SUKHBIR'S MOMENT OF RECKONING

On December 4, amidst the solemnity of his sewa duties at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal had an unexpected brush with danger.

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

A former Khalistani terrorist, Narain Singh Chaura, opened fire at the entrance of the holiest of Sikh shrines where a wheelchair-bound Sukhbir (he has a fractured leg), clad in the blue sewadar uniform and holding a spear, was serving as a guard. The swift intervention of onlookers thwarted the attack, and Chaura was overpowered and handed over to the police.

Sukhbir had been stationed at the Golden Temple as part of his tankha-punishment for religious misconduct-handed down to him just two days before. Folded hands, ashen face, teary eyes...Sukhbir was the picture of penitence as he stood before the Akal Takht, the highest seat of the Sikh faith, to accept his punishment. Alongside him were other senior Akali leaders a mix of loyalists and rebels-facing similar fates for either complicity or silence in the face of events that shook the Sikh community during the SAD's 2007-17 regime. Their collective transgressions included orchestrating a religious pardon for controversial sect leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a blasphemy case, mishandling the 2015 sacrilege incidents and endorsing the actions of "encounter specialist" cops. As penance, the tankhaiya leaders were instructed to undertake acts of sewa-cleaning shoes, scrubbing toilets and standing guard at five prominent gurdwaras in Punjab.