From ‘sense of closure’ to reset, the state of Akali crisis

Jalandhar: With Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh calling a meeting of the five Singh Sahiban (Sikh high priests) on Jan 28 to discuss the ongoing "Panthic issues" (read Akali Dal crisis), it is a recognition by the Jathedar himself that everything is back to square one in every respect.
The Akali crisis remains unresolved, and the Akal Takht Jathedar is still on slippery turf, once again facing the challenge of restoring its authority and credibility while making his next step acceptable to a larger section of the community. The glory of the spectacle of Dec 2, 2024, has already been significantly eclipsed, and instead of any reconciliation, another round of complaints before the Akal Takht has started.
When the Akali crisis reached Akal Takht on July 1 and the latter declared SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal "tankhaiya", the larger Sikh community expected the Sikh high priests to not only address the issues and allegations against him but also help rejuvenate the Akali Dal back to strength by initiating a process of reconciliation within the Sikh polity and facilitating some sort of reconstruction of the Akali Dal. Though the Sikh high priests avoided widening the scope of their task and confined themselves to specifically asking the warring factions to unite, they also provided an opening to expand its base through a fair and genuine-looking enrollment process, which could help inspire confidence in the community.
However, over 50 days later, it is clear that not only does larger Panthic unity remain a distant dream, but even the SAD leadership, which was together until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, remains fragmented, and the enrollment process becomes the biggest contentious issue. The crisis has also engulfed the Sikh clergy, as SGPC started an enquiry against Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and barred him from functioning as Jathedar over 18-year-old allegations. Trashing the allegations, he was on record saying that he was being targeted for the Dec 2 pronouncement. During this, Sukhbir's camp has been challenging him. The material put out against Giani Harpreet Singh, remaining unsubstantiated so far in the last over a month, has provided fuel to sections of social media who have been portraying the Sikh institutions and leaders in a bad light. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh earlier questioned the SGPC enquiry, both in terms of its authority and on merits.
"There is a sense of closure after the events at Akal Takht yesterday," posted former SGPC general secretary and Master Tara Singh's granddaughter Kiranjot Kaur on Dec 3, 2024. She appeared to be sharing the sentiments of the larger community. However, in the last few days, she, along with other dissident leaders, has already called on Akal Takht Jathedar to express concern over "SAD leadership not abiding by the Dec 2 directive and belittling the Akal Takht hukamnama (edict)".
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