Amritpal Singh & Punjab Politics: AAP Govt Must Do Better Than Rewinding History

As cat & mouse chase ensues for the separatist leader, the Punjab govt must address the state's problems as well.

On 23 February, Amritpal Singh's supporters clashed with Punjab Police in Amritsar demanding the release of his close aide Lovepreet Toofan.

(Namita Chauhan/The Quint)

Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of Amritpal Singh—the latest icon of Khalistani separatists. The lawyers of “Waris Punjab De” claim that he has been detained at Shahkot in Jalandhar on 18 March and have filed Habeas corpus petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Despite news agencies reporting his detention on the said date, the police have denied these reports and maintain that they are still on the lookout for him. Several videos have sprung up in the public domain claiming to substantiate his running away by repeatedly changing the mode of transport. Some witnesses also claim to have seen him and/or sheltering him for a brief while during his escapade.

However, the most common narrative amongst the locals is that he has been detained and taken away to Assam in a special plane where his accomplices have been arrested and produced.

It may not be out of place to state that a person “detained” under National Security Act (NSA) need not be produced before the court. Suffice to say, the optics being created through the episode do not augur well for Punjab and have the potential to make a hero out of Amritpal who till a few months ago was a non-entity.

• Punjab police claims to be on the lookout despite news agencies reporting his detention.

• The events at Ajnala and subsequent events of the last few days appear to be the a reiteration of the 80s.

• The narrative of the Khalistan movement being on the path of revival is in the public domain since the farmers’ agitation.

• The Punjabis having suffered the circle of violence and destruction only about thirty years ago, the Khalistani movement is unlikely to get mass support.

• The fledgling government of Punjab needs the fullest cooperation from Intelligence agencies and the central government.

Spotlight on Amritpal Does Not Help Punjab’s Situation

The noted journalist Hartosh Singh Bal tweeted words to the effect: “Mrs Indira Gandhi and Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale have danced this dance in the early 1980s,” immediately after the Ajnala fiasco involving Amritpal Singh last month. The events at Ajnala and subsequent events of the last few days appear to be the a reiteration of that painful period and the government must take urgent steps to prevent it.

Not using force on the procession taken out by Amritpal at Ajnala demanding the release of his accomplice, was a command decision purportedly to avoid damage to the sacred Guru Granth Sahib being carried in front. The pros and cons of the decision can be debated however, the capitulation of the administration in releasing the accomplice certainly has been seen as a sign of weakness of authorities and has emboldened the separatists.

The claim that Amritpal is a Khalistani separatist being propped up by the ISI is most likely true but then how has he managed to avoid being noticed by the Indian intelligence agencies till the Ajnala incident on 23 February? How has he suddenly appeared on the scene to take over the command of “Waris Punjab De” on 22 September after the mysterious death of Deep Sidhu who had launched it as a pressure group?

It is a sad reflection on the capabilities of our intelligence agencies if they were unaware of pro-khalistani leanings of Amritpal because reportedly, he had declared himself to be its chief in a google form circulated all over the world for Sikhs residing in various countries to obtain membership of the organisation.

How did the authorities who regularly conduct intelligence-based raids on politicians, NGOs, think tanks, and many other organisations fail to detect the sources of funding of “Waris Punjab De” and Amritpal?

The narrative of the Khalistan movement being on the path of revival is in the public domain since the farmers’ agitation. The allegation was that the movement was being funded by Sikh separatists from abroad irrespective of the fact that the agitation consisted of farmers from different parts of the country.

The incident at the Red Fort during the farmers’ march from where Deep Sidhu sprung to the limelight was also attributed to the Khalistani deed. The narrative continued well into the Assembly election campaigning in 2022.

Riddled With Issues, Punjab Govt Finds Itself in Tough Spot

A few incidents going into the election and several thereafter, have been termed 'acts of terror' by the separatist elements. To be fair, to the government in Punjab, it must be admitted that it lacks administrative experience and is reportedly constrained by the dictates from the party supremo in Delhi.

Perhaps, the Punjab government also finds itself inhibited by a lack of necessary support from major political parties. The utterances by newly inducted BJP leaders like Sunil Jakhar to the effect that he was not made chief minister by the Congress because he is a Hindu, fuel apprehensions of the Sikh community about Hindu domination. Therefore, if the governments do not move swiftly to control the situation and tone down the rhetoric of Hindu nationalism, we may end up with the movement swiftly taking communal undertones which was largely not the case in the eighties when the movement was mainly separatist.

The Punjabis having suffered the circle of violence and destruction only about thirty years ago, the Khalistani movement is unlikely to get mass support in Punjab although some localised incidents were projected by the media as related to the movement.

None of the prominent leaders of Punjab have come out in support either of Amritpal or Khalistan. Even the openly separatist member of Parliament Simranjit Singh Mann has kept his council. The elders who have suffered the violence in the eighties will certainly restrain their youngsters from joining the separatists.

However, for that to succeed, the situation on ground has to be improved. Punjab lacks industry and thus, employment opportunities. Farming activity is increasingly becoming unprofitable because of changing environment and cropping pattern which requires a lot of water which is depleting rapidly.

Coupled with this is the rampant drug abuse which makes the youth an easy target for recruitment by separatists. The rampant corruption in the administration and a police organisation accustomed to committing excesses during terrorism are some accentuating circumstances which may give a fillip to the cause being propagated by people like Amritpal.

The government should instead of overplaying the ISI hand, focus on addressing the problems of Punjab. While it is in the interest of Pakistan to keep the pot boiling in India, the internal situation within Pakistan doesn’t afford them the luxury of funding separatists in India.

The fledgling government of Punjab needs the fullest cooperation from Intelligence agencies and the central government. Constant snipping by political parties to run down the government in Punjab must also stop and they should be extended all kinds of support to control the situation. Both the central and state governments must take the events seriously and work in close cooperation in order to prevent the situation from escalating any further.

(Sanjiv Krishan Sood (Retd) has served as the Additional Director General of the BSF and was also with the SPG. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)