Kids Corner

Image below, second from bottom: Detail of The Akal Takht from Kanwar Singh Dhillon's painting, "The Lord of Miri Piri". Courtesy: www.ArtofPunjab.com

Columnists

Let There Be Light

by I.J. SINGH

 

The news these days is of Professor Darshan Singh, a well known scholar of gurbani, who was summoned to The Akal Takht on some issues related to the Dasam Granth.

That is not at all on my mind today, but related matters are.

Darshan Singh is hardly the first person to have been so summoned on some alleged infraction or another. Not so long ago, it was Gurbaksh Singh Kala Afghana, and some years before him, Professors Pashaura Singh and Piar Singh, and in the early 20th century, it was Gurmukh Singh and Teja Singh Bhassaur who faced questioning of their respective beliefs or practices. A few notables - Surjeet Singh Barnala, Giani Zail Singh and Buta Singh - were summoned in recent memory for causes that are best described as political.

There are certain others Sikhs who, too, have achieved this dubious honour. But for a religion that is 500 years old, the number of believers who seemingly fell afoul of the Sikh Code of Conduct and were summoned to explain and justify their conduct are mercifully few when compared to the numbers who have faced pastoral wrath in many other religions - say Catholicism, as one such example.

That borders on a way of looking for validation of Sikh behaviour, so let's drop that.

There appear to be many procedural failures that one can question in the case of Professor Darshan Singh.

The latest, dating from just a few days ago, highlights a lesson that should not be ignored and would be child's play to fix.

On Saturday, December 5, 2009, The Akal Takht found Darshan Singh guilty of the charges against him. But the trial never really happened!

According to The Akal Takht, Darshan Singh had been summoned but he did not appear on the stipulated date of the trial. In a sense then, he was sentenced in absentia on the charges. I know that sometimes in legal proceedings this is the only option when the accused flees the jurisdiction of the court.

Prof. Darshan Singh claims that he was present at the stipulated venue, The Akal Takht, at the scheduled date and time, and the press as well as the sangat was witness to that. He avers that he waited an hour or so and then left.

It seems the Jathedars wanted him to appear for a trial in camera - that is, behind closed doors, with no press or members of the public present; effectively, a secret trial! - while he wanted an open trial so that the world wide Sikh community could watch the legal proceedings against him.

["In camera" is a legal term used for closed trials in situations where, for example, national security is at risk. The term, a Latin phrase, has nothing to do with cameras.]

A press release from the Jathedars confirms that their hearings are now routinely held in camera as of the past nearly ten years. Prior to that date all hearings were public - in an open setting. That is, open to the public, open to the press.

This makes we wonder.

Why on earth would one move towards secret hearings and trials? Why was the open policy changed to secret trials ten years ago?

I cannot comment on the judicial system in India but I present to you the judicial thinking and practices in the United States.

I know that not so long ago the courts in this country routinely barred TV or still cameras or any kind of live coverage. The right of press coverage and open trials is only recently won and stems from the First and the Sixth amendments. The First specifies that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. The Sixth guarantees the accused a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of peers.

Sometimes the two can be in conflict, for example when publicity about a particularly heinous crime might make it difficult to get an impartial jury. Then the right to a fair trial outweighs the right of the press to free speech.

Perhaps the trial of Bruno Hauptmann for kidnapping the Lindbergh baby almost a century ago was the first open well publicized trial. But the clear trend today is towards open trials. The Appeals Court allowed cameras in the court in 1996. The Supreme Court still balks at such openness - but is nevertheless open to the public and the press.

In this matter of openness, the American system is generally no different from the Canadian system, which is no different from the British ... which is the very system that gave birth to the India's system of jurisprudence.

The Sikh view of an egalitarian progressive society, too, demands a transparent system of justice with fair rules of evidence where people have a stake and a voice. This is integral to due process in judicial proceedings. And due process is integral to being fair and just.

Surely some retrogressive steps are also seen sometimes. I point to the fate of an uncertain number - perhaps hundreds - of detainees that have spent a number of years in detention in places like Guantanamo without any hope of trials. And in that matter, the push and pull of secret trials vis a vis transparency and due process according to law dominate our attention.

We all also know the few show trials of a few of the accused of the 1984 killings of Sikhs that are an insult to justice and fair play.

Notwithstanding such blips in progress, it seems to me that the world is slowly but surely moving towards a more open system of justice where the citizens understand how the legal system functions. It makes for better and more informed citizenry.

