Bharat Bhushan - Punjab unrest: the problem is Badal & Son, not Khalistan 2.0
A series of unfortunate developments in Punjab seems to suggest
at the outset that the state is in turmoil again - and that Sikh militancy may
rise again.
The holding of a Sikh congregation or 'Sarbat Khalsa' by
militants on Diwali this year; the resolution to 'dismiss' the five Jathedars
to the Akal Takht and the 'appointment' of Jagtar Singh Hawara, currently a
convict serving his sentence in jail for the murder of former chief minister
Beant Singh, as a Jathedar; and the passing of resolutions for 'Azad Sikh Raj';
and instances of desecration of the Sikh Holy Book, the Guru Granth Sahib, have
led to the speculation that Sikh militancy may resurface.
The conditions on the ground - an acute crisis in
agriculture, high rates of unemployment among educated youngsters, drug
addiction, the resurfacing of dormant militant elements and the attempt to
churn the cauldron of religious politics - are similar to those in the tragic
period of 1982-84. At that time, they had led to the growth of Sikh militancy.
The Sarbat Khalsa row
However, any suggestion of revival of Sikh militancy is
nothing more than fear mongering.
Three major changes have taken place since the 1980s: Punjab
today is far more prosperous than in the 1980s; the people are wiser after the
experience of the 1980s; and there is no Hindu-Sikh communal tension.
"The same set of conditions which produced terrorism
earlier - rural indebtedness, drug menace and unemployment - have also produced
secularism in Punjab since then. What matters is how the political classes deal
with these issues," argues Pramod Kumar, Director of Chandigarh-based
Institute of Development and Communication.
Baljit Balli, a veteran editor, explains, "In 1995, the
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) adopted the Moga Declaration on 'Punjab, Panjabi and
Punjabiyat' - in effect rejecting Sikh fundamentalism. Today's Punjab has moved
far away from militancy and there is no desire to go back."
Why then did the SAD-BJP government allow the holding of a
Sarbat Khalsa or Sikh religious congregation at Amritsar on Diwali on 10
November? The government and the Opposition Congress party blame each
other. This was evident in the rival press conferences held on the same day by
Captain (Retd) Amarinder Singh on behalf of the Congress and by Deputy Chief
Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in Delhi to trade charges. They are also being
repeated at the local level.
Like Sukhbir Badal, Punjab education minister Daljit Singh
Cheema blames the Congress party for "supporting" the Sarbat Khalsa.
"Why would we support those who 'revoked' the title of "Fakr-e-Qaum
Panth Ratan" (Pride of the Community and Gem of the Faith) conferred on
Parkash Singh Badal?"
Congress president for Phagwara district, Harjeet Singh
Parmar, however, believes that the Sarbat Khalsa was organised by
"fanatics" and not by political parties. "The Akalis are weak today and did not take any
preventive action for fear of angering Sikhs. But Sikh fundamentalism has no
takers today," claims Parmar.
Those who watched the Sarbat Khalsa live on TV claim that
people were much more enthusiastic in raising their hands whenever anything was
said against the Badals and were less so on panthic issues.
Sikh dissatisfaction The entire crisis in Punjab seems to be about the Badal
family. How has this come about? The SAD is essentially a party organised through the
Gurudwaras. Its relationship with the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
(SGPC), which controls Gurudwaras, is akin to that of the BJP with the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Up to the death of Gurcharan Singh Tohra, who remained the
president of the SGPC for a record 27 years, in 2004, the SGPC acted as an
effective check on the SAD, and at times, as its rival pole. Since 2004,
however, the SGPC has effectively been under the control of SAD president
Parkash Singh Badal. However, from 1997 onwards -- through the 2012 elections --
and till 2014 the SAD chose a non-religious or non-panthic route for electoral
mobilisation. This was necessitated by several factors
"The delimitation and demographic composition of
constituencies prompted the Jat Sikhs, the primary constituency of the SAD, to
take urban Hindus and Dalits along with them. To win, the party had to move
away from a purely 'panthic agenda'. It talked of development and that
continued till about a year ago," Pramod Kumar explains. However, after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, there has been a
persistent and a residual feeling in Punjab that the Sikhs have been wronged.
