Opinion | PM Modi And Sikhism: An Enduring Bond

Speaking of Sikhs, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India’s first Sikh Prime Minister, was cremated with full state honours, including a 21-gun salute, last week. It should be noted that Dr Singh was reduced to a mere proxy during his tenure, with real power being wielded by Sonia Gandhi through the National Advisory Council (NAC), thereby undermining the very ethos of our Constitution. The ultimate insult came in 2013 when Rahul Gandhi publicly tore up an ordinance approved by the Manmohan Singh-led Cabinet.

Rahul’s father, Rajiv Gandhi, was no better. In 1985, he unceremoniously removed Dr Singh as the Reserve Bank of India Governor and reassigned him to the Planning Commission, then regarded as a less prestigious post. Worse still, Rajiv Gandhi disparagingly referred to Dr Singh and the Planning Commission members as a “bunch of jokers."

While the Modi government declared a national seven-day mourning period in Dr Singh’s honour, Rahul Gandhi left for Vietnam to celebrate New Year festivities, showcasing blatant disregard for Dr Singh’s legacy. Not a single senior Congress leader was present during the immersion of Dr Singh’s ashes at the Yamuna. Despite the Modi government’s commitment to building a memorial in Dr Singh’s honour, the Congress politicised the matter by questioning why the former Prime Minister’s last rites were held at Nigambodh Ghat instead of Rajghat. This criticism comes from a party that, in 2004, denied the mortal remains of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao entry into the AICC headquarters after his death.

Also, the Congress failed to honour former President Pranab Mukherjee after his death in 2020 and did not even call for a formal condolence meeting. The limited point is this—the Congress has never had any regard for any former PMs other than those from the Gandhi dynasty. Using Dr Singh’s Sikh credentials to gain political mileage is nothing but the Congress’s petty and reductionist mindset on display. In sharp contrast, PM Modi has done more for Sikhism than any of his predecessors.

“I don’t think any other Prime Minister in the history of India has done for the Sikh community what Prime Minister Modi has been doing, including the opening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, the celebrations of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary, abolishing the blacklist of Sikhs who were unable to visit India, and securing justice for the victims of the Sikh genocide that occurred in 1984 under the Congress government," said Jasdip Singh Jassee, Chairman of Sikhs of America.

Jassee made this statement while referring to the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, which followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi, during a major community event at the Nassau Coliseum in New York in September 2024. Prime Minister Modi addressed this gathering, which was attended by over 13,000 Indian-Americans, with a significant presence of the Sikh community.

On 21 April 2022, the Prime Minister also released a commemorative coin and postage stamp to mark the 400th Parkash Parab of Guru Tegh Bahadur. “The sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur has inspired many generations of Indians to live and die to protect the dignity of their culture, for its honour and respect. Great powers have vanished, and mighty storms have abated, but India remains immortal and continues to progress. I am pleased that today, our country is moving forward with unwavering devotion to the ideals of our Gurus. On this virtuous occasion, I bow at the feet of all ten Gurus. When we speak of a self-reliant India, we consider the progress of the entire world as part of that goal," said Prime Minister Modi during his electrifying speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort to mark the 400th Parkash Parab.

The credit for mainstreaming the ideals and philosophies of the ten Sikh Gurus, and reinforcing them from various public platforms over time, belongs solely to Prime Minister Modi. In his speech on 21 April 2022, Modi also exposed the atrocities of the murderous marauder Aurangzeb, who beheaded Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675. For decades, under the Congress regimes accused of being Hinduphobic, our history books whitewashed the crimes of the Mughals. Figures like Aurangzeb were even honoured with a road named after them, until the Modi government decided enough was enough and, in 2015, renamed Aurangzeb Road in the heart of Delhi to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road.

Coming back to what Prime Minister Modi has done for the Sikh community, he has not only revived religious and cultural tourism but also enhanced infrastructure and connectivity to key Sikh pilgrimage sites such as Fatehgarh Sahib, Chamkaur Sahib, and Anandpur Sahib. Furthermore, the Modi government passed the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill in 2019, ensuring the renovation and upgradation of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial.

The 2019 amendment to the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act of 1951 addressed the long-neglected upkeep of this historic site, which commemorates the massacre of 13 April 1919 in Amritsar. Previously, the Congress president was a permanent member of the trust overseeing the memorial. However, despite this responsibility, the Jallianwala Bagh was poorly maintained, and Congress did little to preserve the legacy of this hallowed ground. By inserting a clause that removes the Congress president as a permanent member of the trust and by broadbasing the composition of the trust, the Modi government has made the trust apolitical, so that the upkeep of the memorial is not at the mercy of wily politicians.

