Punjabi Identity should unite Hindus and Sikhs By Balraj Puri Akali Dal came to power in coalition with Bhartiya Jana Sangh for the first time in the last election. The power had eluded the exclusively Sikhs party in earlier elections, even though the Sikh were in a majority in the state. The Congress managed to win a majority in the state assembly with the support of the a fraction of the Sikhs, mostly Ramgarhia (artisan community) and scheduled castes. A member of these castes used to head the coalition. In the last election, the Akali Dal announced to secularise itself. In an article in Akali paper (Ajit Weekkly) I congratulated it as the only way for it to come to power and retain its relevance in Punjab. I received appreciation from eminent members of the community, in different parts of the world. Though Akali Dal had given a ticket to Naresh Gujral S/o Inder Gujral for a seat to Rajya Sabha, it continued to be an exclusively Sikh party. Hence its reliance on BJP continues for getting some Hindu support. According to post modern thought, urge for identity is one of the most important human urges. But no single identity can satisfy all human urges. Out of multiple identities to which a person belongs, which ever is threatened at a particular time becomes more pronounced. A classical example is that of Bangladesh. In 1947, its people felt that their Muslim identity was threatened on account of Hindu-Muslim riots that were taking place through the subcontinent, including undivided Bengal. They found a common identity between them and their co-religionists in Muslims of Punjab and other Muslim communities in the western part of the subcontinent and opted for separate country of Pakistan. But soon, they discovered that their Bengali identity was being threatened by Western Pakistan. Thus they revolted against it and asserted their Bengali identity which after a bloody war they achieved in the form of a separate country of Bangladesh. In case of Punjab, Sikh and Punjabi identities have often been indistinguishable and translatable to each other. Punjabi language in Gurmukhi script has an emotional appeal for both identities. As the bulk of Punjabi Hindus disowned their mother tongue in fifties and sixties, the earlier phase of Sikh assertion took the form of demands of recognition of the Punjabi language and for creation of a Punjabi Suba, which had been conceded in case of most of other linguistic identities of the country. The opposition of Punjabi Hindus to both the demands, though irrational, was based on fears of possible Sikh domination, culturally and politically. The Sikhs, on the other hand, felt that refusal to concede their twin but just demands, was a clear case of discrimination against their community. The demand for Punjabi speaking state was conceded in 1966, ten years after the rest of India had been reorganised on linguistic basis, and after exclusion of some Punjabi speaking areas where Hindu majority and declared their language as Hindi. But even after that, power which is another manifestation of any identity eluded the Sikh elite. For Akali party which was an exclusively Sikhs party could not come to power exclusively with the support of the community. Thus the only democratic remedy available to the Sikhs was to enlist the support of a section of Hindus which could only be done by secularising the Akali Dal. I had started the campaign for the purpose through series of articles and seminars in Punjab just as I had campaigned against the Hindu opposition to their mother tongue, Punjabi. During Punjabi Suba agitation in fifties, I was able to secure an assurance from Master Tara Singh, who was leading it, through the courtesy of PSP leader Asoka Mehta, who met him in jail, that Akali Dal wouldl be converted to Punjabi Dal after Punjabi Suba was formed. A similar assurance was given by Sant Singh who was the leader of the same demand in sixties, through the help of Jayaprakash Narayan who met him. However, when urge for power of the Sikh community could not be satisfied even after formation of Punjabi Suba, more extremist demands were raised by some of its leaders. In Anandpur resolution, demand for an autonomous Punjabi state was raised according to which the federal government could retain only three subjects, Defence, Foreign Affairs and Communications. It further demanded restoration of Punjabi speaking areas from Haryana (Chandigarh, Ambala and Karnal), Himachal (Kangra) and Rajasthan (Ganganagar). Another section felt that nothing short of an independent Sikh state called Khalistan would ensure the rights of the Sikhs. Till Anandpur resolution, it may be noted, that Sikhs demands, which also included exclusive rights on waters of rivers of Punjab, were expressed as Punjabi demands. Apart from the frustration of Sikh youth, a number of factors further encouraged the extremist option, Jarnail Singh Bhindrawala who symbolized the new mood of the Sikh youth got indirect support of some unexpected quarters. The Congress had made an unwritten alliance with his group during Gurdwara election to isolate the Akali Dal. Once Prakash Singh Badal and Surjit Singh Barnala, the Akali Dal, whom I met at the opposition conclave, convened by Farooq Abdullah in 1984, asked me to tell Indira Gandhi that they were a lesser evil than