This interview was conducted by the author with the then deputy prime minister L K Advani in the presence of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on March 25, 2004. It was published in the Chandigarh edition of The Indian Express on June 6, 2004. In light of the recent book by Advani, the interview assumes significance again.

TWENTY years after the event took place, former Deputy Prime Minister and senior BJP leader, L K Advani feels that Operation Bluestar was a mistake.

In an interview conducted with Advani prior to the elections, the then Deputy Prime Minister made these remarks in response to a specific question. When asked if “with the benefit of hindsight, he feels that Operation Bluestar was a mistake”, Advani paused for a minute before responding to the question.

“I would be replying off the cuff. I would think that I should avoid doing it, but broadly speaking my first reaction is to endorse what you have said”, Advani remarked. “Particularly after what I saw happen in the wake of Operation Bluestar, and the kind of attitude that was adopted towards the Sikh community”, he said.

He added that he belonged to Sindh, and in Sindh, “there was no such distinction between Sikhs and non Sikhs as developed in Punjab later on”. Advani added that his “entire family rituals from childhood have been Sikh rituals”.

”Mere ghar mein, sab ke ghar mein Granth Sahib he hota hai” (In my house, as well as that of all others, the Granth Sahib is present), Advani said.

The interview was conducted inside his rath while he was travelling to Amritsar, and he mentioned that he would be visiting the Golden Temple. Advani initially said the comments were off the cuff, and later stated that this portion of the interview could be published after the elections. I am on an election tour to Punjab and people will think that these remarks are being made with an eye on elections, Advani said. “The significance of the statement would be diluted if you use them now”, he added.

When asked about the kar sewa at the Golden Temple, Advani said whenever he visits Amritsar, he always visits Harmandir Sahib. This time since the kar sewa was on, I am not only happy but also proud. “Mujhe khushi hogi, garbv ki baat hai”, he said regarding participating in the kar sewa.

CHANDIGARH: It was fund-raising with a difference. The participants were the elite, the NRI Punjabis, who, having struck gold at El Dorado, were here for a homecoming. Amidst them was a seasoned politician — busy raising funds, though it wasn’t election time.
For once, the NRIs were cornered. And the Chief Minister of the cash-strapped Punjab government, Parkash Singh Badal, proved his expertise at fund-raising. He aggressively raised funds for a cause other than elections — children’s education in rural areas; and apparently did well for his “moderate” abilities. By the end of the NRI “mela”, he had solicited collections well over Rs 1 crore apart from his own commitment of another Rs 1 crore, unless legal wrangling come in the way.
The conference, organised by the International Punjabi Society (IPS) at the Guru Gobind Singh Bhawan, was like any other conference until Badal turned the tables today.
“Organising conferences, with dining and socialising, achieves nothing. It is not a club but a Society and next time, the International Punjabi Conference should be held in a village,” Badal said, as he pleaded with participants to do something “concrete”. He talked about the pathetic state of education in the rural areas of Punjab and took a snipe at the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and other religious organisations, saying that young children were going astray.
“Adopt poor children at the rate of a thousand a year or a hundred villages annually. I will provide the list of poor children whom you can support,” Badal suggested as he took his seat. A minute later, as if seized by an idea, he came back to the dais and asked the announcer to make way. “Let us make a beginning, my contribution is a lakh of rupees,” he said, and immediately asked others to follow. Within minutes, a Punjabi Foundation was created. Badal asked the president of the Los Angeles branch of IPS, A.S. Marwaha, to contribute Rs 1 crore. Marwaha did not refuse. “I cannot, since we went to school together,” he remarked, and announced his contribution of $51,000. “It is no big deal for you,” Badal said as he “summoned” other prominent NRIs.
The president of the New York branch, Sant Singh Chatwal, was next on Badal’s list and he, too, announced $51,000. G.S. Gujral, president of the London branch, followed. He was initially hesitant to commit himself and wished to consult his colleagues in the branch, but later promised 11,000 pounds.
As speakers announced their commitments, confusion followed. Some were hesitant to commit. A little persuasion and many agreed. “Koi zabardasti nahin,” Badal said, but the spectre of a Chief Minister asking an NRI for funds and calling him by name made a difference. Another gentleman was asked by Badal and he replied by saying that whatever Badal announced was fine. “I will make the announcement but will you contribute?” Badal quipped, as the hall resounded with laughter. He agreed, and Badal asked him to contribute a lakh.. Another NRI announced a lakh. Badal was at his best: “Dollars or rupees? Rupees? As you wish.”
The IPS president , Bhai Mohan Singh, announced that he would take the responsibility of educating five children. He said the IPS had 16 branches abroad and in case the Foundation did well, funds would not be an issue. Another NRI from Canada did not wish to contribute by way of cash and instead announced to set up five ITIs in the state.

pTuesday, January 5, 1999

Parkash Singh Dhillon, Gurcharan Singh Tiwana, Jagdev Singh Gill, Surjit Singh Dhariwal and Rajinder Kaur Sidhu. Unknown people?

