They also blame the controversy on the Congress: “The Congress has a history of trying to weaken the  Akalis” says Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab Chief Minister. “Today it is a separate body for Haryana, tomorrow it could be separate bodies for the Majha, Doab, Malwa.” says Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of SAD(B).

They invoke a proud history — of the gurdwara reform movement that led to the SGPC’s, “the only body of its kind in India and the world”.   

This is a story of the growing centrality of the gurdwara in the community — the simple dharamsaal of the 16th and 17th centuries, which apart from being a religious centre, was a community hub and panchayatghar.

It is a saga of sacrifice by the panth to reclaim the gurdwara. From 1920 to 1925, the Akalis struggled against the mahants and the British government over control of their shrines. Among those arrested at the famous ‘Jaito ka Morcha’ was Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Akalis cite the Nehru-Master Tara Singh Pact of 1959 which decreed that the government would not interfere in the community’s religious affairs and that any amendment of the 1925 Act would only be made with a two-third majority of the SGPC. 

Finally, they invoke Punjab’s past in ways that suggest that the current calm is fragile: “Remember the tensions that flared up over the Dera Sacha Sauda issue,” says Parkash Singh Badal. “Can we take a chance with peace?” asks Harcharan Bains, media adviser to the Punjab CM.

... contd.