In Punjab, the forty second anniversary of Operation Blue Star seems to be on the heart of a battle between the influential Sikh group Damdami Taksal, as soon as led by militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), led by former MP Simranjit Singh Mann.
On Friday, Damdami Taksal chief Harnam Singh Duma and Mr Mann had a heated argument over an occasion organized to commemorate Operation Blue Star. Mann accused Damdami Taksal chief of intentionally organizing one other perform to mark the anniversary on the Taksal headquarters in Mehta, Amritsar, with an intention to spoil the annual perform to be held at Sri Akal Taksal Sahib on June 6.
This isn’t the primary controversy between Mann and Duma. Mr Mann is one in all a number of pro-Khalistan factions who query the get together’s pro-Khalistan stance and Mr Duma’s perceived “closeness” to the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering. Even Sukhbir Singh Badal’s SAD, which was allied with the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering till 2020, is displeased by Mr. Duma’s transfer to align with the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering.
Damdami Taksal finds himself between two competing narratives. Alternatively, the group respects Bhindranwale, who was killed throughout Operation Blue Star on June 6, 1984, as a number one pro-Khalistan determine. Alternatively, it faces questions on its rising closeness with the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering, which maintains an anti-Khalistan stance.
Probably the most distinguished flashpoint in latest instances has been Damdami Taksal’s assist to the BJP in the course of the 2024 Maharashtra Meeting elections. In March this yr, Damdami Taksal participated within the 350th martyrdom anniversary celebrations of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib held by the Authorities of Maharashtra within the presence of House Minister Amit Shah. Critics noticed the incident as Damdami Taksal’s cozying as much as the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering.
In an interview with The Indian Categorical, Damdami Taksal spokesperson Harshdeep Singh Randhawa claimed that the occasion in Maharashtra was not Taksal-driven. “It is a plan of the Maharashtra authorities and the cooperation of Damdami Taksal was sought,” he mentioned.
Justifying the Taksal’s involvement, Randhawa mentioned, “Sikhs in Maharashtra haven’t any alternative however to assist the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering within the meeting elections. Congress just isn’t with us, Shiv Sena just isn’t with us. We have now no various and no chief who can unite to voice our calls for.”
It was on this vacuum, Randhawa mentioned, that Douma stepped in as a “patron”, lending legitimacy to the neighborhood’s electoral calculations in change for a promise to have fun Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib’s martyrdom anniversary on the state stage if a authorities was fashioned.
Randhawa added that Damdami Taksal’s involvement with the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering is strictly restricted to Maharashtra. “There may be completely no coordination of any sort with the BJP on the nationwide stage and even inside Punjab.”
“The problems that outlined Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s motion – the standing of Chandigarh, the rights of Sikh political prisoners, the unresolved wounds of the 1984 navy operation and anti-Sikh bloodbath in Delhi, the decision for the abrogation of Article 25, which classifies Sikhs beneath the broader Hindu umbrella – stay. The detailed memorandum has reportedly clearly laid out these calls for, together with compensation for the 1984 victims, to the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering management, together with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, however has not made them public because it needs to succeed in some form of settlement first.
The message to Mr. Fadnavis, and thru him to the central financial institution management, is that if the central financial institution needs to have interaction with the Damdami Taksals in Punjab, the start line is the decision of the Sikh subject, notably the discharge of Sikh political prisoners, he mentioned.
“The demand of the Taksals, each in 1984 and now, is equality of citizenship and recognition of rights. We wish to reside as equal residents. We would like rights. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale needs rights, Baba Harnam Singh Douma needs rights,” Randhawa added.
The key impediment to rapprochement between Damdami Taksal and the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering lies not in political maneuvering however in ideology. “The RSS’s issues start with their insistence that Sikhs usually are not a separate individuals. The demand for abrogation of Article 25 and formal recognition of Sikhs as a separate individuals is of paramount significance to the Taksals,” Randhawa mentioned.
This contradiction was additionally uncovered at an occasion in Maharashtra the place the Taksals and the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering got here collectively. Hindu preachers on the identical stage described Sikhs as “Sanatani”, which is alleged to be “RSS framing”.
Randhawa, nonetheless, credited the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering for its achievements and praised the inauguration of the Kartarpur Sahib Hall and the declaration of Veer Baar Diwas. He additionally highlighted Amit Shah’s assertion at an occasion in Maharashtra that had it not been for the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur, not a single Hindu would have survived on this planet.
“The Bharatiya Janata Social gathering has proven an aggressiveness that no different get together has proven. However that’s not sufficient. The Bharatiya Janata Social gathering wants to point out extra generosity if it needs to assist Taksal in Punjab. We supported the (Badal-led) SAD on the situation that the 1984 memorial is constructed contained in the temple. Equally, now we have points associated to the Sikh neighborhood that the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering wants to handle,” Randhawa added.
