Indian Elections Begin

The seven-phase Indian general elections, largest in the world, began on 19 Apr. In Phase 1, citizens voted in 102 constituencies. The voter turnout was 64% which was 4.6% less than Phase 1 of the previous general elections in 2019. Every state saw a downturn in voters, with 30 constituencies seeing a dip of 2% or more. Indian media is projecting summer heat as the main reason for lower turnout but numbers were low even in northern states, where the weather is pleasant. Low turnout generally indicates citizen apathy and diminishing faith in the electoral system. At his rally in Banswara in Rajasthan on 21 Apr, PM Narendra Modi desperately used the communal card by calling Muslims infiltrators. He also misquoted former PM Manmohan Singh and the INC manifesto. Meanwhile, six districts in eastern Nagaland reported zero vote to the state's lone seat. The no show followed a boycott and shutdown call by Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation over India's failure to fulfill its long-standing demand to create a separate zone with greater autonomy. The twenty Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the region, including six from BJP, also did not vote. Manipur saw violence including gunfire and destruction of Electronic Voting Machines at a number of polling stations. A repoll has been called by the Election Commission. While nationwide the voter target is 75% to mark 75 years of independence, in Panjab where voting percentage in 2019 elections was 65%, the slogan is Is Vaar Satar Paar (this time above 70). Panjab votes in the seventh and last phase on 1 Jun.

In Panjab, AAP suffers anti-incumbency, SAD is in disarray, BJP does not have much of a foothold, and INC was poised to benefit in the general elections. However, INC remains enmeshed in infighting, squandering its chances. INC has fielded sitting MP Manish Tewari from Chandigarh, who won from Anandpur Sahib in 2019, and from Ludhiana in 2009. In Chandigarh, four-time INC winner from the constituency Pawan Kumar Bansal was also in the reckoning. Several INC block level leaders and office bearers, including president of Chandigarh Mahila Congress Deipa Dubey, have resigned though they have stated their resignation is from the posts and not from the INC. Similarly, in Sangrur, INC has fielded Sukhpal Singh Khaira. On 16 Apr, former Dhuri MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy expressed his displeasure in public over denial of the party ticket. He said leaders whom the party rewarded with tickets in the past later jumped ship and those who have remained loyal were being denied the ticket. SAD also displeased senior leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa who recently returned to the party by denying his son, former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, the seat and nominating Iqbal Singh Jhunda (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 11, Story 6). BJP too has denied ticket to senior leader Vijay Sampla, chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Caste from Hoshiarpur. Meanwhile AAP candidates who used to be high on transparency are now uncomfortable facing the camera. During his campaign at a Bathinda village, Gurmeet Singh Khuddian was annoyed as cameras focused on him and asked those assembled not to record his interaction with the voters. In Amritsar, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal wanted cameras off as a voter posed a difficult question.

On 17 Apr, in Amritsar, former Indian Police Service officer and AAP Amritsar North MLA  Kunwar Vijay Partap made explosive revelations on the functioning of the AAP govt. He did so by organizing a rally to seek votes for the party’s Amritsar candidate, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, but used the stage to speak about how he was humiliated by the AAP govt. As a police officer, Partap had investigated the 2015 Guru Granth Sahib sacrilege, Kotakpura and Behbal Kalan police firing cases, and filed his report. Unsatisfied by the then Amarinder Singh-led INC govt., he resigned and joined AAP to contest and win from Amritsar. He said, ‘I regret that justice was promised to be delivered within 24 hours. Panjab CM didn’t even once talk about it with me. I went to court on my own and won the case.' Pratap was referring to the court case where he challenged the court quashing his report. He clearly accused the Panjab govt. of being run from Delhi and said at least two officers of the Panjab Police involved in supporting the drug trade in Amritsar are Raghav Chadha’s blue-eyed boys. The statements have sparked a firestorm in Panjab with opposition demanding a probe into the statements. It is an open secret that earlier Partap was wooed by AAP and now has been isolated. He said had Kejriwal kept him around, no Central Bureau of Investigation or Enforcement Directorate would have touched Kejriwal. Since the Kejriwal jail saga began, Chadha has been conspicuous by his absence. He is supposedly in London for eye treatment (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 14, Story 9).

