History seems to be ominously repeating itself to drive Punjab into religio-political minefield again

 

History ominously repeating itself to drive Punjab into religio-political minefield again

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

This headline is not rooted in some sort of pessimism.

The signals are loud and clear. The onus to counter such signals is on the Punjab government.

History in Punjab seems to be repeating itself to push Punjab into yet another cycle of what can be termed as the avoidable toxic situation. That cycle has now impacted even geo-political relations of India with some countries, especially Canada where the Sikhs are settled in sizeable numbers.

In the context of the Sikhs as a globalized people, it is pertinent to mention that even in United Kingdom House of Commons, the representation of the Sikhs is now in double digit after the recent elections.

Punjab is still impacted by the tremors of religio-political  dynamics that got triggered in 1978 with the Sikh-Nirankari clash on the Baisakhi on April 13 at Amritsar, the religious capital of the Sikhs.

The present similar discourse is associated with tension relating to the events in the Sikh domain associated with Dera Sacha Sauda that has a huge following in Malwa belt of Punjab. This Dera came into clash with the Sikhs way back in 2007 and the situation subsequently snowballed over the years.

It was the non-delivery of justice in the Sikh-Nirankari clash that lit the spark.

There is little chance of justice being delivered in cases in which now Dera Sacha Sauda is the accused.

Here is brief history to understand the comparision.

The Akali Dal-Janata Party alliance came into power in Assembly elections in Punjab and Parkash Singh Badal took over as the chief minister in his second term in July 1977. The Badal government gave permission to the Nirankaris to hold their annual gathering at Amritsar on Baisakhi of 1978. It may be mentioned that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee at its general house meeting on  November 28, 1973 , had cautioned the Sikhs against “tactics and practices” of the Nirankaris. The Akhand Kirtani Jatha and the Damdami Taksal then headed by Sant Kartar Singh started opposing the Nirankaris after that leading to clashes at some places.

The Baisakhi clash in which eighteen persons were killed (Thirteen Sikh devotees with four from Damdami Taksal and nine from AKJ, three Nirankaris and two passersby) was the culmination of this continuing tension that had been overlooked by the state government while giving permission to the Nirankaris.

Nirankari chief Gurbachan Singh was allowed to escape from Amritsar hours after the clash and this riddle was never solved. This case was subsequently transferred to Karnal in Haryana and all the accused including Gurbachan Singh were acquitted on January 4, 1980.

Now here is the crucial phase.

A para in Karnal trial court judgment is very important, “All these police officers, and for that matter the executive magistrate surrendered their conscience to the pulls and pressures from those who could make or mar their careers”. (The Tribune, January 5, 1980).

The Punjab special public prosecutor on January 13, 1980 recommended filing of appeal against the acquittal to which the home department gave its consent on January 15. The appeal was not filed and the Badal government was dismissed on February 17, 1980 following return of India Gandhi as the prime minister. The file was closed on April 1, 1980 after deciding against filing of the appeal.

Gurbachan Singh was gunned down in front of his residence in highly fortified Nirankari colony in Delhi by   Ranjit Singh who was assisted by Kabul Singh. The weapon had been provided by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

Punjab was never the same again.

Here is the parallel.

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim is one of the main accused in the cases of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib known by the name Bargari cases. These cases also including that of firing by the police at Kotkapua and Behbal Kalan on October 14, 2015. Besides Ram Rahim, the accused in these cases include Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Singh Badal, former state police chief Sumedh Singh Saini and several others. Parkash Singh Badal has died.

Ram Rahim is already in jail in Rohtak in Haryana serving term in cases of rape and murder. The sacrilege cases can’t proceed without bringing him to Punjab on production warrant for custodial interrogation.

The state government did not give sanction to seek his custody.

The issue has now surfaced following a 2-hour meeting Ranbir  Singh Khatra, retired inspector general of police had earlier this week with Akal Takht chief Giani Raghbir Singh that has been reported in detail by Times of India senior journalist I P Singh that raises several questions. This report quotes Khatra saying, “I told the Jathedar that trial in all the three cases pertaining to Bargari sacrilege – the theft of Biri of Guru Granth Sahib from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village’s gurdwara on June 1, 2015; pasting of provocative and abusive slogans on September 25, 2015; and pages of the Bir found scattered in the streets of village Bargari on Oct 12, 2015 – were stayed by the Punjab and Haryana high court in  March, but Punjab govt did not file appeals in the Supreme Court or before the double bench within the stipulated three month time. Now, it would take a few years even the trials to restart, if at all it happens. There will be no closure in these cases for years”.

It is now for the Punjab government to clarify the situation.

The Punjab and Haryana high court had stayed proceedings against Dera chief on March 12, 2024 and without him, these cases can’t be taken to the logical conclusion.

It may be mentioned that besides the sacrilege cases, two other cases related to firing at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan. The Kotkapura firing cases has already been transferred to Chandigarh outside Punjab.

What is common in the Nirankari and the Sacha Sauda cases is non-delivery of justice.

The issue is how come that the Aam Aadmi Party that had promised early action in these cases has proved to be no different from the earlier Congress government in these cases. The Congress too had earlier assured the people of justice in the run up to 2017 Assembly elections.

It is pertinent to mention that former IGP and now AAP MLA Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh had raised alar some months back saying these cases may never reach the logical conclusion.

Is there any deeper force pulling the strings from behind the scene making the political leadership ineffective in such cases?

The Sikh religio-political dynamics in 2024 is qualitatively different from 1980s.

The fallout from the Sikh struggle of eighties can now be felt in several countries across the globe where Sikh secessionist movement is being propagated, although there is little ground support in Punjab.

This situation has affected India’s geo-political relations. USA has foiled alleged attempt by Indian agents to kill Sikhs for Justice head Gurpatwant Singh Pannu and has made arrests. Relations with Canada have turned sour after the gunning down of Hardeep Singh Nijjer who headed a gurdwara in Surrey and actively worked for SFJ.

The decision makers should not overlook the fact that political violence in Punjab has the tendency to be cyclical.

Justice must be delivered and that too without delay.

Punjab is unlike all other regions in the country.