In Nov 10 Sarbat Khalsa, Angry Voices From the Past Echo in Punjab

Sikhs’ anger stems from their perception that they have been denied justice, writes Kanwar Sandhu.

Way back on January 26, 1986, when certain Sikh politico-religious organisations revived the historic tradition of Sarbat Khalsa, a congregation of the community, and passed certain controversial resolutions, there were shockwaves in Punjab and rest of the country. But the event was then explained away as anger against two major events that shook the community – Operation Blue Star in June and anti-Sikh violence in Delhi in November 1984. Following this, Punjab was engulfed in violence for nearly a decade.

Now, with the events of 1984 behind us by 31 years and everything appearing normal, signs of the situation spiralling out of control has baffled political observers. The question is being asked again: is terrorism returning and are the separatists on the upswing? If the answer is “yes”, the obvious question is: what caused it?

If the answer is “no”, what explains the massive gathering at the Sarbat Khalsa near Amritsar on November 10, which was called by some not so well-known and somewhat disparate groups? The question is valid, but the answer is not so simple.

Giving Vent To Pent Up Anger

• November 10 Sarbat Khalsa gathering of Sikhs being likened to one held in January 1986.
  
• Today, there are signs of the situation spiralling out of control.
  
• Sikhs’ anger stems from their perception that they have been denied justice.
  
• The noises abroad within Sikh diaspora is getting amplified in Punjab, via social media.
  
• There is a perceptible revival of separatism reflected in selection of a convicted militant Jagtar Singh Hawara.
  
• SAD-BJP misrule another factor as BJP continues to maintain silence on the emerging events in Punjab.
  

The Past Still Rankles

The 1986 Sarbat Khalsa was an outpouring of the Sikh community’s anger then. The one on November 10 was the culmination of all that and much more. Why would the events of 1984 or 1986 still rankle? They rankle because the community feels that it has been denied justice. Oblivious to the community’s anger over Operation Blue Star, successive governments at the Centre have lived in denial.

Instead of inquiring into the manner and conduct of the military operation or offering an apology for the botched-up action, the governments promoted and decorated military officers responsible for it. Despite a dozen commissions and special investigations, leave alone punishment to the main perpetrators of the November 1984 anti-Sikh violence, many were given Congress tickets and positions.

The crowds that gathered on November 10 had other reasons to be there. For the rest of the country, terrorism had been successfully “finished”. Paeans were written on how nowhere else in the world had terrorism been controlled as in Punjab. But no one cared to inquire into the illegal and extra-judicial methods used to wipe out “terrorists”.

Anger Boils Over

These were allowed in spite of the promulgation of draconian laws like TADA. Thousands of Sikhs used every possible way to emigrate abroad to escape the violence unleashed by militants and the security forces. No wonder, the demand for separatism began to be heard louder abroad than in Punjab. And with globalisation and the advent of social media, the noises abroad are finding an echo back home in Punjab. As it did on November 10.

One of the resolutions at the function declaring Lt Gen Kuldip Singh Brar (retd) and KPS Gill as tankhaiya (accused) was the community’s sense of “justice” on their roles during the 1984-94 period. Gill reacted to the Sarbat Khalsa as actions of a “lunatic fringe.” Denial will not help, especially when the number of people gathered, even by modest estimates, was more than a lakh-and-a-half. This, despite the government’s efforts to prevent the people from converging at the venue.

Denial of Justice

I do a daily call-in TV show on a North American channel where I deal with all kinds of questions from the Punjabi diaspora, including separatists. When I reason out the need to use democratic means to bring about change, if you have to, and to shun violence, they retort: what do we do when we don’t get justice?

I hedge and try to hold my ground but frankly I often find myself fumbling for answers. No wonder, there was a huge round of applause from the Sarbat Khalsa gathering when the resolution naming the militant, Jagtar Singh Hawara, as the new jathedar of Akal Takht was read out. Hawara was convicted for the assassination of former Chief Minister Beant Singh and is undergoing life imprisonment till death. Clearly, a section of the community sees a “martyr” in him.

There are of course other “in-house” reasons for the huge gathering. This relates to the misrule of the SAD-BJP government and its inability to check the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib. Once Parkash Singh Badal became chief minister, he did not care to push the demands put forth in the 1973 and 1978 Anandpur Sahib resolutions for greater autonomy, as promised.

Sukhbir’s Folly

He patronises nepotism in a manner even the monarchs didn’t. His son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is the SAD president and Deputy CM, runs the state as a personal fiefdom, mixing governance with personal businesses. Instead of upholding the miri-piri (temporal and spiritual) concept, which is intrinsic to Sikhism, in letter and spirit, the Badals are striking at the very roots of it. Unrest among farmers and the rural youth have added to the general frustration.

BJP’s Silence

While the Sikhs’ anger is mainly directed at the SAD, Hindus, who account for nearly 40 per cent of the state’s population, are watching the developments with trepidation. The Akali Dal’s alliance partner, BJP, has remained a mute spectator, save for occasional outbursts at the state government’s functioning.

Clearly, the anger that has been gathering steam over the past 30 years found vent on November 10. The Punjab government reacted by invoking, like in the 80s, charges of sedition against those who organised the Sarbat Khalsa, which has only fuelled the anger. The moot point now is: what should be done? That calls for a separate treatise. For the time being, being an optimist, I would only say, there is hope.

(The writer is a Chandigarh-based journalist who has had a ringside view of Punjab since 1980)