Bhindrawala. I told them they were trying to snatch power from the party of Indira Gandhi whereas Bindrawala did not pose such threat any by cutting them to size was serving her game. It would be much easier to deal with him because only a bullet was needed to do it. This was, I thought, the logic of her policy. Allegations that Pakistan, too, had a hand in fomenting Bhindrawala phenomenon, could not be ruled out. Many militant Sikh youth could cross the border to meet Punjabi Muslims in Pakistan and could get arms. That arms continue to be collected in Durbar Sahib from where Bhindrawala operated, possibly through the connivance of the state government, to provide alibi for operation Blue Star, an avoidable provocation to the Sikh community. I was one of the first persons to visit Amritsar after the operation and addressed a large gathering of the Sikh youth at Guru Nanak Dev University. Before I started speaking, a group of about 10-15 young Sikhs introduced themselves as followers of Bhindrawala who believed only in the method of the gun. I expressed my inability to communicate through that medium. They replied that they had come to listen to me even though they might not agree with all I had been saying as they were convinced that I was the only non-Sikh who understood the Sikh mind. Having established my credibility my interaction with the audience continued for over three hours. I visited almost all towns of Punjab and some rural areas and had a number of such interactions with militant groups of Panthic committee as also with prominent Hindu leaders. I was perhaps one of the few Hindus who could roam around the state without security. In short my argument was that while Hindu leadership was responsible for fracturing the cultural identity of Punjab, the Sikh leadership were responsible for fracturing its political identity. Both should review their past mistakes. Eventually Hindus owned Punjabi as their mother tongue while Akali Dal seeks Hindu support though an alliance with the BJP for coming to power. It has also sponsored some Hindu candidates for elections. But the possible contradictions between religious and political identities can be fully resolved if SGPC deals with religious affairs of the Sikhs while the Akali Dal (or Punjabi Dal) is sufficiently broad based to represent Punjabis of both the communities. After all gurus also used two different fora, Durbar Sahib and Akal Takhat, to deal with piri and miri, symbolised by two swords. The lesser mortals should divide the leadership also for two affairs, independent of each other. Punjabi identity should unite Hindus and Sikhs of Punjab within India and be a friendly link with Pakistan through Punjabis of that country. A secular Akali Dal will thus make Punjab, a vigorous state of India.
Muslims of India Since Partition Gyan Publishing House New Delhi-2 Phones: 011-23282060,23261060 email :
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
About the Book
After 1947, Muslims of India, acquired a different form, in terms of their role, status, problems, challenges and opportunities. The partition of the country divided them in two and later three parts and led their political, bureaucratic and intellectual elite to migrate to Pakistan. The expert opinion was divided about their very future. W.C. Smith, a renowned scholar of Islam, for instance, believed that Islam in India would emerge as more progressive, dynamic, liberal and creative than Pakistani Islam. The fact that Muslims in India bear the same proportion in Indian Population as those in the world bear to the world population, make their experience of universal value.
Religion has two components. One is set of theological beliefs and practices. Two as a basis of a social identity. Even those who do not follow its beliefs and practices and are agnostics or athiests are an integral part of a religious community.
This book is primarily a study of Muslim community since partition. But some references to pre-partition lessons and Islam, based on its acknowledged authorities, were inevitable for the study of contemporary problems of the community.
This study of micro problems of Indian Muslims is a humble contribution to the vastly grown scholarly work on macro Islam.
The US-based international
Human Rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has welcomed the judicial inquiries
into the alleged fake encounter killings in Kashmir
but has expressed its scepticism "given the government's track
record".
Indo-Pak Peace Process and Musharraf's Proposal on J&K(Published i n Times of India)
On the eve of the Indian Foreign Minister's visit to Pakistan, which hopefully will be followed by the visit of the Prime Minister to that country, both had series of discussions with the leaders of Jammu and Kashmir state. The Prime Minister had a cordial meetings with the leaders of the principal opposition Bhartiya Janata Party and the left allies. Both supported -with varying emphasis-the peace process with Pakistan initiated by former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee.
.
Any move to alter the status of Jammu and
Kashmir without evolving a system that can accommodate its diversities in a
democratic manner will only heighten communal and regional tensions and add to
the complexity of the Kashmir problem.
By BALRAJ PURI
