Singhu border killing by Nihang group has hit farmers struggle and could be part of some deeper design

 

Civil rights group must probe Singhu border killing by Nihangs to expose design, if any

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

 

The brutal killing of a person by a Nihang group at Singhu border near the camp of the farmers struggling for their very existence has send shock waves across the country. Under sharp attack is the farmers agitation although this killing is unrelated to this struggle.

The police failed to remove the mutilated body for long hanging at the camp of the Nihangs who too were there. Videos of the barbaric killing that have gone viral are self-explanatory at one level. The police must explain as to why this body was allowed to be hanged for such a long time while the police officials talked to the Nihangs. Nihang Sarabjit Singh surrendered in the evening claiming responsibility. He was hailed by his associates while warning against such acts of sacrilege.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has  strongly condemned this barbaric killing while demanding probe.

As expected, the critics of the farmers struggle have launched concerted attack levelling every sort of allegations.

At the time of writing of this column, #khalistani was already trending. Also countering this hashtag are Guru Granth and Sikhs.

 

The farm struggle is the longest and the most peaceful agitation by any section of the people  in recent times around the globe and hence is being closely watched internationally.

The agitation started in Punjab against three farm laws that were promulgated through ordinance on June 5, 2020 by the Narendra Modi government. The protagonists of these laws themselves have written that the aim is to  lessen burden on farm sector to end stagnation. Farmers would turn into labourers under this plan thereby reducing the wage rate in the country in industry and other non-farm sectors.

The farm agitation questions this model that has failed in the most advanced countries like USA and France.

This Nihang camp is known to be against the form of the agitation. One of Nihang leaders can be heard attacking tactics of the SKM  advocating “Aar-Paar Di Ladai”. These  Nihangs  have no stakes in this struggle and speak the same language that a group at Singhu was using earlier. A section of the so called Sikh activist continue to similarly attack this struggle.

These very people forget that they have failed to take the Bargari agitation against sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib in Punjab to logical conclusion despite massive support from the Sikh masses at one stage.

It is clear that  it is the Kisan Morcha that has come under attack although the farmers have nothing to do with it.

Several attempts have been witnessed in the past to disrupt or sabotage this agitation, including the hoisting of Sikh flag at Rad Fort on January 26 last. This section too used to be seen in the camp of the Nihangs till January 26 and dispersed later.  A section of the radical Sikhs had tried to bring in Anandpur Sahib Resolution earlier to sabotage this agitation. This group was responsible for diverting protesters on January 26 to Red Fort.

The mowing down of four farmers and a journalists under the wheels of fast moving vehicles linked to union minister of state for home Ajay Kumar Misra had attracted global attention and triggered outrage. The Kisan agitation has now spread in several other states but the Modi government refuses to budge.

The worry of the Bharatiya Janata Party is the forthcoming Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh along with Punjab and some other states in February 2022. This struggle has hit the very base of the BJP in Western UP.

Moreover, this struggle has confronted the divisive electoral politics of the BJP.

The Kisan agitation has occupied the secular space in the country left vacant by the degenerating Congress Party. This is more important dimension of this agitation.

The design to sabotage this struggle has to be viewed in this perspective.

Bargari probe has not made any headway during these last six years.

The killed person Lakhbir Singh was allegedly caught while committing act of sacrilege. He belonged to Cheema village under Serai Amanat Khan police station near Wagha-Attari border.

One of the members of the camp Sarabjit Singh owned responsibility and surrendered to the police in the evening.

Lakhbir had confessed before dying that he had been deputed for the act.

This action of sacrilege and the killing should be investigated by the civil rights groups too as the police probe would not provide the right answers going by the past experience in such cases of sacrilege.

It is the venue of this shocking incident is important.

This incident has succeeded in diverting attention from Lakhimpur Kheri.

The dimensions are too many.

It is for this reason that probe by civil rights bodies is called for.