Tarn Taran Diary: Akali politics facing acute crisis in the district
Akali politics in the district is facing a great crisis with some trouble or the other type surfacing in the last 10 years. Tarn Taran has enormous importance in Akali politics ever since its existence as it was Sarmukh Singh Chabal, a resident of Chabal (Tarn Taran) village who was the first president of the Akali Dal when it was formed on December 14, 1920. The Akali Dal then was the task force of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) which was the only unanimous religious body of the Sikhs. It played a remarkable role in the freedom of the Gurudwaras from the Hamantas who were misusing the Gurdwaras for unacceptable acts.
The role played by Tarn Taran leaders in the formation of Punjabi Suba Morcha, under the leadership of Sant Fateh Singh and Master Tara Singh, is still bright in Sikh history. The Akali Dal was at the forefront against the Emergency and also launched the Dharamyudh Morcha under the leadership of then SAD president Sant Harchand Singh Longowal. It was Jathedar Mohan Singh Tur of Tur village (Tarn Taran) who remained the SAD president during Emergency. It was under his command that the 1977 Lok Sabha election was fought after the lifting of Emergency. It was Jathedar Mohan Singh Tur, the SAD candidate, who defeated Congress stalwart Dr Gurdial Singh Dhillon from Tarn Taran Lok Sabha seat. After that, the SAD regularly won the seat for long (1992). After the severe defeat of SAD in the 2017 Vidhan Sabha elections when the party lost all four seats from the district and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections where it did not perform well, the party has failed to come to the fore. The Vidhan Sabha elections of 2022 and the Lok Sabha electios of 2024 put the SAD in an embarrassing position in the district. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, party candidate Virsa Singh Valtoha even failed to save his security deposit. In this 2024 election, party stalwart from Patti Vidhan Sabha constituency, former minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, was expelled from the party which proved to be a heavy blow for the SAD candidate in the election who could just garner 3,554 votes from Patti Vidhan Sabha constituency as against 56,758 by Amritpal Singh (Independent), the winning candidate from Khadoor Sahib. Adesh Partap Singh Kairon is the brother-in-law (sister’s husband) of Sukhbir Singh Badal (former SAD president). Now, three-time MLA from Tarn Taran, Harmit Singh Sandhu, has resigned from the SAD leaving behind a huge gap in the party from Tarn Taran. Virsa Singh Valtoha, two-time MLA from Khemkaran Vidhan Sabha seat, too has resigned after the controversy involving the five Sikh high priests, including the Akal Takht Jathedar. From three of the four Vidhan Sabha seats in the district, there was just nil SAD political activity during the panchayat elections. As a result, the grassroots leaders had to seek shelter in other political parties. It is a fact that the SAD has lost its mass base in the district and the possibilities for the revival of the party has become an uphill task. There was only Ravinder Singh Brahampura from Khadoor Sahib constituency who was working with some limits in the area.
Supansaaz— A tale of colourful dreams
Dr Inderpreet Singh Dhami, Punjabi Master in Government Secondary School, Dubli, in Tarn Taran district is known for his work in Punjabi literature. He has edited five books in Punjabi language, three of which are story books., one is a novel and one is a work of critical evaluation. Being a teacher, he knows the reasons for the students dropping out and has expressed his emotions on the issue in his novel ‘Supansaaz’ (Dreamweaver). He released the novel with his students and also collected more details about the reasons behind the dropout phenomenon. He has expressed his views saying that the teacher may play an important role in checking the dropout rate to give a healthy atmosphere to the weaker and needy students. He said that we have got plenty of children’s literature in Punjabi while adult literature often garners immense appreciation. He added that it is unfortunate that works exploring the thought process of children between early childhood to adolescence are scarce. There is already a shortage of topic on children’s thinking and the reasons why they prefer to avoid study. Dr Dhami said that much deserves to be written on these three topics to answer for the lack of a well educated society. He said that there were still families who prefer to avoid sending their girl child for further studies after their primary education to get them involved in domestic work. Dr Inderpreet Singh Dhami, in his creation of ‘Supansaaz’ novel, has made a successful attempt to fill this gap to explore the reasons behind the dropout rate of students which has been welcomed in literary circles. Dr Dhami released this novel along with his students a few days ago. The novel explores the adult state of mind perfectly. The story of their colourful dreams has been presented in the novel ‘Supansaaz’ which works as a torch-bearer for adolescents and leads them towards their goals through right guidance. All of these subtleties can be understood deeply by reading this novel. Teachers and parents should consider this novel as a must read.
Mata Mohinder Kaur dies at the age of 101
Mata Mohinder Kaur who died a few days back at the age of 101 (plus) with her date of birth being March 1, 1923, as per the Aadhaar card, was a healthy example in herself. She lived with her daughter Simarjit Kaur (76) and son-in-law Tara Singh Khehra (76 plus) at the Officers Colony in Tarn Taran for the last more than 40 years. She was leading a healthy life with no trouble of taking medicines daily for common diseases like blood pressure, diabetes, joint pain etc. Except for the last 10 days of her life, she was quite healthy and did her routine work. She used to visit the gurudwara in her locality twice daily in the morning and evening. She used to read the newspaper daily and recite Gurbani. The funeral procession was largely attended.
