Chandigarh : Veteran Shiromani Akali Dal leader and party MP from Tarn Taran Ranjit Singh Brahmpura made an interesting observation when he got up to address the Akali Dal’s 97th anniversary conference yesterday at Manji Sahib Hall in the Golden Temple complex saying majority of those present were with grey beards. What he did not say that majority of the participants from the younger generation were either clean shaven or with trimmed beards. It was for the first time that they had attended an Akali Dal event at this historic avenue that was dumped about three decades back when Parkash Singh Badal took over its reins.

The Manji Sahib stage has been witness to almost all the major events that constitute the Sikh struggle beginning 1920 when the Akali Dal was formed at Akal Takht on December 14 as volunteer core of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee set up earlier on November 15. Prefix Shiromani was added two years later to Akali Dal.

However, but for the optics, nothing inspiring was said from the stage. The Akal leaders have forgotten even the Panthic idiom. Sukhbir Singh Badal was advised by his advisers after the party formed government in 2007 to distance himself from ‘Panth’ in case he was to translate his dream of ruling for 25 years into reality. The Shiromani Akali Dal had opted to become semi Akali Dal at its 75th anniversary conference at Moga in February 1996 and gave the slogan of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat. The Akali Dal had experimented with this thesis earlier once. However, this transformation was in the backdrop of changing situation after militancy had been curbed. The party has returned to Amritsar to reconnect to the past after humiliating drubbing in February 2017 Assembly elections and reinvent itself for 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Gurcharan Singh Tohra was the last Akali leader from the Panthic fold. There is certain code that is observed when a political conference is organised at Manji Sahib as this has to be in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib. No Zindabad slogans can be raised in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib. Here was the violation as Parkash Singh Badal Zindabad slogans were raised by the participants and none, not even Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh, stopped them. It is the duty of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief to see that the Maryada is observed.

The Akali Dal shut down its office in the Golden Temple complex long time back, much before its sprawling corporate style office was opened in Chandigarh that otherwise remains deserted. The functioning of the Akali Dal in Amritsar used to be different, like that of a party rooted among the masses.

Sukhbir tried to rebut the criticism that his family has monopolised the party. But then this applies to the entire leadership at every level as from party of masses, the Akali Dal has turned dynastic. It is the practice that matters. This is true of almost every leader in this party who belongs to a particular family.

It is pertinent to recall that it is the SGPC that used to play a vital role in the Panthic functioning of the Akali Dal but this once all powerful statutory body is subservient, not just to the Akali Dal but to the Badals.

Sukhbir Badal is the first Akali Dal president with tied beard. He could have untie his beard at least for the Manji Sahib function in case the effort was to retrieve the lost space in the Panthic domain.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi played the Hindutva card and stopped talking of Gujarat model in the Gujarat Assembly elections. The BJP is trying to balance Vikas with Hindutva. The Akali Dal was a party of the masses but rooted in the Panthic stream.

The Akali Dal would have to evolve carefully crafted and balanced agenda to revive itself. At the same time, the party needs complete overhaul.

In the absence of any concrete steps, this exercise of organising its 97th anniversary conference at Manji Sahib Hall would end in futility as it failed to set any agenda.