Within hours of a hand grenade being lobbed at a group of Nirankaris who were holding a satsang (prayer meeting) in a small hall at Adliwal village near Amritsar International Airport, two significant statements were made.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh noted that it was “the first attempt in a long time to disturb peace in Punjab” and announced a reward of Rs 50 lakh for anyone who could give any information that would lead to the arrest of those who were behind the blast that claimed the lives of three people.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged that the Congress was “meddling with radical elements who want to bring Punjab on the boil”. The incident, he said, reminded him of the situation in 1978.
The Nirankaris are a sect of Sikhs who originally followed the teachings of Guru Nanak, and worshipped the Granth Sahib, declared by the 10th Guru Gobind Singh as the “eternal Guru”. Over the course of time, they began calling their spiritual leader a Guru and worshipping the Guru. This was anathema to the orthodox Sikhs represented by the Akalis, resulting in an animosity that was not spelt out for years, until Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale-led Damdami Taksal clashed with the Nirankaris, on Baisakhi—the new year day—in 1978 in Amritsar in which 16 people were killed. The Taksal men were protesting against a convention of the Nirankaris. Two years and 11 days later, Ranjit Singh, an orthodox Sikh, killed Nirankari chief Gurbachan Singh at the Nirakari Mission in the national capital, adding to the turmoil in Punjab.
The Shiromani Akali Dal, banking on the votes of all Sikhs, was torn between the Taksal and radicals, and openly demanded Khalistan. They got splintered in the years of terrorism, with the moderate faction led by Parkash Singh Badal having to run for cover, and existence. It distanced from the venom-spewing Damdami Taksal and the radicals in order to remain relevant whenever the good days of politics returns.
Ironically, Badal was the chief minister when the Damdami Taksal and the Nirankaris clashed in Amritsar forty years ago and have seen the ground almost vanish from under their feet in the dark years thereafter.
The Radhaswami sect, headquartered in Beas, holds prayers every Sunday all over Punjab, but there is no confrontation, simply because there is no worship of any human being, anyone called a “Guru”.
But on the contrary, Punjab was on fire when Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh proclaimed himself a Guru and tried to dress up like Sikh Gurus.
An attack on the Nirankaris suggests the simmering but extreme anger among orthodox Sikhs coming to the fore. And so, the chief minister is concerned enough to announce a reward for anyone who can offer information about the perpetrators, and has called it an attempt to disturb peace in the state. And for the same reason, Sukhbir has chosen to make a political comment on it.
