A clash of egos

IN JUST ABOUT a year of anointment as the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Giani Puran Singh has met with the ignominy of being `sacked' by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee's executive body much the same way as his predecessor, Bhai Ranjit Singh, was removed. If Bhai Ranjit Singh's ouster was a critical component of the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr. Parkash Singh Badal's cleverly-crafted game plan to marginalise Mr. Gurcharan Singh Tohra and emerge as the unchallenged Akali leader, the Giani's exit has to do with the no-holds-barred battle he had been waging with the SGPC chief, Bibi Jagir Kaur, for over three months now. That two of his loyalists chosen to occupy key positions of authority engaged themselves in an unseemly row that tended to inflict serious damage on the institutions they represented is something Mr. Badal would certainly not have bargained for. Whether the sacking of Giani Puran Singh had the approval of Mr. Badal is not clear. But the fact that he has since ruled out the replacement of Bibi Jagir Kaur as the SGPC chief has its own message to convey as to where his sympathies lie; the Giani had ``directed'' the Chief Minister to remove her from the post.

Although the bone of contention between the two functionaries was ostensibly the adoption of a solar calendar, `Nanakshahi' - with Bibi Jagir Kaur going ahead with it, despite an injunction by the Akal Takht Jathedar - it was mutual distrust and clash of egos that pushed them on a recklessly confrontationist course. What started it all was the Giani's edict last January excommunicating Bibi Jagir Kaur, an extreme and arguably irregular step that was widely seen as a pre-emptive move borne out of his suspicion that the SGPC was all set to remove him. And then, early this month, came his edicts excommunicating three of the designated `high priests' for having joined hands with her, one who had been pronounced an `outlaw'. Traditionally, `hukumnamas' issued by the Akal Takht Jathedar in association with fellow `Singh Sahibs' have been held binding on the Sikh community and instances are aplenty of persons occupying high positions of governmental authority having submitted themselves to such edicts. If Giani Puran Singh found his `hukumnamas' being defied - and with impunity - it was primarily because he had made a mockery of the very concept of the edict, especially the sanctity attached to it, by his arbitrary, authoritarian and vindictive ways of using that sacred instrument. And the result was the bizarre spectacle of the SGPC executive, chaired by an `excommunicated' Bibi Jagir Kaur, ``dismissing'' Giani Puran Singh as the Akal Takht Jathedar and of the controversial edicts he issued earlier being ``annulled'' by the one appointed in his place, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti.

In Akali politics which for historical reasons has had a strong underpinning of religion, there has of late been a growing tendency on the part of the Akali Dal factions to manipulate the use of the `hukumnama' for furthering partisan interests and quelling dissidence. But the latest developments have brought to the fore the conflicts within the Sikh panth in a manner that called into question the authority of various religious institutions, besides throwing up critical issues related to their positions in the command structure. For now, Bibi Jagir Kaur could be said to have won this round. But given the prospect of the humiliated Giani Puran Singh joining forces with his dismissed predecessor, Bhai Ranjit Singh, who apparently is biding his time to hit back, it may not be long before she encounters a fresh challenge. As for Mr. Badal, he would seem to have lost some grip on the SGPC and the Sikh clergy, and he may well land himself in trouble politically unless he comes up with swift and intelligent initiatives to repair the damage caused to the Sikh institutions.

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