Opinion Amritpal Singh and Punjab police: No one wants a return to violence – AAP government must do more than wait and watch

While no actor in the state government would surely want a return to the dark decade, they would do well to remember that history has a habit of repeating itself. A vigilant administration can surely prevent it.

Amritpal Singh outside the Ajnala police station demanding the release of his supporter on Thursday. (Express Photo by Rana Simranjit Singh)

Manraj Grewal Sharma

February 25, 2023 08:58 AM IST First published on: Feb 24, 2023 at 03:31 PM IST

The sight of hundreds of sword-wielding youngsters storming a police station in the border district of Amritsar on Thursday brought back horrific memories of militancy in Punjab when terrorists held sway, while the state retreated. Leading the protest was an import from Dubai, a self-styled preacher called Amritpal Singh. The 29-year-old first caught media attention with his polarising rhetoric at a ceremony in September last year when he anointed himself the head of Waris Punjab De, a pressure group set up by Deep Sidhu, the deceased actor-turned-activist who was arrested for the mayhem at the Red Fort on Republic Day in 2021.

People of the state, by now inured to pro-Khalistan slogans raised routinely at certain forums or on some occasions, sat up to take note because of the sheer audacity of the incident, and the quick surrender of the police to the demand of protesters to free a youngster held on charges of abduction and assault. The incident raises two issues: One of policing or the lack of it, and the other of the curious rise of a young man who was clean-shaven till a year ago, but is now helming an “amrit sanchar” (baptism) programme, urging youngsters to stop trimming their hair, one of the articles of the Sikh faith, and consuming intoxicants.

Amritpal claims to draw his inspiration from Khalistani ideologue Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, whose attire and vernacular he copies. While most people in the countryside are uncomfortable with the pro-Khalistan rhetoric that he spouts on and off, or the attempt to implement a rigid form of Sikhism that led his followers to vandalise a gurudwara in Jalandhar — they were objecting to the provision of chairs for senior citizens that is commonplace in Sikh shrines now — his tirade against drugs resonates with many beleaguered families.

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Thursday’s incident has left many worried. It has put a question mark on the administration’s ability to handle a newly-minted preacher who doesn’t enjoy widespread following but frequently cocks a snook at the police by travelling with a posse of youngsters brandishing swords and guns, even though the state government has prohibited the public display of weapons.

It has also brought into focus the perils of letting an issue slide in a border state with an inimical neighbour. The state capital of Chandigarh is already witnessing an almost two-month-long morcha on its borders for the release of Sikh political prisoners and justice in “sacrilege” cases. Many in the community, including some prisoners themselves, see the demands as too generic to be met. Yet, the government seems to be adopting a wait-and-watch policy, even as the numbers at the protest site continue to swell.

Explained | Waris Punjab De: What is the mission of this outfit, floated by Deep Sidhu and now under Amritpal Singh?

The Ajnala incident comes at a time when Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, whose AAP government came to power after a landslide win, bagging 92 of the 117 seats last year, is locked in a standoff with Governor Banwari Lal Purohit, who declined permission for the Budget session on Thursday. The two have been involved in a war of words, each accusing the other of overreaching his constitutional jurisdiction.

Even as people of the state await some confidence-building measures following the Ajnala incident, AAP leaders are calling it a conspiracy, with a minister pointing out that it took place on a day when CM Mann was hosting a glittering investors summit that had representation from both the UK and Japan. As politicians clamour to keep the pot boiling, the man on the street is looking for some answers and action. While no actor in the state government would surely want a return to the dark decade, they would do well to remember that history has a habit of repeating itself. A vigilant administration can surely prevent it.

manraj.grewal@expressindia.com