Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today felicitated the veteran athlete Mr. Fauja Singh, who had recently set the record of becoming world’s oldest marathoner, for his rare feat.

Lauding the spectacular achievement of Mr. Fauja Singh, the Chief Minister said that through his success the veteran athlete has brought laurel for the country in general and Punjab in particular. His superb and unparalleled achievement as a veteran runner would ever remain a source of inspiration to kindle the urge to excel in sports especially amongst our budding sportspersons. He said that Indian-born Fauja Singh of England, famously known as the Turbaned Tornado, has proved that age could not restrict a person from excelling in any field. “Punjabis have a knack to lead in every sphere of life and Mr. Fauja Singh has aptly demonstrated the same through his resilience and indomitable spirit” he added.

It may be recalled that 100-year-old Mr. Fauja Singh amazed the world when he completed a 42-kilometre marathon at the Toronto waterfront to enter the Guinness Book of World Records. Setting a new record he finished the Scotia bank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in eight hours, 11 minutes and 5.9 seconds and became the world’s oldest marathoner. In more than 22,000 runners competed in the event, which included the full 42-km marathon, a 21-km half-marathon and a five-kilometer race, Singh was the only person of his age group to have ever run through a full-length marathon.

At the national level, while remaining in the vanguard of national mainstream, the Shiromani Akali Dal has always remained committed to a dignified dispensation for Punjabis in general and the Sikhs in particular, always fighting to safeguard their political, economic, social and cultural rights. The Shiromani Akali Dal party is commited to the highest ideals of peace, communal harmony, universal brotherhoodand the welfare of humanity (Sarbat Da Bhala).

Federal Structure

Shiromani Akali Dal was the first to advocate the need for co-operative federalism based on political and fiscal autonomy, a concept first opposed but subsequently accepted and adopted by almost every regional and national political party. SAD firmly believes that the setting up of a truly federal structure is the only way to strengthen the goals of national unity and prosperity. Hurdles put in the path of such a system in the country by the Congress party greatly harmed the interests of development and prosperity in the States and delayed for more than sixty years the emergence of India as a global leader.

Opposes Unitarian Mindset

The Shiromani Akali Dal strongly opposes this unitarian mindset. The latest indicator of the Congress’ anti-federal mindset is provided by a statement by the present Prime Dr. Manmohan Singh in which he has described regional parties as a hurdle in the way of national development. This mindset is not only a political outrage in a country which prides itself on giving primacy to the will of the people but is also an insult to the collective wisdom of the people who have repeatedly expressed full confidence in the ability of the regional parties to manage national affairs.

Taking like-minded regional and national parties along, the SAD will continue its efforts to liberate the development processes in States from the constricting clutches of fiscal and political centralisation.

Chandigarh and the Punjabi-speaking Areas

The Shiromani Akali Dal has waged long battles for the inclusion of Chandigarh and other Punjabi Speaking areas in Punjab. But, unfortunately, successive Congress governments at the centre have always conspired to scuttle this demand. The Shiromani Akali Dal will continue its peaceful and democratic struggle for the fulfillment of Punjab’s legitimate demand for the transfer of Chandigarh and other Punjabi speaking areas to Punjab.

River Waters Issue

On the river-waters issue, the SAD has always demanded the implementation of the nationally and internationally accepted Riparian Principle, accep;ted by the Supreme Court and applied by it in every river water dispute, like ;the Narbada River Water Dispute. Under the Constitution, river water is a state subject and non-Riparian states have no locus standi in any dispute arising out of sharing of the river waters. Why should an exception be made to this principle only to turn Punjab into a desert?

Apart from the question of the constitutional legitimacy of Punjab’s demand, Punjab’s river waters must be safeguarded as the state is already in the grip of a severe crisis and could be reduced to a mere desert by 2020 due to the alarming fall in the level of sub-soil water because of massive depletion through tube well irrigation. Unfortunately, successwive Congress governments at the centre and in the State have systematically violated the Riparian Principle. The SAD-BJP government will take political, legal and constitutional steps to redress this grievous wrong done to the people of the state.

Minorities Issue

The Shiromani Akali Dal has always taken pride in our country’s rich cultural, linguistic and relgious diversity. The party believes in emotional unity of our people as against the artificial uniformity advocated by the Congress. Unfortunately, the Congress has systematically worked to undermine the interests of the minorities in the country. It believes in cultural and political uniformity, as against emotional and cultural integartion. This is at the root of its destructively centrist mindset.

