Between Badal and Tytler – Sikhs and 1984
As previously discussed, 1984 continues to haunt the psyche of a new generation of Sikhs. As justice continues to be denied to those that faced the Sikhs’ Kristallnacht in Delhi, the perpetrators of the heinous pogroms continue to roam the streets with impunity and some even continue to be awarded ministerial and cabinet positions by the government.
With the upcoming elections in India, Jagdish Tytler has been nominated by the Congress Party to run for the Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) in northeast Delhi.
The Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Gurbachan Singh, and SGPC officials have called for a protest outside the residence of Congress Party president, Sonia Gandhi.
No Sikh should think that the call could have been given by the Jathedar without the expressed permission of Parkash Badal and that too for electoral gain. Kaka Badal, Sukhbir Badal, has already used the issue to call for Congress Party head, Captain Amrinder Singh (scion of the house of Patiala) to resign from his position.
As I have previously discussed in the issue with Dera Sacha Sauda, the issue with the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee or with the Sikh calendar, this is the game that Badal plays. Stirring Sikh hurt and sentiments to channel them towards electoral gain, before slamming the lid shut on the pot before it can unnerve him.
Unfortunately, Sikh activists in Punjab and beyond have not come up with ways to outmaneuver him.
Understanding this, it is up to Sikhs to be able to create new institutions and pressure groups that can also expose Badal’s own duplicity rather than allow him to remain in the driver seat that he wishes to bequeath to his son.
As I wrote in a previous post:
During the 1980s, Sikh activists did not believe that they could break Badal’s dominance of the SGPC and thus attempted to torpedo the process and leapfrog the SGPC completely by calling for a ‘Sarbat Khalsa.’ I do believe that the Sarbat Khalsa is a democratic-based institution that needs to be revisited and reignited in the mind of the Sikhs. The move towards collective democratic decision-making is critical for the future of the Sikhs.
However, concurrently with reigniting the flame of the Sarbat Khalsa, Sikh activists need to break Badal’s dominance of the SGPC. The SGPC is the key to his patrimonial abilities and thus the key to his levers of power. It is for this reason that he suspended SGPC elections during the 1980s and 1990s. However, Sikh activists that have the community’s best interest at heart must contest Badal’s candidates to break his stranglehold. Instead of even focusing on the general political elections, they should only concentrate on the SGPC elections through demands for greater accountability, transparency, and democracy. If they do so, they will eventually be able to gain control of this key institution (although Badal will try even greater chicaneries to maintain his hegemony). After doing so, I hope that they move then to either dismantle the SGPC (through affording greater local control of Sangat funds those local Sangats) or to radically reorganize the role of the SGPC with a far more democratic process that is far more receptive and adaptive to the community’s needs. In some ways, they should move to subordinate the SGPC to the Sarbat Khalsa. The SGPC must become relevant again, rather than only a cash cow. If Sikh activists only attempt to control the SGPC so that they may create new patrimonial-dynasties than the same problem will continue to haunt the Sikh community.[link]
Hopefully Badal’s manipulations will soon backfire upon him.
15 Responses to “Between Badal and Tytler – Sikhs and 1984”
He looks like such a sweet, innocent and charming man!
I don't really know or care to know who you are, but I hope that comment was no more then a mere, tasteless, joke. Tytler, as well as Badal, the Congress' puppet, both have what's coming for them; it's only a matter of time before they must pay up for their years of injustice.
He looks like such a sweet, innocent and charming man!
I don’t really know or care to know who you are, but I hope that comment was no more then a mere, tasteless, joke. Tytler, as well as Badal, the Congress’ puppet, both have what’s coming for them; it’s only a matter of time before they must pay up for their years of injustice.
Go and ask anyone in the whole of Malwa about Badal. He is worshipped. He has provided electricity to the most impoverished part of Punjab. Please don't be an arm-chair Khalistani, and know the facts before commenting on your elders. I have lived in Gidderbaha, I have ploughed the soil, and I am well aware of what the Badals, Majithias and Kairons have done for the region, and for the entire Punjab. Badal has the sardaari of over 30 villages. Most normal people can't even tidy up their garage. Imagine the responsibility. In addition he is CM of Punjab. What do you expect from him? He is a politician not Guru.
Tytler and RK Anand are demons.
I am sure they were all for Sikhs when him and his chamcha munda went to dera sacha sauda and got their photos taken with ram rahim in return for their votes; I am sure they were happy when they got no votes in return and bascally looked like clowns. The Badal sarkari raj is longer over due; I don't know if you've noteted the terrible halath, or status, of Punjab within the last 10 years. Why don't you go ask sarabjit Mann and d. Bittu what they think of badal and his clan- they are the true advocates for the people of Punjab.
