Glasgow Gurdwara: No Crime Found

On 29 Sep, three Sikhs from the National Sikh Youth Federation allegedly blocked the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Dorwaiswami, from entering the Gurdwara at Glasgow, Scotland. This took place soon after the Canadian PM pointed fingers at India over the murder of a Sikh activist in British Columbia. Indian media played up the supposed Khalistani link. The next day the Glasgow Gurdwara condemned the incident. National advocacy charity Sikhs in Scotland gave a different version of events, as did Baaz News. Colin Bloom, who earlier wrote a report critical of Sikhs, jumped into the discussion, demanding an apology. The question was, if Gurdwara is open to all, why was the High Commissioner stopped, whether it was a fallout of the Trudeau statement, and whether those stopping the visit were Pro-Khalistan. Scotland police have now ended a probe into the matter and found no criminality on the part of Sikhs who stopped the visit. The police stated Doraiswami was invited by Pam Gosal, Conservative Member of Scottish Parliament. The reason for stopping the visit seems to be that while everyone is welcome at the Gurdwara, it must not be converted into a space where governmental meetings are conducted privately without the community’s consent. Government official visits to Gurdwaras and recognitions are a state tactic which started during the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and continued including during the 1984 invasion of Darbar Sahib (“Golden Temple”) and Akal Takht complex.

In response to Canada’s accusation over Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing, on 3 Oct, New Delhi told Ottawa to remove 41 of its 62 Canadian diplomats from India by 10 Oct. Earlier, India had imposed a visa ban for Canadians. The Canadian government reportedly evacuated a majority of its diplomats in India. Indians will suffer. Over 300,000 students travel to Canada every year for higher education. Now their Visa processing time will be delayed, admissions will end up in no-shows, and families who often take loans will lose money. This will affect Panjab, as 70% of Indian international students are from the state. In another case of the aftereffects of Trudeau’s statement, the family of UK Sikh activist Avtar Singh Khanda, who died in a Birmingham hospital after a short illness this summer, is seeking a formal inquest into his death from the chief coroner for England and Wales through barrister Michael Polak. Khanda’s cause of death was officially recorded as leukemia.

The right-wing template is to first build up hope, and when hopes are belied, become belligerent. This is what India has experienced in the last decade since the BJP came to power. At an event at a think-tank in Washington, DC, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was questioned on the status of minorities in India under the Narendra Modi government. He replied, 'I defy you to show me discrimination. In fact, the more digital we have become, the more faceless the governance has become ... Actually, it’s become fairer.' Two media houses replied. The Wire says, ‘It is a particularly unfortunate moment for S. Jaishankar to parrot lines about material benefits as a response to serious questions on the status of minorities in India. Just a few facts and analyses from this month would fly in the face of claims made by Jaishankar. India’s democratic backsliding, starkly visible across several global indices, has the diminishing status of minorities as a very important component of the regression.’ The Telegraph published a list with five points on discrimination by the government against Muslims. This attitude is seen in Sikh matters where India called accusations of being involved in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder absurd and motivated.

On 4 Oct, the Supreme Court reprimanded the Panjab government for ignoring a 21-year-old direction to construct its side of the canal linking the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers and warned the ruling AAP to comply with its orders. The Court asked the Center to conduct a survey of the land meant for construction of the SYL. All the opposition parties in Panjab – SAD, BJP, INC, even some Left unions – have opposed the move. All are unanimously saying there is no water to spare. However, that is all they agree on, and they have started pointing fingers at each other. The SYL legacy is murky — the acquired land for the canal has been restored to farmers, but here is a chance for Panjab to unite on the basis of Riparian and Basin Rights. Haryana does not have these rights on the rivers Sutlej, Beas and Ravi. Haryana claims Successor Rights but those do not apply. Instead of taking charge, bringing all parties together, Panjab CM Mann is now challenging opposition leaders for an open debate. Through the bonds formed between them during the Farmers’ Protest, the people of Panjab and Haryana know the politicians are attempting to divide them and do not consider this a big issue.

In early July 2022, volunteers were digging a borewell at the Gurdwara of Miyanwala Kalan, 4 km from village Mansurwal in Panjab. At 670 feet, the diggers found polluted water. It was dark brown and smelled like lahan (raw liquor). Soon around 40 villages around the ethanol plant and distillery run by Malbros International Pvt Ltd at Mansurwal in Zira went on protest over the pollution of their water, land, and air. The Zira distillery is owned by SAD ex-MLA Deep Malhotra. As the protest grew, shielding the leader from SAD, the Panjab government tried to evict protesters while people insisted on water samples being collected. The samples proved contamination through concentration of metals and toxic elements. In Jan this year, the Panjab CM announced a closure of the factory but did not pass orders in the state assembly. Recently, while taking cognizance of the reports submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board and Central Ground Water Board on alleged contamination of groundwater, the NGT has directed the state government to ensure safe drinking water to affected villages. This is another people’s victory and now they have offered to hold chabeels - water kiosks - with water from their villages at the venue where Panjab CM will debate opposition leaders.

