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

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

Damdami Taksal head 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 at 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 of it. This includes me also as I too had close association with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who also headed the Taksal, which could never plead for political support,” he said.

On the other hand, 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 in Maharashtra.

Prof Sarchand Singh said that the Maharashtra Government has a say in the Centre and the support to the Mahayuti is in the wider interest of the Sikh community. He said that 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 are narrow-minded and never accept that the Sikh community is 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 to take up 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 more prominently and these could be resolved too,” he said.

Earlier, Takht Damdama Sahib (one of five Sikh temporal seats) 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 are 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.