62, 684 and 1091-91.15. Ibid., pp. 360, 417-18.

16. “UH feu oPtT uaiu H *P§ I UUH UH aTUHd ItTU* HU* HH HUH fema I UHU Udl>H^ Uufd UgTd I THTUl oPU UdT UH TTc H I HHH #U HTU HU HcSH I HUH HH t u Td?> I t[HU HUH 3 flPUH l”

Macauliffe, M.A.; op. cit., Vol. V, pp. 300-301.17. Daljeet Singh; Sikhism (New Delhi, 1979), pp. 285-86.18. Archer; op. cit., p. 144.

6 8 RESEARCH ES IN SIK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

19. HrcJ UTUfRtf H3IHBhai Gurdas; Var 14, Pauri 2.

20. Gupta, Hari Ram; History o f the Sikhs (Delhi, 1978), (Revised), p. 63.

21. Madanjit Kaur; The Harimandir, in Fauja Singh (ed.); The City o f Amritsar (New Delhi, 1978). p. 32.

22. Bhangu, Rattan Singh; Parachin Panth Parkash (ed.), Bhai Vir Singh (Amritsar, 1962), p. 325.

23. Bhagat Singh; The Akal Takhat, published in Fauja Singh(ed.); The City o f Amritsar, (New Delhi, 1978), p. 52. *

24. Teja Singh; The Sikh Prayer (Amritsar, 1968), p. 20. Also Teja Singh, op. cit., p. 169.

25. Gupta, H.R.; Studies in later Mughal History o f the Punjab (Lahore, 1944), p. 21.

26. Bhagat Singh: op. cit., p. 57.27. Cunningham, J.D.; History o f the Sikhs, (Delhi, 1966)

(Reprint), p. 94.

28. Ibid., p. 85.

29. “ufus 3Td § fjftr UUt UT§ IJTO ra fe 6TU tlUHFra H^T W $” I

Bhai Gurdas, Var 9, Pauri 17.30. Attar Singh; Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and

Politicisation o f the Sikhs, a paper recently read at a confer­ence in Berkley (California, U.S.A.).

31. Mohinder Singh; The Akali Movement (Delhi, 1978), p. 47.32. Gulshan, Dhanna Singh; Aj Da Punjab Te Sikh Rajneeti

(Rampuraphul, n.d.), p. 280.Also Akbar, M.J.; India : The Siege within, (London, 1985) pp. 307-8.

SINGH SABHA MOVEMENT : A REVIVAL

Introductory

In recent years some writings have appeared, which seek to suggest that the Singh Sabha Movement was a reformist move­ment, making innovations in the Sikh thought and practices. Academically speaking, the method to determine whether a religious movement (Singh Sabha in this case) is reformist or revivalist is to study four aspects of it. The first aspect is the ideology of the original movement (Sikhism), and especially whether the movement under study created changes in that ideology or only invoked the original ideology of the system to bring about changes in the then existing practices. Second is the level of achievement in practices which the original movement (Sikh religion in this case), had made during its hey day and whether the leaders of the movement under study had invoked those achieve­ments and the tradition as a model to follow. Thirdly, what was the fall, if any, in the state of things in the life of the community that was sought to be changed and how did it measure with the earlier high mark of the tradition, i.e. what was the then state of affairs and practices that were sought to be changed. Fourthly, how does the change brought about by the leaders of the new move­ment (Singh Sabha in this case) compare with the earlier tradition and whether or not those were in consonance with it or entirely variant from it.

We are dividing our present paper into four parts so as to make a proper assessment of the Singh Sabha Movement. Side by side, we shall be considering some variant views in the light of our discussion of the subject. We shall first state the fundamentals of the Sikh ideology, especially those where Sikhism radically departed from the earlier traditions.

69

Sikh Ideology

Sikhism arose in the 16th century as an entirely new ideology, opposed in its fundamentals to those of the contemporary religions. It challenged the fanaticism and religious hypocrisy of the Brahmans and the political oppression of the contemporary rulers. Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru, stressed the oneness of God, Immanent, Creator, who is the Timeless, Eternal Reality, Formless, Unborn, Unincarnated and Self-existent, without Fear and Rancour and who is realised by the Enlightener’s ‘Grace’. These attributes are incorporated in the ‘Mool-Mantra’ of Guru Nanak’s Japji, which is the ‘fundamental primal text expounding the beliefs of Sikhism’. He explicitly denounced all those religious traditions which denied the unity of God. He declared that “ the belief in gods and goddesses was the source of Maya (The great Illusion)”1 which led people astray. The Guru accepts Ek Onkar as a declaration of the unity of God. In Asa Rag, the Guru says “ Six are the Hindu Shastras and six their authors who have laid down six different philosophical concepts. But the Guru of these gurus is God Himself.”2

Guru Nanak led a crusade against the caste system, idolatry, ritualism, asceticism and Brahman’s claim to superiority. He put an end to the role of the middle man (Brahman’s) in man’s relation with God. He advocated that man can be one with Him through his own good deeds. He emphasised moral virtues and considered rituals to be a hindrance in the salvation of man. He denounced idol worship in most explicit terms : “The ignorant fools takestones and worship them, O Hindus, how shall the stone which it­self sinketh carry you across?”3 He rejected asceticism and emphasised truthful living based on good deeds and righteousness. He impressed upon his followers that salvation could be attained through the fulfilment of one’s duties towards family and society. For Guru Nanak social responsibility forms an integral part of the spiritual attributes of the ideal man. it is this element that con­stitutes one of the essential tenets of the Sikh faith. It is this element that gives Sikhism its distinctive and historic character, role and personality.

70 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION ANd HISTORY

■wr v

!|i.

Singh sabha movement : a revival /-•• 71

Guru Nanak laid emphasis on the brotherhood of man and strongly condemned social inequality. He declared: “ The sense of high and low, and of caste and colour, such are the illusions created in man” .4 He raised his voice against economic exploitation and political despotism of his times.

According to Guru Nanak, the world is not only real but it is a meaningful place wheie alone God’s Creative and Attributive will works. That is ‘God being riches to the poor, milk to the child, and eyes to the blind’,6 the seeker must follow the ethical path of values and virtues laid down by God and the Guru. It is clear that in Guru Nanak’s mission of love, two objectives become logically uppermost and these he emphasized unambiguously in his Bani, namely, that he was to establish equality and fraternity among men and that it was the duty and responsibility of the religious man and the religious society he was creating to resist oppression and safeguard human rights. The life-affirming faith, founded by Guru Nanak, attracted a large number, of followers who found in it a welcome escape from the debasing caste discrimination, Brahmanical domination and empty ritualism. - It is a revolutionary system in which the dichotomy between the spiritual life and the empirical life of man was emphatically broken for the first time in the East. It was Guru Nanak who laid and led the path of universal love and the emancipation of man without distinction of caste and creed. The call for this mission was given by him in these terms : ; .

“ If thou art zealous of playing the game of Love,Then come upon my Path with thy head on thy palm.Yea, once thou settest thy foot on this way,Then find not a way [out, and be prepared to lay down thyhead” ® ... _ , .........

It is in this context that the importance of Guru Nanak’s criticism of the doctrine of Ahimsa should be understood. “ Men discriminate no t and quarrel over meat eating, they do not know what is flesh and what is non-flesh, or what is sin and what is not sin.”7 Life, he said, “was in every grain of corn or seed.”8

Level of Achievement

It is in this background that we have to charter the course of Sikh history from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh. After Guru Nanak, the period of the next three Gurus relates mainly to the creation, expansion and organisation of a cohesive society or Panth, Guru Nanak had started. With each succeeding Guru, Sikhism became increasingly crystallised and institutionalised into a distinct faith and society.

The next major landmark was the time of the fifth Guru, who not only compiled the scripture of the new society, thereby wean­ing it away from all earlier beliefs, sought confrontation with the Empire, and made the supreme sacrifice of his life, but also created in his life time what H.R. Gupta calls “a state within a state” . No wonder, Emperor Jahangir took note of this mounting challenge and attacked the Sikh society.9 From this time onward, the Sikhs had to make tremendous sacrifices and undergo immense suffering to preserve their faith.

Further, it is important to understand that the doctrine of Miri and Piri, introduced by the sixth Guru, Hargovind, is the natural and inevitable corollary of the path of love and true service of man, of the rejection of asceticism and monas- ticism, the acceptance of the householder’s life and responsibility and of securing justice, equality and freedom for all men. The Guru justified the use of force to uphold justice and righteousness and to defend the oppressed. The ninth Sikh Guru, Tegh Bahadur, carried on the Sikh tradition of martrydom for the cause of justice and emancipation of man.

The tenth and the last living Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, laid down a baptismal {Amrit) ceremony for the Sikhs and initiated them into the Khalsa and prescribed the wearing of five K’s. Those who went through baptism became members of Khalsa brother­hood. The organisation was committed to pursuing the right path and resisting and undoing injustice, tyranny and aggression, since in the Sikh society, it was a religious duty and social responsi­bility to promote and maintain righteousness. The Guru also

72 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

furnished the order of the Khalsa with the institutions of Panj Piyaras (Five Beloved ones or leaders) and Daswandh (voluntary contribution of one tenth of one’s income to the exchequer of the Panth), thereby bestowing upon the organisation the character of a self contained community. It is significant to note that of the five beloved ones (Piyaras) baptised by the tenth Guru, four be­longed to what the Indian society then regarded as the Shudra caste. The Guru’s object was to obliterate all distinctions of caste and creed and weld his followers into a cohesive society. The Sikhs and the five Beloved Ones were amazed when the Guru re­quested them to initiate him into the Khalsa brotherhood in ex­actly the same manner as he had initiated them. By this symbolic act, the Guru invested the Khalsa with leadership of the Panth and the authority of his personality. Hence forward the Guru was the Khalsa and the Khalsa was the Guru. Sikhism, thus emerged as the most democratic religion in the world.

The Gurus categorically rejected all those beliefs, rituals or ceremonies that implied the recognition of anything but one true Lord. In order to emphasize the complete independence and se­parateness of Sikh ideology, Guru Gobind Singh introduced the Nash doctrine, involving Kirtnash, Kulnash, Dhramnash Bharamnash and Karamnash, i.e. forsaking of all those beliefs, prejudices and traditions that stood in the way of the sole worship of the Supreme Being.*0 In this way they made a complete break of the Sikh society with the past religious systems, traditions and customs. The Guru accomplished this many sided transformation, in bold defiance of the age old beliefs, dogmas and conservatism of the traditional Indian religions. The Khalsa created by Guru Gobind Singh was unique both in its internal features and external form and was to play a vital role in the Indian history. In the words of J.D. Cunnigham, “A living spirit possesses the whole Sikh people and the impress of Gobind has not only elevated and altered the constitution of their minds but has operated materially and given amplitude to their physical frames.”11

Let us here record the relevant injunctions of Guru Gobind Singh, “ H e who keeps alight the torch of Truth and with love

S IN G H S A B H A M OVEM ENT 1 A R E V IV A L 7 3

has faith only in One Supreme Being and does not believe, even by mistake in fasting, monastic life, or worship of graves or ance­stors, is the true Khalsa.” 12 Further, a few extracts from the report of a Muslim chronicler, Ahmad Shah of Batala, as given in his book Twarikh-i-Hind of the speech by Guru Gobind Singh given at the time of the Amrit (Baptism) ceremony are as follows : “ I wish you all to embrace one creed and follow one path, obliterat­ing all differences of religion. Let the four Hindu castes, who have different rules laid down for them in the Shastras, abandon them altogether and mix freely with one another. Let no one deem himself superior to another. Do not follow the old scriptures. Let none pay heed to the Ganges and other places of pilgrimage which are conisdered holy in the Hindu religion, or adore Hindu deities, like Rama, Krishna, Brahma and Durga, but all should have faith only in Guru Nanak and his successors. Let men of four castes receive my baptism, eat out of the same vessel and feel no disgust or contempt for one another.” la

The spirit of Guru Gobind Singh was carried on by Banda Singh Bahadur and his men, who fought against the Mughals under the most inhospitable circumstances, but, stuck to their faith and principles till the end of their lives. The Sikh devotion to their religion and their spirit is evident from the fact that out of 740 Sikh prisoners of war, who were executed in Delhi, along with Banda, not one deserted the faith, even while given the choice to do so.14Sikhism in the 19th Century

Here it is necessary to give a demographic picture o f the Sikh community from the 18th to the 19th century. The struggle and the persecution of the Sikhs was severest during the-mid 18th century. A price was put on every Sikh head and three times it was reported to the authorities that the Sikhs had been exterminated, root and branch.15 During this period of struggle, it is reported that at one time barely two thousand guerillas were left.18 This was the spirit and character of the Sikhs, when they gained power in the later half of the 18th century. The establishment of the

7 4 RESEARCHES IN SIK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

Khalsa commonwealth, naturally, gave opportunity both to Muslim and Hindu populations to seek conversions for reasons which were obviously mundane. The Sikhs never started any pro­selytising campaign because it is not sanctified in their religion. Obviously these new entrants were slow in shedding some of their old personal, family or customary prejudices and beliefs, which included faith in local gods and goddesses, saints, fakirs and Pirs. In the time of Ranjit Singh the number of Sikhs thus rose to 10-11 lacs.17 The first census, in 1881, reports that the number of Sikhs was 17 lacs.48 It is evident that this large scale increase in the number of Sikhs is certainly not so much due to the natural increase in the members of the faith, who had struggled to power in the 18th century as due to the new entrants, who had flocked to the Sikh faith in the hope of temporal gains. Regarding the Sikhs in the second half of the 19th century, lbbetson reports that with the exception of the Akalis, who still adhered to the ordinances of the Khalsa, many of the original observances of the Sikhs had fallen in disuse but for the five external signs and abstinence from tobacco.19 Similarly, the Sehjdhari group of Nirankaris, who were sixty thousand at the time of the census of 1891 never believed in any god or goddess and adhered strictly to faith in Guru Granth Sahib as the sole scripture and guide2’.

A demoralising effect of the annexation of the Punjab was that some of the Sikh Gyanis, who were very learned in their special departments, did not find jobs for their talents. They, therefore, went over to the Hindus and taught their religious books. Apart from decline in the dissemination of Sikh thought, they, in order to please their employers, started giving Hindu tint to the Sikh doctrines and beliefs, causing thereby great harm to Sikhism. Secondly, it is also true that many of the Hindu entrants of the Sikh faith who had naturally curbed or shed Hindu rituals and customs during Ranjit Singh’s period, reverted to the old prejudices and practices.

Before the advent of the Singh Sabha Movement, in 1873, Sikhism was, thus, passing through a lean phase. With their

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uncertain political future, Sikhs had become a prey to Brahmanical Hinduism and the socio-religious fabric of the community had been considerably damaged. Owing to ignorance of the great spiritual legacy left by the Gurus, the number of Sikhs embracing the other faiths was increasing steadily.21 A contemporary observer noted, “Just as we do not see any Buddhists in the country except in images, in the same fashion, the Sikhs, who are now here and there, visibile in their turbans and their other religious forms, like wrist-bangles and swords, will be seen only in pictures and museums. Their own sons and grandsons, clad in coats and trousers and supporting mushroom-like caps, will go to see them in muse­ums and say in their pidgin Punjabi ‘Look, that is the picture of a Sikh—the tribe that inhabited this country once upon a time.”22

This was the state of affairs before the Singh Sabha move­ment took over the leadership of Sikhs. The proselytising activities of the Christian missionaries also alarmed the Sikhs. The historic conversion of Maharaja Dalip Singh (son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh) and Raja Harnam Singh of Kapurthala came as a rude shock to the Sikhs.23 The loss of political power (Punjab was annexed by the British in 1849) also left a demoralising effect on them. It was at this crucial juncture that the Singh Sabha assumed the leadership of the Sikhs.24

The Singh Sabha played a significant role in the socio-religious regeneration of the Sikh community. It made the Sikhs aware of their great spiritual and cultural heritage and of their being the Khalsa, the pure. By emphasis on the Sikh practices, social laws, customs and Punjabi language, it welded the Sikhs, once again, into an independent community bound together by faith in the teach­ings of their Gurus. The key-note of the Singh Sabha was ‘Back to Gum Granth Sahib\ The object was to restore the pristine purity of Sikhism by abolishing later accretions and superstitious practices, which did not stand the test of old Sikh Maryada or the teachings of the Gurus.

This was the position of the Sikh society in the 19th century which the Singh Sabha sought to change. As stated earlier, the

76 RESEARCHES in SllCH religion and history

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Sikh society consisted of two distinct segments; those from the old Sikh stock who had struggled successfully through the persecutions and the revolutionary fire of the 18th century; and second, those large number of Hindu converts to Sikhism who had for the sake of convenience swelled the Sikh ranks during the Sikh rule. Ibbetson made it clear that the Akali section fully adhered to the injunctions of the Guru;25 die same was the position of the old Sehjdharis or Nirankaris.26 Obviously, all the Hindu converts could not shed some of their old customs and prejudices in a gene­ration or two. Almost three fourth of the Sikhs belonged to this stock. The position so glibly talked about that in old days one member of a family was a Hindu and another a Sikh, related exactly to this converted section of Sikhs, and not to the old Sikh families of the 18th century, when being a Sikh involved risk to life. It is this large section that carried a backlog of Hindu practices which the Singh Sabha was out to eliminate. There was also another problem. Some of the descendents of the Gurus, because of the wealth bestowed on them and the respect they commanded during the Sikh rule, started the cult of personal worship and collection of offerings. This practice, though in consonance with the old Hindu culture, was violative of Sikh doctrines, where under the Gurus had prohibited touching the feet of so called pious men and had stated that “the religious path lay in working hard and sharing one’s income with others.”27 But these wealthy Sikhs had got a vested interest in these cults, because personal worship brought them offerings from both the Sikh and non-Sikh followers.28 Out of the sheer self-interest of maintaining their income and offerings from their Hindu followers, they started saying that the Gurus had preached the same religious system as in the Vedas, even though the Gurus had called ‘the Vedic doctrin­es to be misleading concerning caste, heaven, hell, etc.’29 The Singh Sabha had thus not only to preach against Hindu practices, but had also to fight these Sikh vested interests who kept and patro­nised men like A.S. Vahiiia and Gulab Singh, who wrote things which were palpably against the Guru Gramh and its message.

Recently some scholars in the West have presented a distorted

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version of the nineteenth century Sikhism. H.S. Oberoi (presently in the Chair of Sikh and Punjabi Studies at the University of British Columbia, Canada) for example, is a clear instance of having misrepresented the Sikh tradition.30 He has tried to ro­manticise the myths and glamorise the long forgotten superstitions. His entire exercise seems to be devoted to projecting the late 19th century revival of Sikhism as neo-Sikhism. His evaluation of Sikhism is neither comprehensive, nor objective. In fact it is ob­vious that his treatment of the subject betrays a major lapse in the methodology of study. Because in his entire paper, he has com­pletely ignored the two essential aspects of the issue discussed by us earlier. He has completely misrepresented 'the matter by harping only on some features of the late 19th century Sikhism and then wrongly projecting them to be the integral part of earlier or original Sikhism.

