In Bhindranwale village,past is passe,development is in

Amarjeet Kaur,an elderly resident,clears the haze a bit. “Historically,the village has swung from the extreme Left in the sixties and seventies to the extreme Right in the next two decades. Now,all parties come here asking for votes and the villagers are also divided along party lines. They vote for the Congress as well as the Akalis,” she explains. And the minute you mention Bhindranwale,she dismisses the topic,“I have been married in this village for nearly 50 years now and has seen him here only once when he was alive. Why talk about him now?”

Sukhjit Singh,one among the crowd that has gathered by now,adds,“The issue of Khalistan and Bhindranwale are long dead. For us,development is the only issue.”

“We have suffered enough for being Bhindranwale’s village. The police never let us live in peace during those days (of militancy). They would gherao the entire village and line up the villagers. They were horrific times,” reminisces an old man as he walks away. Others take turns recounting stories of “those times”.

But what about the propaganda material on Operation Bluestar? “On the ground,the situation is different. If this village has had one Bhindranwale,then it was under the effect of a Marxist-Leninist wave too,” insists Harjit Singh,another resident,as the others nod vigorously.

However,for the per record,of the five panchayats that form the village,four are at present led by Akalis and the fifth by a professed follower of Bhindranwale,someone points out. The group is visibly disinterested by now. As one moves on,hoping to meet some residents who would see the irony and help one gain some perspective,a young resident comes to the rescue,“We vote for whoever promises development,be it the Akalis or the Congress.”

Another irritated 20-something lists out the new priorities,“The water here is unfit for drinking,health services are poor,the veterinary hospital does not even have a doctor. We want these problems sorted out first.”

Then,almost instantly,he points towards nowhere in particular and wants us to know,“Bhindranwale’s family lives on the outskirts of the village,on the periphery.” Perhaps so does his ideology.