Since 2017, it has been losing badly in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in Punjab. Apart from this, its performance in the elections to Panchayats and Municipal bodies, also known as ‘local governments’, has also been extremely weak. Considering the behavior of its various factions at the moment, there is no confidence that it will be able to re-emerge in the coming years.
In order to hold the leaders of the main faction of the Shiromani Akali Dal, also known as the ‘Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal)’ and some other Akali leaders who emerged from this party accountable for their past mistakes and for the strength and unity of the Shiromani Akali Dal in the future, on December 2 last year, the Singh Sahibs, from the walls of Sri Akal Takht, where they had been sentenced to religious punishment, had also ordered them to reconstitute the Akali Dal by forming a 7-member committee under the leadership of Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami, President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. The leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and other rebel leaders of this faction have completed their religious punishments as per the orders of the Singh Sahibs, but there is no unity among the Akali leaders regarding the fulfillment of the orders given by the Singh Sahibs regarding the reconstitution of the Shiromani Akali Dal. The leadership of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) has raised some legal points in this regard. They are of the opinion that if they accept the process of electing a new president of the party by becoming a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal under the leadership of a 7-member committee formed by the Singh Sahibs as per their orders, then this may lead to the cancellation of the recognition of the Shiromani Akali Dal by the Election Commission. In this regard, these leaders are also citing the legal opinion obtained from some well-known lawyers. On the other hand, the Singh Sahibs of Sri Akal Takht Sahib Giani Raghbir Singh, while talking to the media on January 6, the Gurpurab day of the tenth Patshah Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, has again ordered the leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) to implement the orders issued by the Singh Sahibs on December 2 and no irregularities should be done in this regard. With this statement of Giani Raghbir Singh, the problem of the leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) seems to have increased once again. Sukhbir Singh Badal has also held a regular meeting with the workers of 3-4 districts in the village of Barkandi in Malwa, in which he has repeated his allegation that conspiracies are being made to weaken the Akali Dal. He has also said that it is very important to strengthen the regional party of the state ‘Shiromani Akali Dal’ to protect the rights and interests of Punjab.
On the other hand, the supporters of Lok Sabha member Amritpal Singh from Khadoor Sahib and Lok Sabha member Sarabjit Singh Khalsa from Faridkot constituency, who are detained under NSA in Dibrugarh jail, have started political activities together. This will create complications for the efforts being made by the Singh Sahibans or other parties to bring unity in the Akali Dal, in a way. If the leadership of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) persists in its current approach regarding the restructuring of the Akali Dal, then there is every possibility that the leaders who rebelled and left this party and who were earlier operating under the name of ‘Shiromani Akali Dal Reform Movement’ can also form a new Akali Dal. Thus, in the coming days, these three Akali Dals can be seen operating in Punjab politics. But the number of Akali Dals is not limited to this. In Punjab politics, other Panthic organizations such as Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Shiromani Akali Dal (1920), Sher-e-Punjab Akali Dal and International Panthic Dal are also active.
Thus, while the weakening of the Shiromani Akali Dal is having a profound impact on Punjab politics, anti-minority political forces are also becoming stronger in the national politics of the country and people belonging to minorities are becoming insecure day by day. At one time, the voice of the Shiromani Akali Dal was considered very important in the politics of the country. The president of the Shiromani Akali Dal used to travel all over the country. He would speak out against the atrocities committed against the Sikh community as well as other minorities. The Shiromani Akali Dal was known and seen as an opponent of oppression and tyranny and a ‘champion of human rights’. The lifestyle of the presidents of the Shiromani Akali Dal at that time was also very simple and they usually stayed in Guru Ghars during their tours in and outside Punjab and ate Prasad from the langars of Guru Ghars. They were always within the reach of the people. In those times, the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib and the president of the Shiromani Committee also had a national level status and influence.
By successfully running a 19-month-long morcha from the Sri Harmandir Sahib complex during the Emergency in 1975, the leadership of the Shiromani Akali Dal played a major role in restoring democracy in the entire country and with this, the leaders of the Akali Dal emerged as heroes. The Shiromani Akali Dal was always ready to struggle against every atrocity committed against the Sikh community in Punjab and outside Punjab. Due to this strength of the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Shiromani Akali Dal also had a strong influence on Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, Takht Sri Patna Sahib and the Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee.
Without a doubt, after the failure of the Dharam Yudh Morcha, the tragic events like the Saka Blue Star and the Sikh massacre in November 1984, the Shiromani Akali Dal
and other Panthic organizations had suffered a great blow, but gradually the Sikh Panth and the Shiromani Akali Dal emerged from this shock. But due to its inability to properly deal with the subsequent religious and political developments, the Akali Dal became weak again.
Today’s situation is that the Jathedars of Takht Sri Hazur Sahib and Takht Sri Patna Sahib remain absent from many important meetings called by the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib. This also happens because the Shiromani Akali Dal no longer has much influence on the local boards of Takht Sri Hazur Sahib and Takht Sri Patna Sahib. The influence of the local governments or the ruling party at the center can be seen more. The Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee has completely gone beyond the influence of the Shiromani Akali Dal and has come under the influence of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi State). Due to the narrow understanding of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), the Sikh community of Haryana has also rebelled against the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and formed its own separate Gurdwara Committee, for which elections are going to be held these days. The influence of the Shiromani Akali Dal in Haryana has also reduced to a great extent. The influence of the Shiromani Akali Dal is currently only left in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (Amritsar). This has led to the fact that neither the Punjab government nor the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre listens to anything the Shiromani Akali Dal has to say regarding the issues of the Sikh minority. For the last 2 years, a ‘National Justice Morcha’ has been organized on the border of Mohali and Chandigarh for the release of the imprisoned Sikhs. The Shiromani Akali Dal, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and even the Sikh Sahibans had also shown a lot of activity in this regard. Singh Sahiban had also formed a committee to approach the central government in this regard, but the central government did not even give any time to the committee formed by Singh Sahiban for a meeting. For the last 10 months, the Haryana government has been permanently closing the road from Punjab to Delhi, using the pretext of the farmers’ movement at the instigation of the central government. The common people of Punjab, industrialists and traders are forced to travel through small village roads to go to Delhi. It takes many hours more time for people to reach Delhi and from Delhi to Punjab. No one cares about the demands of the farmers’ movement.
From this it becomes completely clear that at present, the voice and reach of Punjab and the Shiromani Akali Dal have become very weak in the entire country including Punjab. The trend of the country’s politics in the coming time is going to pose great dangers to democracy, secularism and the federal structure. During the partition of the country, the then leadership of the Shiromani Akali Dal had taken the right decision to become a part of a secular nation India, even at its own cost, instead of becoming a part of a religion-based Pakistan. But today, when major threats are emerging in this country for democracy, secularism and the federal structure and there is a need to mobilize like-minded political forces in Punjab and the entire country to combat these threats, the weakening of the Shiromani Akali Dal at that time is a loss.
It is also a matter of regret that the current leadership of the Shiromani Akali Dal has rarely been seen expressing any concern regarding these national issues for a long time.
In the context of all these developments, we are of the clear opinion that the various factions of the Shiromani Akali Dal should unite by forgetting their differences to protect the rights and interests of the Panth and Punjab and for the strengthening of democracy, secularism (for the good of all) and the federal structure in the country. The Shiromani Akali Dal should once again become a strong organization and face the current religious and political challenges of the country with determination and foresight.
