A radical rising in Punjab 

The winter chill has begun to set in across northern India’s plains. In Amritsar’s Golden Temple, it got colder still, following an assassination bid on former two-time Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal. The State saw the end of terrorism around the separatist Khalistan movement in the 1990s. But on December 4, Narain Singh, 68, a man the police claim is a “former terrorist” and a pro-Khalistan sympathiser, pointed a gun at the chief of one of Punjab’s most prominent political parties.

After the assassination attempt, which was foiled by the prompt action of Jasbir Singh, an assistant sub-inspector in the Punjab police, the attention is back on the emboldening of right-wingers in the State. It also points to the ‘existential crisis’ engulfing the SAD, the party which was established in 1920 and claims to be the sole representative of the Sikh panth (followers), as well India’s oldest regional party.

Narain hails from Chaura Bajwa village (Dera Baba Nanak) in Gurdaspur district. As Sukhbir sat outside the Harmandir Sahib, in penance, one of the most important places of worship for Sikhs across the globe, Narain took aim with a gun. As he took a shot, he was overpowered by Jasbir, and the bullet hit a wall.

Sukhbir was performing his second day of penance, after the Akal Takht, the centre of religious authority for the Sikhs, had handed him a set of punishments for tankhaiya (religious misconduct). He wore a plaque saying god gives shelter to the sinner. There were 13 others who also got punishments, for 10 days each. Sukhbir, who was in a wheelchair, with his fractured leg in a bandage, was sitting at the entrance gate (Ghantaghar) of the Golden Temple, dressed as a sewadar (person performing service), when the attacker drew the gun. Sukhbir escaped unhurt and the assailant was led away by the police.

“As the attacker headed towards Badal ji, I sensed his intention. Our officers had already briefed us about anti-social elements and we were all alert, but we did not frisk anyone at the entrace, keeping in mind the code of conduct at the Darbar Sahib,” Jasbir says. He was in plainclothes that day, clad in a typical white kurta-pyjama and a red turban, when he diverted the gun away from Sukhbir. The next day, Sukhbir returned to the premises to continue his seva, this time photographed washing dishes.

A loss of faith

A day after the incident, the Golden Temple has returned to its regular pace. Scores of devotees make their way through the Ghantaghar gate, and the sound of the melodious Gurbani kirtans (hymns) continues to fill the air. Some anxiety though, is palpable.

After paying obeisance at Harmadir Sahib, 32-year-old Manjeet Singh, clad in a black turban and formal clothing, says he prayed for the wellbeing of all. He’s clear the firing incident should never have happened, especially in the Golden Temple. “But the way the Badals have misused their power, ignoring the interests of the panth for their personal and political gains, they should be given harsh punishments,” he says.

Over the past few years, he says the Akali Dal has been controlled by one family. “The issues of the Sikhs were sidelined. I lost all faith in the party,” he adds. He feels that while Sukhbir has accepted his mistakes, it is up to the panth to forgive him. So far, this hasn’t happened.

The SAD government was in power along with its alliance partner the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in Punjab from 2007 to 2017, with the late Parkash Singh Badal as the Chief Minister. Sukhbir is his son. Manjeet says that among his key mistakes is the pardon granted to Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a 2007 blasphemy case. Ram Rahim, who is at present serving a 20-year jail sentence for rape, had imitated the 10th Sikh guru Gobind Singh’s clothing at a ceremony while holding the initiation for the followers of his cult. This resulted in an uproar and a police case was filed against him.

The Akal Takht had excommunicated godman Ram Rahim, but Badal used his clout to grant him an Akal Takht-stamped pardon and also spent around ₹90 lakh on advertisements to justify the decision, he later confessed. After a severe backlash from the Sikh community, the pardon had to be rescinded.

Another mistake was the failure of the then-SAD-led government to punish those involved in the 2015 sacrilege incident, at Bargari village of Faridkot district, Manjeet feels. At Bargari, pages of the Guru Granth Sahib were found torn out, triggering widespread protests. As protests escalated, two people were killed in the police firing in Behbal Kalan of the district, while at Kotkapura a few people were injured during protests. Badal was also charged with appointing a police chief, who was accused of indulging in police excesses against Sikh youth.

Manjeet feels the only way the SAD can redeem itself if all the leaders punished by the Akal Takht “prove through their actions that they are working towards the betterment of the panth. SAD has lost its panthic politics plot,” says Manjeet, who is a tourist guide, and has been in the business in Amritsar for over a decade.

He points out that in the Lok Sabha elections held earlier in 2024, hardliners were able to win two seats out of 13 in Punjab. Two independent candidates won: Amritpal Singh, a pro-Khalistan propagator, who is currently in jail under the National Security Act (NSA), 1980; and Sarabjeet Singh, the son of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassin Beant Singh. In 2022, Simranjit Singh Mann, a hardline Sikh leader and chief of the SAD in Amritsar, won from Punjab’s Sangrur Parliamentary constituency. Everyone had imagined that the Khalistan narrative was over.

