Much water has flowed under the bridges in the last sixteen years – the water that has passed through this land will not pass again tomorrow. Who got it? On January 31, 2008, at the Shiromani Akali Dal Pratinidhi meeting held at the historic Teja Singh Samari Hall in Guru Nagar Sri Amritsar Sahib, 46-year-old Sukhbir Singh Badal was unanimously elected party president in place of his father. His name was proposed by Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, known as the Senapati of Majha, which was immediately approved by Taksali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was elected patron of the Akali Dal for life.
The youngest leader of the 88-year-old martyred party, Sarbarah, had to face defeat. He would take off the garland and hand it over to his friends and then his fans would garland him. As a representative of the English newspaper group, I was also present in Teja Singh Marine Hall. The title of my news, 'Badal's senior mentor for life in Akali Dal/Son (sun) also rises', created a lot of discussion in the sectarian circles. Badal sahab's son had risen like the sun in the sky of the Akali Dal. At that time they did not turn on the light. He lay in this form for a long time and no one dared to move. Who does not salute the rising sun!
High-profile presidents of the past are discussed. The Lasani sacrifices made by them are mentioned. The family ties of those claiming to be the successor of Sarbans Dani are discussed. Sirni (Srinni) used to whisper in the sect to divide himself again and again. Questions arise on nepotism. No votes were cast until the Lok Sabha member ticket was given to younger brother Gurdas Singh Badal (Das Badal). After brother, nephew Manpreet Singh Badal won the by-election of Gidderbaha in 1995.
Before giving the ticket to Manpreet, Amritpaan was given to him at Sri Akal Takht Sahib. Despite winning the election, not protecting Amrit did not become an issue. This was the time of Badal's rise. The by-election of Gidderbaha laid the foundation for the rise of Akali Dal. Suddenly he left Bahujan Samaj Party and formed an alliance with BJP. In a huge rally in Moga, Akali Dal gave a clear indication of being a party of Punjabis.
In 1997, the Akali-BJP government was formed. After this, in 2002, the Congress government was formed under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh. At that time, the voters of Punjab had the illusion that Captain was more sect-friendly. After Captain, in 2007, the Akali-BJP government was formed under the leadership of Badal, which lasted for a decade. Badal's star was at its peak. The Akali-BJP government was formed due to Sukhbir Singh Badal's 'social engineering'.
When his stars were at their peak, Parkash Singh Badal told the party that he cannot do justice to two posts. Therefore, the presidency of Shiromani Akali Dal should be given to someone else. The 'Panth' agreed. Parkash Singh Badal, who became the Chief Minister for the first time thirty-eight years ago in 1970, had by now completely understood the mindset of the Panth. He knew that at a time when Sant Fateh Singh had given a seat to his driver in the Lok Sabha, there was not even a typical Akali kuskaya there.
This experience taught the Akali Dal presidents the gurumantra of running the party. Such arbitrariness actually became the basis of erosion of Panthic land. When Sukhbir Singh Badal was made the President in place of his father, they did not have the courage to oppose it. To suppress the resentment in the hearts of the senior leaders of the party, their disciples started getting big positions in the party. A new legacy of the Akali Dal has begun.
Taksali Akalis and their sons and daughters became MPs, MLAs and ministers. The character of the Akali Dal started changing. The religious chants, mantras and slogans of sacrifices of the sectarian Jews continued. There was no one left to read their pain. People from colleges and universities were sitting with turbans on their heads. The colourful turbans were also saying something. They were giving a hint of the times to come.
Despite all the exploits of the orange ministers, no lessons were learnt. The strong opinion of the white advisors of dignity started counting the strength of the Akali Dal. In 2017, the Akali Dal could not even become the opposition party in the assembly. In the last assembly elections, the party was wiped out and got only three seats. In the Lok Sabha elections held this year, it had to settle for 1.25 lakh seats and the party candidates lost their deposits on 10 seats.
If the blasphemy incident had been taken seriously and timely action had been taken, the country's oldest political party would not have been in this condition today. Sri Akal Takht forgiving the Dera Sacha Sauda chief and then taking a U-turn after the sectarian anger also cost the Akali Dal dearly. During the dark period of Punjab, there was also anger among the people due to the appointment of the culprits of the fake police competition to high posts. If the Akali Dal had realized this in time, the common people would not have been disillusioned with the party that took the lead for the country and the community.
Muzaffar Islam Razmi's Shayari says, “The eyes of history have seen this cruelty too/ Moments committed the mistake, and the centuries punished it.” The centenary year also passed while Sukhbir Singh Badal was the President. There was no enthusiasm and excitement in the centenary year. Instead of apologizing for his bad mistakes in time, it was also not wise to honour the senior Badal with the Fakhr-e-Qaum by the Akal Takht. If he comes home in the evening, he is not called the one who forgot in the morning.
Deliberately straying from the path is considered a sin. The rebel Akalis are equally involved in such crimes. They themselves are caught in the circle created against Sukhbir Singh Badal. The Akali Dal is a regional party of Punjab.
Its existence will be beneficial for the Punjabis. At present, the stars of all the disgruntled Akali Dal leaders are in the headlines. Shri Akal Takht has declared Sukhbir Singh Badal a salaried person, before whom he and many of his associates have appeared. Rebel Akalis may also come forward in the coming days. Akal Takht is Bakshind.