Why Sukhbir Badal is gunning for BJP in his second innings as Akali Dal chief

Badal has alleged that the former Jathedars of Punjab’s three Takhts – or temporal seats of power for Sikhs – who had found him guilty of “religious violations” during the SAD-led government’s rule from 2007 to 2017, acted under the influence of the BJP.

Four months ago, Badal had stood guard outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, washed toilets and polished shoes as part of the sentence given by the then Jathedars. However, in the run-up to the fresh elections for the SAD president as mandated by the Akal Takht, the three Jathedars — Giani Raghbir Singh, Giani Sultan Singh and Giani Harpreet Singh — were removed from their posts by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the top body for gurdwara management over which the SAD holds considerable influence.

It is another matter that for years the SAD had been accused by its rivals of facilitating the BJP and the RSS influence over Sikh politics.

Badal’s charges

While blaming the BJP for the events of the past six months, Badal claimed the Akal Takht’s action against him was triggered by the SAD’s exit from the BJP-led NDA in 2020.

“The last six months had witnessed a conspiracy to finish the SAD as well as its leadership. This conspiracy first started when the SAD left the NDA (in 2020) to express its solidarity with the farmers who were agitating against the three (now-repealed) farm Bills,” Badal said at a Baisakhi rally last Sunday.

Badal also took aim at the sacked Jathedars, saying, “It was most unfortunate that the decisions of the community were manipulated by such forces and even our respected Jathedar Sahiban, who should have acted as the custodian of panthic interests, chose to play into the hands of these forces. I congratulate the SGPC for vacating the ‘kabja (control)’ of anti-Sikh forces over our Takhts.”

In response to the allegations, while the BJP said the SAD should “introspect”, only one of the sacked Jathedars has spoken out.

BJP state president Sunil Jakhar said, “First the Akali Dal should look inward rather than blaming the BJP. They have committed a bigger blunder by challenging the Akal Takht’s December orders.”

Among the former Jathedars, only Harpreet Singh responded to the allegations, saying that Badal has “lost the faith” of the Sikh community, who will not believe his claims as the SAD has “not followed” the Akal Takht’s directives.

However, despite the Akali Dal chief’s allegations, Raghbir Singh remains the head priest of the Golden Temple while Sultan Singh is still one of its priests. Neither has reacted to Badal’s claims.

In the wake of the SAD’s continuous decline in the state and national elections since 2017, Badal is now caught in a “do-or-die battle”.

Besides forcing him to resign as the SAD president, the Akal Takht also directed the party to launch a new membership drive under a panel constituted by the Takht. But the SAD insisted on running its own membership drive. With the panel now emerging as a parallel outfit to the SAD, Badal is hoping that linking the Jathedars’ actions to the BJP would also discredit the Akal Takht panel.

It remains to be seen if Badal faces any backlash from the wider Sikh community following his allegations.

Behind Badal’s allegations

Before their break-up in 2020, the SAD and the BJP had one of the longest-running alliances going back to 1996.

In 1999, during Sukhbir’s father Parkash Badal’s third term as the Punjab CM, the then BJP-led Centre had sanctioned Rs 300 crore for celebrations of the 300th foundation day of the Khalsa tradition. The RSS, too, had come forward to participate in the celebrations, but its involvement had raised alarms in the Sikh community. Giani Manjit Singh, the then Jathedar of the Takht Kesgarh Sahib, claimed he had allowed the RSS’s participation “under pressure” from the SAD-BJP government.

That year, then RSS chief K S Sudarshan had also visited the headquarters of the Damdami Taksal, a Sikh cultural and educational organisation, in Amritsar district. His visit was perceived as an attempt to improve ties with Sikhs. However, a large section of the community saw it as the RSS’ “interference” in the Sikh affairs.

At the time, Puran Singh, a former student at the Damdami Taksal, had become the Akal Takht Jathedar in 1999. Many of his statements were seen as “influenced by the RSS”. Puran Singh soon came into conflict with Bibi Jagir Kaur, the then SGPC president, over the newly adopted Nanakshahi calendar, which contains dates of events key to Sikhism. After Puran Singh excommunicated Bibi Jagir Kaur for supporting the new calendar, the SGPC president used her powers to remove the Jathedar from his post at the Akal Takht.

Amid this increased conflict between Sikh institutions, under the SAD-BJP government between 1997 and 2002, there was a marked increase in the RSS’ activities in the state, which caused concerns among Sikhs.

In July 2004, when the Congress was in power in Punjab, the Akal Takht issued a decree, asking all Sikhs to remain “cautious” of the activities of the RSS and its affiliate Rashtriya Sikh Sangat. The decree was issued after the RSS published literature, which the Akal Takht viewed as “the Sangh’s interpretation of Sikh beliefs”, for celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the first installation of the Guru Granth Sahib at the Golden Temple.

The allegations of the RSS’ influence surfaced again in 2010, with the SAD-BJP back in power, when the Akal Takht and the SGPC permitted amendments to the Nanakshahi calendar on the demand of the Sant Samaj, a body of Sikh religious leaders headed by Damdami Taksal chief Harnam Singh Dhuma. Former RSS chief Sudarshan had opposed the Nanakshahi calendar, leading to those who were critical of the 2010 amendments to allege that the RSS was behind the changes. The amendments strengthened the perception that the SAD leadership was allegedly using the SGPC and the Akal Takht to “oblige” the BJP and the RSS.

In October 2019, then Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh had called for a ban on the RSS after Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat had said India was a “Hindu nation”. “I believe what the RSS is doing cannot keep the nation together, but will divide it. The statements being made by RSS leaders are not in the interest of the country. The Indian government should rein him in,” Harpreet Singh had said.

Sukhbir Badal is now, however, alleging that Harpreet Singh was a part of the “conspiracy” against the SAD.

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