The Shiromani Akali Dal is committed to safeguarding and promoting the interests of the minorities in the country in a manner that enables them to play a constructive and meaningful role in the progress of our people. The party stands for a strong India, capable of playing its destined role as a global leader and is fully convinced that strrengthening its constituents is the surest way of achieving that goal. Strong, propserous and confident minorities on the one hand and politically and economically strong states on the other are the best guarantee for a great future for our nation.

Vision

Our goal: Changing the way the world looks at Punjab and the way Punjabis look at themselves. We have a dream of a Punjab in which every single Punjabi is able to walk into and out of any government office with his head held high. We aim at ensuring individual dignity and self-respect of every rural and urban Punjabi, making him truly the master of his destiny, and the government a tool for the fulfillment of his dreams. The SAD trusts the big dreams of the people and believes in harnessing all its energies and the energies of the SAD-BJP government towards the realization of their dreams. We are fully conscious of the great expectations that people have of us and consider it our moral obligation to do our best to live up to these.     

            Other components of our vision include: Bridging the gap between the people and their government through path breaking series of reforms in governance by transforming the very approach to administration.

          Raising the bar in education and health, with more teachers and more doctors, backed up by state of the art facilities in schools and hospitals. Also revolutionizing higher education by setting up centers of excellence, such as world class university, ISB etc.

            Raising agricultural and industrial growth by developing world class infrastructure, road network and air connectivity besides making Punjab a power surplus state and ensuring 24-hour power supply to the commercial, Industrial and farm sectors as well as to the domestic consumers.

     All this, and more, aimed at making every Punjabi proud of his state.

Political Mission

To strengthen Shiromani Akali Dal at grass root level and to bring about complete internal democracy in the party, so that the party could keep the confidence of the people of the state in the years and decades to come and ensure that the tasks we have initiated are carried to their climax.

         Within the Organisation, the party aims at a synergy of the youth force with the Taksali cadre. Whereas the youth would provide the necessary firepower and enthusiasm, the Taksali  Akalis would continue to provide the necessary guidance and ideological strength and purity to the party. The SAD is inspired by the noble ideals set before us by our great Gurus, saints and seers in which respect for every religion, human brotherhood and Sarbat da Bhala are the cornerstones of our approach to life. The party is committed to peace, and communal harmony at all costs.

            With our political ally Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), we  are on a mission for the overall welfare and development of the state. As a part of this mission Punjab, the SAD-BJP government has already emerged as a pioneer in the country by launching reforms in governance.

SPECIAL FEATURE: SHIROMANI AKALI DAL 

For the future

Sarbjit Pandher

Interview with Sukhbir Singh.

Akhilesh Kumar  

Shiromani Akali Dal general secretary Sukhbir Singh.

WHEN politics in Punjab appears to be in a state of flux and devoid of major issues, making his presence felt on the scene is four-time Member of Parliament Sukhbir Singh, the only son of former Chief Minister Prakash Singh. Previously dismissed by many in his own party as just an appendage of his father, the 44-year-old leader seems to be emerging as the winner in the party’s succession struggle, which was evident when he recently received accolades from friends and foes alike for mobilising unprecedented crowds at the rallies in Chandigarh and Moga. The Shiromani Akali Dal, which was at the receiving end on many occasions in the past five years, now looks forward with hope to his energetic style of functioning.

A post-graduate in economics with a management degree from the California State University in Los Angeles, Sukhbir Singh is also engaged in promoting the family’s business. Excerpts from an interview he gave Frontline:

Why did you opt to join politics, which many people consider a rogue’s game?

For me it was a difficult choice to make, between building our business further and joining politics and contributing towards making Punjab a leader in global development as well as an example of bringing marginalised sections into the development process. Also, I envisage myself as participating in the process based on Guru Nanak Devji’s philosophy of “Sarbat da Bhala” [welfare of all]. Punjab should emerge as an icon of universal brotherhood.

What have been the advantages and disadvantages of being Prakash Singh Badal’s son?

Unlike other professions, there are no well-accepted laws of inheritance in politics. One has to make one’s own space, and this is particularly true in the Shiromani Akali Dal. I have been active as an ordinary worker of the party for almost two decades. For me it has always been a challenge to prove my capabilities as a politician and emerge from the shadows of an illustrious father and other senior Akali leaders while simultaneously imbibing their blessings, guidance and words of caution.

So what have been the lessons so far?

