The capitulation of the Punjab government to a radical Sikh leader who openly declares that he follows in the path of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani preacher killed during Operation Bluestar, does not augur well for the state. Unlike in Delhi, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab has control over every instrument of government to preserve law and order. Bafflingly, it surrendered to an armed mob that stormed a police station in Ajnala, demanding the release of a man arrested in a kidnapping case. Senior police officials gave in to the demand during negotiations with the mob, led by one Amritpal Singh, who heads an organisation called Waris Punjab De, set up by the controversial Deep Sidhu. The government’s failure to enforce the rule of law can only embolden elements who want to create unrest and chaos in Punjab in order to breathe life into a discredited secessionist movement. The public delivered no bigger message on this than the rejection of AAP in the 2017 election for just the bare hint of an association with Khalistani elements. The people of Punjab know too well how much blood was spilled during the violent 1980s, and they do not want a rerun. The government’s cave-in to the mob suggests that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has not read the mood correctly, and continues to harbour the mistaken belief that pandering to extremists might earn the AAP some brownie points.
The sudden rise of Amritpal Singh is both mysterious and ominous. Said to be a truck driver in Dubai, the man at the centre of the fracas arrived in Punjab dressed like Bhindranwale after Sidhu’s death and took over the reins of organisation — reportedly to the surprise of Sidhu’s family members — and has managed to gather a following since then with his radical talk. The Punjab government should ask the Centre to carry out a full check on his antecedents in Dubai. The Centre, sharp to spot a Khalistani threat on distant shores, has been surprisingly easy-going about Singh even after he issued an apparent death threat to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Sidelined for years, radical elements in Punjab have been trying to make a comeback over the last decade, trying to ride on public disaffection with mainstream regional and national political parties. The uptick in violent incidents in the state since 2015, and the welter of events abroad to mobilise the Sikh diaspora behind the Khalistan movement show that these are concerted efforts. Those behind them are using emotive issues — the incidents of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib — and Punjab’s economic dead ends to drum up support for a lost cause. There is no room for complacency or political division on this. The state and the Centre must put aside their differences, and stand together to send out a strong message that anyone who dreams of returning Punjab to the 1980s will be dealt with under the relevant laws.
