Cult Leader Insults Guru Sahib; All Hell Breaks Loose
Narinder Singh
the world have taken strong notice of the recent controversial and
blasphemous acts of the Dera Sacha Sauda Cult leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim
in which he dressed himself as Guru Gobind Singh Ji and mimicked the
sacred Sikh Amrit-Sanchar ceremony carried out by Guru Sahib on
Vaisakhi of 1699.
In a mockery of the historic Amrit sanchar more than three centuries
ago, Gurmit Ram Rahim prepared a Ruhafza Sharbat (flavored milk)
drink, labeled it as the 'Jam-e-Insa' (drink of humanity),
administered it to the Sacha Sauda followers and announced the
formation of the 'Insa Panth'.
To inaugurate the ceremony, Ram Rahim first administered the drink to
seven men and announced the forty-seven golden rules of the so-called
Insa Panth which all members of the congregation must abide by.
Later, Ram Rahim appeared in front of the seven men, whom he titled
the 'Sat Sitare' (Seven Stars), satirizing the 'Panj Pyare' (beloved
five) of the Sikhs and asked them to carry out a ceremony to initiate
him in this newly formed religious order. At this ceremony, Ram Rahim
was dressed in clothing much like the type adorned by Guru Gobind
Singh Ji and mimicked historical accounts of Vasakhi 1699.
Later after this event took place, tensions broke out in Bathinda in
which Sikhs protested the acts of Ram Rahim's cult. Sacha Sauda
followers also came out to oppose the protesting Sikhs and the scene
became violent when at least twenty-five persons were badly injured.
According to witnesses, Punjab Police officers just looked on as
cultists beat the Sikh protestors with sticks and stones. Once the
fight began to even out, the police finally decided to intervene and
the tense situation was brought under control.
Call for Strong Action
Panthic Organizations have submitted this case to Akal Takht Sahib and
the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and asked the Sikh
leadership to take strong actions to counter the Sacha Sauda
propaganda. Several foreign based Panthic organizations have also
submitted appeals with the Akal Takht Sahib to take strong actions
against Ram Rahim in the form of a HukamNama similar to the one issued
in 1978 against the nakli-Nirankaris. Under pressure from the
protesting Sangat, the Takht Jathedars have called for an all Panthic
meet at Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, Sabo Di Talwandi.
Secret Pact with Badal?
Panthic Weekly has also learned that Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema, special
assistant to Parkash Badal asked the Takht Jathedars to postpone any
announcement or verdict directed at the cultist Baba. Akali Dal
insiders have revealed that a secret pact between Parkash Badal and
the cult leader was worked out. In the deal, Badal has assured the
Sirsa Baba that no religious or police action would be taken against
him. Panthic activists have long warned that internally Parkash Badal
has had cozy relationships with cult leaders such the Ram Rahim of
Sucha Sauda, Aushutosh of Nurmehal, and even notorious Gurbachan Sinh
of the Nakli-Nirankaris.
Panthic insiders have revealed that early this week, the Jathedar of
Akal Takht Sahib, Joginder Singh Vedanti--who incidentally was
appointed by Badal and his party--held a meeting with Takht Jathedars
to cancel the Panthic meeting at Bathinda. Over objections from other
Jathedars, Vedanti was overruled. Numerous representatives of
organizations such as Shaahbaaz Khalsa, GURSIKH and Panthic Weekly
attempted to contact the Jathedar but he has not responded. Despite
his attempts to uphold Badal's pact, Vedanti was seen on television
Thursday saying the Khalsa Panth needs to take strong action.
Deja Vu All Over Again
A representative of the Khalsa Alliance, while talking with Panthic
Weekly, compared the Bathinda incident with the various Nirankari
clashes that occurred in the late 1970's. Those clashes came to a
climax on Vaisakhi of 1978 when thirteen innocent Sikhs were killed by
the armed Nirankaris with the aid of local Police. The Nirankari
leader Gurbhachan Sinh had paraded the streets of Amritsar Sahib on
Vaisakhi mimicking Sikh traditions. Copying the ideology of Guru
Gobind Singh Ji, Gurbhachan Nirankari had promised to form 'Sat
Sitare' in comparison to Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Punj Pyare. That
incident had involved hundreds of Sikhs peacefully marching and
chanting hymns when dozens of armed gunmen opened fire on them with
automatic weaponry.
Silence of Badal and SAD
Not surprisingly, the Shiromani Akal Dal (B) government which failed
to take any actions against the Nirankaris in 1978 for their rampage
is again showing reluctance in taking timely actions against the Sacha
Sauda Cult. Neither Parkash Badal, nor his son, the acting Chief
Minister of Punjab, was available to comment on this issue. An office
bearer of Shiromani Akal Dal (B)'s headquarters told the press that
the Chief Minister has asked all Punjabis to work together to preserve
the peace in Punjab by rising above ideological differences.
Bathinda Clash
Miscreants belonging to the "Sacha" Sauda cult virtually took over the
government mini-secretariat in Bathinda for an entire day. Their
volunteers assembled around the complex armed with fighting staffs and
other weapons. Several trucks loaded with bricks and rocks were
brought in for offensive use against the protesting Sikh Sangat.
By 10:00am the cultists had assembled a large tent along with a stage
on the main road facing the secretariat. One after another, pro-cult
speakers began to deliver hateful remarks against the protesting Sikh
Sangat. One speaker openly challenged the Sikh community and declared
"we have drunk the jam-e-insaa from our satguru, so go ahead and mess
with us, and we will prove that our guru is greater than your guru."
This was a direct challenge to the Sikhs that their cult leader was
greater than Guru Nanak-Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji. The speaker
further spewed, "our leader will ride a horse, and wear any dress he
wishes to wear. If anyone has the guts, try to stop him! If anyone
speaks against our satguru, we are willing to die, even if we will
create rivers of blood by this action."
Another speaker directly mocked the Sikhs by stating "soon we will
make sure that it will be 12:00 clock for the Sikhs." Another one
stated "To counter the Sikh we don't need 'premis' (the name used by
cultists to refer to their selves), our 'premanns' (women cultists)
are enough to handle them directly.
Speaker after speaker continued to mock and spew hatred against the
Sikh community, the police stood by silently as the hate speeches
continued for several hours. It was widely reported in the press that
when hooligan cultist attacked Sikhs protestors, and set fire to
vehicles, the police again stood by and watched all this silently.
The connection between the police and the cultist became clear when
the Bathinda Police Inspector General (IG) declared via a loud speaker
that no will be allowed to burn effigies of their leader anywhere in
Punjab.
Clashes in Patiala and other towns
Clashes between the Sirsa based cultists, Sikhs and the Police broke
out all over Punjab as Sikh protestors burned effigies of Ram Rahim
and vented their anger in the streets and markets of major Punjabi
towns, including Patiala, Amritsar Sahib, Jallandhar, Hoshairpur,
Gurdaspur, and Ludhiana. Protests have spread to areas outside of
Punjab with a sizable Sikh population, including, Delhi, Indore,
Jammu, Hyderabad, Ganganagar, and the states of UP, and Uttrakhand.