The crisis due to the alleged acts of sacrilege by the head of Dera Sacha Sauda and its violent confrontation with the Akali Dal might have subsided for the time being but underlying causes for the confrontation have yet not been tackled.This is not the first time that a Dera or a sect had clashed with the mainstream Sikh population. The attack on Nirankaris in 1978 is widely believed to be a forerunner of bloody 80’s in Punjab.
What aggravated the clash with the Dera was its open campaign for the Congress in the last election to the state assembly which tilted the scales against the Akalis in the Malva region of Punjab. An additional reason could be caste basis of the Dera which had by and large Dalit support. The most notable feature of the message of the Sikh gurus was directed against the religious and caste divide and is as valid today as it was during their times. Would the Akali Dal and the Akal Takht devote their attention to this basic tenets of their faith and, in particular, accord equal status to the Dalits in their society?
The separation of religion from politics, happened when  the Akali Dal opened it’s doors to non-Sikhs and put up Hindu candidates in the last assembly elections. It was the main reason for its victory as Hindu votes no longer remained the monopoly of the Congress.
I had a special reason to welcome the secularisation of Punjab. For I belonged to the small minority of non-Sikhs who had supported the cause of Punjabi language and Punjabi Suba and blamed the Hindu leadership that opposed it for weakening Punjab’s cultural identity. I was equally critical of the Sikh leaders who had campaigned for the Punjabi language and the Punjabi Suba as a Sikh demand through a Sikh party of Akali Dal. Thus they were guilty, according to me, of breaking the political identity of Punjab.
I also got a positive response from master Tara Singh and Sant Fateh Singh through dignitaries like Jayapraksh Narayan and Praja Socialist Party leader Asoka Mehta who met them respectively in jail and whom I had briefed. Both the Sikh leaders gave a categorical assurance that the Akali Dal would be turned into a Punjabi Dal after Punjabi Suba was formed.
This background was extremely helpful to me in my role as a convernor of dialogue on Punjab, with the leaders of the two communities after the Operation Blue Star. Perhaps I was  the first person from outside the state to visit Amritsar after the operation. I was warned that it was the citadel of Khalistani militancy. Anyhow, I took the risk and visited the university where the lecture hall was packed. Outside I met some armed Sikh youngmen who introduced themselves as followers of Sant Bhindranwala and told me that they knew only one form of dialogue, through the gun. They said that the only thing they knew about me was that I was a friend of Sikhs and they had been deputed to provide me security for my meetings.
My speech and question and answer session lasted for about three and a half hours. I asked about the possible character of Khalistan. Would non-Sikhs be allowed to live there? What would  their status be? Would that be a democratic country with a free judiciary and other democratic institutions? None was prepared for such questions. I was told that it was a slogan that they raised in sheer desperation. I further told them that if the demand for restoration of all Punjabi speaking areas to Punjab and autonomy under the Anandpur Resolution was conceded, it would become a Hindu majority state who could rule the state with out sharing power with the Sikhs; and if Punjab was excluded from autonomous federal institutions like the Supreme Court,the  Sikhs would be the worst victims.
I analysed the Sikh problem essentially as deprivation from political power. The Congress party returned to power with the bulk of Hindu support alongwith the marginal support of sections of Sikhs like Ramgariya and Mazahbi Sikhs, excluding the mainstream of Sikh community. If  the Akali Dal, turned into  a Punjabi Dal, was able to secure the same percentage of Hindu support, the Sikhs could rule over the state for ever. I was asked if any Hindu would join the new Punjabi Dal. I replied that many Hindus who genuinely believed in a Punjabi identity would join it.
My success at Amritsar emboldened me to address similar meetings in all the towns of Punjab. Later, on my request, Sarv Seva Sangh agreed to send about 100 Gandhian workers from all over the country who were briefed about the basic problem of Punjab at Ferozpur and were asked to report back their reactions after a fortnight at Amritsar where all their queries were answered. We met finally at Pathankote and assessed the final outcome of their dialogue. In between I was called by the leaders of the Panthic party which was organising the militant movement in the state at their well fortified underground cell. I was told that they were convinced that I knew the Sikh mind and the problems of the community.
A combination of a Sikh party and a Hindu party does not make a viable stable secular front. The Akali Dal for its long term survival must transform itself into a genuinely secular regional party with an adequate share for non Sikhs and Dalits in the highest decision making forum.