What Does Victory Look Like?

The Sarbat Khalsa passed many important resolutions yesterday but how can we implement these resolutions? How can this movement achieve victory? What does victory even look like? To me, victory is creating an environment in which the Panth has the sovereignty to implement its resolutions without interference. 

The success of this movement will ultimately depend on seizing political power in Punjab. This means (most importantly) having Panthic Gursikhs take control of SGPC and also having Panthic Gursikhs or at least allies in charge of the Punjab government. The Badals, whether they realize it or not, are a block on progress in the Panth. Their removal from positions of political power has become necessary.

Gursikhs have not traditionally been very successful at politics in Punjab. Strategy is lacking. Knowledge of the compromises and deal-making required to win is lacking. And most importantly, unity is lacking. With the right planning, we can change that. This is where the Sarbat Khalsa movement can help. 

Let us be clear: Panthic Gursikhs will struggle to achieve progress without the official levers of power in Punjab. The challenge will be on how to organize the Panth to achieve political power without having the whole process co-opted by people who think along the same lines of the Badals. This line of thinking conflates their being in power and Panthic interest as going hand in hand. Many people will seek to hijack the movement to serve their personal ambitions. The Panth must guard against this by ensuring that genuine Gursikhs are being put forward in leadership positions. 

Phase 1: Organizing to Win

SGPC Elections

We are likely to see SGPC elections happen within the next year or so. They are due pending the outcome of a court case. Ultimately, one of the most practical things the next Sarbat Khalsa can do is to organize Panthic candidates for the SGPC elections. As a minimum starting point, there should be one unified Panthic slate running against Badal party members. Competing "Panthic parties" who put forward candidates should run the risk of being declared thankaiya for going against the will of the Panth by causing disunity and confusion. 

A unified Panthic slate would automatically make things competitive and with the right leadership, campaign, candidates and money, victory over Badal's party is achievable. It will not be easy but it is achievable. Bhai Amrik Singh and other Gursikhs sought to win control over SGPC in 1980 but failed to oust Tohra. Many Sikhs will need to be persuaded. They may still see Badal's party as the safer bet. They may be leery of a new group coming in and potentially causing instability. The unified Panthic slate must prove that they are the party of Sikh principles and not the party of anger and grievance. Prominent Sikhs includings Babas and others with followings who have traditionally given support to Badal must be persuaded to support the Panthic slate. This will probably be best accomplished by persuasion rather than by threats. They must be convinced to be on the right side of history. 

Ultimately, control over the SGPC is necessary in order to reform it (Resolution 8). Reforms could include banning political parties from being involved in SGPC politics and I think there would also be efforts to remove the Takhts from SGPC control and perhaps vest them in the control of the World Sikh Parliament (Resolution 5). The resolutions passed yesterday lack detail but hopefully they will be fleshed out in April at the next Sarbat Khalsa. Ultimately, the corrupt election system that elects the SGPC must be scrapped but control is necessary before any of this can become possible.

Failure to defeat Badal's party in the SGPC elections will be a body blow to this movement and it would likely cement Sukhbir Badal's control over the Panth for several years longer. As long as Akali Dal (Badal) members have a majority in the SGPC, they will always be subject to fulfilling the political interests of their party leaders. Victory in the SGPC elections will require playing by the rules as they exist, not as we wish them to be. Dirty tactics will be employed by the other side but Panthic candidates must learn to cope with this and overcome it. 

Upon the Panth winning a majority of seats in the SGPC elections, the SGPC will become easier to reform. Takht Jathedars who have been appointed by the Sarbat Khalsa will actually be able to take their seats at their respective Takhts. Resources will come back to the Panth's disposal and the most important work can take off in earnest: Sikhi Parchaar.