Dal Bhaji,
Badal is a politician – not Guru. He calculates everything according to voting blocs – that is the job of any politician. However, this does not negate the fact he has done legitimate good for many impoverished, under-privileged people. I have witnessed this myself. That was my point.
I have never heard of "sarabjit mann" or "d.bittu" – people you describe as the "true advocates of Punjab".
If the Badal Sarkari Raj ends it'll be a situation of a lesser of two evils. That's Punjab politics for you. There are very few Gurmukhs left. The next generation is majority patit. When youth look up to their leaders they see hypocrisy. MTV Culture has displaced Sikhi in the hearts of youth. These are facts my pyaare bhaji.
Here's a fact you might not know. Since partition only a few families have controlled Punjab. These families are comprised of the biggest landlords i.e. Badals, Majithias, Partap Singh Kairon, Simranjeet Singh Mann and Amrinder Singh Sidhu. The crazy irony is all these people are actually related to each other – despite belonging to different factions. Simranjeet Singh Mann the person (i think) you were referring to as a "true advocate of Punjab" is actually the saandu of Amrinder Singh (his wife and Amrinder's wife are real sisters). The highly esteemed Kairon family and the Ambersari elite Majithias are married into Badal's family. It's all one "kichhar-khana".
Go and ask anyone in the whole of Malwa about Badal. He is worshipped. He has provided electricity to the most impoverished part of Punjab. Please don’t be an arm-chair Khalistani, and know the facts before commenting on your elders. I have lived in Gidderbaha, I have ploughed the soil, and I am well aware of what the Badals, Majithias and Kairons have done for the region, and for the entire Punjab. Badal has the sardaari of over 30 villages. Most normal people can’t even tidy up their garage. Imagine the responsibility. In addition he is CM of Punjab. What do you expect from him? He is a politician not Guru.
Tytler and RK Anand are demons.
I am sure they were all for Sikhs when him and his chamcha munda went to dera sacha sauda and got their photos taken with ram rahim in return for their votes; I am sure they were happy when they got no votes in return and bascally looked like clowns. The Badal sarkari raj is longer over due; I don’t know if you’ve noteted the terrible halath, or status, of Punjab within the last 10 years. Why don’t you go ask sarabjit Mann and d. Bittu what they think of badal and his clan- they are the true advocates for the people of Punjab.
Dal Bhaji,
Badal is a politician – not Guru. He calculates everything according to voting blocs – that is the job of any politician. However, this does not negate the fact he has done legitimate good for many impoverished, under-privileged people. I have witnessed this myself. That was my point.
I have never heard of “sarabjit mann” or “d.bittu” – people you describe as the “true advocates of Punjab”.
If the Badal Sarkari Raj ends it’ll be a situation of a lesser of two evils. That’s Punjab politics for you. There are very few Gurmukhs left. The next generation is majority patit. When youth look up to their leaders they see hypocrisy. MTV Culture has displaced Sikhi in the hearts of youth. These are facts my pyaare bhaji.
Here’s a fact you might not know. Since partition only a few families have controlled Punjab. These families are comprised of the biggest landlords i.e. Badals, Majithias, Partap Singh Kairon, Simranjeet Singh Mann and Amrinder Singh Sidhu. The crazy irony is all these people are actually related to each other – despite belonging to different factions. Simranjeet Singh Mann the person (i think) you were referring to as a “true advocate of Punjab” is actually the saandu of Amrinder Singh (his wife and Amrinder’s wife are real sisters). The highly esteemed Kairon family and the Ambersari elite Majithias are married into Badal’s family. It’s all one “kichhar-khana”.
Daljit Singh bittu and simranjit Singh Mann are two prominent advocates for the punjabi people; if you're from Punjab, as you stated veerji, I am sure you have heard their names. But the point you bring up about the badal clan having such a long tenured rule in Punjab is my point exactly. I will admit that I lack knowledge of his positive work prior to my following of punjabi plitics about five years ago, but as of recently, the reaction most people have been giving badal is very negative; he is doing every thing that the congress party wants him to do for them, including bail out on his fellow Sikh brothers and sisters – his OWN constituents veerji
Daljit Singh bittu and simranjit Singh Mann are two prominent advocates for the punjabi people; if you’re from Punjab, as you stated veerji, I am sure you have heard their names. But the point you bring up about the badal clan having such a long tenured rule in Punjab is my point exactly. I will admit that I lack knowledge of his positive work prior to my following of punjabi plitics about five years ago, but as of recently, the reaction most people have been giving badal is very negative; he is doing every thing that the congress party wants him to do for them, including bail out on his fellow Sikh brothers and sisters – his OWN constituents veerji
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