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King Lear
Loves The Fool, Akali Bard Ordains
Falstaff To Be Emperor Again
WSN Bureau
AMRITSAR: Envelope spouted the same name at the SGPC election as The
Bard of the Akalis ordained that Falstaff will continue to be the
King for the third time running. Avtar Singh Makkar, who bends every
time he sees even a photo of Parkash Singh Badal, and who crawls
anytime he sees Sukhbir Singh Badal a few yards away, was
re-installed as President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak
Committee (SGPC). His chief qualifications are found to be "loyalty"
to The Family and virtually zero potential for being a trouble
maker.
The
high point of the election remained a near complete focus by the
media as well as the Akali Dal members on the "lifafa". For years,
the opposition SGPC members, the saner section of the Sikh
intelligentsia as well as the media had alleged that SGPC presidents
actually tumble out of 'lifafas' (envelopes) sent by Badal to the
general house meetings. This time, the Badals ordered that the
allegation be officially vindicated and institutionalized as the
rite of passage.
 So
an envelope was actually delivered. For a moment Avtar Singh Makkar
closed his eyes as if in a prayer. Most believed that he was not
praying to God Almighty but the Akali Dal's Mighty Badal. Whatever
be the case, his prayers seemed to have been heard. Makkar tumbled
out of a lifafa for the third time, performing the feat which other
veterans like Kirpal Singh Badungar and Bibi Jagir Kaur could not
manage.
In
fact, it was Badungar who opened the sealed envelope today in a
total mockery of the democracy. The Akali Dal seems to have given up
the last fig leaf of pretense that there is any broader democratic
process followed in electing the head of the richest Sikh gurdwara
management body that has a budget of 80 million dollars (roughly Rs
325 crores).
Media in Punjab widely termed Makkar as a "rubber stamp" of the
Badals and also wrote about the fact that it is his loyalty to Badal
Sr and Sukhbir Singh Badal that has won him the coveted post. Before
coming to the SGPC, Makkar's earlier experience included managing a
local gurdwara in Ludhiana and fighting little turf wars with local
Akalis over who is the real "circle jathedar".
Badal led Akali Dal has 170-member majority in a house of 185 and
not one of them is known to speak a word against the Badals. Closest
associates of late Sardar Gurcharan Singh Tohra are significantly
marginalized by the Badals but maintain complete silence. Men like
Sukhdev Singh Bhaur are happy being pushed to the margin, waiting
for their turn for the largesse distribution.
21 November, 2007
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