06-02-2007, 12:26 AM
From Pioneer 1 June 2007
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Once again, hardliners have been sidelined
Satinder Bains | Chandigarh
The Dera controversy has given yet another chance to the moderate Sikh leadership in Punjab to marginalise the radical Sikh organisations who wanted to regain their lost ground after having been rejected by people in the last Assembly elections.
<b>The deft handling of the crisis by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Shiromani Gurdawara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has not only eased the communal tension but isolated hardliners.</b>
The SAD-BJP Government was in full control of the situation though there were some disturbances in Bathinda and other parts in the initial stages. The Akali Dal's tacit understanding with the Sikh clergy helped to diffuse the tension.
The peaceful protest march by Sikhs on May 31 at Fatehgarh Sahib is yet another example of the upper hand the liberals enjoy over the hardliners.
The SAD president Parkash Singh Badal and working president Sukhbir Singh Badal have reportedly sent a strong message of restraint to all concerned.
<b>The decision of the Akal Takht to reject the apology offered by Dera Sacha Sauda was a tactical move. This has helped the Sikh clergy to implement its writ over radicals. It was rare in Sikh politics that hardliners have withdrawn from violent protests although there was enough provocation.</b>
The political observers said that to prolong the confrontation with the Dera was in the interest of both SAD and hardliners for obvious reasons. They would try to keep alive the agitation in some form or the other so that Dera stays away from politics.
The main reason behind the confrontation between the Dera and Akalis was support extended by the former to Congress party in the Assembly elections. The Dera support to Congress has eroded the SAD base in the Malwa and radical vote bank is understood to have rallied behind traditional Akalis in retaliation of Dera factor.
<b>This was the first time that senior radical leaders like Simranjit Singh Mann had lost their deposits.</b>
Now, for Akalis of hues, eliminating the Dera factor is crucial for rebuilding their base in the Malwa belt. <b>At religious level, the SGPC is persuading the Dera followers to come back to the Sikh fold and at political level SAD is trying to isolate the Dera leadership in a peaceful and effective manner.
In the last one week, hundreds of neo-converts to Dera have abandoned the sect and returned to Sikhism.</b>
To keep the agitation alive, the Sikh organisations have put forward four points in their memorandums to the Governors of Punjab and Haryana. Interestingly, the demand to arrest the Dera chief Baba Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh ahs been dropped in the new charter of demands. This has been done to avoid an embarrassing situation for State Government in near future.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Once again, hardliners have been sidelined
Satinder Bains | Chandigarh
The Dera controversy has given yet another chance to the moderate Sikh leadership in Punjab to marginalise the radical Sikh organisations who wanted to regain their lost ground after having been rejected by people in the last Assembly elections.
<b>The deft handling of the crisis by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Shiromani Gurdawara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has not only eased the communal tension but isolated hardliners.</b>
The SAD-BJP Government was in full control of the situation though there were some disturbances in Bathinda and other parts in the initial stages. The Akali Dal's tacit understanding with the Sikh clergy helped to diffuse the tension.
The peaceful protest march by Sikhs on May 31 at Fatehgarh Sahib is yet another example of the upper hand the liberals enjoy over the hardliners.
The SAD president Parkash Singh Badal and working president Sukhbir Singh Badal have reportedly sent a strong message of restraint to all concerned.
<b>The decision of the Akal Takht to reject the apology offered by Dera Sacha Sauda was a tactical move. This has helped the Sikh clergy to implement its writ over radicals. It was rare in Sikh politics that hardliners have withdrawn from violent protests although there was enough provocation.</b>
The political observers said that to prolong the confrontation with the Dera was in the interest of both SAD and hardliners for obvious reasons. They would try to keep alive the agitation in some form or the other so that Dera stays away from politics.
The main reason behind the confrontation between the Dera and Akalis was support extended by the former to Congress party in the Assembly elections. The Dera support to Congress has eroded the SAD base in the Malwa and radical vote bank is understood to have rallied behind traditional Akalis in retaliation of Dera factor.
<b>This was the first time that senior radical leaders like Simranjit Singh Mann had lost their deposits.</b>
Now, for Akalis of hues, eliminating the Dera factor is crucial for rebuilding their base in the Malwa belt. <b>At religious level, the SGPC is persuading the Dera followers to come back to the Sikh fold and at political level SAD is trying to isolate the Dera leadership in a peaceful and effective manner.
In the last one week, hundreds of neo-converts to Dera have abandoned the sect and returned to Sikhism.</b>
To keep the agitation alive, the Sikh organisations have put forward four points in their memorandums to the Governors of Punjab and Haryana. Interestingly, the demand to arrest the Dera chief Baba Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh ahs been dropped in the new charter of demands. This has been done to avoid an embarrassing situation for State Government in near future.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->