Things turned stormy when Khalistan flags were found tied on a main gate and boundary wall in Himachal Pradesh.
The Khalistani movement was permanently stopped on 22 January 1995. Now once again, in 2022, is getting revived, when Khalistan flags were tied to the Legislative Assembly in Dharamshala and the U.S.-based Sikhs For Justice leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was booked under UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) after ‘Khalistan’ flags” were seen outside the Himachal Pradesh Assembly complex on Sunday.
Himachal Pradesh Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu said Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has been booked as the main accused under section 13 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and sections 153 A and 153 B of the India Penal Code, besides section 3 of the HP Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1985.
Also, they had announced June 6 as Khalistan’s “referendum day.” Because of this, the State police chief also ordered the “sealing” of the border and fortifying of state-wide security at sensitive and crowded places.
The State border has been “sealed” to regulate movements of suspicious elements across it and keeping a strict vigil there, police said.
Mr. Kundu said the FIR against Pannun and others was lodged on the complaint of Ram Chand alias Ajay Kumar of Kaned Village under the Dharamshala tehsil of the Kangra district.
The DGP also set up a seven-member Special Investigation Team to expeditiously analyze the case. In the meantime, AAP blames BJP and said that BJP failed in ensuring national security.
Fights Have Been Emerging Between Hindus and Sikhs
Recent fights have risen due to provocation from Hindutva groups against the Sikhs which especially took place after AAP’s newly-formed government in Punjab. Hindu groups call for a Patiala bandh after Sikhs’ retaliation against Hindus over stone-throwing and Khalistan Murdabad slogans from Kali Temple. The rally was organized by #HarishSingla of VHP. Sikhs retaliated in anger over anti-Bhindranwale slogans.
Hindu groups call for Patiala bandh after Sikhs retaliation on Hindus over stone throwing & #Khalistan Murdabad slogans from Kali Temple. The rally was organized by #HarishSingla of VHP. Sikhs retaliated after anger over anti Bhindranwale slogans #Patialapic.twitter.com/dwCQ46XhjD
— Crime Reports India (@AsianDigest) April 30, 2022
Polarization Politics of the BJP
The polarization politics of the BJP are making minorities insecure. If a government that made an election promise to take all the people along together, but suddenly turned into a majoritarian government making laws to favor the majority while driving new discriminatory laws against minorities to treat the rest as second-class citizens, anger and resistance will erupt.
The issue now is there are some people saying if Hindus want a Hindu Rashtra, why can’t Sikhs get Khalistan.
The BJP chief minister of Karnataka, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh among others particularly made laws to differentiate against the minorities.
Statements such as these chalk out minorities as different people of the country. The Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma made a statement, “The Assam government will also try to participate in the case (at SC) for identifying minorities at the state level. We are of the opinion that minorities’ definitions should be changed district-wise. Our petition will be confined only to the religious minority.”
Recently, Gujarat Muslim fishermen approached the High Court seeking mass euthanasia because they are faced with “political persecution,” The petitioners are seeking to end their life and alleged that authorities have been “harassing” their families on the basis of religion and claimed all facilities are regularly given to Hindu fishermen.
The petition said the community has always been “loyal to the nation” and never engaged in “anti-national activities” like smuggling. Instead, they have often “given information to security agencies” on such activities “sponsored by Pakistan and others.”
The petitioner’s counsel, Dharmesh Gurjar, says the mooring of boats has been banned at Gosabara Port since 2016. “Thimmar and his community are being denied their rights despite having licenses.”
Earlier, Thimmar has also sent a memorandum to the Governor, Chief Minister, and Porbandar Collector for the same. According to the news report, even after these repeated representations to the state government, no action was taken, and this is why Thimmar filed a petition in the High Court.
There are dozens of other recent laws that work against minorities such as the banning of the hijab in some states, making issues of halal cut meat, chanting incendiary slogans in front of mosques, the hate speeches in Haridwar, and the anti-conversion law is enabling unwarranted arrests, beatings and even killing of Christians, and other such incidents. All this is destabilizing the atmosphere of the nation by openly showing the disparity between communities.
The hijab controversy has left Indian Muslim girls crying after being expelled from the exam because they are wearing the hijab. All these years, the high-school girls wore hijab with no issues and these sudden changes are making minorities feel they are not accepted. Sincerely, the issue is not about the hijab, it is rather a symbol of acceptance of our differences.
While in most schools, it is agreed that girls did not wear hijab, there were certain colleges where girls did, and it was viewed as an assault on their faith. Likewise, the call to boycott all Muslim products and tradesmen in Karnataka triggered mixed emotions among all minorities. The government does not realize when they hit at one community, they are basically hitting at a lot of communities collectively.
Recently, in April 2022, there was sparking outrage as Sikhs in Jammu in some areas were being stopped from wearing headgear and turbans.
