Prabjot Singh: Preparing For Conflict And Reorganizing Effective Panthic Leadership

"Despite the lack of eye-catching headlines...this was a pivotal exercise carried out by...panthic figures which will ultimately lay the groundwork for a future Sarbat Khalsa."

Image from Panth Sewak Collective’s Vishav Sikh Ikattarta

Prabjot Singh
July 26, 2023 | 16 min. read | Opinion 

I am not so concerned with how we dismantle the master's house, that is, which sets of theories we use to critique colonialism; but I am very concerned with how we (re)build our own house, our own houses. I have spent enough time taking down the master's house, and now I want most of my energy to go into envisioning and building our new house. 

-Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Dancing on our Turtle’s Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-creation, Resurgence and a New Emergence.

Punjab is facing a litany of challenges and crises today. 

From the looming climate and water crisis, catastrophic pollution levels linked to alarming cancer rates, agrarian distress and farmer suicides, the drug epidemic, mass migration of an entire generation, and political fragmentation–not to mention the genocide and ongoing repression of Sikhs that takes so many different forms today. 

This list of issues can go on and on. 

Naming the seemingly endless problems and identifying innovative ways to address them is important. There are a number of social commentators and activists who raise awareness on each of these issues while also leading localized initiatives to address them. While going through this exercise however, it's crucial that we critically analyze and reflect on the nature of these various challenges. 

There is an important distinction to be made between the root cause of a problem, and the symptom of a problem. 

ਰੋਗੁਦਾਰੂਦੋਵੈਬੁਝੈਤਾਵੈਦੁਸੁਜਾਣੁ॥

If one understands both the disease and the medicine, only then can they be considered a wise healer.

Looking at the current circumstances of the Panth and Punjab, there are two key structural causes of our problems. Our primary point of conflict is with the political structure of the Indian state which seeks to assert its absolute sovereignty over the land and bodies of the Panth and Punjab, leading to the subordination of our own social and political institutions. The second faultline is linked to the broader and ongoing impacts of modernity/coloniality and global imperialism. Both of these structures are inherently intertwined and cannot be neatly separated from one another although it's useful for us to identify their unique characteristics and impacts. 

When we talk about gulaami (slavery/subjugation), we are not just talking about the discrimination and mistreatment we face in India. The endless "problems" listed above are actually the symptoms of our powerlessness. Gulaami refers to our subjugation and lack of agency as Sikhs in the current world order. 

Both of these structures (the Indian state and the modern/colonial world order) have deeply impacted how we exist as Sikhs and operate in this world, as well as how we view the solutions to our problems. Navigating our relations with the different power structures in today's world (in South Asia and beyond), we are not engaging as equals or as a panth, but as a subordinated "ethnic group", "minority", or "nation"–citizens defined by the logic of colonial anthropologists and confined to the corridors of modern/Western political institutions. 

The underlying logic and methods of our activism are therefore largely disconnected from our own worldview, and rather than being steeped in gurmat are largely based around the logic and mechanisms of our oppressor. Without consciously self-determining the terms and substance of our liberation–the foundations of the alternative world (halemi raj) we aspire too–we are left with little more than what Frantz Fanon described as "White Liberty and White Justice". 

In other words, the impacts of colonialism and Indian nation-building have overlapped to disconnect us from Guru-Liv and our own sovereign institutions of sangat and the Guru Khalsa Panth. As a result, our systems of Gurdwara administration, panthic organizing, and even our spiritual and political discourse have become mired in the "limitations of ego (haumai)-driven knowledge-systems and institutions rather than gurmat". As important as it is to understand and identify our enemy's tactics, it is even more crucial that we critically reflect on how we exist and organize our response; the foundations of our future raj will be embedded in our amal (actions/praxis) today. In this sense, how we get to our destination is just as important, if not more important, than the destination itself. 

If our fundamental challenge stems from our gulaami within a world order that dislocates us from Sikhi and renders us powerless, our conception of our solution (ie. the medicine) must be rooted in asserting our sovereignty on our own terms and in line with who we are and aspire to be. 

