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Gurmeet Ram's apology
finds due place in dustbin
Akal Takht takes peace path, larger panthic unity intact
WSN Bureau
Amritsar: Punjab is calm, but does calm always denote peaceful? The
head of the so-called Dera Sacha Sauda once again crafted a
cleverly-worded apology of sorts on May 27, issued it in the form of
a press release and talked about seeking foregiveness from the tenth
Sikh Master, Guru Gobind Singh. As cohorts of Chief Minister Parkash
Singh Badal went into a tizzy and his ultra-efficient son Sukhbir
Singh Badal cut-short his foreign sojourn to land in Amritsar and
influence the process, the five high priests led by Akal Takht
jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti met under extreme public glare and
finally rejected the apology.
It
also kept valid the plan for the May 31 march from Fatehgarh Sahib
to Chandigarh, while saying that an 11-member committee will submit
a memorandum to Punjab and Haryana Governors.
The
edict called upon the Sikh community to continue following the May
17 edict about social boycott of the dera head and dera followers
who refuse to return to the mainstream.
The
so-called apology was termed 'half-hearted", but the clergy did
resort to some jugglery of words itself in making a two-fold appeal
to the community: continue the boycott of the Dera and a peaceful
stir against it.
In
a "Gurmata" following a marathon meeting at the Akal Takht
secretariat, the five high priests said, "Guru Gobind Singh, from
whom they have sought the apology, is the pardoner, provided it is
tendered with clear intentions."
The
"Gurmata" in fact was a smart rejection of the apology without even
the use of the word "rejection".
After secret parleys with Shiromani Akali Dal acting president
Sukhbir Singh Badal ahead of the clergy meeting, Akal Takht Jathedar
Joginder Singh Vedanti reportedly used his authority to appeal for a
peaceful stir ahead. Sukhbir was camping at the house of his
brother-in-law Bikramjit Singh Majithia in Amritsar and remained
inaccessible. Earlier in the morning, he did meet Vedanti himself at
the house of SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar.
In
rejecting the apology, the jathedars ignored the Sarv Dharam Sansad,
led by Swami Agnivesh, which had called for "showing magnanimity" in
accepting the Dera apology by "overruling the lacunae". It is still
not clear why the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat, even
allowed or entertained the kind of mediators led by Swami Agnivesh
who himself is still to delete objectionable references to the Gurus
and the Sikhs in the Satyarth Parkash, the central granth of his
organization. He had promised to do so and a committee of the SGPC
is pursuing the matter.
"A
man living a truthful life seeks forgiveness for mistakes boldly.
But, the scoundrel and coward hide behind followers for safety," the
jathedars said.
The
positive aspect was that all the other panthic organizations which
had simultaneously met at Fatehgarh Sahib reached the decision and
asked the Akal Takht to reject the apology while re-affirming their
faith in any decision taken by the clergy. This kept up the
semblance of Panthic unity, an almost elusive enigma for the last
many years.
The
clergy has also appealed again to the Sikh followers of the Dera
Sacha Sauda to return to the Sikh fold. It has also asked the SGPC
to ascertain legal opinion for proclamation of an ordinance against
misuse of religious scriptures and symbols. The dera did not comment
after the clergy’s verdict which has however reduced the headache
for Badal and was widely interpreted as a sort of middle path.
30 May, 2007
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