Opinion by Editorial
The Akali Dal, which articulated its broader vision as a party dedicated to Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiyat in its Moga Declaration, risks a shrinking of its appeal if it is perceived to be retreating into a narrower, exclusively Sikh space.
Now, the Akal Takht’s directive, urging all Akali factions to unite, restart member enrollment, and hold internal elections, while underlining its slide, may also offer a glimmer of hope.
Dec 4, 2024 06:01 IST First published on: Dec 4, 2024 at 05:30 IST
The spectacle of Shiromani Akali Dal leaders, heads bowed and hands folded, submitting to an inquisition at the Akal Takht, the highest spiritual and temporal authority of the Sikhs, may have seemed to many a deserved comeuppance. For a party that has been marginalised in every election since 2017, this was both a reminder of its steep fall, and a moment of reckoning. Once a powerful political player that made history by winning two consecutive elections in 2007 and 2012 in alliance with the BJP, the Akali Dal’s decline was swift, fuelled by its failures to address Punjab’s deepening crises. It was also due to its presiding over a spate of sacrilege incidents and unabated drug trafficking that is taking a mounting toll on the state’s young. The three farm laws enacted by its alliance partner in 2020 dealt another crippling blow to the party. The laws that were later repealed not only ended its over two-decade-long alliance with the BJP in Punjab but also alienated the Akali Dal from its core base — farmers, a constituency loyal to it since the party’s formation in 1920. The internal turmoil was compounded by the external challenge represented by the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party, a political newcomer that swept to power in 2022 by promising to address the state’s many problems, from drugs to unemployment and agrarian distress. In August, the SAD hit rock bottom when its president, Sukhbir Singh Badal, was declared a tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct), and the party failed to field candidates in the recently held assembly bypolls.
Now, the Akal Takht’s directive, urging all Akali factions to unite, restart member enrollment, and hold internal elections, while underlining its slide, may also offer a glimmer of hope. This verdict could be the prod that a party that has been pushed into a corner needs to climb out of it. The Jathedars posing to the leadership the pointed questions that the public has long wanted to ask could mark a turning point. The Akali Dal has begun a process of atonement, with leaders engaging in sewa — standing guard at the Golden Temple, cleaning toilets and washing utensils — in a bid to regain the trust of a disillusioned community.
Going ahead, however, the atonement also raises questions. The Akal Takht has a history of holding the powerful accountable. Yet, even well-intentioned actions can have unintended consequences. The Akali Dal, which articulated its broader vision as a party dedicated to Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiyat in its Moga Declaration, risks a shrinking of its appeal if it is perceived to be retreating into a narrower, exclusively Sikh space. The question, also, is this: Will public reprimands from the clergy invigorate the party or further erode its agency? In Punjab, where religion and politics are deeply intertwined, this balance is a delicate one. The Akali Dal, born as a task force of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee founded in 1920 to wrest control of Sikh shrines from British-backed mahants, has historically navigated this tightrope. But the challenge — of ensuring that religious authority does not overwhelm democratic principles – remains compelling.
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