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Who will become the protector of the Sikhs in Haryana?
Published : Oct 12, 2024, 11:46 am IST
Updated : Oct 12, 2024, 11:46 am IST
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Who will become the protector of the Sikhs in Haryana?
Who will become the protector of the Sikhs in Haryana?

With only one proven Kesadhari Sikh in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, much of blame for this decline falls on the provincial Sikh leadership.

This election has raised concerns as only one Kesadhari (turbaned) Sikh has managed to secure a seat in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, marking a disappointing trend. While three Sikhs have been elected as MLAs from the Congress party, only one of them is a Kesadhari Sikh. Nirmal Singh Mohra (Ambala City) and Dr. Mandeep Singh Chatha (Pihowa) won from their respective constituencies, but Jarnail Singh, who was elected from the Ratia (reserved) seat, is the only proven Kesadhari Sikh.

Nirmal Singh Mohra is an experienced political figure who has been elected as an MLA four times. His family lineage is connected to martyrs. Although he was a minister during Congress governments, he never represented the Sikh community explicitly, despite his Sikh background. Due to being denied a party ticket twice, he left Congress, only to return soon after. In this election, while Nirmal Singh secured a ticket, his daughter, Chitra Sarwara, was also a ticket contender but didn’t succeed. She rebelled and ran as an independent candidate from the Ambala Cantt constituency against Anil Vij, a strong BJP leader known as 'Gabbar.' However, she did not perform well, finishing third.

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Nirmal Singh's father was associated with the Arya Samaj, and perhaps for this reason, Nirmal Singh was never seen wearing a turban, even in political posters. On the other hand, Dr. Mandeep Chatha created the appearance of being a turbaned Sikh, but this image was limited to election posters and during rallies with Rahul Gandhi, indicating a shallow portrayal of his Sikh identity.

Haryana's Sikh population is approximately 12.44 lakh, which is about 4.91% of the state's total population. The Sikh coordination committee urged the BJP, Congress, JJP, and INLO to allocate party tickets based on this proportion. The committee claimed that such an approach would ensure 15-20 Sikh candidates in the elections. However, despite Congress fielding four Jat Sikhs and one Dalit Sikh, only one of them had the appearance of a Sikh.

While there are now three Sikh MLAs, none of them have a chance to become ministers as they are in the opposition. Moreover, since the BJP has no Sikh representatives, the possibility of a Haryanvi Sikh becoming a minister remains slim, as it did in the last two assemblies. In 2014, Bakhshish Singh Virk (Independent) was appointed Chief Parliamentary Secretary in the Manohar Lal Khattar government, but in the reconstituted 2019 government, the only Sikh minister, hockey hero Sandeep Singh (Saini), was removed after facing allegations of sexual harassment from a female coach.

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Six months ago, when the BJP replaced Mr. Khattar with Naib Singh Saini as the Haryana Chief Minister, Sandeep Singh’s ministerial tenure also ended, and he did not even receive a party ticket. Bakhshish Singh Virk was a proven Sikh leader. Before him, during Congress rule, Harmohinder Singh Chatha (father of Mandeep Chatha) left a significant impact on Haryana’s politics, both as Speaker and as a minister, while also defending the interests of the Sikh community. Earlier, Tara Singh also served as the Speaker of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha and as a minister for some time. He also represented Kurukshetra in the Lok Sabha. Similarly, CPI leader Harnam Singh fought for the interests of Haryanvi Sikhs as both a comrade and a legislator. During INLD leader Om Prakash Chautala’s tenure, Sikhs were given reasonable representation.

Now, with only one proven Kesadhari Sikh in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, much of the blame for this decline falls on the provincial Sikh leadership. This leadership succeeded in establishing the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee but neglected the interests of the broader Sikh community in their internal battles for control. This unfortunate trend continues. After the election results, there should have been urgent discussions about protecting the interests of the Sikh community in light of the new political situation. However, there has been no rhetoric or action in this regard. The silence and incompetence of those who claim to be protectors of Sikhism reveal that their devotion to religion is merely performative, driven by personal greed above all else.

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ROZANA SPOKESMAN

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