In 2015, the Shiromani Akali Dal leadership had held ‘Sadbhavna Rallies’ across Punjab against ‘Khalistanis’, not only as a reaction to the Sarbat Khalsa organised in November that year at Amritsar by anti-Badal Sikh bodies against the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib, but also as an attempt by the SAD to present itself as a “nationalist party”. The then SAD-BJP coalition government in the state had booked the Sarbat Khalsa organisers for sedition, to paint the latter as anti-national.
Fast forward to 2022. Two months after a humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections, Sukhbir Singh Badal, on May 19, was sitting with SAD (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann and Sikh preacher Baljit Singh Dadduwal, at a meeting organised by the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) at its headquarters in Amritsar, to discuss the issue of release of Sikh political prisoners. Both Mann and Dadduwal had been booked for sedition after participating in the Sarbat Khalsa when Sukhbir was the Punjab Home Minister in 2015.
On November 15, 2022, Sukhbir attended the wedding of the grandson of slain extremist preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, and said, “I don’t have words to explain the sacrifice Bhindranwale had made for the community.”
Early this year, Sukhbir became the first Akali Dal president to attend the anniversary of ex-PM Indira Gandhi’s assassins Beant Singh, Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh.
So what has changed?
The SAD has always accommodated some former militants and their families within its fold, while walking the tightrope to maintain its public image as “nationalist”. The SGPC-managed Central Sikh Museum, completed during the SAD-BJP rule, has portraits of many militants, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Former militant Virsa Singh Valtoha has twice been elected MLA on a SAD ticket.
The SGPC observes the anniversary of the 1984 Army action inside the Harmandir Sahib and the death anniversaries of some prominent militants, including the assassins of former PM Indira Gandhi and former CM Beant Singh.
However, it is rare that Sukhbir Badal personally participates in such functions. His father and former CM Parkash Singh Badal also mostly remained away from events where pro-Khalistan groups participated.
SAD and 1984: Optics as politics
The death row convict in the assassination case of former CM Beant Singh, Balwant Singh Rajoana, has been appealing to Sikhs from jail to vote in favour of SAD in every election since 2014, with no visible impact on the ground.
Back in 2012, while running the second consecutive government with the BJP, the SAD, through its sympathisers in the SGPC leadership, had allowed Damdami Taksal, once headed by Bhindranwale, to erect a memorial for the ‘martyrs’ killed in the Army action inside Harmandir Sahib in June 1984.
However, the memorial, which was ready by 2013, didn’t help the SAD in stopping the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from winning four seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, or to combat the mounting anger among Sikh voters due to the incidents of sacrilege in 2015.
Between 2012 and 2017, the SAD government not only constructed the martyr’s memorial, but many other memorials dedicated to figures from 18th century Sikh history as well. The redesigned Heritage Street to Harmandir Sahib stretch, which was inaugurated just before the 2017 Assembly elections, was their latest offering to the Panthic voters, which was constructed in record time due to Sukhbir Badal’s personal efforts. None of this came to the party’s rescue, as its electoral fortunes continued to dip from challenges by first the Congress and then AAP.
Devout Sikhs vs pro-Khalistan Sikhs: A story of nuance
“I feel that those you call ‘hardliners’ don’t affect the outcome of electoral politics in Punjab in any significant way,” said separatist party Dal Khalsa’s Kanwar Pal Singh, a pro-Khalistan leader often described as a hardliner in the media.
“When people were hurt due to the sacrilege incidents in 2015, the SAD badmouthed the devout Sikhs as Khalistanis. It is a common problem with secular, liberal mainstream politics that they are unable to differentiate between a devotee Sikh and a Khalistani. Khalistan is a political ideology, and Khalistanis believe that their religion, distinct identity and culture, can only be safeguarded if Punjab is carved out as a sovereign nation. The SAD is just another mainstream political party that drives its policies and programmes to capture power. For their convenience, the Akalis termed the Sikhs hurt by the sacrilege incidents as hardliners and Khalistanis. Devoted Sikh men and women were always the most trustworthy voters of SAD, and the party lost them due to its indifferent attitude and behaviour towards the sacrilege incidents. In power, the SAD always runs down the Parthics. But when out of power, their war cry is ‘Panth in Peril,’” he said.
Kanwar Pal added, “Devout Sikhs can be sympathetic to the idea of Khalistan. But when it comes to electoral politics, they don’t have much options to choose from, among mainstream political parties. It is not that devout Sikh voters are against any religion or sect. But they won’t vote for parties that disrespect their devotion and faith. So, visiting families of martyrs, paying visit to their houses and attending functions in their memories won’t help Sukhbir revive the SAD’s fortunes. The masses are demanding an overhaul of the SAD and radical changes in its leadership. Sukhbir has no vision nor a clear picture for the future. He runs his politics on a day to day basis, based on the advice of a small coterie of illiterate advisors.”
Sukhbir’s visit: Important, but not out-of-the-box
“It is important when Sukhbir Badal goes to attend the anniversary of Bhai Satwant Singh and Bhai Kehar Singh. But it doesn’t mean that the SAD was not in touch with such families in the past or they were forgotten. It is not out of box. These families have always remained part of the party. We don’t expect any political gain from such visits. SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami was attacked when he visited the Insaaf Morcha in Mohali for the release of Sikh prisoners. The elements who attacked Dhami are the reasons why the SAD leadership avoided participating in such events,” said SAD leader, former MLA and former militant Virsa Singh Valtoha.
“Punjab politics is sometimes unpredictable. The AAP, which only won one seat in the 2019 general elections, formed the state government in 2022. Once there was wave for the Simranjit Singh Mann in the late 1980s. Captain Amarinder Singh also formed government here. So it won’t be any surprise if the SAD makes a comeback in Punjab. Ideology and principles are more important for us than power,” he said.
“It is true that some actions and words could have been avoided in 2015. But for me, what hurt us most was the appointment of Sumedh Saini as Punjab DGP on the recommendation of the BJP. Had Saini not been made the DGP, none of those events [of sacrilege] would have happened in 2015,” said Valtoha.
Challenges and hopes
Pro-Khalistan leader Simranjit Singh Mann’s victory in the 2022 Sangrur bypoll hurt the SAD more than any AAP or Congress victory would have. The rise of individuals like Warris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh Khalsa has made the ground further slippery for the SAD in Punjab.
The narrative of Panthic and pro-Khalistan groups may not have visible impact on electoral politics, but it does create sympathy for some, or anger against another. The anger on the sacrilege issue hurt the SAD in 2017. The Congress gained from it, when Captain Amrinder Singh allegedly took oath to deliver justice on the issue. Both the Congress and SAD had to bear the consequences in 2022, after the AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal promised justice in the sacrilege issue.
The SAD’s past track record on Sikh issues, including sacrilege and Sikh political prisoners, is also not giving any comfort to the party. However, the biggest hope for the party is its electoral machinery, which is still in place, despite repeated defeats. This, the opponents of the SAD lack. Even SAD (Amritsar) couldn’t build up much on Mann’s victory in the last seven months. Many leaders have abandoned the Congress to join the BJP, leaving it struggling to recover. The AAP is still trying to get its own government in control. Meanwhile, Sukhbir Badal managed to snub a rebellion of his trusted former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, by installing Harjinder Singh Dhami as the SGPC president. Parallel SAD factions like those of Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa are also not able to make any impression. All of this is raising hopes of a SAD revival.
