Punjab becomes target of Khalistani ideology, gangster culture

Chandigarh: Punjab is in the news for all the wrong reasons, be it drone attacks from across the border, ammunition supply, or its youths’ alleged inclination towards Khalistani ideology and infatuation with gangster culture. Punjabi film and music seem to play a major role in this negative turn of events. The Sunday Guardian spoke to senior police officials, politicians, youths and the older population of Punjab to assess the situation. The sheer number of incidents in the last few months proves that Punjab is sitting on a ticking bomb.
Amid all the existing tensions, this whole week is the Operation Blue Star anniversary in the state. A huge police force has been deployed in the border districts along with Patiala and Amritsar. In Patiala, there is speculation that there could be an attack on the Mata Kali Devi Mandir on 6 June by pro Khalistani miscreants. Ashok Kumar, a Sanatani leader belonging to Patiala, told The Sunday Guardian, “We have never seen police forces at nakas (crossings) in the smallest streets of the city. Every nook and corner of the city is under the lens.” However, senior officials of Punjab Police deny any such threat and are claiming that the additional security is because of Operation Blue Star anniversary.
In London, Sikhs for Justice chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a known Khalistani extremist, keeps posting his hate messages through phone calls and on social media. During the farmers’ agitation, some miscreants infiltrated the agitation and raised pro-Khalistan slogans in September 2020. On 26 January 2021, there were claims of a pro-Khalistan flag being hoisted at the Red Fort. A senior police officer on the condition of anonymity presented facts from the past, on how things slowly started to influence young minds.
Recently, on 15 February 2022, when known pro-Khalistani face and actor Deep Sidhu died in an accident, there was a huge number of people shouting pro Khalistani slogans at his cremation in Ludhiana’s Tharike village. “Khalistan Zindabad”, “Saadi majboori hai, Khalistan zaroori hai” and other Khalistani slogans were chanted during the cremation. This was when Punjab Assembly elections were just a week away.
The California Youth Sikh Alliance shared videos on Instagram showing Khalistani supporters raising these slogans near Deep Singh Sidhu’s cremation pyre. “After several decades, this vision of sovereignty, that was once brought to life by Sant Bhindranwale, was what Deep had made the youth actively realize again. Thousands upon thousands participated in the Antim Ardas, while even more watched the ‘lion’ being cremated in the diaspora live. The struggle continues…”, the post read, with hashtags: “India Kills Sikhs”, “India Killed Deep”, “Free Punjab” and “Long Live Deep Sidhu”.
After the inception of the Aam Aadmi Party rule in Punjab, on 29 April 2022, the second major incident was when Mata Kali Devi Mandir was attacked by pro-Khalistanis brandishing swords inside the premises of the temple. Going by the netizens’ reactions, this incident shook the Punjab Sanatani populace, and in fact, most Sikhs too have spoken against this pro-Khalistan ideology.
BJP senior leader Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa said, “We have seen Punjab going through times of terrorism, this whole situation could be handled only when one has grit and a no-tolerance policy towards any misdeeds. No gangsters could exist here if the police wish so. It is not rocket science. Yes, I agree that many new techniques have come, but the police force and intelligence too have made advance. So it’s all about the zeal of the ruling party to curb this menace.”
In recent months, the Himachal government banned the entry of bikes that were brandishing pro-Khalistani flags. Later, on 8 May, some miscreants wrote Khalistan in Gurmukhi on the boundary wall of the Dehradun-based Himachal Legislative Assembly. Just a day after the Mohali-based Intelligence headquarters got attacked with a rocket propelled grenade, Punjab Police found Khalistani links to the incident. Before that, Karnal Police had arrested four Khalistanis on 5 May who were planning some incident in Punjab. Before all these incidents, an incident of Ludhiana court blast that happened on 23 December 2021, too, had links with Khalistani extremists.
The Sunday Guardian spoke with ex-DGP of Punjab Shashikant on gangsters’ and Khalistani penetration in Punjab. He said, “The people of Punjab certainly do not want any Khalistan, it is certainly some people sitting in Punjab and abroad like in Canada and UK, who are doing such things here. They need to be exposed and taken on with an iron hand. Yes, it is obvious that after the Khalistani movement gained momentum in Punjab, these gangsters too got the courage to create menace here. I being an ex-DGP of this state, feel immensely concerned as we would be in a dark zone soon if all this is not handled in a timely manner.”
There are many theories behind Sidhu Moosewala’s murder on 29 May, yet after the murder, Punjab has seen 10 murders so far in just five days. Moosewala’s father sent a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah requesting Central agencies to intervene in his son’s murder investigation.
Many of Punjab’s youths have got hyperactive on social media after the murder of Sidhu Moosewala and a total gangster brand-building is going on in social media. Between claims and counter claims by groups of gangsters, they are posting threats to the murderers of Moosewala every day.