Killing of Sidhu Moosewala is chilling reminder that all is not well with Punjab but not the time to indulge in blame game
Something
continues to be wrong with Punjab going by killing of Sidhu Moosewala
Ground Zero
Jagtar Singh
The killing
of Punjabi pop star Shubhdeep Singh
Sidhu popular as Sidhu Moosewala is more than shocking. It has not only numbed
Punjab but has triggered shock waves across the seas.
The only
inference that can be drawn from this tragic end of a young icon is that
something is not right with Punjab, despite illusion created by degenerated
political elite of so called normalcy. It is the system that has to return to
normalcy. It has not. The unabated degeneration in the system at times tend to
play havoc.
This is not
the time to play blame game. Rather this is the time to rise above parochial
political interests.
Punjab needs
consensus to facilitate the return of this historically disturbed state and the
injured psyche to return to normalcy. And it is not an easy task.
What Punjab
lacks at this juncture is a role model.
After all,
Punjab is not a state like any other. This is the region that is characterised
by aggressive but humanistic religio-political dynamics. The geo-political
reality here throws up its own challenges. It is because of interplay of
various forces and at various levels that moves need to be initiated to evolve
consensus at the religio-political level. This consensus should be followed by
consensus at the level of economy.
People are
groping in the dark and it is this situation that produces tragedies.
The political
players are narrowing down the problem to the curtailment of security cover. The
ruling AAP had earlier projected the pruning of some people as some big ‘achievement’
to hit the VIP culture.
However, in
a state where a battalion of state police is earmarked for the protection of
the chief minister, results can’t be achieved by reducing the security cover
of just one section. Why should the
family members of those in power irrespective of the party should move around
under police protection?
Punjab
Bhawan is less than a kilometre from official residence of Punjab chief minister.
However, one has to see the convoy when the chief minister goes to Punjab
Bhawan from his residence. This has been so all along. Even an ambulance can be
seen trailing the convoy even for this short distance. This road that at one
time used to be thoroughfare was closed permanently on one side during mid
eighties.
Perhaps nowhere
else in the country such vulgar display of this VIP culture is witnessed. This is
what the people hate.
If a
political leader in Punjab is the most sensitive on any issue, it is his/her
security. This applies equally to bureaucrats and police officials.
Punjab is
one state where the police structure is top heavy and it is difficult to count
the number of IGs and ADGPs.
But the
problem is that the state police chief at times lacks the power to transfer
even a Thanedar. The political leaders are more interested in having police
officials of their choice in their respective areas. And there are some
officers who have the knack of always having privileged postings, whichever the
party is in power. This is true of the present regime too.
The political
class must realise that the lives of each and every person in the state are
equally precious. The lives of the political elite are not more precious than
the ordinary people.
It is the security
of each and every individual at the socio-economic level that the state needs
to ensure rather than focussing on the few.
The political
class is attacking the ruling party for curtailing security cover of the people
mainly in opposition. They might be rightly indignant but then this is not
security but a privilege and such privileges must go.
It is the
socio-political and economic environment that needs to be rejuvenated and made
secure and this is what calls for evolving a consensus.
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