Shift within Shift: Panthic Agenda to Agenda for Development and Good Governance (Analysis of the Shiromani Akali Dal Manifesto’s from 1997 to 2012)

Abstract

Shiromani Akali Dal is a religio-political organisation of the Sikhs. It propagates and promotes religio-political ideology. Akali leadership is of a firm view that politics cannot be run properly without the sanction of the religious authority of the Sikhs and religion cannot be safeguarded without holding political power. So, the ideology of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has been driven by the concept of ‘Miri and Piri’ given by the sixth guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, which indicates that the party believes in the dictum that religion and politics go hand in hand. The SAD has projected itself as a Panthic party with the aim to protect the religious, social, economic and political interests of the Sikhs. From 1997 onwards the SAD’s ideology has shifted towards development and good governance. The interesting fact which appeared while studying manifestos of SAD from 1997 onward is that where development remains the prime concern of the party; emotive issues related to ideology, and religion do get mentioned, but in an increasingly subdued manner. An attempt has been made to study this shift with the help of visible literature which is available in the form of party documents manifesto.