Treatment Meted out to Dr Manmohan Singh inHis Funeral doesn’t Go Down Well in Sikh Community

The RSS sponsored government showed its true colour with regards to a minority community Sikh and questions should be asked to the Badal family who mortgaged the Akali Dal to RSS for the last 50 years. – Sardar Daya Singh

Written by

Abdul Bari Masoud

Published on

January 7, 2025

The way former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s last rites were performed sparked a verbal spat between the ruling BJP and the Congress, which alleged that the state funeral of former Prime Minister wasa shocking display of “disrespect and mismanagement”.  The Sikh community did not take kindly to it either, feeling excluded from the mainstream.

Dr Singh, who spearheaded India’s economic liberalisation, passed away on December 26 at 92 years of age due to age-related health issues. He was cremated with full state honours on December 28 in the presence of top dignitaries from the country and abroad.

Dr. Singh’s family requested that his funeral and final ceremonies be held in a location where a fitting memorial may be erected to honour his unmatched contributions to the country. However, the government did not heed to the plea and Dr Singh was cremated at NigambodhGhat.

Lashing out at the Government, senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said the first PM from the Sikh community was “totally insulted by the present government by performing his last rites at NigambodhGhat”.

His comments reflected in Sukhbir Singh Badal’s lament, who is president of Shiromani Akali Dal and former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab.

Badal claimed that the government’s denial of his family’s plea to perform a final rite at RajGhat was startling and unthinkable. Drawing on his Sikh background, the Akali leader claimed that the government’s contempt for the great leader – the only Sikh to advance to the position of prime minister – was unfathomable.

In a post on X, Badal said “Shocking and unbelievable! It is condemnable in the extreme that the Union Govt has declined the request of Dr Manmohan Singh Ji’s family for performing the funeral and last rites of the highly distinguished leader at a place where an appropriate and historic memorial may be built to commemorate his unparalleled services to the nation. This place should be Raj Ghat. This will be in keeping with the settled practice and tradition followed in the past.”

Badal’s post also maintained, “Dr Manmohan Singh took the country to great international heights. Our political differences with the Congress apart, we have always held Dr Manmohan Singh in the highest esteem as he transcends politics and political affiliations. He belongs to the entire nation.”

Akali Dal is considered a political outfit of the Sikh community which always politically opposed the Congress and is an arch political rival. However, it was forced to take a stand on Dr Singh’s death in order to reflect the hurt sentiments of the Sikh community.

Besides the Sikh political leaders irrespective of political affiliations, community leaders also vent their anguish and outrage over the treatment meted out to Dr Manmohan Singh in his last rites.

Sardar Daya Singh said it was a highly condemnable act of the “RSS sponsored” government to disrespect the proud son of this soil.  Speaking with Radiance, Daya Singh said it is unfortunate that the way Dr Singh was treated in his last rites did not go down well with the Sikh as they now feel that they are not a part of the mainstream of the country.

Sardar Daya Singh, President of All Peace Mission, said that the “RSS sponsored” government’s disdain for the proud son of this land is absolutely abhorrent.  It is regrettable that the manner Dr. Singh was treated during his final rites did not sit well with Sikhs, who now feel excluded from the nation’s mainstream, Daya Singh told Radiance.

“The RSS sponsored government showed its true colour with regards to a minority community Sikh and questions should be asked to the Badal family who mortgaged the Akali Dal to RSS for the last 50 years.”

He also recalled Sardar Hukam Singh and Bhopinder Singh’s November 26, 1949, walkout from the Constituent Assembly, in which they claimed that the Constitution would not fairly treat minorities, especially the Sikh minority, since their statements have turned out to be true.  Daya Singh claimed that Dr. Singh’s episode had caused great harm to the community’s feelings and would live on in every Sikh’s memory.

Unnerved by the harsh criticism it faced on the issue, the Modi Government fielded its Sikh member Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to defend it. He hit out at the Congress, accusing it of “creating” a controversy over the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and building a memorial for him.

However, the issue of a memorial for late Manmohan Singh continued to dominate the political scene in the country.  Coming out in support of the government, another   Sikh leader from BJP, Tarlochan Singh said that the Sikh religion did not allow samadhis or memorials for practitioners of the faith. A former chairperson of National Commission of Minorities, Tarlochan Singh wrote a letter to Dr Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur. “You are aware that in Sikh religion, a samadhi is not allowed. Sikh religious leaders have not accepted one for late President GianiZail Singh either,”Tarlochan said in the letter.

However, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that it was a deliberate insult:“The people of our country are simply unable to understand why the Government of India could not find a location for his cremation and memorial that is befitting of his global stature, record of outstanding achievements, and exemplary service to the nation for decades. This is nothing but a deliberate insult to the first Sikh Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh,” he said in a post on X.