There are two entrances to Behbal Kalan village. One is next to the site of the two-month-old dharna against police firing that killed two people protesting against the Bargari sacrilege incident in October 2015, and the other is adjacent a sprawling mansion of a farmer who breeds horses. Anger against sacrilege and Arabian horses that cost a fortune - these are the two sides of Behbal Kalan, a prosperous village on the national highway in Jaito Assembly constituency of Faridkot that’s been in the thick of Punjab politics since October 2015. Even before that, it was well-known — for its historic shrine of Tibbi Sahib where the tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh, stayed for 40 days — but these days, it’s in news mainly for the police firing that claimed the lives of two anti-sacrilege protesters. Ever since the incident, the village seen a long line of leaders, from Rahul Gandhi, who came here in 2016 while on a padyatra from Kotkapura to Bargari, and former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, to PPCC chief Navjot Sidhu, who came a month and half ago. Hardev Singh and his younger brother Sukhdev, who own 18 acres and a stable of seven horses, still remember that fateful day of October 2005. “There was red hot rage when we learnt of the sacrilege at Bargari gurdwara, a few kilometres away, on October 12. We first blocked traffic on the highway but were asked by the police to move to the link road.” On October 14, the protesters had just finished with langar when the police came and opened fire, killing two. One was Harkrishan Bhagwan, whose younger son Sukhraj Singh, a resident of Behbal Khurd village across the road, started the dharna outside the village in December last year to protest against inaction in the case. “My father was collecting utensils when he was shot, my grandfather rushed him to the hospital but he bled to death on the way,” says Sukhraj. Everyone in the village has some memories of that day. Manpreet Singh, Zila Parishad member and Youth Congress secretary, who had gone to Jaito that morning, says he rushed to the hospital when he heard that the bodies had been brought there. “Six years have passed, people have built their political careers on this issue, but nothing has come out of it,’’ rues Sukhraj, as locals drop in with food and other supplies. The brothers, who are among the 30-odd witnesses in the case — many of them were arrested a day after the incident — say they are tired of repeating their statements to investigating authorities. The word ‘rosh’ or anger is a common refrain in the village that has an almost equal number of landed farmers and landless labourers. Lovely Brar, who runs one of the biggest stud farms in the area with around 100 horses on 15 acres, says, “No one has forgotten the incident. Till the time the culprits are caught, the anger will remain.’’ The incident has not affected the Brar farm that supplies horses to BSF, CRPF and closer home, the Punjab Police. “We have a niche market and our clients know us for generations,” says Brar’s father, Harnek Singh, telling you how it was his father who first started rearing horses around the time of Independence. A client inspecting the majestic horses in their paddocks says a good Arabian racehorse can fetch as much as a crore. The Brars have two in that league. It’s election time but there are few posters in the village. “Although we have a Congress sarpanch, it’s a mixed bag here. People vote for everyone including the new party,”’ says Brar. The brothers certainly seem inclined towards it. “We used to be staunch Akalis but stopped after the sacrilege. So, last time we voted for jhaadoo.’’ Jaito elected AAP’s Master Baldev Singh, a teacher-turned-politician in 2017 but he was disqualified last year for joining a party floated by fellow MLA Sukhpal Khaira. “He (Baldev) did nothing for the village but we have lost faith in traditional parties,” says Hardev, who is all set to send his son Amarinder, a Class 11 student, for studies abroad. “Ithe ki rakhya hai (What’s there for him here)?” The wizened old Naib Singh, a farmhand with a sickle in hand, makes no bones about his choice: he is a diehard Congress voter. “It’s important to choose a dhadda (side) and stay with it. Even the Faridkot MLA (Kiki Dhillon) knows me. If you shift loyalties, no one will stand by you.”
