Prakash Singh writes: In Punjab, ominous signs of extremism and police, political failure

Scenario 3: The followers of Amrit Pal Singh, leader of Waris Punjab De, storm the police station at Ajnala (near Amritsar) on February 23, 2023, demanding the release of Lovepreet Singh Tufan, who had been arrested on a charge of kidnapping. The protesters are armed with swords and guns. They break through the police cordon, attack policemen inflicting injuries on six of them, and almost bully the administration into releasing the accused.

These are ominous developments and show that all is not well with the police in these states — or perhaps, in the country as a whole. In Haryana, things have somewhat stabilised since then. However, Punjab appears to be going downhill very fast. It is facing problems on multiple fronts. Criminal gangs have sprung up in different districts and there are frequent reports of gang warfare. Seventy organised gangs with over 500 members are said to be active in the state. People are being targeted on the orders of gangsters on foreign soil. Drugs are being smuggled into the state in a big way: 40 per cent of Punjabi youth in the age group of 15-20 years have fallen prey to drugs and 48 per cent of farmers and labourers are addicts. Pakistan has been dropping weapons and drugs through drones on a large scale. According to the BSF, there is virtually a bombardment of drones.

On top of all that, there is a well-orchestrated plan to revive terrorism in the state. Pakistan never gave up — it has all along been sheltering whatever terrorists were left, feeding and funding them and making every effort to fan the embers of discontent. The remnants of Babbar Khalsa International, International Sikh Youth Federation, Khalistan Zindabad Force and Khalistan Commando Force are said to be operating from bases in Pakistan. The ISI has also aided and abetted the malcontents among the Sikh diaspora, particularly those belonging to the “World Sikh Organisation” and “Sikhs for Justice”, and is responsible in no small measure for the Khalistani aggression we are witnessing currently in the UK, Canada and Australia.

The straws in the wind have been there for quite some time. As far back as 2014, the Damdami Taksal built a memorial for Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other militants killed during Operation Blue Star within the premises of the Golden Temple. There were objections initially, but these gradually died down and the memorial is now a fait accompli. In 2016-17, there were targeted murders of RSS workers. In 2018, Amarinder Singh, then chief minister of Punjab, urged the Home Ministry to devise a comprehensive strategy to thwart attempts at reviving extremism in the state.

Khalistan posters and Bhindranwale’s images are openly displayed on the streets of Punjab and in Chandigarh on the anniversary of Operation Blue Star, which is observed as “Ghallughara Day”. The administration has always been turning a Nelson’s eye to these developments. It is politically convenient to do so. But in the long run, such an attitude is always counterproductive. You face the problem in a magnified form one day.

Is the police capable of dealing with the situation unfolding in Punjab? Certainly, yes. It is this very police that went hammer and tongs against terrorists in Punjab and vanquished them. They had a clear political direction to wipe out terrorism and they had excellent police officers who led from the front. The state government of Punjab has unfortunately been fiddling with the police. There have been four Director Generals of Police in the state since September 2021. What functional autonomy they had and what directions were given to them in dealing with such extremist elements is anybody’s guess. The fragile security apparatus of the state was exposed when terrorists fired a rocket at the intelligence headquarter of Punjab Police on May 9, 2022.

My experience is that the political bosses’ advice in critical scenarios is generally to handle the situation “tactfully” and not use force, which would embarrass the government or erode its vote bank. Not that police officers are obliged to seek their directions — their paramount duty is to enforce the rule of law — but then that has become the order of the day. Officers generally like to swim with the current and “tactful” handling has become a euphemism for abdicating your lawful duty. This is what we witnessed in Haryana in 2016 and are seeing in Punjab today.

The grim reality, however, is that in matters of security Punjab cannot be equated with the hinterland states. We have seen how Pakistan fished in the troubled waters of Punjab in the 1980s and we cannot allow a repetition of that. The problem will have to be nipped in the bud — internally as well as externally — even if some unpleasant decisions have to be taken. If the state government does not show the political will to tackle the problem head-on, it may as well be dismissed and President’s Rule imposed in the state. A strong governor will have to be sent with a team of competent advisors. We cannot take any risks or even chances in Punjab. Considerations of national security must override all other factors.

The writer served as IG/Additional DG, BSF, Punjab from 1987 to 1991