Punjab Assembly Elections

Next, in 2017 we will have the Punjab assembly elections. For the Panth, SGPC elections are probably more important. For the Badal family, Punjab assembly elections are more important. The Badals derive most of their power from running Punjab, not running the SGPC. And in order to eliminate the Badals from their main power base, strategic thinking is necessary. Looking at previous Punjab assembly election results, we can see that Panthic parties do very poorly. They are barely on the map. As Sikhs become a smaller proportion of Punjab's population, it is unrealistic to gain power by running a Sikh party, even if that party is relatively unified (which has always been a struggle). Even if there is a unified Panthic party running, Sikh votes will still go to the other 3 major parties: Akali Dal Badal, Congress and AAP.

If victory alone is not possible then a partnership with one of the other parties is necessary. Badal's party and Congress are clearly unacceptable to Panthic Gursikhs and so that leaves AAP as the only viable candidate for a partnership. Any partnership with AAP will have to be clearly defined. For starters, AAP should have nothing to do with the SGPC and Sikh affairs. Many Gursikhs seem somewhat confused on this point because SGPC and Punjab assembly elections are so closely conflated in the minds of many Sikhs. One of the conditions of support must be that AAP supports Panthic issues but that its leadership must not seek to interfere in Panthic affairs.

The Panth's checklist of conditions for supporting AAP must also be a realistic checklist. We can ask for AAP support in freeing political prisoners but we cannot expect things that are not in their control. Unrealistic demands can doom us and can doom the Panthic-AAP partnership in the long run. Panthic Gursikhs must also recognize that AAP will go after non-Sikh voters and we must have the maturity to understand that AAP is not a perfect vehicle and that it will sometimes do things that offend Sikh sensibilities. 

Panthic Gursikhs can craft a number of issues on which AAP must support the Panthic position. For this, Panthic Gursikhs can get behind AAP in a unified manner. As there are many issues with Punjab's economy hurting Badal's popularity, AAP can win in Punjab, especially if they are in a formal alliance with the Panth. Fortunately, AAP is already looking to ally with Panthic Gursikhs.

Again, the Punjab government is not directly relevant to Akal Takht or control of our historical Gurdwaras. That power currently lies with the SGPC. However, it would be a powerful step if the Chief Minister of Punjab understands that he or she has no role in interfering in Sikh institutions. Once Sikh institutions are free from unwelcome political control and influence, it could lead to great things for the Panth. Having a pro-Sikh party in power can also help Sikhs free themselves from harassment by Punjab police and security forces. With a genuine ally in the Chief Minister's office, Sikhs can rise from their second-class status. On this point, I think one of the conditions for supporting AAP is for them to review the criminal justice system in Punjab. Policies in place in western countries such as an independent police complaint commission must be instituted. With time, other reforms must also take place such as body cameras on police officers. Punjab police must exist to serve the people; not to abuse them. 

Phase 2: Achieving Real Progress

Defeating the Badals will be a hollow victory if Sikh principles do not ultimately prevail. Defeating Badal is one thing; replacing him with someone credibly better is not as automatic as some think it is. Institutional reforms are necessary. As mentioned above, there must be a firewall between politicians and Sikh institutions. This will give Sikh institutions the integrity needed to achieve great things.

Some will see the defeat of the Badals as an opportunity to enact an extreme or narrow agenda. Even worse, some will see it as an opportunity to carry out their personal vendettas. All of this must be carefully policed by the Panth. Panthic Gursikhs must have a broad and inclusive agenda in order to win control of and remain in control of our institutions.

Institutional reforms will become more difficult the longer it takes to implement them. Maybe the newly elected SGPC will begin to like things the way they are. Maybe the next non-Badal Chief Minister will also want some fancy titles for his re-election campaign. Reforms must be implemented quickly or else we may risk ending up with a system that's even worse than what we have currently.

The Sarbat Khalsa movement may not be able to achieve everything it sets out to achieve. However, one thing it can achieve is removing the Badal machine from power. This will begin with the SGPC elections and will continue with the Punjab assembly elections. After Panthic control is asserted over the SGPC in particular, Sikhi-inspired reforms and Gurmat-based leadership can become a real thing again in the Panth. Failing to win power will make reform so much more difficult to achieve.