H.S. Oberoi in his paper entitled, ‘Re-reading Sikh Experience in the Nineteenth Century’, read recently at a seminar at Berkley (U.S.A.), observes, “The word Sanatan derives from Sanskrit and has connotation of something that is ancient, almost as if out of secular time. The Sanatanist Sikhs therefore, believed that these customs, rites and rituals had origins in the beginning of time, when the universe came into existence and were beyond the pale ofdiachronic time’ ......... ‘The fact that the Sikhs took part in themyths, worship and cults of miracle samts, goddesses and village gods does not imply that Sikhism was in a state of decline or irrational. These practices were an integral part of a coherent way of life and should not be judged from standards which were invent­ed at the turn of the century*”

Let us now examine the position stated by Oberoi, in his paper. He mentions four practices which he claims to be ancient and native to Sikhs of the times. These are the worship of Sakhi Sarvar, Guga Fir, Seetla Devi and village ancesstors. A close examination of Oberoi’s paper reveals that he has merely tried to conceal the reality by resort to vague generalisations and by giving profuse details of the concerned practices without specifying the extent of their prevalence.

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We first take up the case of the worship of Sakhi Sarvar which is the only practice of which he has indicated some data in support of his argument by saying that less than 3% Sikhs had also faith in Sakhi Sarvar. Otherwise, about twenty pages of his paper are filled with irrelevant verbiage giving just a journalistic description of the four practices. The entire structure of Oberoi’s argument is based on the flimsy premises that these practices were native and ancient and no one ever prohibited them. He writes, “ It was Sikh refor­mers in the 19th century who for the first time labelled many of the current beliefs and practices among the Sikhs as acts of deviance and expressions of a superstitious mind.” This observation of Oberoi is a clear mis-statement. The Guru Granth is full of hymns rejecting the spiritual character of Devis, Jogis, Pirs, etc. e.g., “Afflicted are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, afflicted is the entire \yorld.”31 “The Vedas do not know His greatness. Neither Brahma, nor Shiva have any clue of Him. The Devis and Devtas have sought to know Him but failed” .8*

In the Sikh tradition there are four stories concerning the futility of Sakhi Sarvar worship. The first story is of a Sakhi Sarvaria, Bhai Manj, coming to Guru Arjan for religious guidance. The Guru’s reply is very revealing of the Sikh thesis. He said, “You may go on with the easy path of Sakhi Sarvar worship, because Sikhism is a very difficult path and unless you are willing to be dispossessed of your wealth and to sacrifice your very life, it is no use coming to me.” But Bhai Manj did become a Sikh.33 The second story also concerns Guru Arjan when he deprecated the Sakhi Sarvar practice of preparing a big cake and presenting it before the priest who read Durud (a verse from Quran) and then kept the cake, giving only a marginal part to the devotees. The Guru says, “Without the true Guru they must sit and watch with­out eating until the Durud is read” .34 The Guru, thus, denounced the practice of seeking benediction of the priest, for, only a true Guru could lead one to the right path. The third story is of a Sikh’s daughter having been married to the son of a Sakhi Sarvaria. The bride seeks the blessings of Guru Hargovind and her husband also becomes a Sikh. A tussle develops between the

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groom and his father when the former demolishes the family shrine of Sakhi Sarvar. But the groom continues to be a Sikh. Later, his handsome son founds a village now called Bhai Rupa in Nabha State.35 A similar story concerning the futility of Sakhi Sarvar worship relates to the time of Guru Tegh Bahadur, when he visited Patiala area.36 In fact, Sikh writings and Rehtnamas categorically prohibit the worship of Devis, Devtas, saints etc.87 Even Bhangu in his Panth Parkash (nvd 19th century) specifically condemns the worship of Sakhi Sarvar. He says that the Sikhs did not believe in ghosts, spirits and graves nor did they have any faith in the Gaga and the Sakhi Sarvar. He rather refers to the “frequent clashes between the Sikhs and the Sarvarias in the villages and towns of Punjab.”3® Therefore, in the face of a clear rejection of the Sakhi Sarvar practice by the Guru, the Sikh reli­gious literature and the tradition, the existence of a marginal 3% residue of the Sakhi Sarvarias among die new Hindu entrants to Sikhism, only shows how insignificant is its value in drawing a correct picture of the Sikh society in that period. In fact, it is cre­ditable for the Sikh culture and influence that all excepting about 3% of the new entrants had given up their old Hindu practices.

There is another mistatement when Oberoi says, “ Historians cannot simply reproduce the value judgements and employ catego­ries invented by a section of the Sikh elite.” We have seen that prohibition of these practices was neither the invention of the Singh Sabha, nor was it the first to object to them. Nor is it true that leaders of the Singh Sabna formed a section of the Sikh elite. In fact, the pioneers of the Singh Sabha, namely Bhais Ditt Singh and Gurmukh Singh were persons of extremely humble beginnings. Ditt Singh belonged to a poor Ramdasia family of a small village (Nandpur Kalaur) of Ropar district. Gurmukh Singh’s father was just a cook in Kapurthala. As against that, the persons with vested interests in personal worship were Baba Sir Khem Singh Bedi, Baba Sir Gurbakhsh Singh Bedi and Raja of Faridkot. Men like Vahiria were the proteges of wealthy persons, whom they had kept to pro­pagate their point of view, even though clearly opposed to the Sikh doctrines in the Guru Granth. And who constituted the elite

i

8 1

and who represented the voice of the people and the Sikh culture is evident from the fact that, in the tussle between them, all the local and base Singh Sabhas in the country shifted their loyalty to the Ditt Singh group, except three which belonged to the towns or places of these feudal kings.42 It is, therefore, just naive to suggest that these persons of small beginnings could achieve the tremendous success they did achieve, by just innovations or inven­tions, unless what they promoted or preached had the clear sanction of the scripture and the Sikh tradition.

Regarding Guga, Sitla and ancestor worship, Oberoi has given no data at all in support of his argument, meaning hereby that the extent of these practices was even less significant than the practice of Sakhi Sctrvar worship. Oberoi instead of being precise, has written page after page of a journalistic account of the practices without suggesting the extent of these practices, their sanction by the Sikh tradition, or their existence during any earlier period of Sikh history. Every student of Hindu religion knows that in that system, especially under Purva Mimansa, spiritual and other benefits can. be obtained by the practice of Yctjnas, sacrifices, mantras etc. On the other hand, even the most elementry student of the Granth Sahib is aware that all such practices and worship of Devis, Devtas and the like are regarded as futile in Sikhism. Let us here just indicate two instances. Every student of Sikhism and Sikh history knows that the basic reason why the Hindu Hill Rajas refused to co-operate with the tenth Guru was his rejection of Devi worship and their rituals and caste observances.43 The second instance is of a complaint made to Guru Hargovind about a Sikh having broken an idol of a DeviM The Sikh explained as to what was the worth of a Devi idol if it could not protect itself.

Without indicating any statistical evidence, Oberoi makes another assertion saying that ‘'the popularity of Sakhi Sarvar among the Sikhs was matched by another Pir called Guga Pir.” It is necessary to understand that in the old Punjab, Sikhs were less than 14% and the Hindus were more than double the number of Sikhs; and even among the Sikhs about three fouth were 19th

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century Hindu converts of convenience. It is, therefore, highly misleading to talk in vague terms about some Hindu practices current among Punjab Hindus and then to relate them to the Sikhs on the mere ground that the Singh Sabha had also preached against them, as being contrary to the Sikh tradition. Regarding Sitla worship, too, Obeioi is equally irrelevant and vague. The Sikh position about Devi worship both in the precept and practice has already been indicated. In the article of the Khalsa Akhbar of March 6, 1896, it is the entire Punjab population that has been addressed to give up the Sitla worship, without even mentioning the word Sikh therein. And the advice to the people is to have themselves inoculated instead of suffering the disease. About, ancestor worship among Sikhs Oberoi’s observations are even more far fetched. He cites Dube’s Indian Village and Brubaker’s A Study o f South Indian Village Goddesses and their Religious Meaning. The only reference to the Sikhs is a manual of army officers mentioning that Satnamis, Hindus and Sikhs had a practice of ancestor worship.

From Oberoi’s own paper, it is evident that Sitla, Guga and ancestor worship among the Sikhs were even less significant than the worship of Sakhi Sarvar prevalent among less than 3 % Sikhs. It is suggested by Oberoi that though the practice of Sakhi Sarvar worship was insignificant in 1911 it must have been wide spread and native to the Sikh society before the Singh Sabha propaganda. The argument is quite meaningless. If in the earlier four hundred years of preaching by the ten Gurus themselves and others, the Sikh tradition could not eliminate these Hindu practices entirely, how could the Singh Sabha workers, with humble beginnings, work this miracle in about one generation? It is quite significant that in order to prove his point that in the 19th century there was not much of an ideological difference between the Hindus and the Sikhs, Oberoi has quoted neither the Guru Granth nor any Rehtna- mas, nor any earlier Sikh literature or traditions, but only A. S. Vahiria and Gulab Singh, both spokesmen of the Bedi group with vested interests in maintaining the cult of personal worship. So far as the loyalist Gulab Singh is concerned, his propagandist statement

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that the four Vedas are also the religious books of the Sikhs is quite understandable. But for Oberoi to quote him approvingly shows either poor scholarship and a gross ingorance of the contents of Guru Granth Sahib, the Nash doctrine of Guru Gobind Singh, the Rehtnamas and the Sikh religious literature, or a deliberate attempt at distortion by his avoiding all references to the Guru Granth and Sikh literature. Even in the article of the Khalsa Akhbar, dated March 29, 1901, it had clearly been argued by the Sikh paper, by quoting the Guru Granth, that the Gurus had specifically repudiated the doctrine of the Vedas. But by the use of pointless phraseology, Oberoi suggests that in the 19th century, Sikhs like Hindus were believers in Devis, Devtas, Guga, Sakhi Sarvar and the like. His conclusion is that the key to under­standing Sikhism is that it is a peasant faith as of a peasantry elsewhere in the world. Even a most elementary knowledge of the Guru Granth and the teachings of the Gurus, shows that the Gurus severely condemned these Hindu practices. The views of Vahiria or Khem Singh Bedi were, thus, absurdly in contradiction to the Sikh religion. And, obviously, it was such clear mis­representations of the Sikh Scripture, the leaders of the Singh Sabha were out to oppose. But, interestingly, it is these very distorters, and promoters of the malpractices whom Oberoi quotes as authori­ties so as to prove what, he asserts, was the norm of Sikhism. Oberoi has also failed to record the categoric contemporary evidence that the Akalis, the core of the Parith, were fully adhering to the norm prescribed by the Gurus. If his conclusion were correct and Sikhs like the Hindu peasantry were mere superstitious worshippers of Devis, Devtas and Guga and Sakhi Sarvar Firs, how does Oberoi explain that (i) the Sikhs, an insignificant section of the population, were able to supplant the Mughal Empire in the entire north-west and stem, once for all, the wave after wave of invaders that had pla­gued India for a thousand years, (ii) a leaderless community gave to the British the toughest flight, almost to the point of their defeat and annihilation, on the Indian soil, (iii) the Sikhs were predominantly the people who organised and manned the frst rebellion (Ghaddar rebellion) against the British, (iv) of the 121 persons executed and

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2646 sentenced to life imprisonment during the entire freedom struggle during the 20th century, 93 and 2047 respectively were Sikhs46 and (v) during the period of Emergency from June, 1975 to March, 1977, involving the suspension of the Indian Constitution and the abrogation of all human rights and individual liberties, it was only the Sikhs who conducted a regular civil disobedience movement (Save Democracy Morcha) suffering imprisonment of over forty thousand persons,46 while in the rest of India, not even half that number courted arrest or imprisonment.47

Changes M ade By Singh Sabha

Now, considering the fourth aspect of the Singh Sabha Move­ment, namely, the revival it brought about in the Sikh society, we find that every step they took and change they made had the full sanction of the Sikh scripture and tradition. One has only to read Ham Hindu Nahin by Bhai Kahn Singh and Nakli Sikh Prabodh by Ditt Singh to find that almost every page quotes the Bani of the Gurus, in support of their suggestions.48 The only new step they took was the establishment of educational institutions on modern lines and the publication and propagation of religious literature, not available earlier, because the services of the Printing Press had then become an easily available facility.

Oberoi and many like him, have ignored that Sikh resurgence, in the 19th century, derived its inspiration from the teachings of the Gurus and the Sikh scripture. The greatest contribution of Singh Sabha lies in projecting Sikh religion in its traditional true perspective. Sikhism is a revealed religion and has a recorded scripture authenticated by the Guru himself. Oberoi looks upon Sikhism as a rural religion, which "‘by definition is a part of the oral culture of people and it is always dfficult to reconstruct and recover all the elements which go into its making.” Such statements completely misrepresent the reality in so far as there is a clear black out of the teachings of the Gurus, of Sikh traditional practices and of Sikh history in the earlier three centuries. In his entire paper, Oberoi has not quoted even one line from the Guru Granth Sahib, indicating the principles

of the Sikh faith; nor has he mentioned any of its funda­mentals on which the Gurus insisted. To talk of the characteristics of the Sikh faith and beliefs without reference to the Gurus, Guru Granth Sahib, and the Sikh tradition is something completely incomprehensible, if not deliberately biased. One wonders, how Oberoi found a free and easy access to the so-called ‘oral tradition’, to the exclusion of the actual Sikh history.

The burden of Oberoi’s thesis is to highlight the points of deviation and departure from the Sikh tradition. In analysing the nature of Sikhism, he forgets the historical perspective and the original Sikh ideology of the Guru period. Marked by descriptive profusion and meaningless rhetoric, his thesis betrays an obvious ignorance of the basic tenets of the Sikh faith. By characterising the aberrations in the 19th century Sikh society as the original or ancient Sikhism, he has identified Sikh norms with the Hindu practices of the neo-converts. He has made a particular blackout of the Sikh history and the Sikh literature and injunctions that specifically prohibited pre-Sikh Hindu beliefs and practices The author has taken it upon himself to select or reject any opinion, thus completely ignoring the traditional model and negating the original sources and opinions of many earlier or contemporary scholars. His contention that ‘Sanatan Sikhism’, (a term coined by him to name pre-Singh Sabha Sikhism) constituted real Sikh tradition is self-contradictory and deceptive. This term has had no place or relevance in the entire history of Sikhism or any ear­lier writings pertaining to the Sikhs. A Sikh movement, Singh Sabha or any other, should be judged in terms of what the Gurus had taught and the Sikhs had practised in the Guru or the revolu­tionary period. Any attempt virtually to legitimize the Hindu practices or the aberrations against which the Sikh Gurus, the Rehtnamas and Sikh writings had launched a crusade, is nothing but misleading. Apart from the clear injunctions of Guru Gobind Singh quoted earlier, a near-contemporary source also records that ‘Guru Gobind Singh rejected the paths of both the Hindus and the Muslims and created his own Panth. ’49 The Rehtnamasemphasized that ‘the Sikhs should maintain their separate identity

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86 researches in sikh religion And history

from the caste society’.50 Rattan Singh Bhangu, in his Prachin Panth Pctrkash, talks of “separate identity of the Panth, its egali­tarian character and the plebian political objectives and character of the Kha1sa.”bi The testimony of earlier injunctions, writings and observations cannot be ignored. Therefore, to designate the lean period of Sikhism, when Hindu practices had crept into it, as Sanatan Sikhism is a misnomer. To assess and measure the significance of an aberration in the period of decline of the Sikh movement, without reference to the norm, the long standing tradi­tion or the injunctions in the scripture or Sikh writings suggests a lack of the sense of proportion or an attempt at distortion.

The Singh Sabha leaders aimed at “restoring the pristine purity of Sikhism” ,52 without propounding any philosophy of their own or introducing a new practice unsanctioned by the ideology or the tradition. Any Sikh, who adhered to the injunctions of the ten Gurus and was ready to serve the community could be admitted to the fold of the Singh Sabha.53 There was no ceremony to be gone through for this purpose nor was there any distinctive dress, badge or mark to be worn. The movement retained its democra­tic character, despite the efforts of some persons to style themselves as Gurus and wield control over its affairs. Baba Khem Singh Bedi tried to gain supremacy over the activities of the Sabha. Being a direct descendent of Guru Nanak, he virtually aspired to become a Guru.64 He wanted a well-furnished seat (gadella) for himself, even in the presence of the Granth Shaib, 5 5 “ Baba Khem Singh Bedi wished his authority to be regarded as paramount and absolute in religious matters and himself to be looked upon as the Guru in succession to Guru Nanak.” 56 Bhai Avtar Singh Vihiria, was a chosen associate of Baba Khem Singh Bedi. In his books, Khalsa Dharam Shastcir, Sikh Dharam Tat Darshan and Gurdarshan Shastar, he writes that the Sikh Gurus did not prohibit the wor­ship of gods and goddesses and that it was wrong to remove caste distinctions.

Actually, it was these observations that Prof. Gurmukh Singh, Giani Ditt Singh, Bhai Mayya Singh and Bhai Jawahar Singh of the Lahore Singh Sabha were out to controvert. They aimed at

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checking “ outside influences and undesirable elements which had crept in Sikhism and thus to restore it to its former purity” . 57

Whereas the appeal of the Khem Singh Bedi and Vahiria group who had their own vested interests was mostly confined to their personal circles, that of the Lahore Sabha went farther and touched the hearts of the general mass of the community.58 Missionaries (Parcharks) were sent even in the interior of the province to spread the message of Sikhism among hundreds and thousands of the village folks, who constituted the backbone of the Sikh community and without whose co-operation no movement could acquire a mass base. They made them aware of the fundamentals of the Sikh religion; thereby removing all doubts, regarding the identity and practices of the Khalsa. In the words of Giani Ditt Singh, “ Having sprung from the Hindus, the Sikhs are a separate community, clearly distinguished from them in outward form, religious and social outlook, conception of God and Gurus, mode of worship, language of the scriptures and their ideas regarding caste, pilgrimage and priesthood .” 69 In fact, the pamphlets and writings of the Singh Sabhaites profusely quote the scripture and religious writings in support of their views, exhorting Sikhs to shed the wrong practices that had crept in the Sikh fold following the political confusion after the defeat of the Khalsa. Bhai Kahn Singh’s book, Ham Hindu Nahin (We Are Not Hindus) was a conscious reaction against the propaganda by some of the Hindus and Sikhs like the Khem Singh and Vahiria group. Giani Gian Singh’s Panth Parkash Naurang Singh’s Sikh Hindu Nahin Jodh Singh’s Sacha Dharmi and many others, also quoted several passages from the Sikh scripture to prove that the Sikh religion was an independent religion and had nothing to do with Hinduism. In fact, Sikhism controverts almost every fundamental of Hinduism.

Such writings inspired the Sikhs with self confidence and gave them a renewed sense of distinctiveness and direction.60 The masses became sufficiently enlightened not to be misled by the Sikh vested interests and the Arya Samajists, who tried to say that the Sikhs were a part of the Hindus. The Singh Sabha leaders had a clear and firm grasp of the issues facing the Sikhs. They rightly

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realised that the form and spirit of the Khalsa could be kept intact only if the Sikhs conformed to the code of conduct prescribed by Guru Gobind Singh. Any laxity in maintaining the five symbols (the five K’s), they knew would mean a fall from the faith and would lead to the gradual erosion of the basic Sikh ideals.01 Bhai Kahn Singh in his books Gurmat Parbhakar and Gurmat Sudhakar quoted several passages from the Sikh scripture in order to prove that the worship of images was contrary to the teachings of the Gurus.

