THIS ABOVE ALL
No sympathy for Buta Singh
Khushwant Singh

It would not be fair to come to any conclusion about the charges levelled by the CBI based on the alleged confession made by Sarabjot Singh about his demanding huge sums of money from contractors to persuade his father Buta Singh to drop cases pending against them. The CBI is known to prosecute innocent people at the behest of people in power. Buta Singh knows this as he was once Home Minister.

Amongst the charges is Sarabjot having three revolvers without licences for any of them. If Sarabjot is able to produce these licences as his father claims he can, the CBI’s credibility will take another knock, and no one will believe there is substance in any other charges made by it. On the other hand, if the charges are sustained, both father and son should be prepared to pay heavy fines and spend time in jail.

It is permissible to conjecture why there are very few takers for Buta Singh’s version when he and his son are in such an unholy mess. The simple answer is that he has forfeited his trust. Few people believe in what he says. His entire political career has been marked by party-hopping and change of loyalties. When he was first elected Member of Parliament from a reserved constituency, many people hoped that Mazhabi Sikhs and Dalits had got a new messiah like BR Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram and later Mayawati.

One of the charges against Sarabjot is that he possesses three revolvers without licences	Not only had Buta Singh no concern about Dalits or Sikhs, he was not loyal to the political parties he belonged to, or the people he served

But Buta Singh showed little concern for the downtrodden outcastes. His sole interest was in promoting himself. You might recall he was about the only Sikh who approved of Operation Bluestar and, against the wishes of the community, got Santa Singh to rebuild Akal Takht. It was demolished and built again by the community. Buta Singh was declared a tankhaiya and ostracised from the Khalsa Panth.

When the political climate changed, Buta Singh also changed. He tendered an abject apology to the Panth and asked to be forgiven. After cleaning the sangat’s shoes, he was pardoned and re-admitted to the Panth. He rang me up and said: "You don’t know how I suffered when I was excommunicated from my community." It sounded hollow.

A few days later, I happened to be listening to kirtan from Gurdwara Bangla Sahib on Doordarshan TV. There was a stream of worshippers coming in but the camera focussed on Buta Singh arriving, bowing his head and entering the gurdwara. It was evident it had been pre-arranged by him. I lost the little respect I had for him.

Not only has he never had any concern about Dalits or Sikhs, he was not loyal to the political parties he belonged to, or the people he served. I met him last a few months after the 1984 holocaust in Delhi. Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister asked me to attend a small meeting to consider steps taken to rehabilitate the families which suffered loss of lives and property. He asked Buta Singh, who was his Home Minister, to tell what had been done.

Buta Singh assured us that families of all victims had been rehabilitated and given compensation. I could not hold back, and interrupted him: "That is not true", I said emphatically, and listed the names of victims who had suffered heavy losses, and the Customs Department holding back money sent by Sikh organisations to me to be distributed among the sufferers.

Rajiv Gandhi ordered immediate action. The next day the customs authorities and others officials concerned cleared all the goods and money to be given to whomsoever they were meant for. Buta Singh had nothing to say. How can anyone be concerned about his fate now?

Stinkingly sterile

The following news item appeared in The Hindustan Times of May 13 this year. It escaped my notice but an Englishman, Keith Whittam, sitting in London spotted it and sent it to Private Eye, which published it in its column Funny Old World. It is indeed very funny. "It is true that I have not brushed my teeth or bathed in water for the past 35 years", Kailash Singh Kalau told reporters in Chatav, India, "but I tell you that I am not unclean. Every evening villagers gather to watch me perform agni snan, which is just like taking a bath, except I use fire instead of water. I light a bonfire, smoke marijuana, then stand on one leg in the smoke for one hour, praying to Lord Shiva. Fire baths help to kill all the germs and infections in the body. It was so long ago that I started doing this that I cannot now remember why I began my nightly fire ablutions, but I continue out of love for my country. I shall only end my vow when all problems confronting my nation end".

However, his neighbour Madhusudan Singh had a different take on events. "Kalau has seven daughters, who are all grown up now, but he always wanted a son. Thirtyfive years ago a seer told me that he would be blessed with a son if he refrained from bathing in water. So he stopped washing and started bathing in fire instead. At that time he owned a grocery shop, but the stench from his unclean habits soon drove all his customers away. He is still hoping for a son, but his wife is well over 60 now. So I don’t think his wish is ever going to come true."