Manifestation of Miri-Piri Shakti Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Global Sikh Profile and India Versus 5-Eyes Countries
There are many global topics of Sikh interest which need continual multi-dimensional discussion and collective guidance. Global Sikh profile has been raised due to recent events while Guru Granth-Panth authority of Sri Akal Takht Sahib has manifested Itself in unexpected ways.
The Panth spoke through the Parliamentary Election victories at Khaduar Sahib and Farid Kot and, more recently, through the Jathedars at Sri Akal Takht Sahib. Senior Sikh politicians were compelled to bow before the Takh to admit past mistakes. They await just punishment by the Panth through the incumbent Jathedars. So far, the indications are that the Jathedars are acting to seek the wishes of the Panth while guided by Gurmatt.
The Takht is the Supreme Institution which guides Sikh theo-political activism, but only when the Jathedars consult and also second-guess the wishes of the Panth. The authority of the Jathedars derives from the Panth, the Sangat assembled before Sri Guru Granth Sahib. That Guru-given authority is lost if Jathedars allow themselves to be influenced by personal considerations or outside pressure inimical to Panth di Chardhi Kalaa. Otherwise, their theo-temporal remit is all-encompassing.
Globally, Sikh issues continue to receive much mainstream media coverage due to Canadian and US investigations relating to alleged Indian government involvement in the murder and attempted murder of pro-Khalistan Sikhs abroad.
The impression gained so far is that by making public threats earlier that India will kill anti-India elements in other countries (hum ghus ghus ke marengay etc), senior ruling-party Indian politicians have compromised own position even before the investigative and legal processes in the US and Canada have reached conclusions. What is good for the consumption of home audience can be most damaging for Indian national interest.
Hasty Indian denials have damaged relations and done much harm to travel, trade and the credibility of Indian representation abroad. At risk are good relations with the strategic intelligence alliance, the so called Five Eyes countries, US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. At risk also are hitherto good relations between Hindu and Sikh communities in diaspora countries.
Regrettably, this can prove to be a historic miscalculation by the BJP-led government. Outstanding Sikh grievances in India have received much coverage in the world media and given a major boost to the Sikh self-determination cause, otherwise treated in the West as no more than any nationalist movement in a democratic country. In India, the Hindutva nationalist movement operates almost with the approval of the party in power.
Yet, ultimately, it is the people who decide what sort of support these movements have. Indian 2024 General Election which clipped BJP political wings, show that the people are wiser than the politicians.
Next generations in the diaspora have started taking interest in the prolonged 3rd Ghalughara, the 3rd genocide in Sikh history, from June 1984 through November 1984 followed by extra-judicial killings in Panjab to about 1995. Many fair-minded senior Indian politicians have accepted the events as such.
Many Indian journalists and politicians do not seem to understand what is in the control of senior politicians in power in the West and what is not. Politicians and governments cannot dictate to or influence law enforcement agencies including the judiciary.
Trade or geopolitical considerations will never be sufficient to dictate terms to these countries, especially those in the Five Eyes block with large Sikh populations. They have internal democratic checks and balances which do work.
Gurmukh Singh OBE
Principal Civil Servant retd (UK)