Restrictions on Dhadrianwale go as Damdami Taksal's influence wanes, conversions grow
Jalandhar: Sikh preacher
, who was given a pardon and had five-year-old restrictions imposed on his congregations lifted by the
on Wednesday, was the most influential Sikh preacher and would attract thousands to his congregations until an attempt was made on his life in May 2016, during which a fellow preacher was killed.
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He was also among the main Sikh preachers who led protests over
in Oct 2015, which, along with the Behbal Kalan police firing incident, became the biggest reason for SAD and Badals losing ground on the Panthic turf, the one which started with SAD losing the 2017 assembly elections.
It later emerged that Dhadrianwale was attacked by
followers amid bitter statements between him and taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh Dhumma.
Later, the taksal and a few others took exception to Dhadrianwale's interpretation of the Gurbani and Sikh history, and complained to the Akal Takht. He even faced threats of physical harm by some groups opposing him.
Subsequently, a directive was issued against his congregations, and Dhadrianwale confined his congregations to his dera near Patiala.
Taksal had an alliance with the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal and wielded major influence in taking decisions of major Sikh institutions, including the Sikh high priests and SGPC.
Even as SAD, and especially Badals, faced the heat on the issue of sacrilege, Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura police firing, and other issues, the taksal and the Sant Samaj led by Dhumma openly supported SAD in assembly and parliamentary elections.
During these years of turmoil within the Sikh religio-political sphere, conversions by Christian pastors also became a huge issue. Though these were a statewide phenomenon, they especially increased in Majha.
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There was a feeling in Sikh circles that unshackling Dhadrianwale after reconciliation could help counter conversions, as he not only attracted huge numbers but, despite restrictions placed on him, also attracted an online response, including among non-Sikhs.
Equations changed in the last few months within Sikh institutions, after Dhumma extended support to the BJP-led Mahayuti in the Maharashtra assembly elections.
Dhumma's support to BJP came even as the Sukhbir-led SAD alleged that the RSS and BJP were taking control of major Sikh bodies in Punjab and were behind trouble within SAD.
There were some bitter statements by a few SAD leaders, followed by counters from the taksal's spokespersons, and then things cooled down.
However, after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) executive committee sacked the jathedars of Akal Takht and Kesgarh Sahib, leading to huge turmoil in the panth, Dhumma launched a frontal attack on Sukhbir.
After holding a meeting at Anandpur Sahib on March 14, he announced plans to hold a protest outside the SGPC head office in Amritsar during the SGPC's general body meeting.
At this juncture, SAD accused Dhumma of collusion with BJP, branding him a "tool of the central govt and agencies".
On Wednesday, after his appearance, Dhadrianwale also underlined the issue of conversions and the dire need for dharam parchar (
). Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj has been strongly underlining the issue of conversions. MSID:: 121320083 413 |
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