Restraint when faced with personal vendetta and vilification from opponents along with caution against sycophancy from those around you when in a position of decision-making.

Who can you identify as your political icon?

Undoubtedly Sardar Prakash Singh Badal, the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal. He exhibits a rare combination of sincerity towards the people of the State, capacity to work hard even when results may be nowhere in sight, extreme levels of patience, and ability to take almost everybody along with him as he marches towards the goal.

The SAD is branded by some as a party without a modern vision or a development agenda and lacking the capacity to carry Punjab forward in the 21st century.

The SAD is a vibrant, progressive party that is rooted in tradition. Historically, the party has been very successful in maintaining a balance between traditional values and modern thought. It has always based its ideology on the basic principles of Sikhism, which is the most modern religion in the world.

While the menace of drug addiction and problems relating to lack of adequate employment avenues seem to haunt every decision-maker in Punjab, do you have any special programme for the youth of the State?

The youth constitute about 65 per cent of the population in Punjab. About two years ago, we launched the Students’ Organisation of India [SOI], which now has at least six lakh members from different educational institutions. After their exposure to primary organisational matters and developing basic skills in political management, SOI members, on completion of their studies, are absorbed into the Youth Akali Dal [YAD], which undertakes the responsibility of training its cadre and creating awareness about the latest developments across the political spectrum. In a few weeks from now, the people of Punjab will exercise their franchise, and the SAD is confident that in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party it will be able re-establish people’s rule in the State.

The key area that our government would focus on is developing competitive skills in youth so that they can get productive employment anywhere in the world. For this, we shall impress upon our leadership to grant a “Youth Ministry” among the major portfolios and set up a Youth Development Board, with Minister status to its members. These two bodies would ensure participation of youth in the decision-making process.

Have you planned any special programmes in case your party regains power?

 
Sukhbir Singh with his father, Prakash Singh Badal, at a rally.

We plan to organise exchange programmes with universities of international repute. For youth from Dalit families and economically weaker sections, we propose to institute scholarships to help them receive quality education from reputed international universities as well as institutes of excellence within the country. Meanwhile, at the village level, we shall set up new sports and activity clubs, and augment the existing ones to promote healthy living and wean the youth away from drug addiction.

We plan to set up Information Technology [IT] centres and market intelligence hubs in all villages across the State, which are to be managed by qualified youth from rural areas. Educated youth from villages would get employment also when our government helps set up fodder and milk-chilling units in every village. This would also help augment farmers’ income.

To revive the culture of sports in the State, our government shall set up three institutes for specialisation in sports, one each in the Malwa, Doaba and Majha regions.

You have had a major stint in both Houses of Parliament. What has been your toughest moment in politics?

In my opinion I had done a lot for the people after getting elected to the Lok Sabha in the 1996 and 1998 elections and with our party at the helm in the State since 1997. But in the subsequent general elections, I lost. That was very tough to believe.

What do you recall as your moment of glory?

For almost 20 years, lakhs of people in about 180 villages in my Faridkot constituency had been living in utter misery owing to water logging. By 1996, when I won the seat for the first time, the situation had deteriorated to such an extent that vast stretches of cultivable land were flooded. We decided to take the problem head on and took whatever measures were possible. And by the beginning of 1998, we had resolved the problem. The smiles on the faces of the people, who could reclaim their land, was a matter of satisfaction for me – something that I had never experienced before.

The Sikh Reference Library in the Golden Temple Complex was gutted, resulting in the loss of the most treasured collection of Sikh records in the world. The Sikhs were outraged at the attack on the holy complex and the destruction of the Akal Takht.

The Akali leaders present in the Golden Temple Complex during the ‘Blue Star’ were taken into custody. Under Operation ‘Wood Rose’ the countryside was combed in search of arms and so called rebels. About 5000 young men were arrested. Many innocent persons were killed in the process. Those who were supposed to have waged ‘war’ against the State were to be tried by Special Courts. Sikh soldiers at several places in Bihar, Rajasthan, Assam and Jammu ‘mutinied’ to march towards Amritsar. Scores of them got killed in the attempt while Thousands were marked for court martial.

