|
A Cry in
the wilderness
The WSN
presents to its readers the text of the letter that Bhai Daljit
Singh Bittu had written to Sardar Simranjit Singh Mann in early
March this year. At that moment, Sardar Mann had quit from the
presidentship of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) after the
party’s ignominous defeat in the elections. Virtually every single
candidate of the party had forfeited his security deposit and senior
leaders had failed to garner even a few hundred votes. Sardar Mann
had then insisted that a new leadership take over, but later turn of
events showed that the acolytes won the day against the sincere. Had
events taken a different turn, Sardar Mann would have assumed an
even bigger profile and the party a new look and an edge. Alas! That
was not to be!
Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Dear Sardar Mann
Sahib,
As
I beseech you on this crucial juncture regarding the performance of
our party and the larger goals that both, you and I, and thousands
of our Sikh youth have shared and dreamed of, I pick up the thread
from the last interaction we had immediately after the election
results were announced. On February 28, when I last met you briefly
at your residence, we were in agreement that the results were far
below our expectations. Our party candidates polled much too fewer
vote than even the most conservative estimates.
Even though we were unable to dwell in any great detail upon the
basic reasons but we were nevertheless in agreement that our party’s
line of action and its style of functioning need a thorough review
and a possible overhaul. We were also unanimous that the current
organizational structure had many flaws.
No
doubt the poor performance in the elections has resulted in a
general atmosphere of dejection and despondence among the rank and
file of the party. This perhaps is a juncture in the history of any
party which but naturally demands a deeper, much deeper analysis of
the various parameters involved, something that should be able to
help us educate ourselves as to what went wrong, where and why. Such
an exercise, honestly and ably undertaken with the help of minds
such as yours, can be the only guide in finding the way forward and
a re-identification of goals and the route to reach there.
I
had, in my own little way, tried to prompt a discussion in that
general direction at the PAC meeting on March 1 but since you had
resigned and many of my colleagues were just as emotional about the
entire issue as I myself was, my attempt at analysis was
overshadowed by the concern about getting you to reverse your
decision. It was perhaps a natural corollary to your action as large
sections of not just the party but also of the entire Sikh community
do look towards you as a guide-friend-philosopher who can help pull
the party and the community forward. More than anyone else, it is
you yourself who can not only feel the need for a better,
reasoned and dispassionate analysis of the recent developments but
also perhaps propel the entire party top brass to seriously
undertake the exercise. It will not only be of help; it is the only
way to ensure even mere survival. Who understands this more than
you?
I
had made this very clear in our February 28 meeting, and I proudly
reiterate it once more here, that your persona occupies unique place
in
 the Sikh hearts and in the party. Ever since the martyrdom of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, your ideological steadfastness and
your refusal to budge from a line of religiously-guarded purity in
action and thought have set an example which is difficult to match
in contemporary Sikh history. But history has always made great
demands upon great men, something you as a student of history surely
realize.
With a leader such as you at the helm, any party would have been
grateful. We are. Our party is. And it is this faith that emboldens
me to reach across to you in the great spirit of collective
brain-storming to reach common goals. I strongly feel, and I am sure
I share this feeling with you, that today the party needs serious
introspection in every sphere. There are questions galore, begging
for answers. Clearly, if we had the answers, our fate would have
been different. We sure had the honesty in politics. It is high time
that we must honestly look for answers too for our failures in
electoral politics.
Dispassionate analysis opens all arenas to almost merciless but
honest insight. That will include the party’s immediate short term
goal, the eventual long term aim, the direction, the next turning,
the top brass, even the top man. Just as I don’t have all the
answers, you also don’t have them all. That is how Akal Purakh has
made us all, but some he has blessed with the ability to make an
honest effort to find them. Let’s get down to brass tacks and prove
that we too are blessed enough to find the answers that the
community seeks.
Pardhan Sahib, all of us realize that you have a global perspective
on issues and a unique ability to delineate them from the Sikh view
point. Your intellectual prowess is a recognized fact. Even as the
party may continue to benefit from your academic and intellectual
rigours, your role should be increasingly broadened to a much higher
plane. So while you continue to be the moral and intellectual voice
of the party, the mundane affairs of the organization can be
delegated to people you deem suitable for such jobs. This is the
time for decisive actions which can help you coagulate the positive
forces within yourself and in the party, and decisive action often
demands an out-of-the-box thinking. Conventions must not restrain
you from innovation.
As
I conclude this fervent missive of mine, I may take this opportunity
to make one thing very clear. While I have a certain idiom of
thought and action in public sphere, I am clear in my mind that I
neither desire nor have ever thought about replacing a leader as
capable as you are. Finding your replacement will take the community
a long long time. Both you and I know that, and this is the clarity
that emboldens me today to reach across to you.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Daljit Singh
29 August, 2007
|
Read Also