Why then is the Akal Takht moving regressively? What state secrets are we talking about that would worry the good people at Akal Takht? What has Sikhi got to hide?

Dirty laundry is best cleansed in sunlight.

Let there be light.

 

ijsingh99@gmail.com

December 7, 2009

Conversation about this article

1: Harinder (Bangalore, India), December 07, 2009, 10:59 AM.

Could not agree more. Sikhs have nothing to hide ... no nukes, no subs,no malefide intentions. We are the only people on this planet who can live in an open way with no shackles of worldly possessions. Truly, Sikhs are born free!

2: Gaurav Singh (Palatine, U.S.A.), December 07, 2009, 11:24 AM.

I thank I.J. Singh for shedding light upon this abhorrent practice. Truth need not hide. In the opinion of some, Prof. Darshan Singh was guilty until proven innocent. Therefore, this was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Shame on these so-called jathedars who, without going through due process, dare to speak on behalf of the Khalsa Panth and wish their "opinions" to be binding upon Sikhs worldwide. Yet, who put them in this position of power? It was not the Guru Khalsa Panth! To find who put the Jathedar of The Akal Takht in charge, one simply need look to who has the power to remove him. It is SAD! I mean, it is the Shiromani Akali Dal (S.A.D.) and its leader who rules over Panthic affairs. The Guru Khalsa Panth has had nothing to do with the hiring and firing of "jathedars". May Satguru bless us with gyan and the will to wake up and take control of our own affairs. A panthic process need never operate in the dark recesses of a corrupt system. Yes, let there be light!

3: Tejwant Singh (Nevada, U.S.A.), December 07, 2009, 3:40 PM.

1) Does anyone know the origin of Tankhaaiyya and when and how did it start? 2) Who was the first one in Sikhi to get this punishment? 3) Where does it say in the Guru Granth about this or is it copied from the Catholic "confession"? 4) What authority do the Panj Pyaras possess, and based on what gurmat ideals? 5) What if one or more out of the Five have done the same or the similar thing and have not told anyone? 6) Who is making sure that the Panj Pyaras are capable of giving punishment, if taking Khandei de pahul does not suffice? 7) What happens if the decision to punish is taken out of sheer ego (anti-gurmat ideal) rather than based on gurmat ideals? 8) Who is the ultimate authority? 9) Doesn't the meaning of Sant-Sipahi - the Saint-Soldier - indicate that the person carries a lantern, a light, in one hand so that nothing is left in the dark? Yes, Inder ji, let there be light. Just thinking aloud!

4: Jessie Singh Parmar (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada), December 07, 2009, 4:46 PM.

Beautifully written.

5: Ravinder Singh Khalsa (Sydney, Australia), December 07, 2009, 7:15 PM.

It's getting to a stage where I believe a civil war is close to breaking out in Punjab. The events created by the Government of India (Central & State) over the past 25 years has made Punjab into a hell hole. Sikhs in Punjab are left without opportunities and options whilst the Jathedars act in political and self-interest. We need to remove and revamp the system now - many lives will be lost in the process but all you have to do is watch this video to understand the urgency of the situation for our brothers and sisters in Punjab http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEaW1_6Qubc

6: Hardeep Singh (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada), December 07, 2009, 8:46 PM.

Tejwant Singh - Maharaja Ranjit Singh was declared a tankhaaiyya by Jathedar Akali Phula Singh. Ranjit Singh had admitted his fault because the allegations were true. He was given punishment, and submitted himself for punishment of 50 lashes from the Jathedar. The Jathedar pardoned the Maharaja because the Maharaja showed humility.

7: Ravinder Singh Taneja (Westerville, Ohio, U.S.A.), December 07, 2009, 9:04 PM.

The insistence on an "in camera" trial is disturbing enough; what is even more troublesome is the fact that the demand is coming from so-called Jathedars who are in fact no more than hired hands with no moral standing of their own. Sikh Institutions are in a shambles and we cannot stand idle.

8: Jaskaran Singh (Bellevue, WA, U.S.A.), December 10, 2009, 3:43 PM.

Well written. I appreciate your insights.

Comment on "Let There Be Light"









To help us distinguish between comments submitted by individuals and those automatically entered by software robots, please complete the following.

Please note: your email address will not be shown on the site, this is for contact and follow-up purposes only. All information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Sikhchic reserves the right to edit or remove content at any time.