In other words, the fundamental task before us today is rejuvenating the concrete structures of the Guru Khalsa Panth in terms of revitalizing our sidhant (principles/theory), organization and leadership, and our amal. 

Reframing our future steps by understanding our distinct formulation and structures of sovereignty is crucial to understanding our next steps:

The Guru Khalsa Panth always operated as a concrete institution with a clear distinction between the divine patshahi bestowed upon the Khalsa, and its objective to establish halemi raj in this world. The Panth itself was the overarching guiding force and organizational framework of Sikh mobilization. Through the mechanisms of collective leadership (manifested in the Sarbat Khalsa) and gurmatta-based decision making, the Panth always moved as a collective entity–temporarily organizing smaller jathay (units) or misls as necessary to accomplish immediate objectives. This organizational structure itself was acknowledged as the embodiment of the Khalsa’s sovereignty (patshahi) and the core power base upon which the Khalsa established external structures of raj (political governance/administration).  

In this sense, Sikh sovereignty (patshahi) has always been:

rooted in the institutions of the Khalsa itself rather than relying upon the dominant political structures of the time. From the base of sangat and decentralized jathay (units) to the governance of Sri Akaal Takhat and Sarbat Khalsa, the Khalsa builds its own power then expands outwards to establish halemi raj as an external political structure.

In order for us to successfully regenerate these institutions and effectively navigate the instability and conflict on our immediate horizon, we need to rejuvenate our panthic structures and re-establish our panthic command centre from where we can build internal consensus, allocate resources and outline our strategic next steps. For the panth, this process has always taken place through Sri Akaal Takhat Sahib which binds panthic jathay (units) together to execute a collective decision (gurmatta) through an inclusive and transparent process that isn't tainted by petty politics, short-sightedness or blatant conflicts of interest. 

A pivotal step was taken in this direction at the recent Vishav Sikh Ikattarta called by the Panth Sewak collective in Sri Anandpur Sahib. In our current halaat (conditions), rejuvenating our internal power structures and decision-making mechanisms in light of panthic tradition will be the fulcrum of our success in liberating ourselves from gulaami and establishing halemi raj, Khalistan. 

Who is the Panth Sewak Collective?

The Panth Sewak collective emerged from a long process of internal discussion amongst key panthic figures, activists, and former guerrillas that participated in the Sikh sangarsh for Khalistan in its first phase during the 1980s and 1990s. This process began in the Spring of 2022, pointing to the current trajectory of Hindutva and its objective of undermining and fragmenting effective panthic leadership. 

In response, the participants discussed the need for internal consensus-building and collective leadership to ensure principled unity while maintaining diversity, and thereby empowering us to confront the challenges ahead. The participants identified increasing polarization and fragmentation within Sikh institutions as a significant point of vulnerability in the midst of significant geopolitical shifts in the region, and identified four strategic priorities that require the panth's attention in this next phase of the sangarsh (struggle):

1. Restoring the sovereign governance of Sri Akaal Takhat Sahib by rejuvenating traditional Sikh decision-making processes;

2. Reorganizing our Gurdwara administration structures and processes as localized powerhouses of Sikh sovereign power;

3. Building consensus around the Khalsa's role within the political scenario of South Asia; and, 

4. Galvanizing our internal coordination and cooperation to further the Sikh sangarsh for a sovereign state, Khalistan. 

Rather than simply announcing the formation of yet another Panthic organization or political party however, the collective consciously chose to limit their role to facilitating a process of open dialogue amongst existing organizations and personalities as a means of initiating a crucial consensus-building process within the Panth on these issues. From the initial talks in March 2022, the process eventually coalesced around eleven panthic figures who have been involved in various Panthic seva, including participating in and leading the armed movement for Khalistan–several of them having spent decades in Indian prisons as a result.

Bhai Rajinder Singh Mughalwal was arrested at the height of the Khalistan movement for his role in carrying out armed actions in the UK. He spent 34 years in prison there between 1987 and 2021, and immediately returned to Punjab upon his release. Within months, he participated in the initial conversations to establish the Panth Sewak collective and plan this gathering. 

Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu was amongst the first line of Sikh jujharoos who participated in the reorganization of the Sikh sangarsh in 1985 and committed themselves to armed struggle for Khalistan. Alongside giants of the sangarsh, like General Labh Singh, Harjinder Singh Jinda, Sukhdev Singh Sukha, and countless others, Bhai Daljit Singh participated in some of the most high-profile strikes across India. These included targeted actions against those personally responsible for state violence in June and November 1984, as well as the legendary Ludhiana bank robbery which helped fund the movement for years. Alongside his seva on the frontlines, he was also given key leadership roles in the Sikh Students' Federation and the Panthic Committee, which operated as the collective apex of the Sikh jujharoo jathebandiyan (armed organizations). He was arrested in 1996 and imprisoned until 2005 when he began spearheading efforts to revive overground mass organizations like the Sikh Students' Federation and an effective Sikh political front despite continual harassment and detention by authorities for his efforts in various morchay between 2005 and 2014. He is widely acknowledged as a key Khalistani ideologue who has authored a number of deep reflections on the movement, including Bhavikh Phir Vi Sada Hai (1996), Agai Turan To Pehlan (2015), Statement on the Declaration of Khalistan (2020), as well as Kharku Sangarsh di Sakhi I (2022) and Kharku Sangarsh di Sakhi II (2023). He was also a central force behind the efforts of the Samvad collective's draft document, Aganh Val Nu Turdiyan (2020). 

Bhai Narain Singh Chaura was a key thinker and guerrilla commander of the sangarsh. He was a leading figure of the Akal Federation, one of the earliest groups dedicated to the establishment of Khalistan prior to 1984. Immediately following the Battle of Amritsar, Bhai Narain Singh went underground and played a key role in organizing armed groups and arranging logistics. He was widely known for his insightful analysis and strategic guidance to the movement, including authoring an instructional manual on Sikh guerrilla warfare. After the decline of the armed struggle, he played a foundational role in reorganizing Sikh groups for mass mobilization, political fronts, as well as mobilizing human rights advocacy. He also compiled and published all of Sant Jarnail Singh jee’s speeches, as well as Panthic Dastavej, key documents related to the movement. Bhai Narain Singh was accused of being a main conspirator in the legendary 2005 Burail jailbreak, when Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara, Bhai Parmjeet Singh Bheora, and Bhai Jagtar Singh Tara escaped from the jail. He was arrested again in 2013 on various accusations of organizing armed actions, and was eventually released in 2017. He immediately returned to organizing Sikh organizations and mobilizations under multiple fronts upon his release.  

Bhai Lal Singh Akalgarh was a prominent Sikh jujharoo (warrior) who continues to embody the meaning of humility. He was arrested in Gujarat in 1992 with a staggering cache of arms at a time the struggle was facing countless setbacks. He had been a resident of Canada but left the comforts of home to join the struggle. According to Canadian media reports, he was wanted by the FBI for an assassination attempt on Rajiv Gandhi in New Orleans in the late 1980s, and eventually travelled to Punjab to join the frontlines. Upon his arrest in 1992, he was reported to have tried to consume cyanide and tried committing suicide by banging his head against a concrete wall when the cyanide was ineffective. When neither option worked, he tried to bite off his own tongue because of his access to sensitive information as a result of his high-ranking status in the movement. 

The other members of the collective similarly participated in the sangarsh in different ways and have continued to engage in a number of panthic morchay and seva. They all come from diverse organizational backgrounds and have transcended multiple factional differences to forge a common platform in the hopes of galvanizing efforts to build internal consensus and move the panth towards truly exercising Sikh sovereignty in every sense of the term and ultimately, establishing our own raj. 

What happened at the Vishav Sikh Ikattarta? 

On March 11, 2023, the collective announced that they would be meeting with Sikh groups to convene a global gathering to rejuvenate the Khalsa's traditional structures and decision-making institutions. The gathering would be an exercise to illustrate what this traditional process looks like, demonstrate that this model of leadership and decision-making is possible, and that it is incredibly valuable in the current scenario. 

Speaking about the need for the gathering, members of the collective noted that the Indian state has been working non-stop to drive conflict and polarization within Sikh organizations in order to undermine any cohesive leadership or decision-making, ultimately enabling security agencies to repress Sikh activists with ease. 