The Singh Sabha leaders laid emphasis on the inculcation of such virtues as love of God, service of one’s fellow beings, purity of living, charitableness and truthfulness. They made it clear, as the Guru had emphasized in their Bani, that the way to one’s moral and spiritual uplift lay through good deeds and not through miracles, mystries and mantras. “The worship of the Almighty in homes is the best of all to obtain eternal happiness, rather than going to the pilgrimage, where one was bound to be misled by the selfish and greedy priests.” 62 Misguided notions regarding the worship of graves, tombs, Samadhs and cremation marks, which were contrary to Sikh religious injunctions and tradition, were clearly condemned in the preachings of the Singh Sabha.63 Giani Ditt Singh’s booklet, Durga Parbodh, was written primarily to dispel the belief in Pirs and Fakirs which was of no avail and diverted man’s attention from the path of righteousness. That is why, as indicated already, all the thirty seven Singh Sabhas, except the three Sabhas of Rawalpindi, Faridkot and Amritsar which were personally connected with Khem Singh Bedi and Raja of Faridkot group, followed the lead of the Ditt Singh—Gurmukh Singh group.64

As a result, the period of diffidence was over and Sikhism regained its self-confidence in the historic mission. The Census Report of 1921 noted : “ Sikhism is a religion with a very distinct worship of its own and having attained a position of independence, is fully entitled to rank as a separate religion.” 65

The passing of the Anand Marriage Act, in 1909, legalising the Sikh form of marriage was a significant achievement of the Singh

Sabha. Various Sikh organisations and Singh Sabhas sent telegrams and petitions signed by lacs of Sikhs, demanding the passage of the Act.66 The Government was impressed by th«s demonstration of a Sikh unity in favour of this legislation which involved separate Sikh entity. It was an important step forward because the State was forced to accept the self-assertion of the will of an independent socio-religious community.

The Sabha periodicals, the Khalsa, the Khalsa Akhbar, the Khalsa Samachar, the Khalsa Advocate and the Sikhs and

Sikhism helped a great deal in projecting the true image of Sikhism. The influence of these periodicals was tremendous and they greatly helped in quickening the pace of revival. They suc­ceeded in counteracting the attack of the Arya Samajists and the Christian Missionaries, who were misrepresenting the teachings of the Sikh Gurus. These periodicals were run by persons like Giani Ditt Singh, Bhai Gurmukh Singh, Bhai Mayya Singh, Bhagat Lakshman Singh, and Bhai Vir Singh who had been nurtured in the Sikh tradition.

People came in large numbers to receive baptism. A major plank of the Singh Sabha was a crusade of Amrit Par char because to revive the institution of baptism and the connected doctrine of ‘Nash’ making a complete break with all earlier religious and social traditions, was the best means of eliminating the Brahmanical prac­tices that had appeared among the Sikh ranks.67 The Singh Sabha preachings being in line with the earlier tradition and having the sanction of the Gurus and the scripture, no Sikh could ignore or defy them. In fact, the tremendous success the Singh Sabha revivalists had in bringing back dynamism in the Sikh life, was entirely due to their ability to invoke the authority of the Sikh Gurus, the Guru Granth Sahib and the Sikh tradition in support of everything they said and preached. The chief pillars of the movement, workers like Giani Ditt Singh, Bhai Gurmukh Singh, Bhai Mayya Singh, Bhai Jawahar Singh and Bhagat Lakshman Singh, were very ordinary persons of hardly any consequence in the socio-economic or the political life of the community. There was nothing to recommend them except their devotion to the cause of

S IN G H S A B H A M O V EM EN T : A R E V IV A L 89

the great tradition which the mass of the people understood very well.68 It would therefore, be naive to suggest that these simple Singh Sabha workers could have the capacity to impose on the community a new system, or make innvoations in the Sikh ideology or even a major reform without their suggestions and programme being strictly in line with the thesis of the Gurus, especially when many socially and politically influential persons in the Sikh community continued to oppose them.69

The Chief Khalsa Diwan formed a sub-committee to suggest ways and means to reform the Gurdwaras that had gone into the hands of Brahmanical priests and vested interests.70 But it could not take effective measures because Mahants and Pujaris who con­trolled the Gurdwaras enjoyed the support of the Government.71

After this tussle, the Mahants and the Pujaris became hostile to the Singh Sabha leaders.7* The Sikh public was rudely made conscious of the evil designs of the Pujaris when they condemned the Komagatta Maru Sikhs at the Akal Takhat and presented a robe of honour to General Dyer after the tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh.7S This made the Sikhs furious. It took the Sikhs quite some time to get their shrines liberated from the Mahants and the Pujaris.

Nevertheless, the Singh Sabha succeeded in renewing a sense of self awareness among the Sikhs. The movement, which derived its inspiration from the great spiritual heritage of the Gurus did not ‘invent’ any standards of its own at the turn of the century. It is highly incorrect, rather misleading, to attribute innovations to a movement which was wholly revivalist in its nature and character. In fact, to propound a new ideology was against the very basic principles of the Singh Sabha. A scholar who sets out to study and understand the true nature of Sikhism should do so in the context of the Sikh scripture and the historical background of the emergence of Sikhism. Oberoi’s assertion that Sikhism is first and foremost a peasant faith or rural religion displays a complete lack of knowledge and understanding of Guru Granth Sahib and the fundamentals of Sikhism. This deficiency is common with those who use social science methodology in studying a religion

9 0 RESEARCHES IN SIK H R E L IG IO N A N D H ISTO R Y

and its history. No where in the history of India or elsewhere in the world, there is any evidence to suggest that the peasantry could, on its own, devise a radically new religious system or sustain a social revolution of the kind that took place in the Punjab. '

Throughout the ages, Sikhism has shown a remarkable potency and will to grapple with all crises, without compromising the basic and enduring values of its faith. It is through tremendous sacrifices and sufferings that the Sikhs have maintained their identity, ideals and ethos and carried out the mission entrusted to them by their Gurus, their birth, training, tradition and history have marked them out as a people separate from the rest. I t is quite idle to draw simplistic conclusions about the Sikh religion and its history, with­out an indepth study and analysis of the Sikh scripture and the role of each doctrine and institution in shaping the Sikh movement and the revolutionary changes it brought.

The study of the Singh Sabha movement in isolation, and in complete ignorance of the Sikh ideology and the earlier Sikh history, apart from being methodically inadequate and faulty, shows very clearly the failings of a narrow and lopsided approach. Lioyd has drawn a very interesting caricature of an anthropological view which would first magnify a very narrow aspect of a social phenomenon and then try to draw inferences therefrom. The social anthropologist who views religion as a social institution, quite often, fails to take into account the socio-cultural complex, “constituted by institutions, rules, beliefs and intentions” and arrives at erroneous conclusions.74 Lioyd has provided a rather amusing account of what a tribal anthropologist might see if he visited the Brighton Beach in the middle of summer. The anthroplogist’s account, he says, may read somewhat like the following :—

“The people of England are religious and devout worshippers of the sun. Each year they leave their homes and travel to the coast for the purpose of worship and often take up small accom­modation in tents or in what they call caravans, or live with other people during their short stay. Each day they begin worship by prostrating themseives on the shingle in the heat of the sun, which

S IN G H SA B H A M O VEM ENT t A R E V IV A L 9 1

92 researches in sikh religion and history

is often so hot that they wear shields over their eyes. Their bodies become burnt and some become ill, but few are deterred by this, such is their devotion. At various times people will baptise them­selves in the waters, calling to each other and waving their arms in ecstacy. At midday, families group together when a symbolic ceremony takes place. Three-cornered pieces of bread, known to the natives as ‘sandwiches’, are passed around and eaten. During the afternoon they throw symbolic, large, inflated, multicoloured orbs to one another, illustrating the dominance of the sun in their lives. Throughout all this, elders lie motionless in their canvas seats with their faces covered, in deep and prolonged meditation. These observances may continue for a family for upto fourteen days, when they return to their work until the following year.” 75

Lioyd says that such an interpretation of what the people of Brighton Beach were doing seems quite consistent with their physical movements. That is to say, if these people really were sun­worshipping, instead of sun-bathing and enjoying themselves, their bodily movements may be no different. The difference lies in how they saw their movements. What the anthropologist did not do was to see things the way the natives did, to entertain the ideas they had to understand the significance that these things had for them. If we wish to understand what a person is doing we have to understand not only his beliefs and intentions but also the socio-cultural context (constituted by institutions, norms and rules) which provide the framework within which he forms his purposes in terms of appraisal of his situation.

Conclusion :

Unless there is a conscious or unconscious effort to damage and erode the very roots of the Sikh ideology and the Sikh religion, a correct evaluation of Sikhism cannot be made by a lop-sided or isolated study of a few myths, legends, rituals and beliefs prevalent in a very small section of the community during a particularly lean period. The worshipping of a deity like Sakhi Sarvar by less than three percent of ignorant and illiterate villagers or similar local aberrations or beliefs cannot be regarded as the views and practice

SINGH SABHA MOVFMf NT : A REVIVBL 9 3

of the entire Sikh community, especially when the Sikh scripture, tradition and writings had specifically and repeatedly condemned them, and when there was hardly a trace of them in the Sikh community of the Guru period or of the 18th century.

People of different religions are, quite often, found harmonising together in social life and mutually respecting, understanding and taking part in each other’s modes, ways and doings. For example Purdah system which crept into the Hindu society bore the stamp of Muslim culture. It is misleading to draw inferences about the form and dynamics of a religion on the basis of socio-cultural practices and usages, which are local and temporary in character. A visitor to a Christian Sunday worship in a Panjabi village observed that “many aspects of the worship were strongly influenced by Punjabi village culture—the timing of worship, taking off shoes outside the Church, the separation of the men from the women, the noise and informality of worship, the music and musical instru­ments.” 76 If some Sikhs and Muslims worshipped the Sakhi Sarvar, it does not mean that Islam and Sikhism are not independent religions or that such worship is native to the two religions.

There are features which are particular to Punjab and there are practices derived from the surrounding culture which give it a particular flavour not found in other parts of the world. Popular legends of ‘Heer-Ranjhah’, ‘Sassi-Punnu’ and ‘Sohni Mahiwal’ (mentioned by Oberoi) which found frequent mention in Punjabi literature placed no impediments in the recognition of Sikhism as an independent religion.

There are certain features of a culture which are local and temporal and cannot, by any stretch, be deemed to be a part of prevailing leligious system. Just as the pop music that is a common feature of the urban life of the Indian community today, could not be called an intergral part of the Brahmanical religion, in the same way it would be wrong to characterise folk fables and love stories of Hir Ranjha and Sassi Pannu etc. as a part of the Sikh religion.

Our discussion of the four related aspects of the Singh Sabha movement shows that while it played an important and significant

9 4 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

regenerative role during a lean period of the Sikh history, it was wholly a revivalist movement working strictly within the paramet- res of the Sikh religion and its tradition. In fact the very reasons that it invoked the authority of the Gurus and the Guru Gi anth Sahib and placed before the public examples of the Sikh society and heroes that had suffered and sacrificed for the principles of Sikh religion account for the success of the Singh Sabha leaders in safely and creditably steering the Sikh community towards its goals.

References

1. Gauri Mahalla-3, Guru Granth Sahib, p. 129, translated by Gopal Singh, Vol. I, p. 120.

2. Guru Granth Sahib, p. 357.

3. Macauliffe, M. A.; The Sikh Religion, Yol. I, p. 326.4. Guru Granth Sahib, p. 1243; Trans, by Gopal Singh, Vol. IV,

p. 1188.5. Guru Granth Sahib, p. 830.6 . Guru Granth Sahib, p. 1412, Trans, by Gopal Singh, Vol. IV, p.

1337.7. Guru Granth Sahib, p. 1298.8 . Ibid., p. 1290.9. Gurdev Singh: Sikh Tradition (Chandigarh, 1986), p. 328.

10. Cunningham, J. D.; A History o f the Sikhs (Delhi, 1966), p. 64;Bannerjee, Indubhushan; Evolution o f the Khalsa. Vol. II (Calcutta 1962), p. 116 ;Also Daljeet Singh, Sikhism (New Delhi, 1979). pp. 285-86.

11. Cunningham, J. D., op. cit., p. 75.

SINGH SABHA MOVEMENT ; A REVIVAL 9 5

12. Guru Gobind Singh ; Dctsam Granth, Kabit Swayia, p. 712.

13. Ahmad Shah Batala; Tawctrikh-i-Hind, A. H. 1233/A. D. 1818. pp. 405-6; Also printed in Zikar-i-Guruan-Ibtida-i- Singhan-V/a-Mctzhab-i-Eshan-Twarikh-Daftari-Sohan.Sohan Lai Suri.

14. Cunningham, J. D.; op. cit., pp. 79-80;Ganda Singh; Early European Accounts o f the Sikhs (New Delhi, 1974), p. 188.

15. Gupta, Hari Ram ; History o f the Sikhs, Vol. IT, PP. 39-45; Also Vol. I; p. 281.

16. Kohli, Sita Ram; Foreword to Umdat-Ut-Tawarikh of Sohan Lai Suri, Daftar IV, p. ii.

17. Devi Prasad, Pandit; Gulshan-i-Punjab (Lukhnow, 1872), p. 224; See also Cunningham; op. cit., p. 301.

18. Census o f India, 1921 (Punjab and Delhi), Vol. XV, Part I, p. 184.

19. Ibbetson, Denzil; Punjab Castes (Reprinted) (Patiala, 1970), p. 228.Similar views are also expressed by Major R. Leech. For details see also Leech. R. (Major); Notes on the Religion o f the Sikhs and Other Sects Inhabiting the Punjab'. Foreign Secret Proceedings, Vol. 590, 6-20, December 1845, 3712.

20. Nirankari, Man Singh: The Nirankaris As Harbinger o f Sikh Renaissance, article published in the book entitled A Prophecy Fulfilled (Amritsar, 1984), edited by the same author, p. 48.

21. Sahni, Ruchi Ram; The Gurdwara Reform Movement and the Sikh Awakening (Jullundur, 1922), p. 34;Also Bingley, A. H.; The Sikhs (Reprint) (Patiala, 1970), p. 56.

22. The Khalsha Akhkar, Lahore, May 25, 1894.

23. Clark, Robert (Revd.); Thirty Years o f Missionary Work in Punjab and Sindh (Lahore, 1893), pp. 219-20, 224 and 246.

9 6 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND H'STORY

24. Dhillon, Gurdarshan Singh; Character and Impact o f the Singh Sahha Movement on the History o f Punjab (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Punjabi University, Patiala, 1973), p. 28.

25. Ibbetson, Denzil; op. cit., p. 228.26. Nirankari, Man Singh; op. cit., p. 48.27. Guru Granth Sahib, p. 1245.28. Gurmukh Singh, Bhai; My Attempted Ex-Communiation From

the Sikh Temples and the Khalsa Community at Faridkot in 1897 (Lahore, 1898), pp. 2-3.

29. Macauliffe, M. A.; op. cit„ Vol. I, pp. 310 and 379.30. Oberoi, H. S.; Popular Saints, Goddesses and Village Sacred

Sites; Re-reading Sikh Experience in the Nineteenth Century. Note :—This paper has been recently read at a Conference held at Burkley (U.S.A.)

31. Guru Granth Sahib, p. 1153; trans., by Gopal Singh, Vol. IV,p. 1102 .

32. Ibid., p. 310.

33. Macauliffe, M. A.; The Sikh Religion, Vol. Ill, pp. 7-8.

34. Ibid., p. 419.35. Ibid., Vol. IV, pp. 147-49.

36. Ibid., pp. 339-40.

37. (Prahlad Singh), Rehtnama, edited by Piara Singh Padam, p. 55; Rehtnama (Daya Singh), p. 64.

38. Bhangu, Rattan Singh; Prachin Panth Parkash (ed. Bhai Vir Singh Amritsar, 1962), pp. 42 and 47.

39. Rose, H. A.; A Glossary o f the Tribes and Castes o f the PunjabAnd North-West Frontier Province Vol. Ill (Reprint) (1970, Patiala) pp., 436-37.

40. Daljit Singh; Singh Sabha de Modhi Giani Ditt Singh Ji (Amritsar, 1951), pp. 72-73.

41. Khalsa Akhbar, Lahore, September 30, 1898.

SINGH SABHA MOVEMENT I A REVIVAL 97

42. Petrie, D.; Memorandum on Recent Developments in Sikh Politics (Simla, August 11, 1911), The Panjab Past and Pre­sent, Vol. IV, Part II (Patiala, October, 1970), pp. 310-11.

43. Koer Singh; Gurbilas Patshahi Das, p. 137; Macauliffe; op. cit., Vo’3 V, pp. 99-100; Also Jagjit Singh; The Sikh Revolution (Chandigarh, 1981), p. 177.

44. Macauliffe; op. cit., Vol. V, p. 218; Jagjit Singh; Ibid., p. 278.45. Bharat Mukti Morcha, Punjab; The Sikh Case (Chandigarh,

1988). They have quoted Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad as an evidence in support of these figures.

46. Akbar, M. J.; India : The Siege Within (London, 1985), pp. 307-8.

47. Ibid.48. For details see Kaban Singh, Bhai; Ham Hindu Nahin (Rep­

rint, Amritsar, 1973) and Ditt Singh, Giani; Nakli Sikh Par- bodh (Reprint, Amritsar, 1974).

49. Koer Singh; Gurbilas Patshahi Das (Patiala, 1968), pp. 136, 143.

50. Padam, Piara Singh (edited), Rehtnama (Patiala, 1974), pp. 68-69.

51. Jagjit Singh; op. cit., pp. 291-92.

52. Ganda Singh; A History o f the Khalsa College Amritsar (Amritsar, 1949), p. 2.

53. Ibid.54. Khem Singh Bedi’s followers called him Avtar (incarnation of

God). For details see Avtar Singh Vihiria, Bhai; Shok Pattar (Lahore, 1905), p. 38.

55. Khalsa Akhbar, Lahore, April 14, 1899.

56. Petrie, D.; op. cit., pp. 310-11.57. Jagjit Singh; Singh Sabha Lehr (Tarn Taran, 1941), pp. 16-17.58. The Civil and Military Gazette, Lahore, April 30, 1888: Petrie,

D.; op. cit., p. 311.

9 8 R SEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND 'HISTORY

59. Khalsa Akhbar, Lahore, November 18, 1898.60. Jodh Singh, Bhai; Guru Sahib A teVed (Amritsar, n.d.), pp.

15-20.61. Gian Singh, Giani; Panth Parkash (Patiala, 1970), Reprint,

pp. 233-34.62. Macauliffe’s Lecture, delivered at Simla and published in the

Khalsa Akhbar, Lahore, August 14, 1903.63. Teja Singh, Babu; Singhan Da Panth Niyara (Amritsar, 1900),

pp. 1-5.64. Lakshman Singh, Bhagat; Autobiography (edited by Ganda

Singh), (Calcutta, 1965), pp. 142-43.65. Census o f India 1921, Punjab and Delhi, Vol. XV, P. 171.6 6 . Talwar, K.S.; The Anand Marriage Act, The Punjab Past and

Present (October 1968), Vol. II, p. 407.67. Teja Singh; Sikhism, Its Ideals and Institutions (Calcutta,

1938), pp. 38-39.

6 8 . The Civil and Military Gazette, Lahore, April 30, 1888.69. Ibid.70. Caveeshar, Sardul Singh; Th Sikh Studies (Lahore, 1937),

pp. 189-90.71. Ibid.72. Ibid.73. Ibid.74. Gautam, Satya P.; On Understanding Human Action. Paper

read at a Seminar on ‘Philosophical Theory And Social Reality, January 18-22, 1982 available at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.