Subsequent Panjab governments make big projections about containing paddy stubble fires but they do not stop. In fact, they increase. Last week Panjab witnessed 656 farm fire incidents, up by around 63% against the corresponding period of the previous year. This is because the farmers are trapped between the 2009 Panjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act and the oncoming wheat plantation. The farmers are unable to diversify to other crops because they do not have a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price (MSP). Meanwhile, a group of international collaborators led by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature has performed a quantitative study of air pollution in the north-western India region. Observations show high PM2.5 levels in the region – from 60 µg m-3 to 500 µg m-3. However, one study alone cannot establish Panjab's role in air pollution, especially in Delhi. The question that needs to be asked is if the role of other pollutants – firecrackers during Diwali, industry, traffic fumes, cement, traffic, wood fires, garbage disposal – are being studied. In industry, petroleum coke and furnace oil have been banned by the Supreme Court but the government says a complete ban is not feasible. Unless those studies are conducted, there will only be a partial view of the crises.

Recently the Panjab Governor sought details on how the AAP government spent $6B raised through loans in the first 20 months of its tenure. Panjab CM replied 57% of the amount paid  interest on all loans on the state. With legacy debt of $45B at the end of the FY 2021-22, which is projected to touch to $50B in FY 2023-24, Panjab is among the most indebted states in India. While in this fiscal condition, the Panjab civil aviation department floated a tender for hiring of an 8-10 seater fixed wing jet aircraft for a six-month, short term wet lease. Last year, such an aircraft cost the state $0.2M. The Panjab government already owns a helicopter at the permanent service of its chief ministers, past and present. The Panjab police later advised the RTI activist who tweeted the post to remove it, claiming the post had sensitive information. On the other hand, last week the Panjab government appointed yet another Advocate General, the third in 1.5 years. AAP MLA Kunwar Pratap Singh has expressed reservations on the appointment of Gurminder Singh for having previously represented an accused in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan cases of police killings during peaceful Sikh protests.

The Indian state Andhra Pradesh is set to enact a law to ensure MSP for farmers which simultaneously envisages heavy penalties including a jail term for defaulters. The relevant bill is expected to be introduced in the next session of the State Assembly. Kakani Govardhana Reddy, State’s Minister for Agriculture & Cooperation, Marketing & Food Processing said, 'A judicial review committee is looking into the Bill. We will pass it as soon as we get clearance.’ This is potentially path breaking. The over a year long Farmers’ Protest (2020-21) was anchored in the Indian Constitution that lists Agriculture as a State Subject. While the Center took back the draconian Farm Laws, it did not concede MSP on 23 crops as listed by the Swaminathan Commission 2007. The Indian states have a role to play here in negotiating with the Center for guaranteed funds before every harvest season. Maharashtra, Panjab, and Rajasthan have made limited legislative arrangements for ensuring MSP. Andhra Pradesh is setting an example that will push these and other states to take up the cause.

While the Indian Supreme Court hears petitions challenging a Patna High Court’s Aug 2023 judgment that paved the way for CM Nitish Kumar's caste census, Bihar has released the caste-based census data. The report indicates 36% of the population are from Extremely Backward Classes, 27.1% are from Backward Classes, 19.7% are from Scheduled Castes and 1.7% are from Scheduled Tribes. General caste is 15.5%. The data – released months before the 2024 Lok Sabha election – shows backward classes are now 63.1%. Bihar’s population is 131M which is almost 1/10 of India's, so these figures can be considered representative of national figures. In 2012, the INC had ordered a caste census. The report was ready in 2014 when the new BJP government suppressed it. The report challenged the BJP’s view of the Hindu society being a unified whole. The INC is saying Jitni Abadi, Utna Haq which translates to proportional representation on matters of caste. The fallout of the report will include calls to increase quotas for Extremely and Other Backward Classes which is capped now at 27%. This will affect Panjab as well, where Dalits (Scheduled Caste) are supposedly 31% and Jatts 26% (considered General), but Jatts remain in power. Jatts are classified under (Other) Backward Castes in 7 of 36 Indian states and territories, but not in Panjab.

On 1-2 Oct, Rahul Gandhi visited the Darbar Sahib (“Golden Temple”) as an ordinary pilgrim. On the first evening he performed seva by offering water to devotees, listened to the Shabad Kirtan and took part in the traditional ritual of palki seva. The next day, Gandhi sat with women devotees as he peeled vegetables. He served rotis to the visiting devotees. In the evening, he performed seva at the joda ghar. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said it extended all cooperation to Gandhi during his visit but raked up 1984 and his grandmother former PM Indira Gandhi. The SGPC General Secretary said, 'There can be no repentance or healing touch until the questions are not answered.' Many Sikh scholars welcomed the visit upholding the fact that it is not in Sikh principles to blame someone for the deeds of their parents or family and a devotee has the right to enjoy the hospitality of that institution of the Guru. The timing of the visit – when Sikhs are under pressure in India over Canada’s accusations – is being appreciated because Gandhi did not make any political statement. Meanwhile, Panjab CM has announced the process of updating the electoral rolls for the SGPC general house elections to start on 21 Oct. No date for the elections has been announced.