The collective was clear that the Indian state's strategy is to "isolate, fragment, and weaken Punjab and Sikh institutions in order to make us an easy target of repressive violence and ensure their own unchallenged dominance in the region". 

The objective of the gathering was therefore to lay the groundwork to liberate Sri Akaal Takhat Sahib from the control and influence of the Indian state–through its various electoral parties, bureaucratic structures, and Indian legislation–by shifting our governance towards panthic tradition and gurmatta-based collective decision-making. Members of the collective reiterated that gurmatta-based decision-making and panch pradhani leadership is the "most effective way to combat the Indian state's current onslaught, and that this will actually empower us to transcend the immediate challenges we are facing in order to take advantage of the strategic opportunities today's geopolitical scenario presents to us." 

Over the following several months, panthic organizations and factions of all stripes were invited to the gathering to discuss how Sikh groups can reassert the independence of Sri Akaal Takhat Sahib's self-governance so that it can be returned to its role as a sovereign institution of panthic leadership and galvanize the sangat for the next phase of our ongoing sangarsh.  

The gathering on June 28, 2023 saw the participation of countless Sikh jathay, sampardas, and organizations around the world–from several jathay associated with Damdami Taksal, a number of Nihang Singh dals, multiple factions of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha and Waris Punjab De, as well as various other panthic entities and local sangats–including panthic naujawan from around the world. 

Rather than framing its legitimacy or purpose in a massive gathering of bodies, the ikattarta focused on convening those organizations active in some form of panthic seva and conducting a collective exercise of gurmatta-based decision-making in accordance with the maryada (tradition/discipline) of the Sarbat Khalsa prior to the colonization of Punjab. 

One of the most significant aspects of the gathering is the way it was able to effectively illustrate the practical meaning of unity by convening diverse panthic organizations (and even conflicting factions within larger organizations) that are often seen to be at odds with one another. Beyond just gathering bodies in one place or enforcing uniformity, the process actually brought these differing factions into meaningful conversation with one another and facilitated a unified decision-making process despite their differences. 

Outlining the purpose of the gathering at the outset, Bhai Daljit Singh was very clear about the context, ongoing challenges facing the panth, and the specific objective of the day. He spoke decisively about the impacts of geopolitical tension and the continued ascendance of Hindutva in South Asia, with particular emphasis on the dangers Sikhs are facing as a result–explicitly pointing to the targeted assassination of Sikh activists around the world as an indication of this process. Bhai Daljit Singh pointed to the plethora of issues facing Punjab and the increasing restlessness, desire, and passion amongst naujawan to serve and sacrifice for the panth. Despite this endless energy, and accomplishing great feats over the past several years, he noted how the results and outputs of various morchay do not match the jazba (passion) and aspirations of the naujawan and sangat that have participated because of the narrow limitations and vulnerability of centralized, hierarchical organization built around singular individuals or organizations. 

Why was this gathering significant?

Following ardaas at the outset, those gathered nominated a council of panj (five) who would consider the insights and suggestions of all the representatives/organizations who participated in the process. After deliberating on the suggestions, the panj announced a decision based on the panch pradhani tradition of Khalsa leadership to reject the current administrative structure subordinated to the Indian state, and develop a sovereign panthic jatha in its place. While seemingly inconsequential on its face, the entire exercise of the process actually lays the crucial groundwork needed to eventually revive the institutions of the Khalsa (particularly the Sarbat Khalsa) in their most meaningful sense. 

In the course of the Sikh genocide and brutal "counter-insurgency" in the 1990s, Indian security and intelligence agencies surgically destroyed and undermined every credible and effective institution that would have developed a new crop of panthic leadership for our generation. Combined with the lingering impacts of the British imposed administrative structure through the Gurdwara Act, the current status quo has contributed to a false sense of security and a distraction to our panthic activism for years. While giving the illusion of independent self-governance through the SGPC, these systems and mechanisms were generated for the specific purpose of containing, curtailing and decimating our resistance. 