These incidents resulted in Punjab getting into a state of turmoil and on the morning of 31 October 1984 to avenge the operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhi was shot dead by two Sikh guards. On the fall of a huge tree, said Rajiv Gandhi later, the earth trembles. There were organized massacres of Sikhs in Delhi and many other places. In the words of M.J. Akbar, ‘Sikhs were sought out and burned to death. Children were killed, shops looted, cars burnt, markets destroyed, houses gutted. Trains were stopped and Sikhs were picked out and murdered.’ According to an eye-witness: ‘Three days of violence and loot and murder left the national capital dazed, reeling from the holocaust. The pattern was nauseatingly repeated everywhere: spontaneous arson and destruction at first taken over by criminally led hoodlums who killed Sikhs, looted or burnt their homes and properties while the police twiddled their thumbs’. The police did not merely look away some of its personnel actually led the mobs. This role was performed also by some well known Congressmen of the metropolis. As a result of this organized pogrom more than 7000 Sikhs lost their lives.

On 12 March Arjun Singh was appointed Governor of the Punjab. President’s rule was extended for six months before the end of March. Arjun Singh had secret meetings with Sant Longowal, which culminated in a meeting between Rajiv Gandhi and Sant Longowal on 23 July. As a result of this meeting the Memorandum of Punjab Settlement or the Rajeev-Longowal Accord was signed on 24 July.

However, unfortunately on 20 August Sant Harchand Singh Longowal himself was assassinated. The Government in an attempt to restore peace and harmony decided to hold elections in Punjab on 25 September. The Akalis won 73 seats out of 117, getting over 38 percent of the total votes. Sardar Surjit Singh Barnala was sworn in as the Chief Minister on 29 September after nearly two years of President’s rule in Punjab.

However, the Congress government at the centre did not honour its commitments and promises made in the Rajeev-Longowal Accord including the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab and this betrayal resulted in the derailment of the Accord and as a result of this Punjab plunged into a fresh era of violence and killings . In 1987, due to a police action on Golden Temple the Longowal Akali Dal was split and the Barnala Ministry was dismissed on 12 May 1987 and Punjab was once again placed under President’s rule.

Violence escalated in Punjab during the President’s rule and continued unbated till 1992. Fresh elections were held in Punjab in February 1992 and the Akalis boycotted these elections. This boycott was extremely successful and even by official claims, less than 22 percent of the total votes were polled. But there was no constitutional provision regarding the minimum percentage of polling and thus these elections were declared valid. The leader of the Punjab Congress, Sardar Beant Singh, claimed that he had the popular mandate and thus became the third Congress Chief Minister of the post-1966 Punjab.

The elections did not stop militancy. In fact the number of persons killed multiplied and there was further deterioration in ‘law and order’. In a conference at Anandpur Sahib, the demand for Khalistan was reiterated. There was also the demand for the release of Akali leaders who had been arrested before the elections. Early in April, the security forces raided parts of the Golden Temple Complex. At the end of the first Hundred days of Beant Singh’s Ministry, the Punjab appeared by independent accounts to have entered ‘a perilous phase’. The media, the bureaucracy, the educational institutions, and the Panchayats were obliged to follow the diktat of the militants. Two faculty members of the Punjab University were assassinated. Soon the militants evolved a 5-point programme: to subvert the banking system; to stop work on the SYL; to force ‘intellectuals’ to sign support for Khalistan; to force Sarpanches to resign so that ‘Khalsa Panchayats’ might be established; and to target the media officials if they did not conform to the given ‘code’.

The unpopular Congress Government under Beant Singh also started losing its mandate and as a result lost key by-elections to the Akali Dal. In the Assembly by-elections of Ajnala and Gidderbaha the Akali Dal candidates defeated the Congress candidates despite excessive and blatant misuse of government machinery.

The Akalis had earlier gone to the Supreme Court against Indira Gandhi’s award concerning distribution of River Waters. However, despite repeated assurances by the Prime minister to the Akali leaders to ensure that Punjab’s resources would remain with her Indira Gandhi gave a unilateral and unfair award against Punjab. She also decided that the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal carrying Punjab’s water into Haryana should be completed in two years. The three concerned Chief Ministers of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan signed the SYL agreement. The Punjab Chief Minister, Darbara Singh also then withdrew Punjab’s suit filed by the earlier Akali Dal led government from the Supreme Court. Subsequently, Indira Gandhi laid the foundation of the SYL canal at Kapuri in Haryana.

During Kapuri Morcha Police arrest and taking away Dr. Rajinder Kaur & Bibi Kuldeep Kaur.