75. Lioyd D.I.; Nature o f Man, in Philosophy and the Teacher edited by D.I. Lioyed, (London : Routlege and Kegan Paul, 1978), p. 36.

76. Caleb, Maqbul; Christian Sunday Worship hi a Punjabi Village an article published in a book entitled, Popular Reli­gion In the Punjab Today edited by John C.B. Webster (Delhi, 1974), p. 125,

4THE ROLE OF THE AKALI DAL

DURING THE EMERGENCY(June, 1975 to March, 1977)

This paper attempts to evaluate the role played by the Akali Dal during the crucial two year period of the Emergency from June. 1975 to March, 1977. Effort has been made to provide details of the Akali Morcha, popularly known as the ‘Save Demo­cracy Campaign’ which raised the political stock of the Party and enabled it to emerge as the hero of the Emergency struggle. Its implications for the future have also been assessed. It is revealing to note that the demand for more provincial autonomy raised by the Akalis found greater conviction with people after the gross abuse of power by the centre during the Emergency. A chain of events eventually led the state of Punjab to its present political impasse.

The Constitution of free India resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Democratic Republic. Indian democracy was hailed as the largest democracy of the world. In its earlier phases the democracy in India appeared to be functioning successfully as the enthusiastic Indian masses experienced the glow of newly won freedom and adored their leaders in a spirit of pride and idealism. Little d d they realise that democratic process in the country would not be allowed to take d-ep roots by leaders whose democratic credentials were weak and who were far remote from the ruled.

1975 was a very crucial year in the Indian politics as it witnes­sed the first major blow to the Indian democracy. The proclama­tion of a state of Emergency by the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the events that fol’owed constitute a black chapter in the history of free India. Tn his historic Judgement delivered on June 12, 1975, Justice J. L. Sinha of the Allahabad High Court set aside Indira Gandhi’s election to the Eok Sabha as he found her ‘guilty of electoral corrupt practices’ in the Rai Barelie election and

99

100 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

debarred her from all elective offices for six years.1 Indira Gandhi decided to continue as Prime-Minister, not withstanding the High Court Judgement.2 This was in violation of all standards of con­stitutional conduct and conventions. In the process all the demo­cratic assertions and affirmations voiced all the time by the leaders of the ruling party were exposed as mere pretence. Members of th e Congress party were reported to have gathered around her residence to make appeals to her to disregard the unfavourable Judgement of the Allahabad High Court.3 People, who ought to have been vigilant about the democratic system stood up to demon­strate their ‘loyalty’ to her in contempt of the supremacy of the law, of their social duties and of all canons of decency.

Some Congress workers were reported to have shouted slogans against Justice Sinha of the Allahabad High Court. A few posters were put up by their supporters which tried to implicate Sinha with the C. I. A. Buses of the Delhi Transport Corporation were driven to the Prime Minister’s residence to express 'solidarity’ with her for confrontation against the law.4 The threat to her own position was wrapped up in too much rhetoric. There was a misleading propaganda that her ouster from office would lead to much instability and political turmoil. Political morality was stretched beyond limits.

The issue raised a storm of controversy all over the country. Opposition parties were convinced that Indira Gandhi would not lay down the office of the Prime Minister voluntarily. They held a series of meetings and decided to press home their demand for her resignation with a mass movement (Satayagraha) on a nation wide scale.5 Without any loss of time, the Prime-Minister declared a state of Emergency due to ‘internal disturbances threatening the security of India’. The President signed the order on June 26, 1975 at 7 A.M .6 This was a gross abuse of the Emergency provision of the constitut ion. Emergency could be declared only if there was some internal or external danger to the security of the country. It was clear that no such position existed. Such a major step was taken by the Prime Minister to gain a personal advantage and

i mi\

TH E RO LE OF T H B A K A L I D A L D U R IN G T H E EM ERG ENCY 101

maintain her seat in the Parliament, against all democratic norms.. This set a very bad precedent and virtually gave a license to all politicians to exploit their public office for personal benefits with­out fear of censure from any quarters. It opened the flood gates of corrupt practices in public life.

Indian democracy was in a shambles. The Prime Minister assumed dictatorial powers through a series of extra-constitutional measures. The Emergency provided the Government with an excuse for censorship and detention without trial. The Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was amended by an Ordinance to the effect that no grounds need be given for detention of any detenue under the Act.7 The original Act had provided that the grounds should be supplied to a detenue within a few days of his detention. Repressive measures like arbitrary arrests and forced family plan­ning crushed the civil liberties of the people. Press censorship was also a clear case of encroachment on the fundamental rights of the people.

Within a few months the election law was changed by the 39th constitution Amendment to annul the decision of the Allahabad High Court.8 It authorised the Parliament to set up a forum to hear disputes relating to the election of the President, Vice- President, Prime-Minister and the Speaker.9 It also sought to render pending proceedings in respect of such elections under the existing law null and void.10 Yet another amendment, known as the 41st Constitution Amendment, extended to the Piime Minister immunity from criminal and civil proceedings, as enjoyed by the President and the Governors at that time.11 It made the electornal offences of the Prime Minister beyond the scrutiny of the courts. West Bengal Chief Minister S. S. Ray defended ‘the right of legislatures to correct the judiciary’.12

Soon after the proclamation of the Emergency, Prime-Minister Indira Gandhi made efforts to woo the Akali leaders.13 “In view of the strategic situation of the Punjab and the need to win over some organised dynamic communities like the Sikhs, the ruling front in Delhi was quite keen to strike some sort of

1 0 2 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HiSTORY

compromise with the Akalis. ” 11 The announcement of the Emer­gency was followed by the country-wide arrests of the non-CP.E o ^position leaders including some Congress dissidents.45 About three thousand leaders from all over the country including Jai Parkash Narain, Morarji Desai, Raj Narain, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Ashok M ehta and Charan Singh were arrested. Dr. Baldev Parkash and Balramji Das Tandon from Punjab and Chaudhary Devi Lai and Chand Ram from Haryana had also been arrested. Surprisingly no Akali leader was arrested. Rather there were feelers from Delhi in regard to mutual co-operation. Some sympathisers viewed it a sa golden opportunity for the Akali leaders to strike a bargain with Delhi and settle all the pending issues. 17

The traditional Sikh ethos invariably reacts against every social or political injustice or oppression. It was obvious that the Prime Minister had given a major blow to the democratic and political life of the people in the country. It was therefore, natural and in line with the Sikh tradition to react against Emergency. Offers of negotations or a deal with the Prime Minister regarding the Sikh grievances could not wean the Akalis away from their natural reaction. Jagdev Singh Talwandi, president of the Akali Dal lost no time in organising the most formidable opposition to the Emergency. He condemned the step as ‘fascist’ and categorised it as ‘a reign of terror.’ Within three days of the Emergency being imposed, a special meeting of the Akali Dal Executive (June 29 and 30, 1975) spurned Mrs. Gandh’s elfort to woo them in regard to mutual co-operation and adopted a strongly-worded resolution condemning the Emergency in unequivocal terms.18 It read as under : —

“ The Akali Dal views with concern that the imposition of internal Emergency and suspension of fundamental rights on false pretext is absolutely unwarranted, uncalled for and politically moti­vated. This step is undoubtedly an onslaught on the civil liber­ties, freedom of press and freedom of speech, a rape on democracy and a great step towards dictatorship. The Shiromani Akali Dal has been a champion of democracy and civil liberties throughout and even now shall fight against this fascist tendency of the Congress.” 19

The working Committee of the Akali Dal held another urgent meeting, on July 7 and 8 , 1975, which declared the party’s resolve to continue to fight, tooth and nail, against all those Emergency provisions which entailed the civil liberties of the people and imposed checks on their fundamental rights granted in the Indian constitution. The party resolved to carry on the struggle till the Emergency was lifted. From July 9, 1975, the Akali Dal launched the ‘Save Democracy Morcha’ after offering a prayer at the Akal Takhat in the presence of about twenty thousand strong gathering. Jathedar Mohan Singh Tur was appointed the convener of the Morcha. The Akali leaders issued a joint statement lauding the role of the Sikhs for the freedom of the country. They referred to the great sacrifices made by the Sikhs while fighting against the Mughal tyranny and British imperialism and expressed their determination not to allow these sacrifices to go in vain. They regretted that the Government had complicated the Punjab problem by following a policy of drift and evasion.20 The high ranking leaders who courted arrest were Parkash Singh Badal, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Jagdev Singh Talwandi and Basant Singh Khalsa21.

The Akali demonstrators continued to defy the ban regularly and more than 43000, including eighteen Akali legislators, were arrested under MIS A, DIR and other Emergency provisions. The Akali Dal’s main support base, the rural peasantry, gave a very enthusiastic response to the call for Morcha22. Batches of vol­unteers shouting slogans like ‘Dictatorship will not last’ (Tanashahi Nahin Chalegi), ‘Withdraw the Emergency’, ‘Restore Civil Liberties’ and ‘Akali Dal Zindabad’ were seen going to the courts regularly23.

Unlike the R.S.S., the Akalis remained steadfast to their opposition to Emergency till the very end. M.J. Akbar, a noted Journalist, has analysed the reasons why the R.S.S. sought a compromise with the Government, during the Emergency. He points out that it was mainly due to the nature of its support base among the urban middle class, mostly ‘Banias’ or traders. These traders got frightened of government repression and particularly of tax raids. The R.S.S. Chief P. J. Deoras began

TH E ROLE O F T H E A K A L I D A L D U R IN G T H E EM ER G EN C Y 1 0 3

pleading for a compromise, when he was still in jail. This evidence came tumbling out later when letters sent by him to the government during the Emergeucy were leaked out. There was an offer to put one lac R.S.S. volunteers at the command of Mrs. Gandhi ‘so that the nation could prosper.’ R,S.S. periodicals began to praise Mrs. Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi. Later, after the Emergency was lifted, the R.S.S. would pretend to have played a brave role during this crucial period*4.

It goes to the credit of the Akalis that while most people in other parts of the country were frightened into submission or spoke against the Emergency in hushed tones, they {Akalis) put up such a brave and massive show of strength that the Prime Minister could not afford to ignore it. She regarded the Akali agitation as a serious threat to the Emergency. She was so worried that the Akali Dal’s example might embolden the other parties to defy her and bring down the precarious structure of the Emergency. She sent two envoys, Amarinder Singh and Bhai Ashok Singh, to the Akali leadership to strike a deal with them and in the bargain get their support for the Emergency.26 They offered the Akali Dal the possibility of forming a coalition government with the Congress. But the Akalis spurned the offer.

On December 8 , 1975, Indira Gandhi donned a Salwaar- Kameez and addressed a huge religious gathering of the Sikhs at the Ram Lila Grounds in Delhi, on the occasion of the Martyrdom day of the ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur. She recalled how the Guru had saved the honour of Kashmiri Pandits who were being forcibly converted to Islam. She traced her lineage to these Kashmiri Pandits. She lauded the Sikhs and their Gurusfor their bravery and spirit of sacrifice. She ended her speech with ‘Bole So NihgJ !’ Zail Singh and Jathedar Santokh Singh, who were present on the occasion, were happy to note that the Prime Minister’s son Sanjay Gandhi was married in a Sikh family.26

4

The Akali ‘Morcha’ continued in full vigour without yielding to pressure, temptation or political gimmicks. The government’s

1 0 4 R E SE A R C H E S IN SIK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IS T O R Y

the role of the akali dal d u rin g the emergence 105

failure to solve the Punjab problem had added a new dimension to the Morcha. This made ‘the Akali protest, which operated from the Gurdwaras the most sustained opposition to the Emergency offered any where in India’.27 The theo-political status of the Gurdwaras did not raise any controversy at that time.

Pro-Akali news papers were either closed or penalised on the plea of violating censorship rules. The provisions of MISA were extended to all the top Akali leaders while they were still in jails, although earlier they were arrested for defying the ban orders. In October, 1975, MISA was further amended to forbid disclosure of the grounds of detention or material or information on which such grounds were formed. This was the third amendment to the Act since the proclamation of the Emergency.28

As most of the Akali leaders were still languishing in Jails, Indira Gandhi announced a highly arbitrary and controversial Award (March 25,1976) regarding the water and the hydel power of Punjab rivers, under section 78 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966.29 Section 78 of this Act had given arbitrary powers to the Central government to divide the waters of the Beas project in any manner or ratio it liked. The Award allocated the water as under :

1. Rajasthan (non-riparian State)=8.00 M.A.F.2. Haryana (non-riparian State)=3.50 M.A.F.3. Delhi (non-riparian State) =0.20 M.A.F.4. Punjab (riparian State)=3.5J M. A.F,

M.A.F. stands for Million Area Feet.30

The Akalis contended that the Section 78 of the Reorganisa­tion Act, under which the Award was given, was in itself dis­criminatory and unconstitutional. They pointed out that the allotment of 75% of the Ravi-Beas Satluj waters and energy, doled out to the neighbouring non-riparian states, was not warranted by any national or international norms.31 The Award was considered unconstitutional because Punjab is a riparian state and Haryana

1 0 6 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

Delhi and Rajasthan are non-riparian states. Under Articles 246 and 162 of our Constitution, a state is fully autonomous in the matters of land, water and hydel power. Hence no water or hydel power could be given to the non-riparian states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi. The decision was considered arbitrary be­cause, even assuming that the Beas Project was a pre-partition scheme, it allocated only about .9 M.A.F. to Haryana. But in the Award she allotted 3.50 M.A.F. to Haryana, .20 M.A.F. to Delhi and 3.50 M.A.F. only to Punjab. Separately under an executive decision 8.00 M.A.F. were reserved for Rajasthan. The Award was considered grossly destructive to the economy of Punjab because eventually Punjab needed every drop of its waters and hydel power. It was left with only about 2 0 % of its own waters. The loss of agricultural production to Punjab and corresponding gain to non-riparian states was of about Rupees 2500 crores per annum.32 The loss on account of transfer of hydel power was even greater. The implementation of this Award meant that around nine lacs of cultivated land in Punjab would be denied the irrigation facilities which they had enjoyed for over half a century.

The Award evoked a strong protest and reaction in the state especially in rural Punjab and among the Sikhs who were predo­minantly farmers. The Award was looked upon as a punitive action as the Prime Minister had hit back with vengeance in giving a major blow to the economic future of Punjab and its people. The issue was raised by the Akali members on the floor of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The adjournment was rejected by the speakei stating that the state Assembly could not discuss the decision of the Union Government. The Akalis wanted the House to pass a resolution rejecting the Award.118 Later on, even a loyalist Congress Chief Minister of Punjab, Zail Singh, conveyed his objec­tion to this blatantly unfair government notification regarding the distribution of Punjab river waters. The authoritative Prime Mini­ster blatantly told h'm either to accept the Government line or resign. Zail Singh decided to choose the first alternative.

After the Emergency, when the Akali Ministry came into power in Punjab, it filed a suit before the Supreme Court against the gross unconstitutionally of allotments of water and hydel power to non-riparian states. Apparently, the Prime Minister was conscious of her unconstitutional step and when she returned to power after the exit of the Janata government she called the Con­gress Chief Ministers of Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab and had her Award virtually endorsed and got the constitutional case with- drawan from the Supreme Court.34 It was reported in the press that Punjab Chief Minister Darbara Singh at that time pleaded that he had signed the unjust agreement with Haryana and Rajasthan virtually under gun point.36

The 44th Constitutional Amendment Bill introduced in the Parliament in September, 1976 evoked strong protest from the Akali Dal. The Bill sought a six year term for Parliament and the state assemblies ‘to ensure stability and a larger opportunity to legislators to serve their constituents with the devotion, expected of them in the reformed political set up.’36 Another proposal related to the re-affirmation of the supremacy of the Pali ament and restriction on the powers of the High Courts in respect of constitu­tional and other central laws. In fact the Bill sought to introduce several far reaching changes in the existing pattern and basic frame work of the country.37 The Akalis took a strong note of it and described these proposals as repugnant to the federal and democratic principles and most dangerous and deterimental to the interests of the minorities. The Akali Morcha continued until elections were announced on January 20, 1977 and the Emergency provisions were relaxed.38

The excesses committed during the Emergency gave a death blow to the Congress and led to a country-wide agitation under the leadership of Jaya Pavkash Narain. The Akalis, who had laun­ched a crusade against the Emergency for nineteen months, joined the other opposition parties in according a tumultuous welcome to Jaya Parkash Narain during his visit to Punjab.39 In order to put up a joint fight against the Congress, the opposition parties merged

THE ROLE OF THE AKALI DAL DURING THE EMERGENCY 1 0 7

1 0 8 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

into a new Janata Party. The Akali Dal did not like to lose its identity but decided to form an alliance with the Janata Party and the C.P.M. Tn spite of differences in ideology and commitments a common bond of opposing the Emergency and living together in jails strengthened the relations of the Akali Dal with the other political parties and brought them on a common platform. One of the senior Akali leaders, Atma Singh, in fact, claimed that the initiative for the formation of the Janata Party was taken by Parkash Singh Badal. Atma Singh, who was under detention along with Badal in Delhi jail during the Emergency, told a news correspondent that, on Feburary 6 , 1976, Badal hosted a lunch to about 409 political detenus which marked the beginning of a dialogue for a united party to fight the Congress. Atma Singh said that the Akali Dal did not like to merge with the Janata Party because of its unique character. Flowever, the Dal told the Janata leader Charan Singh that it would extend full co-operation to the Janata Party in fighting the Congress.40

A strong anti-Congress wave that was sweeping across the country led to a spectacular victory for the Akali-Janata-C.P.M. alliance, which won all the seats from the Punjab in the national elections to the Lok Sabha in March 1977.41 The act of Emer­gency was so glaringly dishonest that even the man in the street was conscious of it. The votes cut across all the known barriers of caste, class and party and became a one sided affair in most states of the country.42 This time no political card could work and it was a clear defeat for Indira Gandhi, her son Sanjay Gandhi and many others for whom the Emergency had meant a trouble fiee enjoyment of power.

In the elections to the Punjab Assembly held in June, 1977, the same alliance captured 91 out of a total of 117 Assembly seats. The Akali Dal got a clear majority by capturing 58 seats43. The next largest majority was that of the Janata Party with 24 seats. In spite of a clear majority, the Akali Dal decided to follow a policy of accommodation and co-operation with the alliance parteners. The Janata-Akali coalition government had already started functioning

ing at the centre with two ministerial positions for the Akali Dal. In Punjab the Akali-Janata combine, with Parkash Singh Badal as Chief Minister, came into power.44

The Akali Dal emerged as the true hero of the Emergency struggle. The assumption of power by the Akali-Janata coalition ministry was welcomed by the people of Punjab. In his very first policy statement, Chief Minister Badal indicated his government’s intentions ‘to probe the excesses committed during Emergency and bring guilty publicmen and officials to book.’45 The Gurdev Singh Enquiry Commission was appointed for this purpose. It was at this time that the Akali Dal emphasised the need for redefining Centre- State relations. The All India Akali Conference, held at Ludhiana on October 28 and 29, 1978, adopted 11 resolutions listing Sikh demands. The first resolution, relating to more state autonomy, stated as under :—

“The climax of the process of centralisation of powers of the states through repeated amendments of the constitution during the Congress regime came before the countrymen in the form of Emer­gency when all fundamental rights of all citizens were usurped. It was then that the programme of decentralisation of powers ever advocated by the Shiromani Akali Dal was openly accepted and adopted by other political parties including the Janata Party, C.P.M., A.D.M.K. etc. Tha Akali Dal emphatically urges upon the Janata government to take congnizance of the different linguistic and cultural sections, religious minorities as also the voice of millions of people and recast the constitutional structure of the country on real and meaningful federal principles to obviate the possibility of any danger to National unity and the integrity of the country and further enable the states to play a useful role for the progress and prosperity of the Indian people in their respective areas by the meaningful exercise of their powers.” 46

Due to unwarranted delay in deciding the issues of Chandigarh, water and territory, the demand for redifining Centre-State relation­ships found vindication in the eyes of an ever growing number of people. The demand for more state autonomy, which was at the

THE ROLE OF THE AKALI DAL DURING THE EMERGENCY 1 0 9

110 RESEARCHES in SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

forefront of the Punjab problem these days, began to find greater conviction with the people after the ruthless repression let loose during the dark days of the Emergency.

