No Badalization or Talibanization please

Actually, this topic is subject to an open discussion on various forums to channelize the energy of the Sikh youth in the right direction especially in India.  There are certain phenomenons within the community taking stronghold in various regions of the world and undoubtedly Badalization and Talibanization are two such phenomenons. In this article I would also like to draw a snapshot of politico-religious landscape and the future prospects of sikh community in India and particularly Punjab. 

Now beginning with an assumption of your existence in Punjab irrespective of your settlement in the urban or a rural area, you are bound to come across a brand called “Badal”. Though the name of a village, it has been associated with the ethnic identity of the ruling family of the state with Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal as the leading face of this brand. Though a jat sikh belonging to the “Dhillon” clan, his political career spans over 5-decades and he has entered the Chief Ministerial office for the fifth/ sixth time (taking together all the complete and incomplete terms), is one of the liberal sikh personalities who has been honored with the “Panth-rattan” (Jewel of Sikh community) decoration. Other popular examples are Giani Sant Singh Maskeen, Nawab Kapoor Singh I.C.S etc. So, even if you are an established Akali leader, your proximity to this clan is a decisive factor to shape up your political career and hence “Badals” have successfully created a Dynastic-charisma at the state level by using their rational-legal authority just like the way “Gandhis” created it in the center with their multi-generation political domination over the country for over 6 decades. “Sangat Darshan” is the mechanism used in Punjab which primarily has the motive of receiving a 360-degree feedback on the performance of the government but these “Sangat-dashans” operate in fear culture where there is little freedom of expression and have become a perfect platform to publically show the bureaucratic machinery being servile to the ruling class.  The power of the dynasty can be clearly stated from the 10 year UPA-rule where Ms. Sonia Gandhi exercised her extra-constitutional authority, by virtue of being the UPA chairperson, over the second highest constitutional office in the country i.e. Prime Minister of India, held by Dr. Manmohan Singh. Will the state-level power elites follow the same trend set by their counterparts in the center ?? Will they break-away from their ally BJP which has till date shown regressive outlook towards communal harmony in the country under the leadership of Narendra Modi ?? The picture will definitely get clearer as we approach 2017 legislative Assembly elections.

Now talking about Charisma, how can we forget about Sant Jarnail Singh ji Khalsa Bhindranwale, one of the most powerful charismatic sikh leader in the history of the sikh community. Though purely a separatist, the secessionist movement he started has generated much hatred in the hearts of Indian non-sikhs and thanks to him that every baptized sikh is looked upon with suspicious eyes till date in India. Though some may call him a terrorist and may compare him with someone like Osama Bin Laden but the major difference that can be chalked out between Bhindranwala and Laden is that the latter is believed to have a very rich background and some sources say that his father, a rich industrialist was a close friend and a business associate of George Bush’s father but former was purely a saint who had a very humble background. This fact urges many intellectuals to believe that the secessionist movement of 1980’s was not completely rightist in nature and clearly had important leftist overtones. The influence of Bhindranwala’s powerful Charismatic personality wasn’t limited to the state but it resonated in every nook and corner of the globe. Hence, the rival nations of India did support Bhindranwala as much as they could with money and arms in order to increase the internal disturbance within the country.

As Sikhs, we must realize that our religion owes its origin to the Indian subcontinent and no matter which part of the world we’re living in, we have our roots in Punjab, India. So, we cannot portray a responsible and a wise image of ourselves on a global platform if we shy away from the crooked Indian political scene and hence it is our duty to morally support and encourage the Indian Sikhs who are trying their best to straighten the crookedness of Indian politics and they may be doing it willingly and selflessly out of the feeling of nationalism. It’s always good to be loyal to the country you are living in and embrace all its pros and cons. Just like a Canadian/ American sikh is proud to be a Canadian/ American. What’s wrong if an Indian sikh takes pride in being an Indian ??

Now, being a Punjabi/ Indian Sikh youth, you find these two phenomenons namely Badal and Bhindranwala inescapable but one must realize that one generation’s wisdom is the next generation’s common-sense and hence the youth has the privilege to think and choose critically. Youth power can not only challenge the existing conventions and dogmas but can also bend/ modify them to their advantage.  Hence, the sikh youth must realize that there are many other sikh personalities with strong individualities that can be looked upon as role-models. Though ours is a community-based religion like Islam but it has always looked up to those unique and strong individuals who have brought laurels to the community. But I believe somewhere we have been partial and myopic in honoring such individuals on religious platforms. Those individuals who have not kept the sikh insignia intact but have the belief system and lifestyle of that of a sikh also deserve to be respected on religious platforms as such individuals have the ability to penetrate deeper into the non-sikh world and can bring back all the positives to empower and enrich their own community. But the onus is bi-lateral. If such individuals having a chunk of power, money and fame are honored on religious platforms, it becomes their responsibility/ liability to render their service to the community and present themselves in person whenever called upon by the clergy. Undoubtedly, the number of Sabat-surat sikh personalities who have who have set the examples of human potential unleashed on world stage is relatively lesser, but let the community not be a factor responsible for holding back the individual achievers.

So, I think there must be a different set of 21^st century mantras to take our community to the unimaginable heights of glory. I think they would be:

1.      Stick to your individuality.

2.      Believe in the teachings of your gurus.

3.      Never shy away from your religious affiliation.

No matter which part of the world you are living in.

It would rather be a little idealistic to quote that a young sikh scientist, writer, artist, entrepreneur or a sportsman in his 20’s or 30’s is much more useful to the community than an old sikh politico-religious leader in his 80‘s or 90’s, but as a community we need not discard the wisdom and experience of the old brigade and properly channelize the energy and the talents of the young-brigade.

So the crux of this article is that we need not be derogatory about the rulers and powerful people all the time and forward or share venomous messages and videos about them on social networking sites like whatsapp or facebook, neither we need to go with the flow of what is said and accept it on the first instance. We must think critically and speak out our minds and express ourselves as this is the first step towards unleashing the infinite potential within us.

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa,

Waheguru ji ki Fateh!!