Those with shorn hair, trimmed beards claiming to be 'Punjab de waris': Sukhbir

Jalandhar: Speaking at a rally of his party at Bassi Pathana on Sunday, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal took a strong dig at SAD (Waris Punjab De) leadership, stating that those with shorn hair and trimmed beards were claiming to be 'Punjab de waris' (custodians of Punjab) and would talk about Khalsa Panth. He also attacked Dakha MLA Manpreet Aiyali on the same ground, alleging that members of his family were not keeping unshorn hair. Trimming a beard or having shorn hairwas a strict no-no for Akali leaders. In fact, the earlier rules of Akali Dal, for instance the rules and regulations published in 1948, mentioned that those enrolling themselves for its membership should be Amritdhari. Most of the senior leaders would be Amritdhari. Sukhbir Singh Badal became the first non-Amritdhari president of SAD in 2008. Though there were some leaders and workers who were not Amritdhari and some non-Sikhs could also be associated with it, till the 1990s, nobody coming from a Sikh family could become an Akali leader without being sabat surat (with unshorn hair and complete beard). Even most of the Sikh leaders in Congress sported this saabat soorat appearance till the 1980s. How strong the condition was could be understood from the fact that during the Giderbaha by-election in the mid-1990s, when former chief minister and the then SAD president Parkash Singh Badal picked up his nephew Manpreet Singh Badal as the party candidate, the latter specially partook Amrit at Akal Takht. However, later Manpreet Badal started trimming his beard and then he became the first Akali MLA and a minister with a trimmed beard. In the Sikh tradition, he would be called a patit (apostate). A major precedent was set that a trimmed beard or shorn hair was not taboo for growth in the Akali Dal. In the subsequent years, it was normalised and made acceptable. Leaders from a Sikh background with trimmed beards or shorn hair started getting posts and tickets in Akali Dal. The second SAD MLA with a trimmed beard was Manpreet Badal's cousin Jagbir Brar, who was given a ticket in 2007 from Jalandhar Cantt. Once Badals' confidante, Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, who is now AAP MLA from Giderbaha, was also an example. In April 2017, Sikh high priests at Akal Takht declared 21 sabat surat candidates tankhaiya (guilty of Panthic misconduct) and separately directed religious service to another 18 patit (apostate) candidates from Congress, SAD and Aam Aadmi Party, who had appeared at Akal Takht, for going to Dera Sacha Sauda Sirsa seeking help in elections despite an Akal Takht directive to the Sikhs for severing ties with the dera. Six among the patit Sikh candidates were from SAD. They included Dilraj Singh Bhunder (senior SAD leader Balwinder Singh Bhunder's son), Gulzar Singh, Nishan Singh Budhlada, Darshan Singh Kot Fatta and Jagdeep Singh Nakai. As the 'patit' appearance became acceptable in Akali Dal, in the last years, the trend spilled over to alternate Sikh spaces also, including in the radical stream. There has been no dearth of activists with shorn hair or trimmed beards talking about Sikh issues and causes. Actor- turned- Sikh activist late Deep Sidhu and then Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh became prominent examples of this trend. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Chandigarh | Silver Rate in Chandigarh | Bank Holidays in Chandigarh | Public Holidays in Chandigarh | Chandigarh AQI | Weather in Chandigarh | Petrol Price in Chandigarh | Diesel Price in Chandigarh | CNG Price in Chandigarh | LPG Price in Chandigarh Stay updated with the latest Chandigarh news. Download the TOI App.