Our attempts at changing this status quo cannot be embroiled in the limiting processes of par-adheen (subordinated) institutions where we are defined by and confined to the bureaucratic labyrinths created by our oppressors. 

While some may choose to engage in limited forms for the purpose of transformative change, the starting point of uprooting imperial control over Sri Akaal Takhat Sahib must be rooted in our own sidhant and sovereign power structures as demonstrated by the gathering. Rather than deferring responsibility/authority and demanding rights, recognition, or other concessions from the state, the exercise carried out in Sri Anandpur Sahib embodies the Khalsa’s patshahi daava (claim/assertion to sovereignty) by asserting our own dignity and power on our own terms–rooting our existence as Sikhs in the world, not as objects defined by colonial structures. Although there may have been many shortcomings and room for improvement, the gathering offers a blueprint to panthic naujawan on how we can organize and prepare for the next phase of the sangarsh. 

Despite the lack of eye-catching headlines and limited attention from social media activists, this was a pivotal exercise carried out by tried and tested panthic figures which will ultimately lay the groundwork for a future Sarbat Khalsa. 

Rather than sensationalist antics, petitions or online campaigns, the foundations of our liberation will be built on the back of patient and consistent grassroots mobilization to build effective, long-lasting institutions that are able to transcend individuals and dharray (factions). Meaningful panthic gatherings, and especially the Sarbat Khalsa, cannot be reduced to an ordinary mass meeting, hosted by political parties or other partisan entities, in order to performatively announce a laundry list of mattay (resolutions) to the gathered sangat–with no transparency or inclusivity throughout the deliberation process nor any concrete plans for execution and follow through. 

As indicated by panthic bodies around the world, there is no doubt that the panth needs to take steps towards a Sarbat Khalsa, but it is imperative that the process centres the puratan vidhi vidhan (traditional processes and mechanisms) of the Sarbat Khalsa in order for it to be truly effective. 

In concrete terms, autonomous, decentralized organizational structures alongside collective decision-making processes like this are imperative given today’s reality. In the face of looming conflict and instability in our region whether due to border clashes that may escalate into a potential war, scarcity and climate disasters along the lines of the current floods, political polarization and the march of fascism in South Asia, or other factors, strengthening our own institutions will be crucial to maintaining our stability and responding with the agility and flexibility needed during turbulent periods. Generating neutral spaces like this for otherwise conflicting factions (similar to the misls in earlier eras of our history) is also crucial to undermining Delhi’s efforts to polarize and fragment Sikh organizations to ensure its own dominance in Punjab. 

It’s also important that we acknowledge that this way of organizing should not be limited to Punjab alone. Those of us seeking to serve the panth in the diaspora/exile need to also reflect on the model of the June 28 gathering and effective panthic leadership/decision-making going forward. The wisdom and ramifications of this analysis and process are far reaching as they go to the root of our gulaami–beyond the borders of the Indian state–and signpost concrete steps towards “building our own house” on our own terms today. 

This self-affirming praxis allows us to focus on self-determining the values and terms of our sovereignty and power rather than limiting the terms of our sangarsh to "correcting" injustices meted out to us by oppressive powers whose legitimacy we don't even accept. By regenerating the Khalsa’s institutions in a meaningful way, we proactively seek to transform the landscape of power based on the Khalsa’s own ethos and political structures, and empower the sangat to wield and assert our sovereignty on our own terms. 

It is from this powerhouse of independent, sovereign Sikh institutions that the Guru Khalsa Panth can effectively mobilize in pursuit of gareeb di rakhiya, jarvanay di bhakhiya (protection of the weak, destruction of the tyrants) and ultimately advance towards establishing halemi raj, Khalistan. 

Prabjot Singh is a writer and panthic sevadar who has been involved in Sikh student organizations, panthic jathebandiyan and grassroots political movements for over fifteen years. He has an MA in South Asian Studies where he focussed on the intellectual history of the Khalistan movement. His ongoing work on Sikh political theory, public policy, and law has been published in a number of platforms based in Punjab as well as the diaspora, including Sikh Shahadat, Panth-Punjab Project, Bibekgarh Prakashan and the Manitoba Law Journal.

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