Why winning the Sikh sentiment is all about keeping the faith

AMRITSAR: Will Punjab accept a non-Sikh CM? As the Congress and the Akalis target Arvind Kejriwal, attempts to play up the Sikh sentiment are apparent.

At rally, Sukhbir Singh Badal attacked AAP as a party of those who wear topi, not the turban, outsiders in Punjab.

The Congress's Amarinder Singh says Kejriwal is clueless about the Sikh ethos and hand in glove with Khalistan extremists, alienated from mainstream Sikhs. So is there a latent Sikh sentiment that's resurfacing this election?

"Many devout Sikhs are anguished about recent incidents of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib," says Kiranjot Kaur, SGPC member and grand-daughter of an SGPC founder Master Tara Singh.That the guilty weren't found or punished has created resentment against this government.

Last year, across villages in Faridkot, Ferozepur and Tarn Taran, pages of the Granth Sahib were found torn and dumped near gurudwaras. Devout Sikhs criticised the Badal government for failing to track down the culprits and also for the police firing on protestors that killed two.

"The Badal government's handling of these desecration incidents is a major poll issue," Kiranjot says. She believes Sikhs are increasingly differentiating between the Akali Dal and the Badals and are anguished at the way the party has been captured by the family.

She claims many Amritdhari Sikhs may not vote for the Akalis. Since the Congress is synonymous with the 1984 riots, many would prefer the AAP.

"The Badals are misusing the authority of religious institutions," says Kanwar Pal Singh of Dal Khalsa, a radical Sikh organisation that was banned in 1981 and now calls itself Punjab's Hurriyat.

"They've reduced the SGPC to playing second fiddle to the Akali Dal. They are misusing religion, doing nothing for the community .Sikhs are dissatisfied with the socalled party of the Sikhs -the Akali Dal."

So are Sikh radicals now supporting AAP? "They aren't radicals, they are victims who want to reject the Akalis," says Kanwar Pal.


Not all Sikh organisations share this view. The Damdami Taksal, once headed by separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale is firmly pro-Akali Dal.

"We have to appreciate Sukhbir Badal's development work," says Harnam Singh of Damdami Taksal. "The desecration incidents hurt us but the Badal government did bring the CBI to probe them."

Harnam Singh insists devout Sikhs can never vote Kejriwal because "there are many tainted leaders in AAP". The party didn't keep its promises to the people of Delhi and it doesn't have a Sikh face.

"We are worried at the way AAP treated Navjot Sidhu, the expulsion of Harinder Singh Khalsa, AAP MP, and the sacking of Suche Singh Chotepur. Does AAP want only Sikhs without a backbone," asks Amritsar businessman Narendra Singh.

He says while Sikhs admire Amarinder Singh for standing up to Delhi, many worry that Kejriwal wants a rubber-stamp CM who he'll be controlled from Delhi.

Amritsar-based academic Jasbir Singh Sabar says many Sikhs disapproved of a recent Kejriwal poster where the jharoo (broom) was shown as supreme. "We are worried that Kejriwal may not know about Sikh tenets," he says.

An FIR has been lodged against AAP's Ashish Khetan for his statement that the party manifesto was like the Granth Sahib.

But a leading jathedar, Gyani Keval Singh, says Sikhs are worried about the RSS's role and the hold it has in Punjab because of the Akali-BJP alliance.

"There is a perception that RSS's influence in Sikh religious matters is growing ...feel the RSS wants to deny us our identity and present a distorted picture of Sikhism as part of Hinduism," he says.

Keval Singh says the AAP hold over rural areas is increasing because of popular disenchantment with the Akalis, especially in the agrarian Malwa belt, a region known for its anti-establishment politics.

Kiranjot says the Akali vote bank has always held firm but this time there could be a change in voting patterns. AAP local functionaries say even though they haven't projected a Sikh face, maximum party tickets have gone to Sikhs.

"From Bhagwant Mann to HS Phoolka to Jarnail Singh, we have a range of Sikh faces," says Sanjay Singh, the party's Punjab in charge. Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi, a Sikh, is the party's state convenor.

However, some believe that if the AAP wins Punjab, Sikh extremists will regain centre-stage as the party isn't experienced enough to keep them in check and doesn't understand SGPC politics.

What about reports that AAP candidate Jarnail Singh shared a stage with Khalistan sympathisers in London? "This is propaganda by our opponents," says Sanjay Singh."There are no Khalistanis with us.They are spreading rumours because NRIs are supporting us."

"Punjab's people are politically savvy ," says Kiranjot. "They look at the party, not who'll be CM. The population of Punjab is changing ... there could come a day when Punjab gets a non-Sikh CM."

The Sikh identity remains powerful but as Punjab looks at life beyond the Akalis, many Sikhs are looking for new ways to express their identity .