Century-old SAD has stuck to secular values

Sukhbir Singh Badal

President, Shiromani Akali Dal

As the Shiromani Akali Dal completes 100 proud years of its existence, my thoughts go back to the Panthic stalwarts, Jathedar Sarmukh Singh Chabhal, Baba Kharak Singh, Master Tara Singh, Sant Baba Fateh Singh, Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra and the apostle of peace and communal harmony, Sardar Parkash Singh Badal.

Fortunate to lead the party in its 100th year, I reflect on the journey covered by the party, the people it represents, the values it symbolises and the challenges that it has successfully faced over the past 100 years. It is one of the oldest political parties in the country, founded by the citizens of India, unlike the Congress which began primarily as an outfit started by some well-meaning British people. The SAD is also the only regional party that has consistently balanced regional and national interests and been the most forceful voice of the rights of minorities and of more powers to the states.

The party had started primarily to safeguard the Panthic values threatened by a combination of the rulers on the one hand and some self-styled religious figureheads on the other, who had usurped control of the Sikh shrines and made them the centres of their corrupt, unethical and irreligious activities.

The religious war cry of the Akalis then was the same as it is now: the ‘seva sambhal’ of the Sikh shrines must be in the hands of the Sikh community through its legitimately elected religious representatives. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, widely recognised as the religious parliament of the Sikhs, symbolises the triumph of the Sikh sangat over government-sponsored conspiracies of the ‘masands.’

Unfortunately, even today, the Sikh community has to fight the same old conspiracies to sabotage this religious parliament through overt and covert means, which include the abuse of government and money power and massive and vicious propaganda against the SGPC to confuse the Sikh masses. In the past 100 years, the Sikh sangat has consistently defeated these conspiracies and placed its trust in the Shiromani Akali Dal every single time to safeguard the institution and the principles on which it is based.

The century-old history of the SAD is, in fact, the history of Punjab and of the most difficult, and often, the most painful challenges and hardships.

Our greatest strength is that we are a party of the sons of the soil of Punjab. Our decisions are not taken by outsiders. We are the only regional party rooted in Punjab’s soil. All our contenders are outsiders — the Congress, AAP, BJP etc, who have no passion for making Punjab the best. The Punjab leaders of these parties are not free to even appoint their own district and tehsil-level office-bearers or their personal staff. What can Punjabis expect from them?

In all the sacrifices made for freedom in the form of imprisonment, divestment of property or being sent to the dreaded Kala Paani and even in laying down one’s life for the country, 85 to 90 per cent of the heroes and martyrs emerged from Punjab. A vast majority of them are Sikhs, whom the SAD led as a religio-political force.

Sadly, right from the start, Punjab was made the target of political, religious and economic discrimination.

In the 1950s, the Punjabis had to wage the longest struggle to get a linguistic Punjabi state (suba). Over 1,00,000 Punjabis had to suffer in jail. Even when the demand was finally conceded, vast Punjabi-speaking areas, including its capital Chandigarh, were kept out of it. Only in Punjab has the riparian principle been violated to rob the Punjabis of their river waters. The Punjabi language has had to fight for respect in states where it was the second major language of the people. Haryana had Telugu, and not Punjabi, as its second language!

The most painful aspect of this injustice was the full-scaled armed attack on our most sacred centre of spiritual power, Shri Harmandar Sahib. The wounds of the planned massacre of Sikhs the same year still cry aloud for justice, forget the healing touch. But though being a champion of the Sikh way of life, the SAD has never swerved from the path of secular, democratic values, summed up for us in Sarbat da Bhala.

As the state prepares to go into the next elections, we have already witnessed a resort by the ‘powers-that-be’ to old and vicious conspiracies through a sponsored vilification campaign against us. Rival outfits are engineered to confuse and divide the Sikhs. Punjabis have always rejected these sponsored ‘clubs’ and none of them has ever won a single Vidhan Sabha seat. It will be the same this election.

In its hundredth year, the SAD goes back to the people along with its partner BSP, with its commitment to the federal structure at the national level and to resume the unprecedented pace of progress which was interrupted in 2017 when the Congress won on the basis of false oaths taken on sacred scriptures.

A look at all major development projects and people-friendly policies would be enough to convince even our biggest opponents that only under the Akali governments has Punjab progressed. In the reorganised Punjab since 1966, every single hydel project or dam, every thermal plant, every major university, every airport, every large-scale industrial project, such as the Sri Guru Gobind Singh Refinery (Bathinda), every major hospital, like AIIMS, is the contribution of the Akali governments.

Likewise, the link road network and the advanced agri-marketing infrastructure (Focal Point Scheme) were built by Sardar Parkash Singh Badal. Almost all social welfare schemes in the state, including free power to farmers, free domestic units to the economically and socially disadvantaged sections, old-age pension scheme, atta-daal scheme, free cycles to girl students and waiving of the registration fee on tractors have been introduced by the Akali governments, most of these under Sardar Badal.

We go to the people on the strength of our legacy of always delivering on our promises. I like to dream big for the people, and even my biggest critic cannot point out a single dream that I promised but did not fulfill. We promised free power to farmers, and gave it in the first Cabinet meeting in 1997. The last time, when I said I will give world-class four-lane and six-lane road infrastructure to link all major cities and towns in the state, my critics called it a ‘hollow boast’. In four years, we delivered on it. When the Punjabis were facing 10- to 12-hour daily power cuts, I promised a power-surplus Punjab. They again shouted in chorus: ‘Hollow boast’. We made the state power-surplus. The same thing happened with the International Airport, Mohali, and other major projects and policies that I had promised.

In the modern world, you cannot survive if you do not dream big. Ideas generate money. Punjabis deserve the best in this world. And any party or government that cannot promise and deliver this or settles for the second best does not truly represent the enterprising spirit of Punjab and Punjabis.

As a leader, I am passionate in my belief that Punjab can be made the best place on earth as we have the best human resource. We will make it happen.

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