Punjab must be saved from being pushed into the volcano again

 

Sacrilege at Golden Temple: Deeper design to destabilise Punjab again

Ground Zero

Jagtar Singh

 

What happened in the Golden Temple (Darbar Sahib) complex on Saturday evening is not only shocking but also unprecedented.

Never before any person in recorded history has scaled the railing after it was erected, to reach Guru Granth Sahib. The person concerned jumped over and picked up the historical sword donated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh that is placed in front of the Guru Granth Sahib leaving the devotees and the staff shell shocked. The man was subsequently beaten to death.

Even before this heinous crime of desecration was sinking in, yet another incident of sacrilege at a gurdwara in Kapurthala district was reported in the morning today. The accused was caught and interrogated and the video is now viral. He was incoherent in his replies. He was killed by the devotees in the presence of the police.

Lynching is abominable and can’t be justified. It is a matter of cause and effect.

Earlier sometimes back, a similar incident of sacrilege was reported from Takht Keshgarh Sahib, Anandpur Sahib. The accused was handed over to the police who took the plea that the he was mentally disturbed. In some earlier cases too, the accused were stated to mentally disturbed.

How come that these mentally disturbed people reach mainly the gurdwaras to execute blasphemy?

Is this crime now part of some deeper design to destabilise Punjab in the run up to the Assembly elections due in February 2022?

But then who would gain from it?

It is not only in recent times that Punjab has been confronted with such perplexing situation.

One has to go back to the Sikh-Nirankari confrontation in 1978 that pushed Punjab into dark tunnel for more than a decade. That violence consumed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Akali Dal chief Sant Harchand Singh Longwal, Chief Minister Beant Singh and Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, besides thousands of others, known and unknown.

The repeat was witnessed in 2015 when Guru Granth Sahib was reported missing from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village whose torn pages were found scattered on the streets of the adjoining Bargari village on October 12, 2015. The police firing on protesters demanding justice for sacrilege was rooted in this narrative. The Bargari narrative continues to cast its shadow over religio-political discourse in Punjab. The probe is still to reach the logical conclusion.

The name of Dera Sacha Sauda surfaced during the probe that is still going on.

And now the Golden Temple incident is the most provocative.

It is pertinent to mention that Punjab witnessed a series of incidents of desecration of both gurdwaras and Hindu temples in 1981-82 before the militancy related violence intensified.

The Nirankaris were patronised by the powers in Delhi. The Dera Sacha Sauda too has its patrons in places of power.

Those who indulge in such designs also know that Punjab is a border state whose religio-political discourse is highly volatile and is different from all other regions in the country. This discourse dictates the socio-cultural dynamics of this state too.

There is an important dimension relating to the Sikh religio-political discourse in the context of the socio-cultural discourse.

A highly positive image of the Sikh community has emerged at the global level during Covid and this image is associated with selfless service (Sewa) that is part of the Sikh doctrine from the times of Guru Nanak, the founder of this Faith. The gurdwaras symbolise this concept of service through Langar – the community kitchen that is not just free food but represents the egalitarianism and brotherhood.

This image got further reinforced during the yearlong farmers struggle commanded by Punjab at the gates of Delhi in which farmers from almost all the sates participated. One of the important dimensions that sustained this struggle is the institution of Langar.

However, the incident of lunching of the accused both at Amritsar and Kapurthala has the potential to dent that image of the Sikhs as a community. India has witnessed lynching in the name of cow protection earlier.

The farmers struggle confronted the divisive politics by acting as the bridge among the Sikhs, the Hindus and the Muslims. This is one of the most positive contributions of this struggle.

The incidents of sacrilege could be polarising. The real issues on which the Punjab election is going to be contested would be pushed into the background under such a situation.

The cost of such conspiracies if it is part of some election strategy is too small an issue in comparison to the devastating long run impact.

Punjab must be saved from being pushed into the fire again.