While these attacks were on Muslims and Christians mostly, the Sikhs have been sympathetic to the minorities, being minorities themselves, and while the battle earlier on was one-sided with Christians and Muslims, who generally did not fight back, the Sikhs, being a more militant caliber do fight back.
The Three Controversial Farm Laws
The Farmers” Protest was known to be the largest in world history. The biggest fear the farmers had was the Bills will eliminate the APMC system (Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee) and their products would fall directly into the hands of big corporates. Under this bill, the trade outside the APMC Mandis is unregulated.
Under this law, it is not mandatory for a company to make a written contract with the farmer for any contract farming. So, even if the company violates the terms of the contract, the farmer cannot prove it. The fear was that the farmers would be forced to bribe their way out of things. If they did not have the money, they worried their lands would be taken.
These laws allowed long storage of food, which would eventually spoil, thus farmers would have to sell them at throwaway prices.
The rooting fear is the farmers will become slaves to the corporates, and many poorer farmers will be forced to sell lands and give up farming if they cannot keep up with the demands of the corporates, for the laws favor the corporates over the farmers. It has been proven that while state agencies will take better care of the people, most private corporates fleece the common citizen to maintain their opulent lifestyles.
During those long months of protests, where the world watched farmers being barricaded with barbed wire, in freezing winter being doused with icy-cold water, in the surge of COVID too, surprisingly, farmers are tough, they rarely suffered from COVID, and some were beaten and even shot, maligned and called names such as Khalistani terrorists and other such names.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar made controversial remarks that encouraged violence while speaking at a farmers’ event in the state. He called upon 1000 volunteers from different regions to pick up sticks and fight “furious farmers. We will see everything. If you stay in jail for two-four months, you will become a big leader.” We all know that picking up sticks is a call for lynching, which has become very common nowadays. Once again, when the CM makes such a call, minorities will not feel safe.
In Uttar Pradesh, Lakhimpur Kheri, the deliberate murder of four farmers and a journalist by Ashish Mishra, the son of Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni, who mowed down the five men in Tikunia on October 3, 2021. Four months after their arrest, Ashish Mishra is out of prison on bail. This gives a strong message to farmers and others that there is no protection for the common citizen and political powers can do as they want. When citizens feel insecure, they start to work up insurgencies and groups of their own to protect themselves. If the law protects all people equally, no separatist groups will arise.
Outside Influences Stepped In
The world watched these events in horror and many Punjabis living abroad sympathetically helped and sent funds for the lengthy protests. People even came to help the Punjabi farmers and langars with hot steaming food was served to all the farmers, and great care was lavished on them with abundant supplies of goods, warm clothes, blankets, and stoves.
During this time, there were chants, not among the Punjabi farmers, but among people living in Canada and the USA for a Khalistan because they surmised the Punjabi farmers were ill-treated, especially witnessed by the beating of old farmers, death of over 700, which the government claims to have no records, and witnessed hate speech against the farmers from the extremist right-wing Hindutva groups. All this added fuel to an already burning fire.
No one in the world, no international forces can ever dare to criticize a country or its government if it takes good protective care of all its citizens equally. This was not the case with the farmers’ movement where one saw anti-Punjabi hashtags endorsed by governmental agencies. The right-wing Hindutva groups by constantly intonating “Khalistani terrorists” actually sparked a new movement. Talks with the farmers could have been held earlier and avoided matters escalating to such levels.
In the past, when the farmers were not happy with the British farm laws, the British government withdrew them, quickly. The same occurred with former Prime Minister Dr. . Manmohan Singh when he saw the farmers were unhappy with the laws, he pulled them back. Eventually, after the loss of lives of 700 farmers, bitter tears, and a lot of anger, Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew the farm laws but there is still suspicion about them. By then, deep divisions have already been created.
India Cannot Function Without Democratic Liberal Equal Rights for All or Insurgencies Will Arise
India is a multi-source civilization, not a single-source one: Because of India’s heterogeneity, unlike many other nations, the foundation of India is very strong democratic and liberal. With countless migrations and invasions of multi-cultures and religions intermingling, the multifariousness of India is unsurpassed by any other country in the world.
The constant call for a Hindu Rashtra and aggressive statements by right-wing extremists are disturbing others. India will witness the return of separatist insurgencies and weaken India from external threats which will only push Kashmir into deeper levels of conflict, Punjab, and the northeastern states are also most likely to witness the return of separatist insurgencies. New groups will arise as people will fight back for freedom of expression of their religion.
Perhaps the government may think they could shoot down all the resisting people if it comes to that, but such drastic acts will have serious consequences and destroy trade with all democratic nations.
It is time for Indian politicians to change the color of their speech to save India or they will, by foolish oration, fragment and divide India pushing the nation back to the past when India was split into little kingdoms ruled by different Maharajas and Sultans. Unity in diversity should be the aim of the government, not unity by forcing everyone to become the same carbon copies because this is not the natural design of the Universe. The psychological games played by politicians spurred on the new beginnings of a Khalistani movement.