& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

The Blinkered Akali Dal

BETWEEN THE LINES

Kuldip Nayar writes from New Delhi
AKAU Dal leaders have learnt nothing, forgotten nothing . They took a wrong turn in the beginning of the eighties (or was it earlier?) and landed in the wilderness Instead of making efforts to retrieve themselves they seem in danger of getting lost for ever
Fundamentalism has been their polestar; no wonder, they have found no way out of dark deep fanaticism in which they are groping. In a democratic society where people decide a nation s fate, factionalism does not carry a party too far. Prakash- Singh Badal the only viable Akai I leader has realised it after sizing the country s mood and got out of their grip and that of religious syndrome
Others continue to live in the world of priesthood and politics True among them are former chief minister" Surjit Singh Barnala and Amririder Singh of Patiala scion, by no means rabid But they have no base Their desire for power has had the better of them and they have Joined the ranks of communalists and secession ists Religion is the charloi they -will now ride to travel through the desert of frustra tion where they have been stuck
Their new companions, who never had even a pretence of liberalism have reluelled
religious sentiments. They have dragged even Akai Takht. the supreme religious author Ity of Sikhs, in to their personal struggle for supremacy. Ambition has so much blinded Barnala and Amrlnder. brother-in-law of secessionist Slmmaranjit Singh Mann, that they have not objected to what is sought to be done In the name of Sikhism.
Badal saw through the game and wrote last morjth to Manjil Singh, acting Jathedar of Akai Takht. not to interfere into the affairs of Akali factions. But Gurcharan Singh Tbhra, chief of'Shiromanl Gurdwara Pra-bandhak Committee (SGPC). whjch appoints the Akai Takht Jathedar. had his way and had Badal summoned before Akai Takht to make him Join his Akali Dal
But his plea to go it alone could not have been faulted Manjit Singh had to accept It But he did not do It from his heart This Is apparent from the way he has been saying from the gurdwara podiums that Akai Takht has blessed the Akali Dal of Tbhra and his likes Who is he to claim that? He and Akai Takht are not •ynonvmous. Akai Takht be longs W» nil Sikhs, even to
those who have nothing to do. with any of the Akali Dais.
Fired with ^mbition to be Punjab's chief minister. Tbhra has always used religion to cover his designs. The office, which has been occupied for almost two decades, has given him Importance but not popu larlty. In the eyes of ^Tkh masses he is miles behind Badal.
And there are reasons for that Tbhra has seldom acted above board. It was he who al-
lowed the misuse ol Akai T.ikht — the accumulation of arms at a place of religious authority — before Operation Bluestar Again it is he who blessed the militancy, which brought no relief to the community and kept Punjab at ten terhooks
Now he has primed the Amritsar resolution which goes even beyond the controversial Anandpur Sahib resolution. For the first time, words like confederation' and homeland have Ix-en used: they smack of
secestSon.
The Anandpur Sahib resolution. as Initialed and explained . by the late Harcharan Singh Longowal, then the Akali Dal chief, demanded a federal structure in the country It en vtsaged only four to five subjects for the Centre, namely, defence, foreign affairs, com munications and finance, and the rest for the states
There is nothing objection able to the demand for federal Ing the polity It needs to be
decentralised and further democratised so that people at the grassroots are able to par ticipate in the country's governance This Is also the best way to safeguard democracy and unity.
Akali leaders made a mess of the resolution by their acts of omission and commission The Congress party was able to spread the impression that the resolution was the means and the secession was the end. So reprehensible has been the track record of Akali Dal that
the worst is expected from it. There Is also a feeling that there is nothing final about what the party says.
For example, the party gave an undertaking to the Government of India that once the Punjabi Subha was conceded, the Sikhs' aspiration would have been met But then came the Ahandpur Sahib resolution. And now It is the Amritsar resolution
Its proviso lets the cat out of the bag: If the Hindustan government does not accept the demand far the creation of a confederation, then the Shi romanl Akali Dal will be left with no option but to announce their demand for a separate and Independent Sikh state.'' Once again the same bluff, the same bluster
The word Hindustan (conveying that India Is a place of Hindus) has been purposely Juxtaposed against the Sikhs to create bad blood between the two communities The word Punjabi has been usM along with the Sikhs lest someone points out what happens to the 38 per cent Hindus living In the state
In the process the Tbhra Akali Dal has come a cropper. By mentioning the Sikhs and the Punjabis separately it has given the impression as if the two are different. Probably, the new Akali Dal did not want to use the word Hindu When you try to be too clevgf you commit silly mistakes
The Amritsar resolution has once again proved that the Akali Dal has never been able to differentiate the govern ment from the country The first is returned to power for a fixed term, and It can be re elected or thrown out if the voters so decide. The country Is permanent, not changed el-
ther by the polls or by the fall or rise of a ruling party.
Suppose the Narasimha Rao government were perforce to accept the Amritsar resolution, what sanction would it have until the country accepted it? That meahs a constitutional amendment and one does not know whether such an amendment will be considered by the Supreme Court in consonance with the letter and spirit of the constitution.
The tragedy with the Akali Dal is that it has always issued fiats' from gurdwara precincts. By mixing religion with politics it has been able to confuse the Sikh masses at least in the countryside. Lately, the community is beginning to see through the games of Tbhra and his compatriots.
It is welcome that Ba^al has parted company with them and has come into the open to save the community from further ignominy. He will have to face many odds. But the way he has stood his ground indicates that he is prepared for it.
His task would have been easier if the central government had removed the impression that it did not treat the Sikhs squarely Those who murdered 3,000 Sikhs in Delhi, some In Kanpur. Jamshedpur and elsewhere.ip the wake of Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984. shoqld have been brought to book long
And what about the package which Narasimha Rao has been promising from day one? His credibility cannot be restored until the demands are met. Punjab chief minister Beam Singh has acted as a dutiful Congressman but not as the custodian of Punjab's Interests. Non implementation of demands Is the dark side of the Rao government But an irresponsible resolution like the Amritsar one lets It off the hook not pins It down