**Become a Patron Of The Bunga here:** [Patronage via a Substack Subscription](https://azadism.substack.com/subscribe?utm_source=menu&simple=true&next=https%3A%2F%2Fazadism.substack.com%2F) **Read:** [Bunga Azaadi’s Mission](https://bungaazaadi.com/Sat+Sri+Akaaal/Bunga+Azaadi%E2%80%99s+Mission) --- # Azadism is just a first stage of a multiphase, long-term strategy. **The aim here is not just to be another academic hobby or scholarly exploration that is just filed away in the hope some future generation of Sikhs stumbles across it.** Azadism is a call to action for today. We are not aiming to write more books and articles forever. Neither is the goal to be some fancy Instagram page and more social media activism. It's actually time to get things done using the opportunities we have now. ‍In future there are some projects that we are aiming to implement in order to make the Azadist vision a reality and not just more theory. Some of the preliminary work towards this longer-term goal has already begun behind the scenes. But we need enough people (not everyone, not even a lot) to think about the ideas Azadism puts forward, engage with it and express interest in a more strategic approach to Azaadi. Those later steps cannot be started or even shared openly unless we can see enough people with the compatible Sochni to present themselves to us and if we can see certain attitudes in the Panth as a whole change. # “It is easier to say you want Azaadi, than actually want Azaadi” **This  is why we have been working hard to push the Azadist Manifesto into the Panthic space, . Many Aam Sangat have engaged and are deeply appreciated for both their praise and respectful disagreements. But many are not even aware of it in the first place. Whilst growth has been steady, the main reason why is because of the majority of the so-called “Panthic” organisations have suppressed this work (consciously or subconsciously). ‍Many of those who it is completely within their remit to engage with the things Azadism (and now Bunga Azaadi) is covering have ignored or busied themselves elsewhere. Some have even outright shunned this effort! This lack of priority setting is troubling and frustrating (although expected) since this work aims to fill in the exact details for some of the ideals they themselves claim to represent. All these organisations who claim they want a "Khalistan" and push it as a solution to everything should be jumping on this opportunity to discuss the specifics. Yet very little engagement, we much prefer gaane, marches and complaining on the internet. Those things are meant to be gateways for action, not action in of themselves! We can't make it any easier for these Panthic representatives. It's available for free, we summarized every section in bite sized posts on Instagram (the home of modern-day Sikh activism). We even ran sessions to physically read it on Zoom to people, chapter by chapter and having these necessary vichaars. Even if you disagree you should be presenting your counter-arguments (respectfully) and providing alternatives. Simply saying "Khalistan Zindabad" is not a constitution. This is symptomatic of the reactive, unfocused and limited thinking of the modern day Panth that is a result of years of oppression and tyranny causing us to abandon much of our Khalsa traditions and adopt a watered-down version of Sikhi. Real Sangat has always been in the minority and Azadism doesn't need the approval of "Panthic" orgs and bodies. It just means that the process to enlighten the Guru Khalsa Panth about economics and statecraft will be slower as result. # "Knowledge isn't power, **_applied_** knowledge is power" - Bhai Jugraj Singh, Basics of Sikhi **When are we going to actually do something about the issues we face? It's all good singing about it, crying about it, making posts and signs and going on marches, but when are we actually going to _do_ something. Or is this the extent of the legacy our Shaheeds left us with?** Sure, educate yourself about the past and raise awareness, it's absolutely necessary to. But there is literally no point raising awareness if we not going to do anything with that awareness apart from making more songs and posts... to raise more awareness. ‍**Look, plenty of us are aware enough and want the next steps. Need to start looking into the future and assessing the present accurately using the principles of Itihaas. We are so stuck in the past our focus is limited to it. We trying to walk forwards by only looking backwards. I'm not saying let's all pick up AKs and start some guerrilla campaign (although it would be fun for a bit, it simply won't work and perhaps even counter-productive). Need to think strategically and put in place long-term solutions. The least we can do is accurately define what we want our end goal to look like in detail. Hence the whole point of the Azadist Manifsto. ‍[Azadism isn't just more Itihaasic Parachar.](https://www.instagram.com/p/CeYmIF3st1R/) We have plenty of that, and those things are such important preliminary knowledge before approaching the ideas presented here. Azadism is about what comes next. Most of the effort I'm seeing from Sikh organisations and influencers today is just raising awareness of our history, and whilst super important, it begs the question: ‍How much Itihaas are we going to have shoved down out throats before we do something? Unlike others, we don't want to limit our goals to just getting ourselves educated about our history (key word: just). Many are informed, many perhaps overinformed — but now what? What are you going to do with all that information? We have plenty books on what things _were_ like, how about what things _should_ be like? How about applying what we have learnt? How about setting the necessary groundwork for action. This is Azadism's long-term focus. Bunga Azaadi is only one the first steps. # Motivation of the Azadism project > Finally, here are some excerpts from the Azadist Manifesto explaining the motivations of this project.“The reality is this - not only are there nations that hold power and influence that the Khalsa should have already had at this point, but even single individuals have more power than perhaps the entire Panth combined. The worst part is that these people abuse their power to oppress, murder and steal, and the Khalsa has no current way of stopping or replacing them. It may be argued that nothing will beat the Guru’s Khalsa, and whilst true, this has not been seen to prevent the otherwise avoidable genocides and brutal oppression of today. We are so behind on the global level for these things, and as result needless and preventable suffering goes unchecked. It is time for a rethinking in our approach. A realignment of our goals and objectives so that Guru Khalsa Panth is able to navigate the complexity of the modern world and avoid propaganda and misinformation.” _— Azadist Manifesto,_ [Introduction](https://bungaazaadi.com/Raajniti+Vidya/Azaadnama/Azadist+Manifesto/00+Introduction) > “As a Panth, we are so behind in these things it is disappointing. Looking through our history, it is understandable as to why, but nonetheless, this doesn’t excuse our present day ignorance. The blood of our Shaheeds is a currency. It has bought us today time and space in which to manoeuvre. We can either waste this resource and stick to old methods of fighting, simply tackling problems head-on without any planning, or become more strategic. Instead of being so reactive, we have to become proactive. Stop waiting around for a problem to arise before acting, for any actions by that point is already too late. It becomes damage control rather than implementing a real solution. This attitude in which > we approach problems in the Panth needs to stop.” — Azadist Manifesto,_ [Conclusion](https://bungaazaadi.com/Raajniti+Vidya/Azaadnama/Azadist+Manifesto/06+Conclusion)