Opinion | Attack On Sukhbir Badal: Time To Heal, Time To Rethink Panthak Politics

Updated: Aug 15, 2026 13:45 pm IST Published On Aug 15, 2026 13:44 pm IST Last Updated On Aug 15, 2026 13:45 pm IST

Published On Aug 15, 2026 13:44 pm IST

Last Updated On Aug 15, 2026 13:45 pm IST

A sacred Sikh space in the Deccan has become the setting for a question Punjab can no longer avoid. What happens when religious identity, grievance and violence begin appearing too closely together?The motive behind the attack on Sukhbir Singh Badal remains under investigation. But the incident raises questions about the direction of Sikh public discourse. I was in Nanded in June, walking through a city where Sikh history feels inseparable from the cultural world around it.Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib is a holy centre of enormous importance, associated with Guru Gobind Singh's final days in 1708 and the continuing Sikh presence in the Deccan.

Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Sahib

That experience challenged the neat categories through which many of us in Delhi have understood Sikhi.Sikhs in the Deccan have absorbed the cultural landscape around them without surrendering their own identity.Then, back in London, came the news that Sukhbir Singh Badal had been attacked inside a gurdwara in Nanded by Jaspal Singh, identified by police as a Nihang.Badal reportedly suffered a penetrating wound to his hand and underwent surgery.A Faith That Leaves Room For MercyThe question is larger than Badal.He carries political baggage. The sacrilege incidents of 2015, during the Akali-BJP government, caused a wound that cannot be dismissed in religious........

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