How AAP, BJP, SAD are appropriating an iconic Sikh commander

For days, I have been wondering what is there for political leaders to accomplish when they hark back to the past to appropriate an antithesis.

What spurred my thoughts is the contentious race between Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal/BJP (SAD-BJP) to co-opt a dauntless Sikh commander who established the first Khalsa sovereign state.

In 1710, Baba Banda Singh Bahadar and his troops vanquished Sirhind, a power centre of the then Mughal empire.

It was at Sirhind, which means the crown of Hind, where the younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh were executed in 1705.

A study of his brief military campaign shows Baba Banda Singh Bahadar abolished the zamindari system. He awarded land rights to tillers.

Under his governance, corruption and high-handedness by officialdom became an unpardonable offence.

Baba Banda Singh Bahadar's reign cut off vital links between the Mughals' Delhi Durbar and Lahore, the capital of Punjab back then.

Retaliation was ferocious.

Backed by heavy reinforcements, the Mughal army captured the Sikh ruler in 1715. He, and 780 Sikhs were caged and brought to Delhi, where they were savagely tortured and killed.

None of them surrendered to pressure to give up their faith.

Also read: Punjab not fit to be ruled by dynast Akalis, high commanders Congress or cult AAP

The year 2016 marks the 300th anniversary of Baba Banda Singh Bahadar's martyrdom.

Co-incidentally, it comes a year ahead of Assembly elections in Punjab.

In their cut-throat run for Chandigarh, the AAP, Badal's SAD and the BJP are in a competition to lap up the Sikh icon's legacy.

Just recently, Delhi's Barapulla flyover was named Baba Banda Singh Bahadar Setu.

On June 18, Kejriwal's government hosted a "light-and-sound show" at the Central Park in Connaught Place.

"Heroes like Baba Banda Singh Bahadar are a source of inspiration for the next generation. Knowing the lives of such great personalities we come to know how to stand against injustice and fight against the atrocities of the oppressive rulers," the Delhi chief minister, whose party appears to be a frontrunner in Punjab's electoral battle as of now, said.

"This great hero went to Punjab, won the great battle without much resources, gave relief to the common man and established a true democratic state in Punjab, though short-lived."

Friday's newspapers carried a central-government advertisement about a multi-media show slated for coming Sunday on the Sikh administrator.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the event, planned by Badal's SAD.

In an overzealous speech that went viral on social media, Akali leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa has announced that the organisers would recreate Baba Banda Singh Bahadar via holography and fly him down on a horseback to hold a dialogue with the PM.

I found all this political theatre over a towering historical figure a total antithesis of what he represented.

Baba Banda Singh Bahadar symbolised sovereignty from the Delhi Durbar.

It's a paradox then that Akalis, in their quest to retain power for another term, are trying to associate him with power politics of present-day New Delhi.

It's not a smart idea to convert an ideal into idol, even if it is executed by means of sophisticated technology. More so, when Akalis have lost a sizeable turf of their core religious constituency.

Baba Banda Singh Bahadar is nearly revered. Sikhs in middle Punjab will not appreciate a fictitious show on their hero.

Baba Banda Singh Bahadar's policy also does not fit into the parameters of contemporary governments catering to capitalist interests.

Before the French Revolution abolished feudalism in France, he had abrogated it in faraway Punjab a long time back.

He made tillers proprietors of land.

And remember, the ruling BJP has been a proponent of land acquisition in order to enable big companies to obtain estates to set up plants and offices.

All these contradictions demonstrate what the AAP and the SAD are engaged in are acts of psychological manipulation over and above reason and logic.

Simply put, it's emotional blackmail. And given SAD's credibility deficit, AAP may have an edge in pulling off the trickery successfully.