Akali politics: Familiar crossroads & the way forward

Once again, the Sikh politics finds itself in a familiar mess.

- Harcharan Bains

Once again, the Sikh politics finds itself in a familiar mess. The correct description, however, is Akali politics as the community's political spectrum is not limited to any one party—not even to several parties claiming to be Panthic. There are Sikhs in every political party. As a matter of fact, except in 1985, 1989 and 1997, more Sikhs seem to have voted for political parties other than all the 'Panthic' parties put together, including Akalis. Of these, the 1985 and 1989 polls were held following extraordinary events and under circumstances which can barely be described as normal. And in 1997, the Akali wave cut across all communities and cannot be described purely as a Panthic wave.

Shifting nature of loyalties At the centre of the present mess is the shifting nature of loyalties and stand of various Akali leaders to the relevance and role played in Akali politics by the jathedars of Akal Takht. No Akali leader nor faction can claim to be totally guilt-free in this. Worse, their stand has been shifting depending on their political convenience.

And this needs some pondering in order to understand the complicated nature of the issue and to put the events of December 2 and their aftermath in perspective. Some of the leaders who are now advocating an active intervention of the jathedar in the organisational matters of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) stood firmly opposed to this intervention when the same controversy and the same crisis created the same mess in April-May 1994.