In a massive outreach to Sikhs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several chief ministers of the BJP ruled states attended programmes to mark the Veer Bal Diwas, commemorating the martyrdom of sons of 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J.P. Nadda, who are on a tour of West Bengal, also visited Kolkata gurudwara to pay their obeisance on the day.
Modi attended a special function at the newly built Bharat Mandapam. A day earlier, he had met Christian priests and personalities at his residence on the occasion of Christmas. PM Modi’s engagements came ahead of the January 22 consecration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, aimed at giving a message of cultural integration.
“Veer Bal Diwas is a symbol of the never-say-die attitude for the protection of Bhartiyata,” PM Modi said.
Modi has been leading efforts to engage with the Sikh community as his government had taken multiple steps including opening up of the Kartarpur Corridor and celebrating the birth anniversaries of Sikh Gurus. In January 2022, Modi had announced observing December 26 as Veer Baal Diwas.
The government and the BJP had sped up the efforts to engage with the community, which comprises around two per cent of the country’s population, after the farmers agitation which had created a wedge between the both. The breaking up of Akali Dal-BJP alliance over the farmers agitation further led to BJP missing a vital link in the border state of Punjab. Since then, the BJP has been building bridges with the community, inducting Sikh faces into the party, even including a former police officer-turned-politician, Iqbal Singh Lalpura, into the BJP’s highest decision making body, the parliamentary board.
Both Akali Dal and the BJP fought the last assembly election separately, thus paving the way for the AAP to sweep the polls. The Akali Dal, independently, is trying to regain its stature among the Sikhs by requesting the old timers to return to the fold. Akali Dal supremo Sukhbir Badal had even apologised for the 2015 sacrilege incidents in the state.
The alliance between the Akali Dal and the BJP was hailed as an alliance in national interest as it kept the two communities - Sikhs and Hindus – close to each other after decades of militancy. As the alliance broke, there were apprehensions of polarisation.
The BJP is now trying to increase its base among the Sikhs without the help of Akali Dal. Its chief ministers across various states participated in the state level functions to mark the Veer Baal Diwas. This also holds significance when the radical elements in other countries have been rallying against the government and trying to assert a separate identity for the Sikhs while talking about alleged atrocities against the community.
As Sikhs are spread across the country and have their areas of influence owing to their contribution to the society, the BJP is also wooing them with an eye on Lok Sabha polls. The BJP would need crucial votes and more seats in Punjab as the 2024 battle approaches near.
