Fundamentalism and the Sikh Religious Tradition by T.N. Madan
Fundamentalism and the Sikh Religious Tradition by T.N. Madan
Fundamentalism and the Sikh Religious Tradition by T.N. Madan
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have, without solving any problems of <strong>the</strong> Punjab, of law <strong>and</strong> order, or separatism, been<br />
seriously damaging to <strong>the</strong> country.<br />
The statement that General Shahbeg Singh was dismissed for corruption, is not<br />
correct. Actually, General Shahbeg Singh was removed under a special clause in <strong>the</strong><br />
Army Act, which had never been used earlier. It was invoked in his case only a day<br />
before retirement. Under this clause he was not entitled to even a trial. But Shahbeg<br />
Singh approached <strong>the</strong> Court, <strong>and</strong> he was cleared of <strong>the</strong> supposed charges against him.<br />
Thereafter he sought his reinstatement, <strong>and</strong> even approached <strong>the</strong> Government for it,<br />
without success.<br />
Whatever be <strong>the</strong> facts leading to <strong>the</strong> army action, one thing is singularly<br />
unexplained, as to why <strong>the</strong> day chosen for it was <strong>the</strong> Martyrdom Day of Guru Arjun, <strong>the</strong><br />
Founder of <strong>the</strong> Golden Temple, when normally thous<strong>and</strong>s of pilgrims had to be present.<br />
This sadistic choice of time cannot be explained on any rational or administrative<br />
grounds, except that <strong>the</strong> object of <strong>the</strong> attack could perhaps be to teach <strong>the</strong> <strong>Sikh</strong>s a lesson<br />
<strong>and</strong> to break <strong>the</strong>ir spirit of resistance. No serious scholar can fail to notice <strong>the</strong><br />
implications of <strong>the</strong> choice made.<br />
An equally important fact is <strong>the</strong> role of <strong>the</strong> ruling party in allegedly organising<br />
<strong>the</strong> massacre of over ten thous<strong>and</strong> <strong>Sikh</strong>s all over India, after <strong>the</strong> assassination of Prime<br />
Minister Indira G<strong>and</strong>hi. Highly responsible personalities, including <strong>the</strong> former Chief<br />
Justice of India, have issued cogent <strong>and</strong> credible reports, accusing Congressmen of<br />
organising <strong>the</strong> killings, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Administration of negligence or participation in <strong>the</strong><br />
continued commission of large-scale crimes for about three days in <strong>the</strong> capital. Here it is<br />
relevant to state that to treat <strong>the</strong> minorities as hostages <strong>and</strong> to retaliate against <strong>the</strong>m, so as<br />
to pressurise <strong>the</strong> majority elsewhere, has been a known policy of some senior Congress<br />
leaders. The relevant issue is not so much as to why <strong>the</strong> perpetrators of <strong>the</strong> crimes have<br />
not been punished so far, but why those took place at all. For, that <strong>by</strong> itself could explain<br />
subsequent reluctance or failure to punish anyone so far. It is well known that following<br />
<strong>the</strong> assasination of Mahatma G<strong>and</strong>hi, no Maharastrian was touched, nor was a Tamilian<br />
destroyed in Delhi or elsewhere, after Rajiv G<strong>and</strong>hi's assassination. A biased scholar may<br />
decide to omit <strong>the</strong>se realities of Indian life, but <strong>the</strong>se facts cannot fail to register on a<br />
perceptive or <strong>Sikh</strong> mind.<br />
In conclusion, we find that <strong>the</strong>re has been a continuous silence <strong>and</strong> omission on<br />
<strong>the</strong> part of <strong>the</strong> learned author, both about <strong>the</strong> salient facts of <strong>the</strong> Punjab Problem, which<br />
<strong>the</strong> Central Government seemed reluctant to solve, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> more important fact as to why,<br />
despite all administrative, military <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r measures, <strong>the</strong> issues that arose in 1966,<br />
remain unsolved <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> situation has become more tangled.<br />
Results of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Sikh</strong> World-View :<br />
The burden of <strong>Madan</strong>'s paper is that <strong>Sikh</strong>ism is a split ideology, one of <strong>the</strong> first<br />
Gurus, quite akin to Hinduism, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> second of <strong>Fundamentalism</strong>, as introduced <strong>by</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Sixth <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Tenth Master, involving even political objectives. We have stated in <strong>the</strong><br />
first section of this article that <strong>Sikh</strong>ism is a harmonious <strong>and</strong> rational whole-life ideology,<br />
just as are Judaism <strong>and</strong> Islam. However, <strong>the</strong>re is a difference as well. Pacificism <strong>and</strong><br />
withdrawal appeared in <strong>the</strong> former in <strong>the</strong> sixth century B.C., <strong>and</strong> in <strong>the</strong> latter as Sufism.<br />
These have been significantly avoided in <strong>Sikh</strong>ism, because of <strong>the</strong> doctrines as prescribed<br />
in Guru Granth <strong>and</strong> as lived <strong>by</strong> <strong>the</strong> Gurus. Struggle for justice, including that in <strong>the</strong> sociopolitical<br />
Field has been a religious objective with <strong>the</strong> Gurus <strong>and</strong> in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Sikh</strong> faith. While