Questions raised over Damdami Taksal chief’s support to Mahayuti

The open support and contribution of Damdami Taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh Khalsa ‘Dhuma’ in the victory of BJP-led Mahayuti (BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP) in the Maharashtra Assembly election has bolstered his position among the Sikh community residing in the coastal state.

However, far off in Punjab, the support by the head of the Sikh seminary to the saffron party alliance has sparked a debate in a section of the religio-political leadership, including the SAD and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

Damdami Taksal, headquartered at Mehta in Amritsar, is an orthodox Sikh cultural and educational body founded by Sikh’s 10th master Guru Gobind Singh to impart the profound teachings of Gurbani (Sikh scriptures).

Khalsa had announced extending support “on behalf of Sikh Samaj, Maharashtra” to Mahayuti in the run-up to the Assembly poll.

SGPC’s former general secretary and senior representative of the Sikh body Gurcharan Singh Garewal stated that the Damdami Taksal was solely constituted for the propagation of Sikh religion and principles, instead of participating in political affairs directly.

“I criticise the Maharashtra Sikhs, who misused the Damdami Taksal platform and made its head declare support to the BJP at a press conference. The BJP has been directly interfering in Sikh affairs, be it having government control over Takht Nanded Sahib Board and Takht Patna Sahib Board. The same was done with the DSGMC body in New Delhi. Maharashtra Sikhs, by mischievously making Damdami Taksal directly participate in the poll in support of BJP’s Mahayuti alliance, have committed a ‘sin’ for which the Sikhs globally are ashamed, including me. I also had close association with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who also headed the Taksal, which could never plead for political support,” he said.

Spokespersons of Damdami Taksal — Sukhdev Singh Anandpur, Gurdeep Singh Naulakha and Prof Sarchand Singh — have condemned the SGPC and SAD members for opposing Khalsa’s support to the Mahayuti.

Prof Sarchand Singh said the Maharashtra Government had a say at the Centre and the support to the Mahayuti was in the wider interest of the Sikh community. He said the SGPC and SAD members feared of losing their grip as they realised that Damdami Taksal could soon be taking up Sikh issues directly with the Centre. They were narrow-minded and would never accept that the Sikh community was not limited only to Punjab, but in other states and overseas also. Khalsa supported the interests of Guru Nanak Naam Leva Sangat, including Sikhs, Hindu Punjabis, Lubanas, Sikligars, Sindhis and Banjaras.

He substantiated his point by saying that prior to the Maharashtra poll, an 11-member Sikh representative committee was formed for the first time to communicate with the government on Sikh issues. Then, a Sikh member was appointed to the Minority Commission of Maharashtra and Punjabi Sahit Academy was revived. “Since the Maharashtra Government has a say at the Central level, other Sikh issues, which were never addressed, could be taken up prominently and resolved too,” he said.

Earlier, Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh had raised questions over the “unconditional” support to the BJP and its alliance, saying it was okay to support the BJP only on the condition that Panthic issues and ‘Bandi Singhs’ (Sikh political prisoners) issues were resolved.

“The SAD had been in an alliance with the BJP for 25 years, but ended up denting the interests of the Sikhs and the Panth. The unconditional support to the BJP was unwarranted,” he had said.