In the final analysis, it can be said that the Akali Dal fought and won the battle against the Emergecy with credit. It earned the distinction of emerging as the most courageous opposition party in the country. The rest of India saw it as a model of fortitude and forbearance. In the tradition of the Gurdwara Reform Movement and all subsequent movements the campaign against the Emergency was non-violent in character. A grand electoral victory took the Party to the peak of its glory. After the Emergency, Mrs. Vijalakshmi Pandit, while addiessing a big public gathering at Chandigarh paid a handsome tribute to the Akalis for their brave resistance to the Emergency. She observed :

“ Punjab which had always been in the forefront of resistance to oppression, kept its colours dying during the Emergency a'so. It was in Punjab and Punjab alone that a laige scale resistance was organised against it. The worst thing that happenpd during the Emergency was that a brave nation was frightened into submission and no body spoke except in hushed tones. In Dehra Dun, where I was, I hung my head in shame and wondered if this was the Bharat for which we, the freedom fighters, hand suffered. Even those, not actually in prison, were no less in jail. Only in Punjab the Akalis organised a morcha against this. Punjab’s lead in such matters should cont’nue. ” 47

After her return to power, Indira Gandhi was never able to reconcile or resolve her differences with the Akalis. In dealing with them, she adopted a policy of drift, dialatory tactics, unilateral awards, evasions, alibis, sham negotiations, confrontation and bloodshed. Such a policy spelt nothing but disaster for the state and brought it to a tragic impasse.

I

THE ROLE OF THE AKALI DAL DURING THE EMERGENCY 111

References1. The Hindustan Times, June 13, 1975.2. The Hindustan Times, June 15, 1975.3. The Hindustan Times, June 16, 17 and 18, 1975;

The Tribune, June 17, 18 and 19, 1975.4. Ibid.5. The Hindustan Times, June 26, 1975;

The Tribune, June 26, 1975.6 . 77ze Hindustan Times, June 28, 1975;7. The Hindustan Times, July 1, 1975; Mark Tully's observations

are noteworthy :“When Mrs. Gandhi took Emergency powers, arrested oppo­sition leaders and censored press, it was interpreted as the end of the last surviving democracies in the developing world. Mrs. Gandhi’s motive in declaring the Emergency had undoubtedly been to protect her own position.” Tully, Mark and Jacob, Satish; Amritsar Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle (New Delhi, 1985), p. 55.

8 . The Hindustan Times, September 10 and 12, 1975.9. The Hindustan Times, August 8 , 1975.

10. Ibid.11. The Hindustan Times, August 10, 1975.12. The Hindustan Times, September 15, 1975.13. Tully, Mark and Jacob, Satish; Op. cit., p. 75.14. Narang, A.S.; Storm Over the Satluj; the Akalis Politics (New

Delhi, 1983).15. The Hindustan Times, June 28, 197516. Gulshan, Dhanna Singh, Aaj Da Punjab Te Sikh Rajneeti

(1947-1977) (Bhatinda, 1978), pp. 271-72.Also Wallace, Paul and Chopra, Surendra (Ed.)Political Dynamics o f Punjab (Amritsar, 1981), p. 20.

17. Gulshan; Op.cit., pp. 271-72.18. Akbar, M.J.; India : The Siege Within (London, 1985), p. 182.19. The Spokesman Weekly, August 8 , 1977.20. Gulshan; Op. cit., pp. 273-74

112 RESEARCHES in SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

21. Ibid.22. Akbar, M.J.; Op. cit., pp. 307-823. Gulshan; Op. cit., 273-7424. Akbar, M.J.; Op. cit., pp. 307-825. Tully, Mark and Jacob, Satish; Op. cit., p. 75.26. Gulshan; Op. cit., pp. 302.27. Jeffrey, Robin, What's Happening to India (London, 1986),

P. 116.28. The Hindustan Times, October 18, 1975.29. The Tribune, March 26, 1976.30. Ibid.31. The Tribune, March 30, 1976.32. The Council of Sikh Affairs; The Punjab River-Water

Dispute (Chandigarh, n.d.), pp. 44 & 5433. The Tribune, March 30, 1976.34. The Tribune, December 16, 1981 and January 1, 1982.35. The Tribune, December 16, 1981, January 1, 1982 and

February 19, 1983;The Indian Express, December 16, 1981 and January 1, 1982.

36. The Tribune, September 2, 3 and 4, 1976.37. Ibid.38. The Times o f India, January 21, 1977.39. Narang, A.S. Op, cit., pp. 192-93.40. Ibid.41. The Hindustan Times, March 20, 21 & 22, 1977.42. Thakur, Janardan: Indira Gandhi and her Power Game

(Ghaziabad, 1979), P. 157.43. The Tribune, June, 15, 1977.44. The Tribune, June 19, 20 & 21, 1977.45. The Tribune, September 10, 1977.46. The Tribune, October 29 and 30, 1978;

Ajmer Singh, Giani; The Draft o f the New Policy Programme o f the Shiromani A kali Dal (Amritsar, 1978). pp. 6 and 7.

47. The Tribune, March 13, 1977.

5ROOTS OF THE CURRENT PUNJAB

CRISIS (1966-1982)

This paper seeks to make an in-depth study of the multi­dimensional Punjab crisis by examining the economic, political and social factors which determined the Akali confrontation with the Government from 1966 to 1982, from the creation of the Punjabi Suba to the launching of the ‘Dharam Yudh Morcha’. It high­lights the struggle of the moderate Akali leadership to arrive at a peaceful settlement with the Government, without any success. The period (1966-1982) of sixteen years constitutes a peaceful phase in the Punjab crisis, which took an aggressive turn from 1982 onwards with the rise of a new class of leadership called extremists.

The formation of a Punjabi speaking state in 1966, after a long struggle, extending over nearly two decades proved only a Pyrrhic victory for the Sikhs.1 It did not satisfy all their grievances. There was a great resentment that a grave injustice had been done to Punjab and that, the faulty census of 1961 had been made the basis of demarcation of the boundaries between the two new states.* The Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966, not only trun­cated Punjab by depriving it of valuable Punjabi speaking areas but also doled out seventy six per cent of the state’s water and hydel resources to the neighbouring states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, in clear violation of national and international norms, thus eroding the achievement of a Punjabi Suba.

Punjabi Suba was conceded at a crucial time during the brief tenure of Lai Bahadur Shastri as Prime Minister. Perhaps he thought it prudent to restore normalcy in the sensitive border state, especially in view of the Indo-Pak conflict of 1965. A Parliamentary Consultative Committee, with twenty two members, chaired by Hukam Singh, the Lok Sabha Speaker was set up to

113

114 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

find a “co-operative solution” of the linguistic problem facing Punjab. The appointment of Hukam Singh as Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee was not liked by Mrs. Indira Gandhi, who was the Minister for Information and Broad-casting at that time, as she was afraid of his proposed verdict in favour of Punjabi Suba. This is fully, borne out by her statement in her autobio­graphy, ‘My Truth’, which reads as under :-

“ My father had been strongly opposed to the idea (Punjabi Suba), but, by 1966, the demand had grown so strong that the centre was in no position to resist it...Unfortunately Mr. Shastri had made Sardar Hukam Singh, the Speaker of the Lower House, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Punjabi Suba, although he was very biased in favour of Punjabi Suba...I went to Mr. Chavan and said that Sardar Hukam Singh was going to give a report in favour of Punjabi Suba and that he should be stop­ped.” 3 Indira Gandhi and Chavan met Shastri in this connection. Shastri said that they need not bother as he was fully in touch with the situation. “ But I (Indira Gandhi) was very bothered and I went round seeing everybody. Of course, once, the report came, it was too late to change it. This startling reversal of Con­gress policy was totally unexpected. While a Sikh agitation had been averted, Hindu minority in the projected Punjabi Suba felt letdown .” 4 Prompted by Indira Gandhi, Shastri contacted Home Minister Nanda and conveyed to him the concern about the feared report. Nanda admitted that he had suggested Hukam Singh’s name for the Chairmanship of the Committee under the mistaken impression that he (Hukam Singh) was opposed to the Punjabi Suba demand. But it was too late to mend matters. Hukam Singh later wrote, “ the intention of the Government then was to use me against my community, secure an adverse report and then reject the demand. ” 5

Prime Minister Shastri died of cardiac arrest at Tashkent on January 11,1966. Indira Gandhi took over as the leader of the Party and the Prime Minister on January 20, 1966. She seemed to be inclined to pursue the line of her father Nehru, who had

resisted the Suba demand with all the force at his command. She appointed a Commission to determine the boundaries on a linguistic basis taking into account the 1961 census, which was termed communal, even by Nehru. The Akalis wanted the Government to apply language data of any census between 1981 and 1931 and not the census of 1961 as it did not reflect the true picture of the language of the inhabitants.6

Under sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, the powers of control, administration, maintenance and run­ning of the multi-purpose projects and head-works on three Punjab rivers were completely transferred from the Punjab Government to the Central Government.7 These sections were ultra-vires and unconstitutional as the central Government had no authority, executive or legislative, in regard to any state river or its hydel power. The state subjects of irrigation and hydel power were unconstitutionally transferred from the state govern­ment to the central government. Thus the riparian rights of Punjab were snatched away against all norms. It was felt that Punjab was reduced to a crippled sub-state because two of its basic tools and resources so essential for agricultural and industrial development were taken out of the purview of the state adminis­tration. It was pointed out that these sections (78 to 80) of the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 were highly detrimental to the economic and political interests and future of the state.

While carving out the new Punjabi speaking state the demar­cation already made under the Sachar Formula and again under the Regional Formula was completely ignored. The Shah Com­mission was appointed to demarcate afresh Punjabi speaking areas on the basis of 1961 census. The Akalis could see through this game and voiced their protest. Sant Fateh Singh sent a telegram to the Prime Minister (April 13, 1966) that the 1961 census was bogus and on communal lines. The Commission awar­ded Chandigarh and other Punjabi speaking areas to Haryana. The reorganisation of Punjab on the above lines did not satisfy the Sikhs. Rather it led to a wave of resentment and disillusionment among them. The Central Government took over the control of

ROOTS OF THE CURRENT PUNJAB CRISIS (1966-1982) 115

116 RESEARCH ES IN S IK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

Chandigarh by declaring it a Union territory and making it the joint capital of both Punjab and Haryana. The creation of other common links between the two states like a common Governor, a common High Court, common Universities and common Electricity Board was viewed by the Sikhs with suspicion.8

There were a series of peaceful agitations, fasts and threats of self-immolation by the Akali leaders in connection with the inclusion of Chandigarh and other Punjabi speaking areas into Punjab, the dissolution of common links between the two states and the restoration of the goverance of water and hydel resources to Punjab.9 In August, 1969, Darshan Singh Pheruman under­took a fast unto death for the inclusion of Chandigarh and other Punjabi speaking areas into Punjab.10 His sacrifice did not evoke the desired response from the Government.

At long last the decision on Chandigarh was announced by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on January 29, 1970.11 The Chandi­garh Capital Project area was to be transferred to Punjab within five years (by January 1975). The villages in the Union Territory were to be divided between Punjab and Haryana as per the Regio­nal Formula. Haryana was to get 114 villages of Fazilka and Abohar from the Punjab.12 To provide contiguity between these villages and the rest of Haryana, a furlong wide ‘strip of territory’ along the Punjab-Rajasthan border was also to be transferred to Haryana. The Government was to appoint a commission, with suitable terms of reference in consultation with the Governments of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as regards the other claims and counter claims of the existing inter-state boundary.13 This commission was never appointed. There were violent demonstrations in many parts of the state over the proposed transfer of the two rich cotton growing areas of Punjab to Haryana.14 It was felt that the transfer of 114 villages, located in Ravi basin would not only break contiguity with Sikh villages in Rajasthan but would also make Haryana a riparian state, thus acquiring legal claims to Punjab river waters and hydel power. Moreover, the principle of corridor through Sikh villages to connect Hindu majority area with

Roots of the current punjar crisis ( 1 9 6 6 - 1 9 8 2 ) 1 1 7

Haryana was not acceptable to the Sikhs. This principle had not been applied in any other part of the country. This Award instead of solving the problem complicated the matter still further. It rem­ained a running sore, insoluble and cause of bitterness between the two states.

The ever growing Central interference and encroachment on state powers led the Akali Dal to pass the historic Anandpur Sahib Resolution in October 1973.15 The Resolution stated that the Akali Dal was determined to achieve a homogenous state of Punjab, which included the present Punjab and other Punjabi­speaking areas, deliberately left out by the Government of India, when demarcating the boundaries of Punjabi Suba. The new state of Punjab was to be a single unilingual state where Sikh religion, culture and rights were safe from the on-slaught of the Central Government and the majority community. The Resolution demanded the restructuring of the Indian constitution to ensure ‘real federal principles, with equal representation at the centre for all the states’.16 It suggested that the proposal of the Cabinet Mission in 1946 be revived, with the Central Government in Delhi in charge only of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Currency and general Communications. The Resolution condemned the foreign policy of India, framed by the Congress Party as “ worthless, hopeless and highly detrimental to the interests of the country, the nation and mankind at large. ” 17 The Akali Dal was to extend its support only to that foreign policy of India, which was based on the principles of peace and national interests. The Resolution advocated a policy of peace with all neighbouring countries especially those inhabited by the Sikhs and their sacred shrines.18 The Resolution also took up the issue of the Sikh recruitment in the army. It was stated that ‘the Shiromani Akali Dal shall also endeavour to maintain the traditional position of the Sikhs (about 25%) in all the wings of the defence department and the Panth would pay particular attention to the needs of the Sikh army men.” 19 Before 1947, the Sikhs constituted about 25% of the Defence forces. But after 1947, the percentage came down to

118 RESEARCHES in SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

about 8 % as a result of the new policy of fixed provincial quotas on the basis of population. It was pointed out that the new policy was quite contrary to the principle of merit alone governing recruitment to all other public services. It was not only violative of the principle of equality of opportunity embodied in Articles 15 (1) and 16 (2) of the Indian Constitution but was also completely at variance with the basic principle of recruitment to all other public services. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution demanded the scrapping of this unconstitutional and discriminatory policy of recruitment to the Defence Forces.

The most controversial political issue raised by the Anandpur Sahib Resolution related to Centre-State relations. It was in fact an expression of a long standing grievance that, after partition, no constitutional safeguards were given to the minorities. Before 1947, the Congress had consistently declared that the Constitution of free India would be a federal one. But in 1950 the Congress com­pletely backed out from its promise and framed a constitution lean­ing towards a unitary form of Government.20 The constitutional provision regarding the transfer of subjects from the State list to the concurrent list was considered an encroachment upon the rights of the states. Extra-constitutional institutions like the Planning Commission, the Water and Power Commission and the University Grants Commission were further meant to curtail the powers of the states. Corporate bodies like the Food Corporation of India and Cotton Corporation of India also fortified the central hold over the states. It was apprehended that the policy of creating central corporate bodies (including the scheduled banks) functioning on zonal basis (instead of provincial) was a subtle move to base the political division of the country on the same lines, instead of linguistic lines. The Sikhs also resented the central control over Punjab water and hydel energy through unconstitutional and arbitrary measures. The idea of a joint capital and a joint High Court between the states of Punjab and Haryana, for an indefinite period, was also viewed as unprecedented and discriminatory. It was against this background that a demand for greater autonomy was made in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution.

1975 was a very crucial year in the Indian politics as Indira Gandhi imposed internal Emergency on the country and assumed dictatorial powers, through a series of extra-constitutional measures.21 Indian democracy was in a shambles. The Emergency provided the Government with an excuse for censorship and detention without trial. Repressive measures like MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) DIR (Defence of India Regulations) and forced family planning crushed the civil liberties and human rights of the people. From July 9, 1975, the Akali Dal started a ‘Save Democracy Morcha’, with the five high ranking leaders courting arrest.22 The movement continued until elections were announced in January, 1977 and the emergency provisions were relaxed. Akali demonstrators regularly defied the bans and more than forty thousand, including President of the Akali Dal and eighteen Akali legislators were arrested under MISA, DIR and other emergency provisions. ‘This would make the Akali protest, which operated from the Gurdwaras, the most sustained opposition to the emergency offered anywhere in India’.23

Pro-Akali newspapers were either closed or penalised. The 42nd constitutional Amendment Bill introduced in the Indian Parliament in September, 1976 evoked strong protest from the Akali Dal. The proposals mentioned in the Amendment Bill were described as repugnant to the federal and democratic principles and most dangerous and deterimental to the interests of the minorities.

At the All India Akali Conference held at Ludhiana in Oct. 1978, the Akalis reiterated their demand for more state autonomy. They clarified that the demand did not pose a threat to the unity and integrity of the country, rather it was conducive to the progress and prosperity of the Indian people.24 Due to unwarranted delay in deciding the issues of Chandigarh, water and territory the demand for redefining centre-state relationship found vindication in the eyes of an ever-growing number of Sikhs. On the other hand the Government indicated its evasive policies by raising the bogey of Sikh separatism and condemning the Anandpur Sahib Resolution as a religiously inspired secessionist document.25

ROOTS OF THE CURRENT jPUNJAB CRISIS ( 1 9 6 6 - 1 9 8 2 ) 1 1 9

The Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Award of March 1976 regarding the sharing of Ravi -Beas waters and energy, under section 78 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966, doled out 75% of the Ravi-Beas waters and energy to the neighbouring non-riparian states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.28 The Akalis contended that section 78 of the Reorganisation Act, under which the Award was given, was in itself discriminatory and unconstitutional. After the Emergency, when the Janata Government took over, the Akalis approached Prime Minister Morarji Desai to have the Government notification of 1976 revoked but to no avail. It was in these s circumstances that the Akali Government in Punjab approached the Supreme Court so as to have its formal verdict in accordance with the law of the land. But before the Akalis could hope to secure a verdict from the Supreme Court, Indira Gandhi during her second round of Prime Ministership did succeed in getting the case withdrawn from the Supreme Court. However, the Central Award of 1976 could not be implemented as its legality had been challenged in the Supreme Court.

