From dastarbandi to arrest: In Amritpal saga, Bhindranwale village always central

Bhindranwale was also the head of the Damdami Taksal, the oldest Sikh seminary in Punjab. The gurdwara is managed by the Damdami Taksal.

Dastarbandi is a person’s first ceremonial tying of the turban in the Sikh community.

Amritpal chose Rode both for his Dastarbandi ceremony to take over as head of Waris Punjab De (WPD) in September last year and for his surrender before the police, reaffirming the idea that Bhindranwale remains his “idol”. Even as Amritpal claimed several times that he was not trying to copy Bhindranwale, his sudden emergence in Punjab was dubbed as the arrival of “Bhindranwale 2.0.”

Dibrugarh: ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh being brought to Dibrugarh Central Jail following his arrest from Punjab’s Moga, in Dibrugarh, Sunday, April 23, 2023. (PTI Photo)

Speaking to The Indian Express, former Akal Takht Jathedar and Bhindranwale’s nephew Jasvir Singh Rode said “Amritpal was not nabbed by the police but he chose to surrender himself after paying obeisance at the gurdwara.”

“Amritpal had reached Rode late on Saturday night. I was informed by the police that he will surrender from our village. I got to know around midnight and I left for Rode soon after. I reached Rode around 4 am and he was already present. When I met him, he said that he was going to surrender,” said Jasvir Rode.

“Amritpal had informed the police last night itself that he will surrender today morning after paying obeisance at the gurdwara. He also addressed the sangat (congregation) for a few minutes before the surrender. Had the police arrested him, would they have allowed him to address the sangat? He has surrendered. He was all prepared for it and kept his clothes, comb, etc. The police took him away around 7 am. The team was led by IG (Intelligence) Jaskaran Singh who came along with SSP Ajnala,” Jasvir Rode added.

Amritpal chose Rode both for his Dastarbandi ceremony to take over as head of Waris Punjab De (WPD) in September last year and for his surrender before the police, reaffirming the idea that Bhindranwale remains his “idol”.

While support for the Khalistan movement hardly resonates among Sikhs in modern-day Punjab, rural folk from Rode and other Moga villages still idolise Bhindranwale and connect with him as “one of their own.”

Satvinder Singh, a villager from Rode, said: “An ardas (prayer) was performed in the gurdwara in the presence of Jasvir Rode and head granthi Balwinder Singh. No one else, except Amritpal, has been taken away by police as of now.”

Nearly 38 years after Bhindranwale died in Operation Bluestar in 1984 and Sant Khalsa Gurdwara was erected at his birthplace at Rode in Moga, the tiny district in Malwa belt once again emerged as a bastion due to WPD’s activities. Four of Amritpal’s nine aides detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and sent to Dibrugarh jail are from Moga.

The WPD was originally founded by actor Deep Sidhu and later was dramatically taken over by Amritpal Singh on his return from Dubai.

Bhindranwale’s village Rode again shot into the limelight on September 29, 2022 when Amritpal, a transporter from Dubai, dressed up like the controversial ideologue officially took over as the chief of WPD. His ‘Dastaar Bandi’ ceremony was held in Rode in the presence of the slain extremist’s family members and other villagers. He also delivered an address from the stage near the gurdwara, sending ripples across the police and intelligence authorities on the arrival of ‘Bhindranwale 2.0’.

Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh is arrested in Moga district’s Rode village on Sunday. (PTI/File)

Bhindranwale’s elder brother Harcharan Singh Rode watched the ceremony live from the US and the family publicly announced their support for Amritpal who, in his address, said that he was “only Bhindranwale’s disciple and wasn’t trying to copy him.”

With several of Deep Sidhu’s supporters who later joined the Amritpal group hailing from Moga, the district became the venue for crucial meetings and congregations that the WPD would organise and where Amritpal would incite youths to fight for “panth di azaadi’ and Khalsa Raj.

One such crucial congregation that was organized by Amritpal and his followers was during the first death anniversary of Deep Sidhu, which was held at slain Khalistan militant Gurjant Singh’s native village Budh Singh Wala on February 19 this year.