Sikh bodies to raise ‘Bargari Morcha’, missing ‘Saroops’ of Guru Granth Sahib issues ahead of polls

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New Delhi: As the 2022 assembly elections in Punjab draws closer, not only the political parties have begun indulging in horse-trading to bring down their opponents but the Sikh radical parties have also got an opportunity to gain significant political weightage and attract the attention of these political parties as well as the people of Punjab.

The announcement of the revival of Bargari Insaf Morcha and another agitation to trace the whereabouts of 328 Saroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) ahead of the beginning of the political campaign to 2022 assembly polls in Punjab is seen in the same spirit.

While talking to Zee News,  Jarnail Singh Sakhira, a close confidant of officiating parallel Jathedar of Akal Takht Bhai Dhian Singh Mand said that they would resume the Bargari Insaf Morcha in near future.

The Morcha had begun on June 1, 2018, seeking justice for the sacrilege of SGGS in 2015.

Despite vowing to not end the morcha before reaching a logical conclusion, Mand lifted the morcha in December 2018 after promises by the government that were never fulfilled.

Mand who was elected as the officiating parallel Jathedar of Akal Takht during a gathering of Sikhs held under the name of ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ had in recent past arrived at Golden Temple to seek forgiveness from Almighty for lifting the morcha and had also sought an apology from the ‘sangat’.

Sakhira said the government had promised them to put the perpetrators of sacrilege behind bars and had also assured them to release all the Sikh political prisoners following which they had agreed to lift the Morcha.

“Unfortunately none of the promises was fulfilled which has forced us to resume our Morcha,” he said. 

Politically speaking Mand who was the vice president of SAD (A) before being appointed as the parallel Jathedar of Akal Takht has good relations with SAD (A) president Simranjit Singh Mann and resumption of Bargari Insaf Morcha ahead of the beginning of the battle of the ballot in Punjab could give significant benefit to the party.

Another agitation that is in offing is to pressurize the Sikh’s single largest representative body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to find the whereabouts of the 328 Saroop of SGGS which the Sikh body claims had gone missing. 

Representatives of Sikh radical bodies including Hawara Panel, a panel constituted by parallel Jathedar of Akal Takht Jagtar Singh Hawara, currently in Tihar jail, Sikh radical parties including Awaz-e-Quom, Sirlath Jatha, Satkar Committee, Sikh Youth Federation, Bhinderanwala, etc. held a meeting and decided to resume the agitation to mount pressure on SGPC to trace the 328 missing Saroop of SGGS.

A think tank and one of the prominent members of Hawara Committee Professor Baljinder Singh said that during the meeting it was decided to resume the agitation and another meeting had been called in the first week of July to decide over the date of the beginning of agitation. He said the protests wouldn’t be confined to Amritsar alone but to all the cities of Punjab to attract people’s attention.

While alleging that SAD (B) had been using the SGPC’s platform for gaining political mileage, Professor Baljinder Singh said the Sikh leaders observed that it was the need of the hour to expose the intentions of SAD (B) ahead of assembly polls.

Political pundits here are of the view that the resumption of agitation to trace the whereabouts of 328 Saroop of SGGS could make a serious dent in the image of SAD(B) which has already separated from its long time political alliance partner BJP and was leaving nothing on chances to make a come back in Punjab polity.