To protest against these injustices the Shiromani Akali Dal with the support of the Communist parties, organized a ‘block the canal’ (nahar roko) agitation on 24 April 1982 at a village close to Kapuri from where the water of the Satluj was to be diverted to Haryana. Some of the volunteers were arrested. A month later another agitation was launched at Kapuri itself. Then, after adequate preparation, on 26 July the Akalis decided at last to launch their ‘righteous war’ (dharm yudh) with effect from 4 August. Sardar Prakash Singh Badal led from the front and was arrested along with a large number of party workers.

The Dharm Yudh Morcha gained increasing momentum in August and September 1982. It became more and more difficult for the Government to find room for the protesting volunteers in the existing jails. On 11 September a bus carrying the arrested volunteers collided with a train near Tarn Taran and thirty-four of them died on the spot. An impressive procession in their honour was taken out in Delhi on 10 October. Five days later Indira Gandhi decided to release all Akali volunteers on the auspicious day of the Diwali. Before the end of October, Sardar Swaran Singh was negotiating a settlement with the Akali leaders on behalf of the Prime Minister. He hammered out a mutually acceptable formula on several important issues like Chandigarh and the river waters and the Centre-State relations etc. Indira Gandhi appointed a cabinet subcommittee consisting of Pranab Mukherjee, R. Vankataraman, P.V. Narasimha Rao and P.C. Sethi to consider the formula. Despite the appointed cabinet sub-committee approving the formula, Indira Gandhi back tracked resulting in the failure of the negotiations.

On 4 April the Akali leaders launched another agitation and organized a peaceful ‘block the roads’ (rasta roko) campaign. Twenty-six persons were killed in this peaceful demonstration. On 17 June the Akalis organized a ‘stop the train’ (rail roko) campaign, and the Government decided not to run any trains. The campaign of the Akalis to ‘stop work’ (kam roko) on 29 August was also a great success.

Morcha Against Emergency Morcha against emergency by Shiromani Akali Dal started on 9th July 1975. On the first day of Morcha Jathedar Gureharan Singh Tohra, S. Parkash Singh Badal, Jathedar Jagdev Singh Talwandi, S. Atma Singh and S. Basant Singh offered voluntary arrest by Police.

emergency. Offers of negotiations or a deal with the Prime Minister regarding the Sikh grievances could not wean the Akalis away from their natural reaction. The working committee of the Akali Dal held another urgent meeting on July 7 & 8, 1975, which declared the party’s resolve to continue to fight, tooth and nail against all those emergency provisions which curtailed the civil liberties of the people and imposed checks on their fundamental rights granted in the Indian constitution. The party resolved to carry on the struggle till the emergency was lifted. The Akali demonstrators continued to defy the ban regularly and more than 43,000 including eighteen Akali legislators, were arrested under MISA, DIR and other emergency provisions. The people of Punjab gave a very enthusiastic response to the call for Morcha against emergency. Batches of volunteers shouting slogans like “Dictatorship will not last”, “withdraw the emergency”, “restore civil liberties” and “Akali Dal Zindabad” were seen going to the courts regularly.
According to a scholar, “The Akali Dal fought and won the battle against the emergency with credit. It earned the distinction of emerging as the most courageous opposition party in the country. The rest of India saw it as a model of fortitude and forbearance. In the tradition of the Gurdwara Reform Movement and all subsequent movements, the campaign against the emergency was non-violent in character”.

After Emergency S. Parkash Singh Badal addressing to gathering on February 1977 at Mukatsar

In the Punjab, the Akali Dal had a complete understanding with the Janta Party on certain issues and contested the Lok Sabha and Assembly Election after striking as electoral alliance with it. The party’s manifesto re- affirmed its commitment to rural-oriented economic programme. The Janta-Akali Dal-CPM alliance won all the Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.
Subsequently the Akalis formed an alliance again with the Janta Party and the CPM to contest the Assembly elections in June 1977. Together they won 91 seats against 17 of the Congress. The Akalis alone won 58 out of 117 seats. Sardar Prakash Singh Badal led the coalition ministry. After assuming office he declared that: ‘The real Punjab lives in villages, and it is necessary that the benefits of our progress percolate to the countryside and reach the needy people’. The whole additional outlay of 480 million rupees in 1977 was earmarked for increasing agricultural production through extension of irrigational facilities and improvement in infrastructure. An ambitious programme of integrated rural development was launched in November 1978. To provide health services, marketing centers, credit facilities and recreation, ‘focal points’ were to be created, each within easy access of a group of villages. Interest rates on loans were reduced by one per cent and a new system of credit to farmers was introduced to make it more easly available. The forward looking measures and policies of the Akalis benefitted rural and urban Punjab.

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