DAILYPOST
Elections to the general house of SGPC have brought expected results except, perhaps, in Haryana. The ruling Akali Dal Badal has swept the polls, maintaining its long hold on the management of the gurdwaras in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal. This gives Akali Dal leader and Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal a good hold on the religious and political affairs of the Sikhs and thereby on the state of Punjab. But neither he nor his rivals, including state Congress party Chief Capt Amarinder Singh, have covered themselves with glory.
The elections were conducted no holds barred, using means more foul than fair. Money and muscle power were used with gay abandon. When hundreds of clean-shaven or short-bearded Sikhs voted without fear, the ban on Sehjdhari Sikhs, who cut their hair, was amusing.
A 13-year-old boy was photographed with his voter identity card inside a polling station; that too in Badal village! That\'s a picture worth a thousand words. The Gurdwara Commission too has not come out clean; charges fly thick and fast.
How would the SGPC chief explain the fact that his car consumed petrol worth Rs 47.54 lakh from April 2010 to March 2011? The car should have clogged roughly eighty thousand km, and run nonstop, for 36 hours a day! SGPC collects Rs 400 crore annually, and should be spending more on the community\'s welfare.
What impact the SGPC elections might have on the upcoming Punjab assembly polls slated for February is being debated. Akalis wish to consider this a good run for the finals, the Congress vehemently denies it. Voter base, in this instance, was narrow, and the issues vastly different.
When states produce different results for the Lok Sabha and their assemblies, how could elections to a religious body impact the political battle lines at the hustings?
Clearly there is weight in these arguments. Yet one cannot discount the political fallout. There is, at one level, consolidation of ranks among the Akalis; at
another level, the bickering witnessed during the SGPC
elections is expected to get even more strident. The Congress ought to introspect too, about what it was doing in these elections.
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THE TRIBUNE
AN UNSAVOURY CONTEST, BADALS RETAIN SGPC CONTROL
EVEN though the outcome of the election to the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee was not in doubt, the way the Shiromani Akali Dal in alliance with the Sant Samaj fought to recapture its religious fiefdom betrays lack of confidence. Had the leaders and supporters of the ruling party conducted themselves with dignity, avoided mud-slinging, tolerated dissent and allowed opponents space, the unholy mess could have been avoided. The Akalis still would have retained SGPC control while picking up hints on what was wrong in their management of Sikh affairs. Incidents of violence, firing and booth-capturing showed politicians operating as religious leaders. The election was poorly managed with ineligible voters having a field day.
Controversy dogged the election right from the start. A lawyer, acting reportedly on behalf of the Centre and at the instance of some Congress leaders, muddied the waters by bringing in the issue of voting rights for the Sehajdharis. The Centre saved the situation by disowning him. The Punjab and Haryana High Court is seized of the issue and the poll result will be subject to the court verdict. A mature SGPC leadership itself would have addressed concerns of the Sehajdhari Sikhs. It needs to ponder why so many youth are straying from the Sikh code of conduct. Does it want to shrink its base or be liberal and inclusive and expand? Why rampant drug abuse? Why are \"deras\" proliferating?
The Sikh community today faces major challenges, the handling of which requires the best available talent. Are the SGPC elections throwing up competent and mature Sikh leaders who can ably navigate the community ship? Can the Makkars, Jagir Kaurs, Sekhwans and Langahs be trusted with the future of the Sikh community? Their only qualification for being the \"winners\" is that they are all Badal loyalists. The growing opposition to the Badals\' hold on the SGPC needs to be widely debated. The Sikh parliament must be a true representative of the Sikhs and Sikh aspirations. Meanwhile, the SAD, a party with a largely Sikh vote bank, should not read too much in the SGPC victory. The assembly elections are a different ball game.
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Editorials of , DAILYPOST and THE TRIBUNE, September,20, 2011,
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