The Fight is About Defending Democracy and Safeguarding Minority Rights in India
The fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or a kada in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to a gurdwara. That is what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions. (Rahul Gandhi)
Rahul Gandhi was speaking to a gathering in Virginia during his three day visit to the US, on Monday 9the September, 2024. According to one Indian news report: Government sources indicated pro-Khalistani elements attended Rahul Gandhi Virginia gathering. So, not so indirectly, in the eyes of the Indian media, this remark about Sikh religion by Rahul gets linked to Khalistanis being present in the audience!
On the face of it, Rahul Gandhi merely repeated widely expressed concerns by international observers about the worrying direction taken by Indian democracy since independence and especially, in the last few decades. He made it clear that he was talking not just about the Sikhs but all religions. Nevertheless, his specific mention of Sikhs has provoked a strong reaction from some Sikhs, especially those close to the ruling BJP. Reaction by the Indian establishment is more understandable.
Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the Indian National Congress and is serving as the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha since the general election, 19 April to 1 June 2024. So, due to his family background and senior political position he is one of the most important members of the Indian political establishment. He should speak with care when abroad.
His family background is relevant. He is the grandson of Mrs Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 to 31 October 1984, when she paid the ultimate price for her ill-advised use of the army in peace-time against own Indian state of Punjab to attack Darbar Sahib and numerous historical gurdwaras.
The Sikh case has always been a running sore in the republic of India, ruled for many decades by the Congress party controlled by the Nehru and Gandhi family. So, it can be argued that the current challenges faced by the country including alienation of the Sikhs, can be traced back to the post independence policies of the Congress party.
Sikhs expected Pandit Nehru, as Prime Minister of India, to keep pre-independence assurances given by Congress leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. In fact, the existential threat to the Sikhs loomed larger with each decade that passed. A much truncated Panjab itself became the victim of short sighted agro-economic and environmental policies in addition to attempts to assimilate Sikhi into the Hindu conglomeration of sects and cults.
Yet, children should not suffer for the bad things done by their parents. Maybe, in the context in which he was speaking, Rahul did not have the opportunity to express regret about the wrongs suffered by the Sikhs and Panjab under the Delhi rule when his own family and party ran the country.
While he was right about the challenges faced by the minorities in India, it is questionable from the Indian viewpoint if he should have made such comments while on a visit to the USA as a senior Indian politician. Rather he should continue to raise such issue in the Indian Parliament at home and get things right. Otherwise, he seems to be making the Sikh case, raising just grievances, before the international community!
Gurmukh Singh OBE
Principal Civil Servant retd (UK)