The Congress victory in the Lok Sabha elections brought Indira Gandhi back to power. Her first major act as Prime Minister was to impose President’s rule in nine states including Punjab, on the plea that the state Governments had failed to win * the people’s mandate in their favour. Punjab came under Presi­dent’s rule. Dismissal of the Badal Government in the mid-term led to a lot of resentment among the Akalis and gave a boost to the forces of extremism.27

In the Punjab Assembly elections, held in May, 1980, Congress was swept to power. The Chief Ministership of the state was entrusted to Darbara Singh who nourished the ambition of be­coming a strong Chief Minister like Pratap Singh Kairon. Zail * Singh, who was the Home Minister at that time was not allowed to have any say in the choice of the Chief Minister of his home state. Both Zail Singh and Darbara Singh worked at cross­purposes and each in his own way played his role to bring the state to its present tragic fate.28 Indira Gandhi found in Darbara

120 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

Jfc

Singh a person who could adopt a hard line policy on Sikhs, a line of confrontation rather than of accommodation. Darbara Singh wanted to smash the Akalis as a political force. Zail Singh had tried to beat the Akalis with a religious -weapon whereas Darbara Singh decided to reverse the policy and confront the Akalis from a self-styled secular platform. It was a colossal task in which he was not destined to have a smooth sailing. He failed to stem the march of tragic events, leading to a chain of action and reaction that were going to make history. The process had started before he assumed office.29

It was unfortunate that the Akali struggle for the protection of just aspirations and rights of Punjab was turned into a Hindu- Sikh conflict and unnecessary confrontation between the Centre and the State. Between October 1981 and April 1982 there were three rounds of negotiations between the Akali Dal and the Government but they all resulted in nothing but deadlock. The Prime Minister seemed to have her own compulsions. After with­drawing the case from the Supreme Court, it was not possible for her to arrive at a negotiated settlement with the Akalis. It was also well known that the Akalis had put up the most vehement opposition to the Emergency.30 Indira Gandhi seemed to have come back with a vengeance.

There were many other factors for the failure of the negotia­tions. In her dealings with the Akali Dal, Indira Gandhi could never ignore the partisan interests of the Punjab Congress which had a good support base among the Hindus. Only a posture of confrontation rather than of accommodation with the Sikhs could help bring the Congress closer to the Hindus, who had already started rallying around it for protection. The B.J.P. had been over-shadowed. Indira Gandhi could ill afford to allow Hindu communalists to shift their loyalities else where. It was a tragedy for Punjab that the Punjabi Hindus not only disowned their mother tongue but also did not involve themselves in the struggle for the legitimate territorial and water claims of the State.

fcOOTS OF THE CURRENT PUNJAB CRISIS ( 1 9 6 6 - 1 9 8 2 ) 1 2 1

In the manipulative politics of Indira Gandhi electoral gains, even though short-term, were far more important than anything else. Role of Punjab Congress further complicated the issues. In its anxiety to please the Hindus, the Punjab Congress failed to recognise the legitimacy of the river waters and territorial demands of the State and take them up with the Centre. While the State units of the Congress in other parts of the country vehemently took up the cause of their respective states, the Congress in Punjab toed the line of the centre, thus betraying its own people. No wonder, the Punjab problem defied solution. Here it is note­worthy that not only in Punjab but also in Jammu and Kashmir and Goa, the behaviour of the State units of the Congress follow a set pattern.

Reluctance of the Prime Minister to conclude a settlement with the Akali Dal was also due to her desire to liquidate the Party, the main political rival to the Congress in the State. Little did she realise that any attempt to weaken the mainstream Akali leadership would strengthen the forces of extremism in the border state and would legitimise them, at least in the eyes of some people. The growing popularity of Sant Jarnail Singh Bindranwale, especially among the rural Sikh youth posed a serious threat to the Akali Dal. The Party had to fight a battle for its survival. With the extremist elements making inroads into its ranks, the Party could not afford to become irrelevant. It had to retain its representative character and retrieve its lost ground. Sant Harchand Singh Longowal launched an agitation to prevent the digging of the canal to link the Satluj with the Yamuna. The foundation stone of the canal was laid by Indira Gandhi on April 6 , 1982 at Kapuri near Patiala on the border of Punjab and Haryana. The Akali Dal held a protest meeting at Ghanaur at a distance of 6 Kms. from the site.31 It was argued that the digging of the canal would jeopardise the interests of lacs of Sikh farmers and would completely shatter the agriculture based economy of the State.

The Akalis were far from being subdued. Battle lines between them and the Centre seemed to be drawn clearly. The dominant

i 11 Researches in sikh religion and history

Roots OF THE cURkENt FuNJAfc CRISIS ( 1 9 6 6 - 1 9 8 2 ) 1 2 3

section of the Akalis had always drawn a line of moderation. But now their patience was being stretched beyond limits. None of the demands on their agenda had been conceded. Pretence of sham negotiations, dismissal of the Akali Government in the mid-term, oppressive policies of the Centre towards the minorities and con­tinuous economic erosion of the State were some of the factors which brought a twist in :the Akali perceptions. Cut and dried policy of confrontation, provocation and fake police encounters pursued by the Chief Minister Darbara Singh, undue support extended by the Government to the Nirankaris and the repeated attempts made by the Centre to wipe out the Akali Dal as a poli­tical force further intensified the crisis and brought to an end another chapter in the history of the Punjab. The struggle between the centre and the Akalis entered an altogether new phase with the launching of the ‘Dharam Yudh Morcha’ from August 4, 1982.

References :—

1. Hukam Singh pointed out that if the Sachar Formula, worked out in 1949, had been accepted, there would have been no further conflict. If the Regional Formula had been allowed to be implemented, there would not have been any further dis­content. And if Punjabi Suba had been demarcated simp ly on a linguistic basis and not on the communal returns of 1961 census, there would not have been any extremist movement. Indian Express April, 11, 1983.

2. Sant Fateh Singh on November 5, 1966 told pressmen that he would announce his future programme of agitation on Diwali Day (November 12). He wanted the abolition of the common links and the inclusion of Punjabi speaking areas and Chandigarh into Punjabi Suba. Arjan Singh Budhiraja, Sec­retary of the Akali Dal blamed the Government for doing all this to weaken the Punjabi Suba in the economic field and cripple its economy. The Tribune, November 6 , 1966.

124 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

The Working Committee of the Akali Dal appointed Sant Fateh Singh a dictator to conduct the ‘morcha’ for securing the abolition of common links and inclusion of the Punjabi-speaking areas into Punjab besides Chandigarh and dam projects in any manner he liked. The Tribune, November17, 1966; Also The Tribune, April 14, 1966.

3. Gandhi, Indira; My Truth (New Delhi, 1981), pp. 117-118.4. Ibid.5. Indian Express, April 11, 1983;

The Council of Sikh Affairs; The Anguish o f Punjab (Chandigarh, n.d.), pp. 5-7.

6 . After the 1951 census the Union Home Minister said in Par­liament that the return submitted on the question of language had been generally incorrect in large parts of Punjab i.e. as to the mother tongue of the persons concerned, whe ther it was Punjabi or Hindi. In 1981, the situation could only have become worse, not better.

For details see Noorani, A. G.; A White Paper on a Black Record; in The Illustrated Weekly o f India, July 22, 1984.

7. Government of India; The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 (Delhi, 1967) Part VIII, Clauses 78, 79 and 80, pp. 35-41.

8 . Government of India; The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 (Government of India Press, Delhi-1967), p. 1.

9 . The Tribune, December 6 , 1966; The Tribune, December18, 1966.

10. The Tribune, August 16, 1969. Also The Statesman, September 25, 1969. Pheruman went through his self inflicted ordeal for seventy four days and breathed his last on October 27, 1969 upholding the great traditions of martyrdom in Sikhism. For details see The Statesman, October 28, 1969.

11. The Tribune, January 30, 1970.12. Ibid.13. Ibid.14. Ibid.

ROOTS OF THE CURRENT PUNJAB CRISIS ( 1 9 6 6 - 1 9 8 2 ) 1 2 5

15. Hari Baleshwari; Anandpur Sahib Da Mata (The name of pub­lisher or printer or the date of publication are not indicated on the booklet.) This is extensively quoted by Pramod Kumar, Sharma, Manmohan et. al.; Punjab Crisis : Context and Trends (Chandigarh, 1984), Appendix III, p. 14.

16. Ibid., p. 17.17 Ajmer Singh, Giani; The Draft o f the New Policy Programme

o f the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar, 1977), p. 21.18. Ibid.19. Ibid., pp. 19-20.20. Hari, Baleshwari; op. cit, p. 1.21. In June 1975, Justice J. L. Sinha of the Allahabad High Court

set aside Indira Gandhi’s election to the Lok Sabha, as he found her ‘guilty of electroral malpractices’. Afraid of losing her ground, she clamped internal Emergency on the country on June 25, 1975. It was a clear case of encroachments on the fundamental rights and civil liberties of the people.

The Indian Express, June 26, 1975; The Times o f India, June 26, 1975.

22. The Tribune, July 10, 1975.

23. Jeffery, Robin; What's Happening to India (London, 1986), .p. 116.

24. Ajmer Singh, Giani; op. cit., pp. 6-7.25. “This is the place to correct popularly held but demonstrably

wrong notion about the 1977-80 Akali Dal led Government in Punjab ‘that it did not make a squeak’ about the rights of states and ‘discovered’ the issue only after it lost office. Mrs. Gandhi was fond of repeating this charge and by 1984, even her sternest critics, like the ‘Economic and Political Weekly’ were prepared to accept it. ‘She could not’ said an E.P.W. editorial, ‘have been more right’. In fact, she could not have been more wrong.” Jafferey, Robin; op. cit., p. 186.

26. The Council of Sikh Affairs, Chandigarh; The Punjab River Waters— Dispute (Chandigarh, n.d.), pp. 1-2.

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“Nothing that Parkash Singh Badal’s Government could have done in 1980 would have posed such a crisis for the Indian State as the repercussions of his dismissal have done. Similarly the kind of revivalism—the sharpening of ethnic dividing lines—that Bhindranwale represented would have been neutralised more easily by a ruling party which itself claimeda religious endorsement-----They were also entitled to enjoyoffice until defeated in the legislature or their five-year term expired.” Jefferey, Robin; op, cit., p. 198.It was just because Mrs. Gandhi did not want politicians to be able to command any independent influence that she did her best to prevent any of her colleagues becoming too power­ful in their home states. If Home Minister Zail Singh’s nominee had been appointed Chief Minister of Punjab, Zail Singh would have been King of Punjab in all but name and that was the last thing Mrs. Gandhi wanted. Hence the app­ointment of his rival Darbara Singh as Chief Minister” .

Tully, Mark and Jacob, Satish; Amritsar: Mrs.Gandhi's Last Battle (Delhi, 1985), p. 63;

Also Sinha, Sachchidanand, Jasbir Singh and Others; Army Action in Punjab : Prelude And Aftermath (New Delhi, 1984), p. 20;

Also see Bains, Harcharan; Evading the Issue in Amrik Singh (ed.) Punjab in Indian Politics, Issues and Trends (Delhi, 1985), p. 141.Akbar, M.J.; India : The Siege Within (London, 1985), p. 198.“The A kali moderates could not be forgiven by Mrs. Gandhi for associating with the Janata Government. Youth organi­sations and others were encouraged to oppose them, so as to split the Sikh Community, even though, this meant conver­ting Sant Bhindranwale from a political non-entity to a seces­sionist leader. Meanwhile negotiations were prolonged or delayed until moderates lost thir hold.”

Bhattacharjee, Aj it; Towards an Imperial Polity, publi­shed in The Indian Express, June 14, 1983.The Tribune, April. 7. 1982; The Indian Express, April 7, 1982.

6THE ANANDPUR SAHIB RESOLUTION

A correct appraisal to the much-debated ‘Anandpur Sahib Resolution’ can be had only in the context of India’s contemporary functional politics and the solemn assurances held out to the Sikhs by the Congress before Independence. The absence of a sustained and long-ranging domestic policy in the country has led to many socio-religious tensions and conflicts, some of them of a very serious magnitude. The concept of a secular democracy, without commit­ment to human rights and moral values, has resulted in degeneration and chaos. It may not be irrelevant to point out that prospects for socialism and democracy in a country, particularly of India’s vastness and diversity, depend on the secular and democratic cre­dentials o f the people in power. The contention that the majority community, by virtue of its numerical superiority, might outvote the others and force on them measures, inimical to their interests and repugnant to their feelings, is not altogether baseless.1

A socialistic democratic country, in the true sense, must foster conditions, in which different creeds and faiths grow and flourish without any restraint and different languages develop and blossom to their full extent.2 Before 1947, parallel standing of the Sikhs as a distinct national group was recognised by Hindus, Muslims and British alike. There was a Sikh representative, at the Round Table Conference London, the Cripps Mission, the Simla Confere­nce, and Cabinet Mission talks, in 1946, and the Mountbatten Plan of 1947. India was divided into two countries on communal lines, on the basis of a two-nation theory, the Sikhs having thrown their lot with the Hindus. As a hang over of this division, the memo­ries of strife and religious antagonism still lingered in the minds of the people. Punjao’s sha/e of sacrifices and suffering was the maximum. It required a catholicity of temper and breadth of vision on the part of the leadership to implement the socialistic and demo­cratic programme, along the right lines, to the greatest good of the greatest number. Of equal significance to the strength of

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democracy was the fair distribution of power between the Centre and the States. The concept of a constitution based on the federal principles developed during the freedom movement. It found exp­ression in the Lucknow Pact (1916), the Moti Lai Nehru Report of 1928 and other resolutions during the forties.8

Before July 1947, the Congress had repeatedly declared that the Indian Constitution would be a federal structure with autonomous states, empowered with residuary powers. Congress leaders including Moti Lai Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lai Nehru and Maul ana Azad on different occasions had interpreted Swaraj as connoting grass-roots power for the people, with greater authority vesting with the provinces. The criticism of the Govern­ment of India Act, 1935 by the Congress Party was mainly on the grounds that it did not bestow sufficient powers on the provincial Governments in the political dispensation as laid down therein. The stand of the Congress Party was formalised in its 51st session held at Haripura in 1938 when federal system with antonomous provinces as its constituents was strongly reiterated. The Cabinet Mission also provided that only three subjects would vest with the central Gove­rnment—these being Defence, Foreign Affairs and Communica­tions. It was in terms of this Cabinet Mission plan that the Cons­tituent Assembly came into existence, with the full approval of the Congress.

A clear undertaking, in this regard, was given by late Jawahar Lai Nehru, while moving the executive resolution, at the opening session of the Constituent Assembly, in 1946. This Resolution envisaged ‘the Indian Union as an Independent Sovereign Republic, comprising autonomous units with residuary powers, wherein the ideal of social, political and economic democracy would be guaran­teed to all sections of the people and adequate safeguards would be provided for minorities and backward communities and areas’4. Nehru described the Resolution as ‘a declaration, a pledge and an undertaking before the world, a contract of millions of Indians and, therefore, in the nature of an oath, which we mean to keep’.5 Nehru at a press conference, on the eve of the All India Congress Committee meeting, at Calcutta, in July 1946, explicitly stated : ‘The brave

THE ANANDPUR SAHIB RESOLUTION 1 2 9

Sikhs of the Punjab are entitled to special consideration. I see nothing wrong in an area and a set up in the North, wherein the Sikhs can also experience the glow of freedom.’8

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad also stood for a federal set up for free India. In his view a unitary Government was most unsuitable for ‘a country so vast as India and with people so diverse in language, customs and geographical conditions.’ He believed that ‘decentralisation of power in a federal Government would also help to allay the fears of minorities.’ He wanted the constitution of India to be, ‘so framed as to ensure autonomy to the provinces in as many subjects as possible.’ He sought ‘to recon­cile the claims of the provincial autonomy with national unity. As a first step he wanted to devise a formula by which a minimum number of subjects should be declared as essentially the responsi­bility of the Central Government’.7

The Sikhs threw their lot with the other people of India, hoping that the assurances extended to them would be fulfilled and they would be able to maintain their identity and chalk out their own development in the future. So as to become the integral part of the Indian nation, they relinquished their bargaining powers, as the third party in the political life of India. In view of their historico-political position, the British had always recognised the Sikhs as the third political entity in India, with whom questions like the transfer of power had to be discussed and finalised.

After the transfer of power, when Nehru was remineded of his declaration about the 'glow of freedom’, to which the Sikhs were entitled, he lejoined that ‘the circumstances had now changed’.8 In 1949, when the Central Government formally elicited the views of Punjab Legislature, on the draft constitution, the Sikh representa­tives reiterated their stand for a federal constitution saying : ‘It has been the declared policy of the Congress from the outset that India is to be the Union of autonomous states and each unit is to develop in its own way, linguistically, culturally and socially. Of course, Defence, Communications and Foreign Affairs must and should remain the central subjects. To change the basic policy now is to

130 RHSFARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

run counter to the oft-repeated creed of the Congress.’9 But in 1950, the Congress backed out from its promises to the Sikhs and its own declared objective of having a federal constitution.10

Instead, a constitution leaning towards a unitary form of Govern­ment was framed.11 In protest, the Sikh representatives in the Constituent Assembly refused to sign such a constitution. The minority sub-committee of the Constituent Assembly was asked to examine the question of safeguards to be given to the Sikhs and other minorites. They put up their report to the Government : ‘we are acutely aware of the sufferings which the Sikhs, before and after partition, had to undergo in Punjab. The holocaust in West Punjab has deprived them of the valuable lives and great material wealth. They had also to abandon many places of worship, parti­cularly sacred to them’12 The Sikhs expected that the government would provide them with some special safeguards. The Government said, ‘Sikhs are a highly educated and virile community, with great gifts, not merely as soldiers but as farmers and artisans with the most remarkable spirit of enterprise.’13 Thus the case for special safeguards for the Sikhs was ignored.

Instead, the Constitution of free India, the Sikhs felt, was framed and based on high sounding modern democratic postulates and platitudes which, in actual practice, would facilitate their gradual submergence and annihilation as a political entity and cultural minority” .14 What passed for secularism clearly bore the impress of communalism. The religion based politics of the Akali Dal came under sharp attack. ‘While the Akali leadership has the courage to own this combination, the others have used it without owning.’15

It will not be out of context to examine some of the factors which have struck at the roots of socialism and democracy in the country. Wide-spread political corruption, hiatus between policy and practice, repeated sacrifices of principle to political expediency, enormous gulf between the rulers and the ruled, virtually unassai­lable monoply of government by the Congress for so many years, a drift towards excessive centralisation of power,16 creation of

131

extra-constitutional centres of power are some of the factors which have led to the gradual erosion of the democratic process. Blatant attempts by the rulers to manipulate caste, communal and regional allegiances and incoherent policies for the perpetuation of power have offset the merits of secularism.