Balwainder Singh, who runs a painting studio at the Golden Temple Plaza that has multimedia galleries telling the story of the Sikhs, also believes what Manjeet does, adding that it is now a trust deficit. “Even though SAD leaders are serving religious punishments, I don’t think it will be immediately possible for the party to revive itself. They need to prove themselves among the panth. The party drifted away from its panthic agenda and has paid the price,” he says.

Bijender Singh, a farmer from Deeg town in Rajasthan, who along with his family has come to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple, says, “Once the people reject you, it’s not easy to gain back lost faith. The same has happened with the SAD leaders. They have apologised but restoring faith will take time.”

Politics and the public

The Akal Takht is the seat of Sikh power. The 12-foot platform within the Golden Temple complex, was constructed in the early 17th century, as a symbol of power in a reaction to Mughal persecution. Now, it is the seat of religious governance.

On December 2, the Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht pronounced religious punishment for Sukhbir and several other Akali Dal leaders who were part of the SAD-led government between 2007 and 2017. The Akal Takht chief priest Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, pronounced the order from the faseel (podium) of the Akal Takht. Directions were also issued to the working committee of SAD to accept Sukhbir’s resignation as the SAD president and hold elections for the president’s post as well as posts of other office bearers within six months.

The Akal Takht also revoked the title of Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Qaum (pride of the Sikh community) bestowed on the late Parkash Singh Badal, on who the title was bestowed in 2011 for his service towards the Sikh panth.

Sukhbir Singh Badal returned to the Golden Temple to perform tankhaiya the day after the assassination attempt with heightened security.
| Photo Credit:
ANI

The SAD has been going through a challenging phase. Discontent within the party came to a head after they won only one seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The crisis deepened as several senior party leaders revolted against Sukhbir, gunning for his ouster from the party top post. The electoral drubbings indicate that the party has lost its traditional support base.

Ahead of the polls, the party made an attempt to return to the panthic agenda by making poll pitches surrounding several issues such as the demand to release Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners), who have been languishing in prisons for 20-30 years, but that didn’t cut the ice with voters.

“If the Akali Dal wants to revive itself, a new leadership from within the party needs to be cultivated,” says Surinder Singh an assistant professor of Political Science at Panjab University’s Rural Centre at Kauni in Muktsar Sahib district.

The rise of the fringe

On December 5, a local court in Amritsar sent Narain to a three-day police custody. Pointing out that Chaura is a former militant and a criminal, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, the Police Commissioner of Amritsar stated: “The matter is being deeply investigated keeping in view Chaura’s radical bent of mind. He has been associated with various radical organisations. We have recovered a 9mm pistol from his possession, and are probing where he got it from.” Chaura has been booked under Section 109 (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant sections of the Arms Act, 1959.

Chaura’s son Jagjit Singh Bajwa, who is his counsel in the case, says, “My father never spoke about anything related to his visit to the Golden Temple. His action may have been triggered due to too-little punishment given for the religious misconduct.” Chaura is the founding member of the now inactive Khalistan Liberation Army, a pro-Khalistan group. He is head of the Akal Federation, a group of hardliners who were active during the period of terrorism during the 1980s.

At a panthic convention organised by Sikh radical outfit Dal Khalsa in Moga on December 5, Chaura was termed a Punjabi “true panthic”. Senior leader of the outfit Kanwar Pal Singh stated that Chaura was a staunch protagonist of the Khalistan movement.

Dharam Singh, a former professor of Sikh Studies at Punjabi University, Patiala, says, “The Akali Dal gave up its panthic agenda at its 1996 conference in Moga and became a Punjabi party. Following this, many non-Sikhs not only became its members but also occupied offices of importance. This resulted in the gradual alienation of Sikhs.” Although this helped the Akali Dal retain power in Punjab, it began to lose the support of the Sikhs. The SAD, designed to take care of panthis politically; and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), set up to look after Sikh shrines, were both formed in 1920, at the time of the gurudwara reform movement, also known as the Akali movement. Then, the Sikh community took charge from corrupt priests.

“The Akali Dal leadership has been in the hands of one family since the 1990s. The excessive political interference in the functioning of the SGPC is too glaring to be overlooked,” says Dharam. The Akali Dal now faces stiff challenges ahead, including regaining the trust of its supporters, addressing internal conflicts, and re-establishing itself as a major force in Punjab politics.

Daljit Singh Cheema, a senior Akali leader says the party has accepted the directions of the Akal Takht. He feels that given the attack, “fringe elements” have come to the fore. “We will soon hold a meeting of the party’s working committee to decide on a future course of action,” he says.