Just replace their caste with the names of their villages and check the list again. Parkash Singh Badal, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Surjit Singh Barnala and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. If you are an urban Sikh, then Manjit Singh Ahluwalia becomes Manjit Singh Calcutta.
A century after the practice of casting away one’s caste in Punjab gained ascendancy in Punjab politics, the practice is now being pursued with renewed vigour by the younger generation. When the reformist Singh Sabha stalwarts wanted Sikhs to forget caste and instead use a suffix as their surnames, the Akalis were the first to adopt their village as a convenient suffix. This was in the first decade of the 20th century. The first elections of the next millennium is witnessing younger political elements follow the same course with aplomb.
Among younger elements is the son of former chief minister Beant Singh. While Beant never used the surname Kotli, come elections and his son Tej Parkash uses the surname, since village Kotli falls in Payal constituency from where he is contesting. His surname Jhajj has never been heard as a suffix.
In Kharar, the son of Bachittar Singh proclaims his name as Rajbir Singh Padiala, the surname being his village. His father did not use the surname. BJP minister Swarna Ram avoids it but his son Mohan Lal uses his village name Behram as his suffix.
Or All India Sikh Students Federation leader Karnail Singh Pir Mohammad, who is a Sikh often causing some confusion because of the name of his village, Pir Mohammad. A change in name on entering politics has been resorted to by Capt Amarinder’s OSD Bikramjit Singh Sandhu, who when joining politics shifted from Sandhu to his village Pahuwind.
It leads to some queer circumstances as well. Like the Badal family, where both the Chief Minister, his son Sukhbir and nephew Manpreet use the Badal surname. But so does Agriculture Minister Gurdev Singh Badal, who is neither related to them nor is a Jat Sikh. The minister was born not in village Badal but in his maternal village Abul Khurana, the surname used by his Congress opponent Gurnam Singh.
Using the name of maternal village was resorted to by Manmohan Singh Sathiala since he was contesting from Beas where Sathiala village falls. Or the son-in-law of former SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra, who uses the village of his father-in-law — Tohra — has his passport to success instead of his own village Thuhi, which falls in Nabha district.
‘‘The trend began in the era when Singh Sabha reformers freed the Golden Temple from the clutches of mahants who prevented lower castes from entering the sanctum sanctorum,’’ says Bhai Ashok Singh Bagrian, who also suffixes the name of his village with his name. All Singh Sabha leaders of that time were known by their village or the region, such as Sewa Singh Thikriwala, Darshan Singh Pheruman, Gian Singh Rarewala and Ishar Singh Majhail. So were some Congress leaders of that time, such as Partap Singh who uses the suffix Kairon after his village. His sons and grandson Adesh Partap have followed suit.
The trend was followed by militants too. Manochal, Zaffarwal, Kaonke, Budhsinghwala were all names of villages thrust into limelight by them. The flip side is that with such suffixes, regional identities tend to become stronger. A candidate from outside the constituency faces opposition for being an outsider. Like the opposition faced by Bir Devinder Singh in Kharar, Surinder Singla in Bathinda, Brahm Mohindra in Samana.

Parkash Singh Dhillon, Gurcharan Singh Tiwana, Jagdev Singh Gill, Surjit Singh Dhariwal and Rajinder Kaur Sidhu. Unknown people?

Just replace their caste with the names of their villages and check the list again. Parkash Singh Badal, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Surjit Singh Barnala and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. If you are an urban Sikh, then Manjit Singh Ahluwalia becomes Manjit Singh Calcutta.
A century after the practice of casting away one’s caste in Punjab gained ascendancy in Punjab politics, the practice is now being pursued with renewed vigour by the younger generation. When the reformist Singh Sabha stalwarts wanted Sikhs to forget caste and instead use a suffix as their surnames, the Akalis were the first to adopt their village as a convenient suffix. This was in the first decade of the 20th century. The first elections of the next millennium is witnessing younger political elements follow the same course with aplomb.
Among younger elements is the son of former chief minister Beant Singh. While Beant never used the surname Kotli, come elections and his son Tej Parkash uses the surname, since village Kotli falls in Payal constituency from where he is contesting. His surname Jhajj has never been heard as a suffix.
In Kharar, the son of Bachittar Singh proclaims his name as Rajbir Singh Padiala, the surname being his village. His father did not use the surname. BJP minister Swarna Ram avoids it but his son Mohan Lal uses his village name Behram as his suffix.
Or All India Sikh Students Federation leader Karnail Singh Pir Mohammad, who is a Sikh often causing some confusion because of the name of his village, Pir Mohammad. A change in name on entering politics has been resorted to by Capt Amarinder’s OSD Bikramjit Singh Sandhu, who when joining politics shifted from Sandhu to his village Pahuwind.
It leads to some queer circumstances as well. Like the Badal family, where both the Chief Minister, his son Sukhbir and nephew Manpreet use the Badal surname. But so does Agriculture Minister Gurdev Singh Badal, who is neither related to them nor is a Jat Sikh. The minister was born not in village Badal but in his maternal village Abul Khurana, the surname used by his Congress opponent Gurnam Singh.
Using the name of maternal village was resorted to by Manmohan Singh Sathiala since he was contesting from Beas where Sathiala village falls. Or the son-in-law of former SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra, who uses the village of his father-in-law — Tohra — has his passport to success instead of his own village Thuhi, which falls in Nabha district.
‘‘The trend began in the era when Singh Sabha reformers freed the Golden Temple from the clutches of mahants who prevented lower castes from entering the sanctum sanctorum,’’ says Bhai Ashok Singh Bagrian, who also suffixes the name of his village with his name. All Singh Sabha leaders of that time were known by their village or the region, such as Sewa Singh Thikriwala, Darshan Singh Pheruman, Gian Singh Rarewala and Ishar Singh Majhail. So were some Congress leaders of that time, such as Partap Singh who uses the suffix Kairon after his village. His sons and grandson Adesh Partap have followed suit.
The trend was followed by militants too. Manochal, Zaffarwal, Kaonke, Budhsinghwala were all names of villages thrust into limelight by them. The flip side is that with such suffixes, regional identities tend to become stronger. A candidate from outside the constituency faces opposition for being an outsider. Like the opposition faced by Bir Devinder Singh in Kharar, Surinder Singla in Bathinda, Brahm Mohindra in Samana.