Viewed in this light, the Anandpur Sahib Resolution is the legitimate expression of the socio-poiitical discontent of the Sikh community over the years.17 Delay in the creation of a Punjabi speaking state was due to the fear of Sikh domination in Punjab. The Sikhs, in turn feared the prospect of losing their distinctive identity. Unwarranted delay in the creation of Punjabi Suba led to a feeling of alienation among the Sikhs. In 1965, a radical section of the Akali Dal, under the leadership of Master Tara Singh, raised the demand for a ‘self-determined political status for the Sikhs, within the Indian Union’.18 It was argued by this section that if the Indian government cou1d extend help to a linguistic and cultural nationality in East Pakistan, in their struggle for self- determination against the oppressive policies of West Pakistan, why should the same right of self-determined political status be denied to the Sikhs in India. A truncated Punjabi Suba, deprived of its natural resources was far from the expectations of the Sikhs.19

Over the years, the Akali Dal had to evolve new strategies, keeping in view the nature of the Sikh character and the need to unite the various factions. The Party faced the additional task of balancing communal interests with administrative acceptance. The Sikh Homeland slogan, raised by Master Tara Singh, had led to a lot of hue and cry in the Government circles. It was also a hurdle in the way of unity between the two rival Akali Dais. A compromise formula had to be adopted to forge unity. Master Tara Singh was no longer on the scene. He had passed away on November 22, 1968. It was left entirely to Sant Fateh Singh to take steps for Panthic unity. It was in these circumstances that the Sant convened an Akali conference, at Batala, on September 28-29, 1968. The Conference took some historic decisions, which were to determine the course and trend of Sikh politics in the Punjab in the

THE ANANDPUR SAHIB RESOLUTION

1 3 2 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

years to come. Sant Fateh Singh constituted a committee to bring about Panthic unity. The most important resolution which gave a new slogan for the future read as under :

‘The Shiromani Akali Dal strongly feels that great changes have come in the political field of the country during the last twenty years and, as such, new considerations have cropped up necessitating reconisderation of the centre-state relationship under the changed conditions. Many non-Congress governments have come in several states of the country and the Congress Party in power has abused the Constitution to the deteriment of non- Congress governments and has used its power for its Party interests. Therefore, it has become necessary in the light of the experience gained that the Constitution of India should be reconsidered and changes made in the Centre-State relationship to fit in with new conditions. Akali Dal demands that the constitution of India should be on correct federal basis and that the states should have greater autonomy. Akali Dal feels that the Central govern­ment’s interference in the internal affairs of the states and the obstacles it places in the proper functioning of the states machinery are deterimental to the unity and integrity of the country, therefore, where this conference demands of the Central Government that necessaiy changes should be brought in the Constitution, then it also appeals to the state governments to raise their voice to protect and safeguard their rights so that the country may be able to move forward smoothly on the federal lines and progress by maintaining its unity and entity.20 Baldev Parkash, President of the Punjab State Jana Sangh, was also present at this conference.21

The Akali Dal and the Jan Sangh were going to form an electoral alliance for the forthcoming mid-term poll.

The Resolution used a compromise formula to accommodate the demand of a ‘self determined political status for the Sikhs in the united India’ raised by Master Tara Singh group. It was also in consonance with the demand for more autonomy, put forward by several non-Hindi speaking states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and others who had suffered on account of dominance of

THE ANANDPUR SAHIB RESOLUTION 1 3 3

Hindi. This was also in keeping with the proclaimed aims, objec­tives and assurances by the founding fathers of the Constitution.

The pressure of communal politics in the Congress and its distinct open expression became clear, when Pandit Jawahar Lai Nehru went back on the consistent, long-standing commitment of the Congress that the national language would be Hindustani and not Hindi. The implication of this major change became obvious both to the minorities and the non-Hindi speaking states in the country. For it became well understood that the policy of inte­gration and of due place and respect to the languages of minorities and non-Hindi speaking states had not been accepted. Increasing Sanskritisation on the part of the Government and growing anti- Hindi feelings and agitations are the evident symptoms and res­ponses of the people to the change in policy involving, on account of a communal bias, a virtual breach of faith with the non-Hindi speaking people of the country.22

The Congress policy to keep the Akalis out of power and to reduce them to a state of political ineffectiveness was bound to pro­duce a reaction. They were filled with anxiety regarding their future role in the Indian polity. On December 11, 1972, the Working Committee of the Akali Dal formed a sub-committee of Sikh intellectuals to ‘re-draw the aims and objectives of the Sikh Panth and thus live upto the expectations of the Sikhs.’23 The chairman of the sub-committee was Surjit Singh Barnala. Its other members were Gurcharn Singh Tohra, M. P., and President of the S.G.P.C., Jiwan Singh Umranangal, Dr. Bhagat Singh, Gian Singh Rarewala, Balwant Singh, Gurmit Singh, Prem Singh Lalpura, Bhag Singh, Jaswinder Singh Brar, Amar Singh Ambalvi and Maj. General Gurbax Singh Badni.24 However, the sole brain and the moving spirit behind the committee was Kapur Singh, an originator of the demand for a Sikh Homeland.25 The committee met for the first time, on December 23, 1972, and after ten more meetings a draft was drawn up and was sent for approval to the working committee of the Akali Dal at Anandpur Sahib on October 16, 1973. The working committee gave its approval the next day.26

According to the Resolution, the political goal of the Sikhs was the creation of a congenial environment and a political set-up which could establish the ‘pre-eminence of the Khalsa’, as enshri­ned in the commandments of the Tenth Guru. The Resolution further stated that the Akali Dal was determined to achieve, by all possible means, a homogenous state of Punjab, which included the present Punjab and other Punjabi-speaking areas, deliberately left out by the government of India, when demarcating the boundaries of the Punjabi Suba. The new state of Punjab was to be a single unilingual state where Sikh religion, culture and rights were safe from the onslaughts of the Central Government and the majority community. The Resolution demanded the restructuring of the Indian Constitution to ensure ‘real federal principles with equal representation at the Centre for all the states.’27 It suggested that the proposal of the Cabinet Mission, in 1946, be revived, with the Central Government in Delhi in charge only of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Currency and General Communications.28

The Resolution condemned the foreign policy of India framed by the Congress Party as ‘worthless, hopeless and highly deterimen- tal to the interests of the country, the nation and mankind at large’.29 The Akali Dal was to extend its support only to that foreign policy of India which was based on the principles of peace and national interests. The Resolution advocated a policy of peace with all neighbouring countries, especially those inhabited by the Sikhs and having their sacred shrines.30

The Resolution reflected great concern about apostacy. A programme of Amrit Parchar was chalked out and Sikh preachers and missionaries were poposed to be sent out to the villages and cities in India and abroad. One of its clauses had a bearing on their relationship with the Government of India.31. It was the Akali demand for an All India Gurdwara Act to reintegrate the traditional preaching sects of Sikhism, without in any way encroa­ching on the properties of their respective maths.92

The Resolution also took up the issue of Sikh recruitment in the army. It was stated that ‘the Shiromani Akali Dal shall

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THE ANANDPUR SAHlfi RESOLUTION 135

endeavour to maintain the traditional position of the Sikhs in all the wings of the Defence department’.33 Before partition, Sikhs constituted about 25% of the Defence Forces. But after 1947, percentage came down to about 8 % as a result of the new policy of fixed provincial quotas, on the basis of population. It was pointed out that the new policy was not only quite contrary to the principle of merit and the principle of equality of opportunity embodied in Article 15(1) and 16(2) of the Indian constitution but was also completely at variance with the basic principles of rec­ruitment to all other public services. The Anandpur Sahib Resolu­tion demanded the scrapping of this unconstitutional and discrimina­tory policy of recruitment to the Defence Services.84

The most important political issue, raised by the Anandpur Sahib resolution, related to the centre-state relations. It was, in fact, an expression of a long standing grievance that, after partition, no constitutional safeguards were given to the minorities, as promi­sed earlier. The demand for more state autonomy, embodied in the Resolution, of which so much is being made now, has been formally on the Akali agenda, since 1949, without any offence from the Cen­tral Government. Thereafter the Government adopted a series of measures which were regarded by the Sikhs as determinetal to their interests and identity. The constitutional provision regarding the transfer of subjects from the state list to the concurrent list was considered an encroachment upon the rights of the states. Article 249 which empowered the Centre to legislate on subjects contained in the State List in the national interest was misused by the Centre to encroach upon the autonomy of the states.36 Extra constitutional institutions like the Planning Commission, Finance Com­mission, the Water and Power Commission and the University Giants Commission were further meant to curtail the powers of the states. Corporate bodies like the Cotton Corporation'of India and Food Corporation of India also fortified the central hold over the states. There was abundant erosion of federal content of the Consti­tution and unbalanced growth of unitary processes against the letter and spirit of the Constitution. The Sikhs also resented the Central control over Punjab waters and energy through unconstitutional

means. The idea of a joint capital and a joint High Court between the States of Punjab and Haryana, for an indefinite period, rwas also viewed as unprecedented and discriminatory. It was against this background that a demand for greater autonomy was reiterated in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. Whereas the Sikh stand, in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, was perfectly consistent with its earlier Resolution of 1949, the Congress started misrepre­senting the Sikh position by accusing them of secessionist designs.The Congress used it as a handy election tool and started a relent­less campaign against the Sikhs and their intentions - The Congress "itself had never carried out the secular and other injunctions of the constitution in good faith. Its own bandwagon was full of oppor­tunistic and communal elements who could not afford to forego short-term political gains, at the cost of the alienation of the Sikh community. Sympathy generated by Indira Gandhi’s assassination at the hands of the Sikh bodyguards and the high-sounding slogan of threat to country’s unity and integrity posed by the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, fetched a record number of 402 seats for the Congress in the Parliamentary elections.

The issue of decentralisation of powers, raised by the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, has engaged national attention. But the fact is that the demand for more state autonomy has been made by many Mother Indian states as well. So much so that the Tamil Nadu government formed a committee to suggest steps that, in the exis­ting context, would make for a federal structure and ensure a full and rightful development of states. Its report, called the Rajmannar Report, was adopted by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, in 1971. This Report provides for a completely federal structure with autonomous states and with only four subjects viz, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Communications and Currency with the Centre.37 It advocated the classical form of federalism to make the Indian polity closer to that of the United States of America in the distribution of powers between the Centre and the States. Further, it was recommended that a Council of the Chief Ministers of the states, presided over by the Prime Minister of the country, should form a consultative committee to advise the Centre even in regard to the subjects within

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THE ANANDPUR SAHIB RESOLUTION 137

the purview of the federal government.38 In its implication, the Anandpur Sahib Resolution seems to be less drastic than the Raj Mannar Report and the Report of the Tamil Nadu Assembly. And yet no one has ever accused the Tamil Nadu Assembly or the state of scessionist trends. In a statement, made before the Sarka- ria Commission, the Chief Minister of West Bengal also stressed the need for redefining Centre-States relations. He said, “Much of the tension and divisiveness currently affilicting the nation stem from factors which originate in imbalances in the existing relation­ship between the Centre and the federating states. Without a com­prehensive restructuring of central-state relations, there is every fear that social and economic tension will multiply.” He requested the Commission “to examine the provisions of such federal countries as the United States of Amercia, Soviet Union, Canada and Australia and draw appropriate lessons” from their examples.36

Jai Prakash Narain’s concept of ‘Total Revolution’ also envisaged more powers for the states, leaving only Defence, Com­munications, Currency and Foreign Relations with the Centre. By and large, it reflected the same view point on centre-state relations, as contained in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. Paul Wallace has rightly observed : ‘The political process in the Punjab interacts with and reflects the all India patterns. At the same time, unique charac­teristics stem from this cultural region’s turbulent past and distin­ctive social composition.’39

The Anandpur Sahib Resolution envisioned a political unit in which the Sikhs would be in a ‘commanding position of power’40 ard would be able to maintain ‘a separate and independent status of the Panth’A1 Any stress, direct or indirect, on Sikh religion’s indivi­duality as distinct from Hinduism was bound to lead to contro­versy. A minority community’s pursuit of political and cultural aims, through the projection of theii religious identity, would raise no objection and opposition unless the majority community was out to curb even such a healthy and inoccuous urge of self- preservation.42

The policy of centralisation of powers, pursued by the Congress,

came to a climax and became the target of sharp criticism, in 1975, when the Emergency regime usurped all civil liberties and funda­mental rights of the people. It was at this time that opposition parties like the Janata Party, C.P.I. (M), ADMK etc. openly accep­ted and adopted the programme of decentralisation of powers, advocated by the Akali Dal. A very stiff resistance to the Emer­gency was put up by the Akali Dal, in the form of ‘Save Democracy Morcha,’ involving the arrest of more than 40,000 workers. Through a resolution, the party described the Emergency as an ‘onslaught on the civil liberties’ and ‘a rape on democracy’. The Morcha contin­ued till the Emergency was lifted. The Akali Dal won great applause for its heroic fight. The party’s demand for state auton­omy enjoyed the support of Jai Parkash Narain, which was considered a great asset.43

When the Akali-Janata coalition government took over in the Punjab, the Akali leadership was faced with the task of adjusting political programmes to the requirements of the politics of power. The Eighteenth All India Akali Conference, held at Ludhiana, on October 28, 1978, made a discreet effort to reinterpret the Anand- pur Sahib Resolution in a non-theocratic language.44 In its revised version, the Akali Dal stressed the ‘paramount need for the federa- lisation of the Indian Constitution, so as to affect a basic restructu­ring of the Centre-state relations and decentralisation of powers accordingly. The thrust was in favour of what needed to be done for the economic development of the Punjab. The Conference passed twelve resolutions in all. Resolution No. 1 stated : “Shiro- mani Akali Dal realises that India is a federal and republican geo­graphical entity of different languages, religions and cultures. To safeguard the fundamental rights of the religious and linguistic minorities, to fulfil the demands of the democratic traditions and to pave the way for economic progress it has become imperative that the Indian Constitutional infrastructure should be given a real federal shape by redifining the Centre-State relations and rights on the lines of the aforesaid principles and objectives” .45 In the process, a tone of moderation became more evident and the Resolution could no longer be associated with Sikh separatism.

138 researches in sikh religion And history

THE ANANDPUk SAHlfi RESOLUTION 1 3 9

With its stress on economic issues, it was rid of its theocratic over­tones. The Akali leaders clarified that their demand for more state autonomy did not pose a threat to the unity and the integrity of the country, rather it was conducive to the progress and prospe­rity of the Indian people.46 Both Gurcharan Singh Tohra and Parkash Singh Badal reiterated in their speeches that the need of the hour was caution and moderation.47 Collaboration with the opposition parties was bound to bring a change in the tone and temper of the Akali leadership. But the demand for redefining centre-state relations did not evoke a sympathetic response from the Government.

Unwarranted delay in deciding the issues of Chandigarh, water and territory, due to political and communal considerations, has led more and more people to give their verdict in favour of decen­tralisation of powers. On the other hand, the Government has, quite often, tried to justify its unfair and evasive policies by raising the bogey of Sikh separatism and condemning the Anandpur Sahib Resolution as a religiously inspired secessionist document.48

As a part of his election rhetoric, Rajiv Gandhi had dubbed the Anandpur Sahib Resolution as a treacherous document. After his triumph in the election ‘Rajiv made a U-turn on the Punjab. Conveniently forgetting his electoral rhetoric, he started the search fora way to negotiate with the Akali Dal’/ 9 Anandpur Sahib Resolution had been one of the major unresolved issues. Bbindran- wale had insisted that the Resolution should be implemented in full.50 Under the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, signed in July 1985, it was agreed to send the Resolution to the one man Sarkaria Com­mission on centre-state relations, already set up by Indira Gandhi.

Government’s acceptance of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution for reference to the Sarkaria Commission, shows that except for using it as an election tool, there was nothing inherently objec­tionable or secessionist in the Resolution. Following is the extract from the Memorandum of settlement (Punjab) popularly known as Rajiv-Longowal A ccord : “Shiromani Akali Dal states that the Anandpur Sahib Resolution is entirely within the framework of the

Indian Constitution; that it attempts to define the concept of Centre-State relations in a manner which may bring out the true federal characteristics of our Unitary constitution; and that the purpose of the Resolution is to provide greater autonomy to the State with a view to strengthening the unity and integrity of the country, since unity in diversity forms the corner stone of our national entity” .51 This being the reality, it is strange that, on the eve of forthcoming elections, the Government is, once again, trying to rake up the Anandpur Sahib Resolution and play the Sikh card to gain Hindu votes. Recently Rajiv Gandhi is reported to have said at Shimla that there is no difference between the Anandpur Sahib Resolution of the Akali Dal and the 1940 Resolution of the Muslim League, which was responsible for India’s partition.52

In its Report, the Sarkaria Commission worked out the modalities of Centre- State relations, without addressing itself to the questions about the true nature of the current constitutional arrangement in India between the Centre and the States. It recommended only minor amendments to the existing provisions, reiterating faith in the basic soundness of the Constitution. It did take note of the general trend towards greater centralisation of powers over the years, ‘due to pressure of powerful socio-economic forces’63 and stressed the need to counter it, but without suggesting any remedial measures.54 It observed, “there is a general ten­dency towards greater centralisation of powers. There is a special need in a country like India for a conscious and purposive effort to counter it all the time. There is considerable truth in the saying that undue centralisation leads to blood pressure at Centre and anaemia at the periphery. The inevitable result is morbidity and inefficiency. Indeed centralisation does not solve but aggravates the problems of the people” .55 But somehow the Commission felt constrained to recommend any large scale measures for regulating Centre-State relations and for reconciling and harmonising the views and perceptions of the Centre and the States, if these happen to be different or in conflict. It simply laid emphasis on the role of conventions for the successful functioning

140 RESEARCHES in SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

THE ANANDPUR SAHIB RESOLUTION 141

of parliamentary democracy. The Commission should have recommended “a bigger package of institutional mechanisms for controlling Centre-State relations. It should have also devised safeguards to insulate these mechanisms against subversion and suborning. More importantly the Commission ought to have recognised the enormous difficulties in controlling majoritarian high handedness, tyranny and whimsicality and recommended control mechanisms” .56 No wonder, the people have lost faith in Government appointed Commissions.

Our analyses of the clear and continuous Congress stand before Independence shows that, after 1947, it is the Congress that has wholly gone back on its earlier commitments and declarations. Instead of having framed a federal constitution they framed, despite Sikh opposition and reminder of their earlier promises, a centralised constitution, ignoring the right of autonomy of the states. From year to year, the Constitution is being made more and more centralised and the powers of the states arc being curtailed. The result is that ft is becoming almost unitary type of constitution. The grip of the bureaucracy and police and para­military forces on the administration is being strengthened and de­mocratic processes are being snuffed out. There is total alienation of masses not only from the regime but also from the system and the situation is fraught with grave danger for the survival of the State and democracy. The recent Panchayati Raj and NagaTpalika legislation57 makes the Government intentions quite clear, since both in regard to finance and supervision, even, the smallest local institutions are sought to be linked to the Centre. On the other hand, the Aka!i stand embodied in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution has been consistent since Independence. It is a standing reminder of the Congress, having ckarly resiled both from the political ideals and its promises and commitments/it proclaimed and propagated before the people for decades on end and solemn pledges it made to the minorities and the people at large.

Every student of Ind an politics is aware that the greater there has been the attempt at centralisation, the greater has been

142 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

the ferment, consciousness and discontent among the ethnic and other minorities and communities, ending in local and state level agitations and demands for autonomy. Seen in this background and the lessons of history, it is obvious that increasing centralisat’on for the purpose of avoiding break up of a large state, quite often, on that very account, has led to cracks and disintegration of a centralised state. Robin Jeffrey observes, “ If the Indian state is to survive, federalism and democracy are essential. In no other way can the state adjust to the tensions of steady modernisation; in no other way-except in explosions-can such tensions be responded to and released” .68 It is our belief, that a satisfactory balance between the centrifugal and centripetal forces is essential for the health of every big organisation, state or society, more so in the modern democratic times. Wholesome federalism alone can keep India together and strengthen her from within and without. A reappraisal of the Constitution is required to achieve this end.

References

1. Sarkaria Commission observed, “It is most important that democracy is seen as Government by compromise between

the majority and the minority, and not an authoritarian use by the former of its voting power riding roughshod over the latter.” Government of India; Commission on Centre-State Relations Report, Part I (Nasik, 1988), P. 544.