"This sentiment initially manifested itself in
political parties demanding compensation and rehabilitation for the families of
victims. Under competitive political pressure, however, it was soon extended to
demands for clemency for former militants," explains veteran journalist
Jagtar Singh.
"Thus both the Congress and the SAD-BJP government
supported the mercy petition of Babbar Khalsa militant Balwant Singh Rajoana,
sentenced to death in the Beant Singh murder case. A resolution was passed to
that effect in the state assembly. The Akal Takht designated him "Zinda
Shaheed" or "living martyr". Clemency was also sought by the
Akalis for Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, convicted and sentenced to death (later
commuted to life imprisonment)," Singh points out.
Such is the clamour to seek clemency for militants that even
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose party is trying to make mark in
2017 state elections, wrote to the President seeking clemency for Bhullar.
After the 1984 riots, there has been a persistent feeling in
Punjab that Sikhs have been wronged. It was perhaps a result of this sentiment, that after having
rejected the demand for building a memorial for Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
twice earlier, the SGPC acquiesced to allowing it to be constructed inside the
Golden Temple in 2014. The Badal government did not oppose the move. In trying to out-compete each other as benefactors of the
Sikhs, the political parties in Punjab have, therefore, expanded the public
space for what has been residual but dormant sympathy for Sikh militancy.
Public unrest
Simultaneously, there was a farmers' agitation building up
starting from August to November this year -- farmers were upset over non-payment
of arrears by rice and sugar mills; the price of 'Basmati Pusa-1509' had
tumbled from Rs 2,500 per quintal last year (it was Rs 3,500 per quintal in
2013) to between Rs 900 to Rs 1,200 per quintal which was less than the minimum
support price for ordinary paddy (Rs. 1,450 per quintal); the cotton crop was
ruined by a Whitefly attack; and there was a fake pesticides scam which
compounded the woes of cotton farmers.
In September, there was also an agitation by contract
workers in the government for regularisation of employment. In the midst of this simmering unrest in both rural and
urban Punjab, in September, the Akal Takht suddenly pardoned the chief of Dera
Sacha Sauda Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for an alleged act of blasphemy. This act
dated back to 2007 when he had dressed up 'impersonating' the tenth Guru of the
Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh.
The 'pardon' was issued through a letter based on an
explanation by the Dera chief denying the charge against him. Normally, he
would have had to appear before the Akal Takht - as had the late Giani Zail
Singh and Buta Singh for their alleged religious misdemeanours. This added fuel to the fire. An already agitated public saw
this as vote-bank politics of the Badals keeping the 2017 election in mind.
The
Dera chief has substantial following in the Malwa belt among both Hindus and
Sikhs.
The economic and the religious anger which had started
melding into a single agitation in October coalesced further when there were a
series of instances of desecration of the Sikh Holy Book. In the agitation against these sacrilegious acts, two
protestors were killed in police firing and two others arrested for allegedly
desecrating the Holy Book.
The police claimed that their activities were funded from
Australia and Dubai. That the police had killed and arrested people who were
believed by to be innocent by the locals, infuriated the public further. The
"foreign hand" business turned out to be a cock and bull story and
the police had to release those arrested.
Badals' credibility at rock bottom
"The trust level between the government and the people
is so low that today anything that goes wrong is blamed on the Badals. The
makers of Cremica bread raised the price of their bread loaf and people blamed
Sukhbir Badal saying he takes Re.1 per loaf! That is the perception that this
government has to battle," points out Kumar. Clearly the stage is being set for the 2017 assembly
elections.
There is a perceptible change in Punjab politics with the
hegemony of the Badal family being questioned by the people. The largely Sikh
peasantry is upset and so are others who are not in agriculture. Whichever way this anti-incumbency sentiment goes, will
decide the outcome of the 2017 state assembly elections. It will also matter
how the mainstream political parties manouevre their campaign around the
religious and economic issues plaguing the state. That will determine their
future as well as that of Punjab.
