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Jathedar Sahiban, we shouldn't have been guessing
Ajmer Singh - WORLD SIKH NEWS. COM
While it is to be appreciated that the Jathedars of the Sikh Takhts correctly understood the sentiments of the Sikh community and rejected the cleverly crafted apology of the Dera Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, what is certainly not appreciable is the fact that the Sikh community had to wait with bated breath for the outcome till the clergy actually pronounced it. What was so obvious to the Sikh community collectively -- that the apology is only a clever stratagem, that the dera head is least repentant, that he is continuing to do exactly what he is apologizing for, that the government has done precious little in bringing him to book, that his followers are adamant on rather increasing the frequency of nam-charchas, that the state establishment has made its intentions clear by providing him with z-plus security -- was not considered enough to correctly fathom the end result of the Jathedars' confabulations.
The kind of response that the June 24 Khalsa Chetna March received from the Sikh sangat was indicator enough of the mood of the panth. The fact that the march was sought to be torpedoed not only by the elements in the Akali Dal-BJP government but even the SGPC and senior people working inside the Khalsa Action Committee and still turned out the way it did only sends out a positive signal. The Sikh community is aware of the hurt caused and is determined to remove the cause of the pain by either making the assaulter realize his mistake or taking measures to put its own house in order so that such attacks do not succeed.
It is at junctures like these that the history records the role of those at the helm. At a time when things move on smoothly, the leaders become only marginal players, but when a crisis emerges, the stuff of the leadership comes under question.
With every passing day, the dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim is becoming a smaller man even in the eyes of his own followers who see that their idol is big enough to indulge in megalomania, ridiculous enough to imitate the Sikh Guru, stupid enough to then say that he can't even think of doing so, and Lilliputian enough to shirk saying a clear, candid sorry. That he is crook enough to keep crafting multiple versions of unrepentant apologies does no credit to a man whose avowed mission is to turn people into real 'insaans.'. Of course he can make a beginning by letting the CBI complete its probe into murder charge against himself, make clear his role in systematic molestation of the girls at the dera and present before the people his true motives in imitating Sikh religious lexicon.
And the Sikh leadership, including the clergy, must also beware that with each passing day, they too are under watch, and must not do anything to reduce their own stature. What Paramjit Singh Sarna has done, or Avtar Singh Makkar forever tries to do, is the one thing that a Sikh leader must stay miles away from. The Sarnas had won considerable goodwill among the Sikhs of Punjab, and they will have to do considerable effort now to win it back. The only good thing they have done is to turn themselves into befitting examples of what the leaders must not try to do when dealing with the sentiments of the community. Be clear, be transparent. Cloak and dagger, as we earlier said, is not a strategy to be employed at home.
Jathedar Sahiban, we shouldn't have been guessing
Ajmer Singh - WORLD SIKH NEWS. COM
While it is to be appreciated that the Jathedars of the Sikh Takhts correctly understood the sentiments of the Sikh community and rejected the cleverly crafted apology of the Dera Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, what is certainly not appreciable is the fact that the Sikh community had to wait with bated breath for the outcome till the clergy actually pronounced it. What was so obvious to the Sikh community collectively -- that the apology is only a clever stratagem, that the dera head is least repentant, that he is continuing to do exactly what he is apologizing for, that the government has done precious little in bringing him to book, that his followers are adamant on rather increasing the frequency of nam-charchas, that the state establishment has made its intentions clear by providing him with z-plus security -- was not considered enough to correctly fathom the end result of the Jathedars' confabulations.
The kind of response that the June 24 Khalsa Chetna March received from the Sikh sangat was indicator enough of the mood of the panth. The fact that the march was sought to be torpedoed not only by the elements in the Akali Dal-BJP government but even the SGPC and senior people working inside the Khalsa Action Committee and still turned out the way it did only sends out a positive signal. The Sikh community is aware of the hurt caused and is determined to remove the cause of the pain by either making the assaulter realize his mistake or taking measures to put its own house in order so that such attacks do not succeed.
It is at junctures like these that the history records the role of those at the helm. At a time when things move on smoothly, the leaders become only marginal players, but when a crisis emerges, the stuff of the leadership comes under question.
With every passing day, the dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim is becoming a smaller man even in the eyes of his own followers who see that their idol is big enough to indulge in megalomania, ridiculous enough to imitate the Sikh Guru, stupid enough to then say that he can't even think of doing so, and Lilliputian enough to shirk saying a clear, candid sorry. That he is crook enough to keep crafting multiple versions of unrepentant apologies does no credit to a man whose avowed mission is to turn people into real 'insaans.'. Of course he can make a beginning by letting the CBI complete its probe into murder charge against himself, make clear his role in systematic molestation of the girls at the dera and present before the people his true motives in imitating Sikh religious lexicon.
And the Sikh leadership, including the clergy, must also beware that with each passing day, they too are under watch, and must not do anything to reduce their own stature. What Paramjit Singh Sarna has done, or Avtar Singh Makkar forever tries to do, is the one thing that a Sikh leader must stay miles away from. The Sarnas had won considerable goodwill among the Sikhs of Punjab, and they will have to do considerable effort now to win it back. The only good thing they have done is to turn themselves into befitting examples of what the leaders must not try to do when dealing with the sentiments of the community. Be clear, be transparent. Cloak and dagger, as we earlier said, is not a strategy to be employed at home.