2. The Congress Party manifesto for Central Legislative Assembly election in October, 1945, as drafted by Nehru, declared as under, “The Congress has stood for the unity of all commu­nities and religious groups in India and for tolerance and goodwill between them. It has stood also foi the right of Indian people as a whole to have full opportunities for growth

THE ANANDPUR SAHIB RESOLUTION 143

and self-development according to their wishes and the genius of the nation; it has stood also for the freedom of each group and territorial area within the nation to develop itsown life and culture within the larger framework.......... ThisConstitution, in its view should be a federal one with a great deal of autonomy for its Constituent units.’ ’Shiromani Akali Dal’s case on the Centre-State relationship as envisaged in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution.Ibid., Part 11, P. 857.

3. The Quit India Resolution (1942) emphatically declared, “The Constitution of free India would be a federal Constitution with the largest powers to the States, residual power being vested with the States.” Quoted in the D.M.K. Memorandum to the Sark aria Commission. Ibid., Part II, P. 738.

4. The Council of Sikh Affairs; The Anguish o f Punjab (Chandi­garh, n.d.), P. 4;

Duggal, Devinder Singh; The Truth About the Sikhs (Amritsar, n. d.), P. 14.

5. Ibid.

6 . The Statesman, Calcutta, July 7, 1946; Puri, Rajinder; Re­discovery o f India (New Delhi, 1989), P. 107.

7. Azad, Maulana Abul Kalam; India Wins Freedom (Madras, 1984), P. 140.

8 . Duggal, Devinder Singh; op. cit,, P. 30.

9. The Council of Sikh Affairs, Chandigarh; The Anguish o f Punjab II Sikhs Demand Justice (Chandigarh, n.d.), P. 25.

10. ‘The founding fathers committed a flagrant breach of the promise held out by the Indian National Congress, the principal instrument of the Indian freedom struggle. The oft-repeated stand of the Congress and its leaders who later became ‘the founding fathers’ was that the constitutional arrangement must be a federal system with autonomous provinces as its con­stituents” .

144 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

Ramanujachari, T.C.A.; Sarkaria Commission Report: A case o f Misplaced Faith, Indian Express, July 8 , 1989.

11. “The founding fathers of the Constitution started developing aperception that the Indian polity, after partition, was more akin to a Hindu coparcenery with only a sole surviving male coparcener (the Central Government) and a number of female limited estate holders (states) who cannot be trusted to pre­serve the family property from division or waste.......... Thefounding fathers produced what some authors call a palimpsest of the 1935 Act and substitured a brown for the outgoing white imperialism.” Ibid.

12. Gill, Partap Singh; Dismantling Democracy (New Delhi. 1984), P. 204.

13. Ibid.

14. Gurnam Singh; A Unilingual Punjabi State and The Sikh Unrest (New Delhi, 1960), P. 29.

15. Malhotra, Rashpal; Punjab Crisis '• Context and Trends (Chandigarh, 1984), P. Foreword;

A similar view is expressed by Padam Rosha, a former Chief of the Punjab Police in an article Stromy Clouds o f Communa- lism. Things changed when the Congress (I) leadership sought to appropriate the Hindu vote and also sought to manipulate fundamentalism in Punjab with a view to decimating the moderate Akali leadership. The Tribune, August 23, 1989.

16. 'Due to curtailment in their powers, the states are described as no better than glorious municipalities or dole-getting corporations ?’ Dr. Anna; The Hindustan Times, February 5, 1963.

17. ‘The Anandpur Sahib Resolution is in a sence a plea for ful­filling even at this belated stage the assurance given by Pandit Nehru and other national leaders of the Independence struggle to the Sikhs and other minorities that they would be in their corporate being co-sharers in the political sovereignty of free

THE ANANDPUR SAHIB RESOLUTION 145

India and that they would have full opportunities for preserving their identity as well as all avenues for autonomous self­development.’

Shiromani Akali Dal’s case on Centre-State relationship, op. cit„ Vol. II, P. 858.

18. The Tribune, July 5, 1965.

19. Hukam Singh pointed out that, “ if the Sachar Formula worked out in 1949, had been accepted, there would not have been any further conflict. If the Regional Formula had been allowed to be implemented, there would not have been any further discontent. And if Punjabi Suba had been demarcated simply on a linguistic basis, and not on false returns of 1961, there would not have been any extremist movement.” Indian Express, April 11, 1983.

20. The Tribune, September 29 and 30, 1968.

21. Ibid. ; The Statesman, October 1, 1968; Hari, Baleshwar; Anandpur Sahib Da Mata (date and place of publication not mentioned), p. 18.

22. Sarkaria Commission recommended that, “in the process of developing Hindi, it is neither desirable nor necessary to replace commonly understood terms by difficult Sanskritised words. The growth of the Official language can best be fostered by following the command of Article 351 both in letter and in spirit. It would be against the mandate of Constitution if, in the process of developing the Official language, the forms, styles and expressions of the various regional languages of India, including English, which have become assimilated in Hindustani are sought to be discarded.” Commission on Centre-State Relations Report, Part I, p. 528.

23. The Tribune, December 12, 1972.

24. Ajmer Singh, Giani; The Draf t : The new Policy Programme o f the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar, 1977), p. 4.

146 RESEARCHES IN SIKH RELIGION AND HISTORY

25. Hari, Baleshwar; op. cit., p. 14.

26. Ibid., p. 7.27. Ibid., p. 17.

28. Ibid., pp. 17-18.29. Ajmer Singh, Giani; op. cit., p. 21. ■ *

30. Idid.

31. Ibid., p. 18.

32. Ibid., p. 19.

33. Ibid.

34. The Council of Sikh Affairs, Chandigarh. The Anguish o f Punjab; Sikhs Demand Justice (Chandigarh, n. d.), pp. 24-25;

Dhillon, G. S. ; Roots o f the Current Punjab Crisis (1966-1982) in The Journal o f Sikh Studies (Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar), Yol. XIV, No. 1, February 1987, p. 8 6 .

35. Article 249 can be invoked with the aid of the resolution passed by the Council of States by two-third majority that it is necessary or expedient that the Parliament should make laws. Thus the Centre can easily invade the jurisdiction of the state.

36. Statement by the Chief Minister, West Bengal before the Sarkaria Commission. Commission On Centre-State Relations, Report, Part II, pp. 616-618.

37. Tamil Nadu Government’s Views on state autonomy and the Rajmannar Committee Report, quoted in Ibid., p. 719.

38. Ibid.

39. Wallace, Paul and Chopra, Surendra (ed.) Political Dynamics o f Punjab (Amritsar, 1981), p. Introduction.

Ajmer Singh. Giani; op. cit., pp. 6-7; Akbar, M. J.; India : The Siege Within (London, 1985), p. 180;Hari, Baleshwar; op. cit., p. 18.

40.

41. Ibid.

42. Ibid.

THE ANANDPUR SAHIB RESOLUTION 147

43. Puri, Harish K. ; Akali Politics : Emerging Compulsions in Wallas, Paul and Chopra, Surendra (ed); op. cit., p. 43;

Jeffrey, Robin; What's Happening To India (London, 1986), pp. 116-117.

44. The Akali Dal felt that ‘the theological language of the Resolution approved by the Working Committee in 1973, lends itself to correct interpretation only if it is understood in the context of the Sikh lore.’ Shiromani Akali Dal’s case on the Centre-State relationship as envisaged in the historic Anandpur Sahib Resolution (presented to the Sarkaria Commission), op. cit., Part II, p. 856.

45. Barnala, Surjit Singh ; Playing Politics In Punjab, in Indian Express, May 30, 1989.

46. It was the Ludhiana version of 1978 that was authenticated by Sant Harchand Singh Longowal and referred to the Sarkaria Commission as a part of the Rajiv—Longowal Accord on Punjab.

47. The Tribune, October 29, 1978;The Ajit, October 29 and 30, 1978.

48. Indian Express, April 13, 1989;The Tribune, April 13, 1989.

49. Tully, Mark and Jacob, Satish : Amritsar : Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle (Delhi, 1985), p. 219.

50. Ibid., p. 112.

51. Ministry of J. and B., Government of India; Punjab Settle­ment (New Delhi, 1985).

52. Indian Express, April 13, 1989.

53. Commission on Centre-State Relations Report: Part I, p. 543.

54. Ibid.55. Ibid.

56. Ramanujachari, T.C.A.; op. cit.

57. Rajni Kothari observes, “The thunder and apolmb of the Prime Minister on the Panchayati Raj, after having under­mined local and federal institutions, is no more than a propaganda gimmick that verges on being a fraud on the people.”

Kothari, R ajn i; Wanted : An Opposition That Works in the Indian Express, June 18, 1989,

58. Jeffrey, Robin; op. cit., p. 204.

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(New Delhi, 1979).Niharrajan, Ray ; The Sikh Gurus and The Sikh Society (Patiala,

1970).Pannikar, K. M.; Hindu Society at Cross Roads (Bombay, 1955).Parmod Kumar, et. al. ; Punjab Crisis : Context and Trends

(Chandigarh, 1984).Patwant Singh and Malik, H arji; Punjab : The Fatal Miscalculation

(New Delhi, 1985).People’s Union For Democratic Rights : People’s Union For

Civil Liberties ; Who Are The Guilty (New Delhi, 1984).* Pettigrew, Joyce ; Take Not Arms Against Thy Sovereign, in

South Asia Research, Vol. 4, No. 2, November, 1984, PP. 102-123.

1 5 6 RESEARCHES IN SIK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IS T O R Y

— —— ; A Description o f the Discrepency Between Sikh Poli­tical Ideals and Sikh Practice, in, Political Year Book I.

Puri, Rajinder ; Rediscovery o f India (New Delhi, 1989).Qaumi, S. S. ; Communalism In Punjab (New Delhi, n.d.).Rai, Satya ; Partition o f Punjab (Bombay, 1965). - -........-Raminder Singh ; Conflicting Claims, in, India To-day, November

15, 1985.Randhawa, M. S. ; Out o f The Ashes (Bombay, 1954).Rose, H. A. ; A Glossary o f the Tribes and Castes o f the Punjab

and North-West Provinces (Patiala, 1970).

Sahni, Ruchi Ram ; Struggle for Reforms in Sikh Shrines (Amritsar, 1921). ..... . .

----------------- ; The Gurdccwara Reforms Movement and the SikhAwakening (Jullundur, 1922).

Sakesena, N. S. ; Terrorism—History and Facets (New Delhi, 1985).

Samata Era Editorial Team ; Army Action in Punjab ; Prelude and Aftermath (Delhi, 1984).

Samiuddin Abida (ed.) The Punjab Crisis ; Challenge and Response (Delhi, 1985).

Sapru, Tej Bahadur ; Joint Committee On Indian Constitutional Reform : Memorandum On The White Paper(Allahabad, 1933).

Sarkar, J. N. ; A Short History o f Aurangzeb (Calcutta, 1928).Sardul Singh, Caveeshar ; The Sikh Studies (Lahore, 1937).Sarhadi, Ajit Singh ; Punjabi Suba : The Story o f the Struggle

(Delhi, 1970).-------------- .— ; Nationalisms in India—The Problem (Delhi, n.d.).

Sarsfield, Landen ; Betrayal o f the Sikhs (Lahore, 1946).

Satinder Singh ; Khalistan : An Academic Analysis (New Delhi, 1982).

Segal, Ronald ; The Crisis o f India (Bombay, 1968).

Seervai, H.M. ; Partition o f India : Legend And Reality (Bombay, 1989).

SELECT B IB L IO G R A PH Y

Sharma, Sri Ram ; Punjab in Ferment (New Delhi, 1971),Shakir, Moir ; Khilafat to Partition (New Delhi, 1970).Shiromani Akali Dal ; Facts About the Punjabi Suba Agitation

(Amritsar, 1960).

Shiromani Gurdawara Parbhandhak Committee ; Punjabi Suba Demand (Amritsar, 1966).

Shourie, Arun, et. al. ; The Assassination and After (New Delhi, 1985).

Sikh Educational Conference : Presidential Address (Merrut, 1967).Sikh Ex-Servicemen and Intellectuals Forum ; The Betrayal o f the

Sikhs (Chandigarh, n.d.).Simon, John ; Two Broadcast Talks on India (London, 1930).Sinha, Sachchidanand, et. al. ; Army Action in Punjab ; Prelude

And Aftermath (New Delhi, 1984).

Sri Chand ; All India Linguistic States Conference, Address o f Welcome (Ambala City, 1955).

Surjeet, Harkrishan Singh ; Lessons o f Punjab (New Delhi, 1986).Tara Singh (Master) ; Presidential Address at the Tenth All India

Akali Conference (Amritsar, 1956).Teja Singh ; Essays in Sikhism (Lahore, 1944).-------------- • Sikhism : Its Ideals and Institutions (Calcutta, 1938).Taran Singh and Harbans Singh (ed.) ; The Sikhs and the Nirankari

Mandal (Chandigarh, n.d.).Thakur, Janardan; Indira Gandhi and Her Power Game (Delhi, 1979).Tully, Mark and Jacob, Satish ; Amritsar : Mrs. GandhVs Last

Battle (New Delhi, 1985).Verma, Mauju ; The Coalition Ministries In Punjab (Patiala, 1978).

Wallace, Paul and Chopra, Surinder ; Political Dynamics o f Punjab (Amritsar, 1981).

Weber, Max, ; The Sociology o f Religion (London, 1965).Webester, John C. B. ; The Nirankari Sikhs (Batala, 1979).

158 R E SE A R C H rS IN SIK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

Books (Punjabi)

Ajmer Singh ; Pardhangi Address : Singh Sahib Giani Bhupinder Singh Ji (Amritsar, 1966).

----------------- • Gurnam Singh Wale Khalsa Panth Nal Kiti GhaiSharmnak Ghadari Di Kahani (Amritsar, 1971).

----------------- ; Shiromani Akali Dal De Naven Policy ProgrammeDa Kharara (Amritsar, 1983).

Avtar Singh, Vihiria ; Shok Pattar (Lahore, 1906).—----------------; Sikhi Dharam (Amritsar, 1894).

----------------- ; Sikh Dharam Tat Darshan (Amritsar, 1899).----------------- ; Sikh Dharam Shastar (Lahore, 1894).----------------- ; Gurdarshan Shastar (Amritsar, 1916).

----------------- ; Khalsa Dharam Darpan (Lyallpur, 1910).

Bhai Gurdas ; Vars, Annotated by Bhai Veer Singh et. al. (Amritsar, 1977).

Bhangu, Rattan Singh ; Prachin Panth Parkash, edited by Bhai Veer Singh (Amritsar, 1962).

Bhanwar, Harbir Singh ; Sri Darbar Sahib Te Fauji Hamle Bare Diary De Panne (Amritsar, 1986).

Bharpur Singh ; Panth Rattan Bhai Sahib Sardar Kapur Singh (Chandigarh, 1986).

-------------------- ; Shiromani Akali Dal Chinoti Parwan Karda Hai(Amritsar, 1986),

Bhuler, Nrinder Singh ; Sikhan Layee Hindu Change Yan Muslman (Batala, n.d.).

Chief Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar ; Sew a De Panjah Sal (Amritsar, 1952).

----------------------- ; Golden Jublee Book (Amritsar, 1958).

----------- ------------• Gurmat Bhag Sanskar (Amritsar, 1914).

-------- ,-------------- ; Mul Sutra (Amritsar, 1902).

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 5 9

Ditt Singh, G iani; Mera Te Sadhu Dayanand Da Samadh (Lahore, 1900).

-----------------------; Durga Parbodh (Lahore, 1899).-----------------------; Nakli Sikh Parbodh (Lahore, 1895).-----------------------. Gurmat Arti Parbodh (Lahore, 1900).

-----------------------. Dambh Vidaran (Lahore, 1902).Ganda Singh; Hukamnama (Patiala, 1967).-----------------; Gurbilas Chevin Patshahi (Patiala, 1970).-----------------(ed.) ; Gur Sobha Sri (Patiala, 1967).-----------------(ed.) ; Bhai Jodh Singh Abhinandan Granth

(Ludhiana, 1962).Gian Singh, Giani ; Panth Parkash (Patiala, 1970).----------------------- . Twarikh Guru Khalsa (Patiala, 1970).-----------------------; Khalsa Dharam Patit Pawan (Lahore, 1895).

Gulshan, Dhanna Singh ; Aj Da Punjab Te Sikh Rajniti (Rampuraphul, 1978).

Gur Rattan Pal Singh ; Ghulami Kia Hai (Chandigarh, n.d.).Guru Nanak Dev Mission, Patiala ; Aao Apaan Parchohlye

(Patiala, 1986).Hira Singh, Dard ; Merian Kujh Itihasak Yadaan (Jullundur, 1960). Jagjit Singh (Dr.) ; Singh Sabha Lehr (Tarn Taran, 1941).-----------------------; Akali Lehr (Tarn Taran, n.d.).Jagjit Singh ; Ghadr Party Lehr (Delhi, 1979).Jaswant Singh ; Master Tara Singh (Amritsar, 1972).Jawahar Singh, B hai; Sri Amritsar De Darbar Sahib De Gujhe

Bhed (Amritsar, 1908).Jodh Singh, Bhai ; Jathe Bandi (Amritsar, 1910).-----------------------. Quru Sahib Ate Ved (Amritsar, n.d.).-----------------------; Lekh Sikhi Asulan Par (Amritsar, 1910).

Kahan Singh, Bhai ; Gurshabad Ratnakar Mahan Kosh (Patiala, 1960).

160 RESEARCH ES IN S IK H R E L IG IO N A N D H IST O R Y

Gurmat Parbhakar (Lahore, 1893). Gurmat Sudhakar (Amritsar, 1901). Ham Hindu Nahin (Amritsar, 1899).

Khalsa, Harvinder Singh ; Dharam Yudh—Aatwat Benami Congress Sarkar (Patiala, 1983).

Khalsa Tract Society ; Khalsa Directory (Amritsar, 1899).----------------------- • sada Hal (Amritsar, 1911).-------------- -------- ; Sachcha Guru (Amritsar, 1900).Koer Singh ; Gurbilas Patshahi Das (Patiala, 1968).Major Singh ; Hindu-Sikh Ekta De Avtar ! Sant Baba Fateh Singh

Ji (Amritsar, n.d.).Mohan Singh, Vaid ; Aryan De Dhol Da Pol (Tarn Taran, 1915).

Nahar Singh, G ian i; Azadi Dian Lehran (no place of Publication mentioned, 1960).

Niranjan Singh ; Ji van Yatra : Master Tara Singh (Amritsar, 1968).

Piara Singh Padam (ed.) ; Rehtname (Patiala, 1974).----------------------- ; Sankhep Sikh Itihas (Patiala, 1963).Punjabi Sahit Smikhia ; Bhai Veer Singh Jivan Te Rachna

(Jullundur, n.d.)Sandhu, Bhaghwant Singh ; Chaurahe Te Khalote Sikh (Patiala,

1985).

Sikh Missionary College, Ludhiana ; Bharat Di Azadi Vich Sikhbn Da Hissa (Ludhiana, n. d.).

Sukhdial Singh ; Sri Akal Takhat Sahib : Dharam Yudh Morcha Ate Operation Blue Star, Part II (Patiala, 1987).

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Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon Reader in History,

P. U. E C., Sector 14, Chandigarh (INDIA)

Tele. 33145

The author has, in a very lucid style, covered the salient features of Sikh religion and history to authenticate his statements and conclusions. Well-documented and thought- provoking, the book is of immense interest not only to scholars but to all those who share the agony of Punjab and wish all controversies to be solved through a spirit of goodwill and mutual understanding

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