Sikhism, the fifth-largest religion in the world, was founded by Guru Nanak Dev ji. As a caste- and ritual-free religion, one must light the inner lamp to dispel darkness from within and serve humanity to become an angel. Another important aspect is to live an honourable life and prefer death to insult. The 10 Gurus preached the same gospel and set examples through their own lives.
Iqbal Singh Lalpura
From 1708 AD, under Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, a just and kind rule was established, and the centuries-old Mughal rule was destroyed. After the sacrifice, it was a struggle for almost 84 years to strengthen and establish the Khalsa Raj under Maharaja Ranjeet Singh Bahadur in 1799, with Lahore as its capital. The British and Napoleon recognised his strength. The British government signed a treaty with him. People from all over the world came to serve this rich country. A group of Sikh leaders opposed him, fearing that he might take over their territory as well, and preferred British control. During this period, Sikhism was propagated not by force but by service to society.
However, after the death of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh in 1839, the kingdom slipped into the hands of the British, and all efforts were made to destroy the great Sikh tenets and political power. To the extent that the control of historical religious places of the Sikhs was taken over by the state through Mahants. The heir of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh was converted to Christianity and taken away to England to ensure the complete destruction of Sikh political power and religion.
In 1873 AD, an attempt was made to save four Sikh students of a mission school from converting to Christianity. This incident gave rise to the formation of the Sri Guru Singh Sabha to save and preach Sikhism. However, this was not to the liking of the British government, which helped create another Singh Sabha in Lahore, ultimately joining these to form the Chief Khalsa Dewan. This was done to check the anti-British feelings among the Sikhs through pro-British landlords and prominent Sikhs.
In 1920-25, another opportunity arose to unite the Sikhs during the Gurdwara Sudhar Movement, which ended with the formation of the Gurdwara Act 1925 and the Akali Dal, a Sikh political party. The leaders of this movement joined the Congress to fight for India's independence. However, they took almost no interest in researching and propagating Sikh philosophy and history. From 1937 onwards, until Independence, these Akalis concentrated only on gaining political power. Their association with the Congress was limited to seeking help in their political struggle, and they ignored the religion.
The British promoted the Baba concept through some former Army personnel to dilute the Shabd Guru concept. Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji had given three directives: Pooja Akal ki (worship only the formless, ever-living God), Parcha Shabad ka (guidance from Sri Guru Granth Sahib), and Didar Khalsa ka (the Khalsa is His own, and one can see Him through the Khalsa).
After Independence, the struggle for political power began anew, with the Akalis giving the understanding to Sikhs that the community was not being given justice and equal rights. Those who got the opportunity joined the Congress to enjoy power in the state and national governments. Another group, known as the Akalis, involved the community in agitation without caring for peace and development. The Akalis got many chances to form the government in Punjab and share power in the central government but never made a serious effort to solve the issues they had agitated for before gaining power. The loss of human life and property was many times more than what they gained from the agitations.
Sensing the mood of the Sikhs, who were getting disappointed with them, the Akalis compromised with even those who were alleged to have committed atrocities on Sikhs and sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. This lost them everything - political power and sympathy from the community. This is clear from the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha election results 2017 onwards. The image of Sikh leadership has taken a further dip, not only due to allegations but also admissions before Sri Akal Takhat Sahib on December 2, 2024, that they were helping people who committed atrocities on Sikhs and sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
There is no history of giving a second chance to such maligned Sikhs in the past. The Panth stands by the principles of Na khuda hi mila! Na visale sanam! Na idhar ke rahe na udhar ke rahe! They lost their reputation as Panthic leaders and also their political power.
To save the Panth, i.e., Sikh religion, we need to go back to the basics of Nirmal Panth, i.e., ritual-free, God-fearing, servant, and protector of humanity. To gain political power in Punjab and prepare Sikh youth to reclaim lost glory and place in the legislature, judiciary, and bureaucracy, complete attention towards education at every level is necessary.
Sikh politicians in Punjab have done nothing worthwhile for the Sikh community in particular during the last 77 years, but have instead exploited the sentiments of the community to gain political power. It would be in the interests of the state and Sikhs in particular if they stopped interfering in Gurdwara politics and only followed the Sikh tenets explained by Guru Sahiban in Sri Guru Granth Sahib to make Punjab a just and developed state.
For all this, new leadership, peace, and unity would be required. Most importantly, during the last more than 10 years, the Prime Minister of India has tried to do everything to promote Sikh religion and culture. Justice to the Sikh community is on top of his agenda. How to use his good office for the benefit of the community may be the agenda.
Distance from anti-national elements in India and abroad is another task. Let's all those who love Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji and follow his path join hands and pool resources for the future of the Punjab and Sikh community .
Iqbal Singh Lalpura is the chairman of National Commission for the Minorities.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.