In 2016, the long-standing demands of Gurudwara committees were addressed with the passing of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee Amendment Bill, ensuring greater operational flexibility. Additionally, FCRA registration was approved for the Harmandir Sahib. “Sri Darbar Sahib’s divinity gives strength to us. For decades, the Sangat worldwide was unable to serve there. The Modi government’s decision to allow FCRA to the Sri Harmandir Sahib deepens the connection of Seva between the Sangat globally and the Sri Darbar Sahib. A blessed moment!" remarked Union Home Minister Amit Shah, following Prime Minister Modi’s historic decision to grant FCRA registration to the Golden Temple, also known as Gurudwara Harmandir Sahib.

On the 550th Parkash Parab of Guru Nanak Dev, Prime Minister Modi took a personal interest and urged UNESCO to ensure that Gurbani is translated into as many local and foreign languages as possible worldwide so that Guru Nanak Dev’s spiritual message reaches a broader global audience.

The amendment to the Sikh Gurdwaras Bill, passed in 2016, addresses several aspects regarding the voting rights of Sahjdhari Sikhs. The amendment introduced by the Modi government includes the provision for Sahjdhari Sikhs to vote in elections to the Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC). Sahjdhari Sikhs are members of the Sikh religion who cut or trim their beards or hair. Since 1944, Sahjdhari Sikhs were not permitted to vote in the SGPC elections. This new amendment will take effect retrospectively from 8 October 2003. Under the Sikh Gurdwara Act of 1925, every Sikh above the age of 21, who is a registered voter, is entitled to vote in SGPC elections.

Furthermore, the establishment of an interfaith university in Amritsar, with an allocation of over Rs 510 crore, represents a significant initiative. Additionally, apart from visiting Dera Baba Nanak, Prime Minister Modi is one of the few contemporary leaders to have paid homage at the historic Ber Sahib Gurdwara in Sultanpur Lodhi. Sultanpur Lodhi, where Guru Nanak Dev spent much of his life, is now being developed as a heritage site. On the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, Prime Minister Modi also commissioned a 750-bed hospital in the memory of the 10th Sikh Guru in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

However, the most transformative outreach by Prime Minister Modi, which will bring much-needed relief to thousands of Sikhs, is the landmark Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 (CAA). This Act aims to grant citizenship rights to persecuted minorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. It is worth noting that while there were over five lakh Sikhs in Afghanistan in the 1960s, that number dwindled to a mere 700 by 2022 due to forced conversions and persecution. The fight against forced conversions, championed by Guru Tegh Bahadur through his life and sacrifice, serves as an enduring lesson. By implementing policies that empower Sikhs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has demonstrated genuine care and commitment to their welfare.

Under Operation Devi Shakti, a special flight organised by India arrived in New Delhi from Kabul in 2021. It safely evacuated 10 Indians and 94 Afghans, including members of Afghanistan’s Hindu-Sikh minority community, after the Taliban seized control of the country. The Guru Granth Sahib was also brought back to Delhi from Kabul amidst tight security and, with full religious fervour and devotion, was moved to Gurdwara Guru Arjan Dev at Mahavir Nagar. The last two ‘Saroops’ of the Guru Granth Sahib were also transported to Delhi from Kabul in January 2023.

The moot point is this: Indira Gandhi desecrated the Harmandir Sahib; her son Rajiv Gandhi belittled the Sikh community with his infamous remark, “Jab ek bada ped girta hai, toh dharti thodi hilti hai," while referring to the 1984 Sikh genocide under his government. Rajiv’s son, Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, has flown to Vietnam for a holiday during the period of national mourning for Manmohan Singh.

In sharp contrast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands out as someone with an enduring bond with Sikhism and the Sikh community. Sikhs have carried immense pain for decades because many promises made to them by successive Congress regimes were not fulfilled. However, the Modi government has undertaken transformative initiatives, including opening the corridor to Kartarpur Sahib, commemorating the martyrdom of Guru Gobind Singh’s sons, and translating Gurbani into over nineteen regional and foreign languages to ensure Guru Nanak Dev’s teachings can be accessed and embraced by a larger local and global audience.

Sanju Verma is an Economist, National Spokesperson of the BJP and the Bestselling Author of ‘The Modi Gambit’. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.