Punjab’s moment of truth: Time to confront the Khalistani challenge head-on

There was a mini-social media storm which carried over to Marathi dailies too. A senior minister from Maharashtra had gone to Amritsar and attended a function at Damdami Taksal, a very important Sikh learning centre. Unfortunately, Damdami Taksal has a negative tinge, as it was the headquarters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale before he moved into the Golden Temple — Shri Durbar Sahib — during the turbulent times of Khalistan 1.0. It became a centre of militant extremist ideology. In recent times, it had stayed away from the news as the chief of the spiritual centre has kept a moderate profile.

The problem was not the Maharashtra minister’s visit to Damdami Taksal, probably at the invitation of the head of the centre. The problem is that he chose the occasion to pay homage to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, calling him a Sant and putting the entire blame for the Khalistani violence of the 1980s and 1990s on the then Central government and Indira Gandhi. It is widely accepted that making Bhindranwale a counter to Akali Dal politics was hard-ball politics on the part of Mrs Gandhi. However, it is equally true that this divide-and-rule idea went horribly wrong. Neither Mrs Gandhi nor the then Akali Dal leaders could control him.

More from Opinion

Bhindranwale had tasted the heady concoction of militant Sikhi, moralism and violence. The Akalis had thought they could use him to pressurise the Centre and win back Punjab with more powers from the Central government, but they lost the plot. I have written a section on the Punjab problem and the RSS’s role in calming society there in my book, Conflict Resolution: The RSS Way. It runs into nearly 100 pages. It is important to point out that the violent separatist movement was eventually snuffed out completely under the dynamic DGP, KPS Gill, and the courageous Congress Chief Minister, Beant Singh. Both Mrs Gandhi and Beant Singh paid a heavy price.

Indira Gandhi and Beant Singh were not the only ones who lost their lives. Thousands of Hindus and Sikhs lost their lives too. According to SATP (South Asia Terrorism Portal), of the 11,694 people officially killed by militants in Punjab between 1981 and 1993, 7,139 were Sikhs and 4,555 were Hindus. The real numbers could be higher. As a Punjabi, I would visit Punjab every two to three months even during those days, and it was routine to hear of a murderous attack on a train somewhere, or on buses somewhere else. There is enough documented evidence that Bhindranwale was the chief instigator of this orgy of violence. He would openly threaten the government, the police and the people. He turned the Golden Temple into a military barracks while the state and Central Governments twiddled their thumbs, not knowing how to handle the monster of Khalistani terror they had created.

RSS shakhas were attacked, and swayamsevaks were killed mercilessly in Punjab simply for saying that Hindu-Sikh relations are like nail and skin and cannot be separated. I come from a village near Moga where 25 swayamsevaks were gunned down. Did Indira Gandhi force Bhindranwale and the Khalistanis to perpetrate such crimes?

I had written in my book that though the first Khalistani movement had died, the stirrings of new attempts could be felt. Unless governments were very firm and the people alert, we could see big trouble. The last movement was more in Punjab than outside, except for small groups in the UK and Canada. However, the new phase of this movement is, so far, more outside than inside. But slowly, local militants are coming out of the woodwork, celebrating Bhindranwale openly and giving him the status of a demigod. His pictures have been on display in many Indian gurdwaras and overseas. The AAP Government’s soft, or perhaps cowardly, attitude towards these violent separatist elements is there for all to see. Random killings have been going on, and the state and Centre have been quiet; so too have the political parties.

There is fear in the air and goons are having a free run. BJP leaders could not even criticise the daylight murder of an RSS swayamsevak, Naveen, though a Khalistani cell reportedly owned up to the killing. The movement failed because they could not create a wedge between Hindus and Sikhs.

While I was mulling over this episode, there came the statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, exhorting BJP ministers to visit Punjab and spread the right message of good governance and brotherhood. It has given me hope and emboldened me to express my views further. It is time to call a spade a spade. Making goody-goody statements with no substance is not going to win over either Sikhs or Hindus.

I did a podcast many months ago in Punjabi, and I came to know the depth to which anti-RSS and anti-BJP sentiments have reached. Any good step taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is twisted as anti-Sikh or against the ‘maryada’ of Sikhi. The Islamisation of the ideals of the Sikh Panth is alarming.

This raises many questions. Should the SGPC not ask people to read the real history of the Sikh Panth written by its own Sants and historians such as Bhai Gurdas and others? Why are the meanings of some shabads softened or modified by scholars to suit the current narrative? Why is the Shri Dasam Granth of the tenth great Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, not given due importance anymore? Can the SGPC deny that only Shri Patna Sahib has the unabridged copy of the Shri Dasam Granth? They should come clean on it. Why do we see granthis being instructed to avoid certain shabads that sing the praises of Ram, Krishna (Govind) or Shiva? There are videos available online in which granthis have complained about it. By denying these Sanatani roots and finding excuses, what do they gain? Is it not disrespectful to the great Gurus when we say that they and their disciples sacrificed their lives fighting Mughal dominance, but not to save their Dharma or to refuse conversion to Islam? Who created the Khalsa army? The Panj Piaras came from five corners of Bharat — all Hindus. This is not a scholarly dissertation, so I will not get into too many references.

In my book on Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, I have devoted a chapter to how he was influenced by, or was close to, Vedic thought. It is interesting that despite going to Mecca and debating with maulvis there, the Quran is not quoted in the Shri Guru Granth Sahib even once. Nor is the Bible quoted. Some will keep harping on about a Sufi being part of the foundation of Shri Harmandir Sahib, but the story of the Maratha forces led by Raghunath Rao liberating Amritsar and Harmandir Sahib from Afghan occupation is spoken of far less. They will quote some Sufi saying, but not speak of Sikh Gurus believing in karma, reincarnation and the praise of Hindu deities.

Unless we are ready to present the true history of the Sikhs as written by their own Sants and historians; unless we rip apart the myth of Islam–Sikh unity; unless we confront the decay of Punjab caused by poor farming practices, industries folding due to bad policies, and its fall from being ranked second to 16th while presenting firm plans for correction, we cannot defeat the ugly demon of separatism and the factories of hate.

The big mistake we are making is reducing Punjab’s history to Sikh history. The Sikh Panth is 550 years old, while the history of Punjab goes back more than 6,000 years — home of the Indus-Saraswati civilisation and Takshashila University, which attracted the best talents from around the world. The history of attacks on Bharat began in 325 BC with Alexander and was met with a heroic resistance by Porus, the King of Punjab. His response was so strong that Alexander’s soldiers refused to fight any further and returned home. The ancient history of Punjab needs to become mainstream. We cannot short-change our history and allow ourselves to be blown away by Khalistani propaganda.

I hope Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah are able to change the political discourse of Punjab, just as they did in West Bengal; otherwise, we face a very dismal future for Punjab. We need honest and truthful reconciliation; appeasement will not work.

(The writer is a well-known author and political commentator. He has written several books on RSS, including RSS 360, Sangh & Swaraj, RSS: Evolution from an Organisation to a Movement, Conflict Resolution: The RSS Way, and has done a PhD on RSS. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.)