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Dera Ideology Hurts Sikhs:SECTARIAN TENSION ENGULFS PUNJAB, by Insaf,23 May 2007 Print E-mail

Round The States

New Delhi, 23 May 2007

Dera Ideology Hurts Sikhs

SECTARIAN TENSION ENGULFS PUNJAB

By Insaf

Sectarian Sikh rivalry has reared its ugly head in Punjab. Tension exploded across the State following a clash on May 14 between the Akal Takht clergy and the Dera Sachcha Sauda. Earlier, Sikh organizations, led by the Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), were livid on seeing an advertisement featuring the Dera Chief, Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, dressed up as Guru Gobind Singh. This not only hurt the sentiments of some Sikh organizations but provoked about 200 of their activists, led by two members of the SGPC, to burn an effigy of the Baba near the main Dera headquarters in Bathinda district. A clash with the Dera activists followed, causing the death of 17 persons and injury to many more. Tension mounted with each passing day and culminated in a total State-wide bandh on Tuesday by the Akal Takht.

The Akal Takht and all the other Sikh organizations have been opposed to Dera Sachcha Sauda (True Deal) ever since the latter was set up as a sect in Sirsa in 1948 by one Baparwah Shah Mastana Balochistani. Sachcha Sauda claims a membership of more than two crore Sikhs in India and abroad, mostly from the backward communities, including Dalit Sikhs. It recognizes one universal God and respects all religions, as part of its ideology described by the sect as the only “True Deal” in keeping with the idealism of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh faith. The Sikh clergy has also found the conduct of the Dera Chief in adding “Ram Rahim” to the middle of his name wholly objectionable. Equally unacceptable is his colourful attire imitating Guru Gobind Singh. What is more, the sect also faces grave charges in connection with a murder.

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Political Overtone

What has added fuel to the fire is the charge that the Dera continues to be actively involved in politics as a supporter of the Congress since the Akali Dal came to power in 1978, even though it claims to be a spiritual and social organization. This enabled the Congress to win many more seats than the Akalis in the Malwa region, a known Akali stronghold, in the recent Assembly elections. Its leadership reportedly appealed for support to the Congress regime, led by Amarinder Singh, against the Shiromani Akali Dal of Parkash Singh Badal. In fact, some Sikh leaders accuse the Congress of having actively supported the Dera’s expansion during the last four decades, a la Bhindrawale. Nevertheless, the present Badal Government upheld its governance dharma last Tuesday by enforcing law and order and maintaining peace both during the bandh and thereafter. Much now depends upon the Baba and his willingness to apologise appropriately for having hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs as a whole.

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Mystery Explosion At Hyderabad

Mystery continues to surround the bomb explosion in Hyderabad’s famous Mecca Masjid which killed nine people and injured more than a hundred. Most surprisingly, another five were killed by police firing. The State Government initially denied that the police had fired on the panic stricken crowds of namazis, trying to escape to safety and carry the injured to nearby hospitals. It, however, subsequently conceded that the police had fired (first with rubber bullets and then with regular bullets) when confronted with highly incriminating video recordings of the tragic incident. Top Muslim leaders both in the State and at the Centre now want nothing less than a CBI probe into what is viewed as a calculated bid by some people to disrupt communal harmony and set the State ablaze for political gains. Intelligence services point fingers at Harkat-ul-Jehad Islami (HUJI), whose leader hails from Hyderabad. But others suspect something more sinister. Hence the uproar for a Central probe.

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Revolt In Goa Congress

Trouble continues to multiply for the ruling Congress in Goa in the run up to the Assembly poll on June 2. Encouraged by the Congress Party’s increasing dynastic inclinations at the Centre, several State leaders have challenged the State Congress decision to enforce “one-family one ticket” principle in the distribution of party nominations. Revolting against the policy, as many as eight senior party leaders have fielded their family members as independent candidates against the party’s official nominees. Even Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane’s son Vishwajeet is contesting as an independent from Valpot, which neighbours his father’s constituency of Partem. The Congress High Command supported the State unit’s policy on the plea that the 40-member Assembly should not just comprise 16 families. In fact, things have gone so far that some leaders have even started questioning the Gandhi family’s moral authority in the matter when it fields Sonia Gandhi and Rahul without batting an eyelid!

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Mayawati Warns Bureaucracy

UP’s new Chief Minister, Mayawati, has swiftly got down to serious business of pulling the State out of what Governor Rajeshwar described in his address to the joint session of the State legislature as Mulayam Singh’s “corrupt, lawless mafia raj”.  The CM has given two months to the State officials to mend matters. At a marathon four-and-half hour meeting in Lucknow without any tea or lunch break, the CM told the officers from Principal Secretaries down to the district level to concentrate on improving the law and order situation. She warned them that she would start visiting the districts after two months and see things for herself. She is also giving top priority to development, for which she has created two new Ministries---Urban Integrated Development and Rural Integrated Development. Both are being headed by hand-picked Cabinet Ministers.

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Apang Opposes Fresh Delimitation

Former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Gegong Apang has strongly opposed fresh delimitation of the Assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh. He has told Chairman of the Delimitation Commission, Justice Kuldeep Singh (Retd) that any change would go against the interest of the people and result in social conflicts among the peace-loving people of the State. Apang should know with his unrivalled experience as the State’s Chief Minister for 23 years. The former Chief Election Commissioner, the late P.V. Perri Shastri, had recommended the present 60 Assembly constituencies only after extensively touring the State and consulting the people at a number of public meetings. Some State leaders have suggested delimitation of constituencies on the basis of population. Apang feels this should be done only if additional seats are allotted to the State, both for the Assembly and Parliament.

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SEZ Problems Continues In W. Bengal

There seems to be no end to the troubles for the Buddhadeb Government in West Bengal  in regard to Special Economic Zone (SEZ) projects at Singur and Nandigram. Mamata Banerjee seems hellbent on keeping the problem of farmland acquisition burning prior to the Panchayat elections next month. Last week, Mamata’s supporters, alongwith the members of Krishi Bachao Committee (Save Farmland Committee), clashed with the police while trying to reclaim the Singur land. Twenty Trinamool activist and two policemen were injured in a series of clashes with the police. Interestingly, the Trinamool activists these days are increasingly unleashing demonstrations at both Singur and Nandigram particularly on Sundays when the State administration and the police are relatively less alert than on the working days.

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Gogoi Woos Industrialists

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has visited the country’s business capital Mumbai recently to hardsell the Union Government’s revamped North East Industrial Promotion Policy (NEIPP) and woo the industrialists. In several interactions with captains of  industry and businessmen, he apprised them of the new policy under which the region constitutes a whole new SEZ for prospective investors. He has assured incentives to all industrial units for their expansion anywhere in the region. Moreover, the distinction between “thrust” and “non-thrust” industries, made in the earlier policy of 1997, has been discontinued. Importantly, the subsidy for capital investment has been increased from 15 per cent to 30 per cent. All in all, Gogoi has every reason to keep his fingers crossed for big investments in the strategic region. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

 

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