According to various reports by Punjab Television and Times of India’s learned journalist IP Singh, Radha Swami Dera chief Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon met Takht Sri Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh at his Bathinda residence on Thursday, a few days after meeting Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and his MP wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal at their private residence near Delhi. It is not known what transpired between the Dera Beas chief and the Badal couple and nothing has been said about his meeting with Giani Harpreet Singh, yet it is believed that the current crisis within the Akali Dal, which has now entangled the Takht Jathedars and the entire Panth, has prompted Radha Swami Baba Gurinder Singh to take action to resolve the issue so that a solution can be found. It is also being said that after this meeting, he will meet Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh.
It is surprising that the Sikh Panth does not have a Panthic leadership left whose intellectual level and vision is broader than Radha Swami Baba and who can find a solution to the Panthic crisis. It is a shameful thing for the Sikh Panth and the Panthic leadership that where have we fallen in the twenty-first century? Till now, the leadership of the Panth has been solving issues by sitting together. Why is Radha Swami Baba now being given a chance to interfere in Panthic politics?
There is no doubt that Baba Gurinder Singh, the head of the Radha Swami Dera, bowed his head before the Darbar Sahib Guru Granth Sahib, connected the Hindu community with the Guru Granth Sahib. The big thing is that he always avoided conflict with the Sikh Panth and politics. It is also true that Baba’s Hindu devotees
have started doing Anand Karya instead of getting married according to Hindu rituals. It is true that one difference between the Sikh Panth and the Radha Swami is that they believe in a physical Guru and the Sikhs believe in the Shabad Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhism stands only on the Shabad Guru Guru Granth Sahib. This is the greatness of Sikhism. But the Panthic leadership is a flop, whether it is political or religious.
After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, no Sikh leader has been able to lead the Sikh Panth properly. After the destruction of the political existence of the Badal Dal leadership, the Panthic leadership is busy in personal politics and is playing its own political chess. But no one has the strength to collect even ten thousand. The other Sangat can be convinced by them and listen to them for more than ten minutes. They have nothing to say to the Panth. But everyone wants to become the leader of the Panth, but instead of sitting together, they want to push each other. But they forget that taking on the political responsibility of the Panth is like riding a lion. It is not easy to win the trust of the lion and awaken the Panthic spirit. If this is the condition of this leadership, then what are the alternatives like Badal Dal, BJP, Congress and AAP? This is a big challenge for the anti-Badal Panthic leadership.
According to the news, former Punjab minister Surjit Singh Rakhra was also present in the Bathinda meeting between Radha Swami Baba and Giani Harpreet Singh, which lasted for about an hour. He said that there was no politics involved in it and no talk was made about party leader Sukhbir Singh Badal. Rakhra was associated with the Akali rebel faction Sudhar Lehra.
After the SGPC’s executive committee announced the suspension of Giani Harpreet Singh as the Jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib for 15 days, several Sikh organisations have opposed the decision, widening the rift between the Jathedar and the Akali Dal leaders affiliated with Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Akali Dal party spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema and former MLAs Kanwarjit Singh Barkandi, Amarjit Singh Chawla and Rajinder Singh Mehta, among others, raised objections to the meeting between Jathedar Harpreet Singh and Radha Swami Baba. Badal is in political trouble, which is why Giani Harpreet Singh is being targeted on this issue. Paramjit Singh Sarna, former president of the Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee, had said that Jathedar Harpreet Singh should inform the Sangat about this meeting, as doubts are being raised in the minds of the Sangat about the Jathedar.
The big question is, didn’t Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia keep doing the Parikrama of Radha Swami Baba during the elections? Why is there an objection to this meeting now? Has Jathedar Harpreet Singh himself met Radha Swami Baba?
This clearly means that Badal only wants to do politics that creates confusion in the Sikh community. He has not been able to win the trust of the Sikh community so far. He is still a salaryman because he has violated the Hukamnama of the Akal Takht by not accepting Sukhbir’s resignation and not approving the committee formed by the Akal Takht for the recruitment of the Akali Dal.