Wheat procurement by Food Corporation of India (FCI) has dropped by 37% compared to what it was this time last year. Data available until 18 Apr shows nationwide total wheat procurement stood at 6M MT compared to 9.5M MT a year ago. In Panjab alone, only 13% of the expected arrival of wheat has reached grain markets so far. The sharp decrease is due to recent rains causing moisture in grain. Last week, rain, dust storms and hailstorms lashed parts of Panjab and Haryana. The change in weather was due to a western disturbance. The Haryana CM has promised assessment of loss, but the Panjab CM is busy campaigning for general elections and is not available. Meanwhile, despite FCI instructions to not do so, in Panjab private players are buying wheat and have procured up to 6% of total grain in the market so far. First time in 16 years, the central pool stock as on 1 Apr this year was at 7.5M MT, though it is still above the previous lowest at 5.8M MT in 2008. This week the Indian Meteorological Department has issued a Yellow Alert - more rains are anticipated. However, some Indian media is misreporting that Panjab farmers are benefiting from higher yield and robust procurement. Meanwhile, in the Farmers Protest 2.0, the Rail Roko (stopping trains) has entered Day 7 with over 500 trains blocked until now. Trains are being canceled or diverted. The farmers continue to block BJP leaders and question them in their villages (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 16, Story 6).

Panjab's labor department and the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Welfare Board are unable to get the BOCW Act 1996 and related rules translated into Panjabi language in Gurmukhi script as demanded by a labor rights activist around 20 months ago. The higher education and language departments issued four orders between February 2020 and December 2022 directing that Panjabi be given more importance by mentioning the names of all govt. offices, departments, institutions, boards, road names, and milestones in the official language at the top of all correspondence, boards, and signage. The correspondences, replies, and orders involving the Punjab State Information Commission, the board, the labor department, and the Punjabi University in Patiala reveals that even the Estimates Committee of the state Assembly had sought the translated copies of the Acts and the rules, but the labor department could not arrange them. When contacted, Manvesh Singh Sidhu, secretary at the labor department, said, ‘It (the Act and the rules) has been sent to the language department. They are still working on it. We don’t have the expertise to translate into Panjabi. We have also sent reminders to the language department. In one of the replies we received, they asked us to get it translated from a legal luminary.’ The Punjab Language Department turned down the request to translate the Panjab BOCW Rules 2008 citing shortage of translators and already pending works. This is a grave lapse as the Act and its rules deal with labor issues and that section of society which cannot access them because most of them do not know English.

On 18 Apr, Chief Minister of Pakistan’s Panjab province Maryam Nawaz met a group of Sikh pilgrims, mostly from India, and reminded the gathering at the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara that her father Nawaz Sharif said the country should not fight with its neighbors. Nawaz, as part of the first official state-level Vaisakhi celebrations, welcomed some 2,400 Sikhs who are currently visiting Pakistan and emphasized Panjabiyat as being a bridge to improve relations between India and Pakistan. ‘When I became the chief minister, I received greetings from Panjabi brothers from across the border too. I am a Pakistani, but I am a Panjabi too,” she said. ‘We wish to speak Panjabi here like the people of Indian Panjab. My grandfather, Mian Sharif, is from Jati Umra, Amritsar. When a Panjabi Indian brought soil of Jati Umra, I placed it on his grave.’ Nawaz said she made Ramesh Singh Arora the first Sikh minister in her govt. (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 11, Story 5). Meanwhile, Arora, who is also the president of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), is embroiled in a controversy after purchasing three luxury vehicles for around $179K. The money is alleged to have been taken from PSGPC accounts. A leader of PSGPC, on condition of anonymity, said two transactions — one of $122K and second of $57K — were carried out from PSGPC’s account for the purchase of cars. He said a third transaction of around $64K was also carried out in the recent past. Arora acknowledged the purchase of three vehicles, but denied they were for personal use. While these allegations are yet to be established, Pakistan Gurdwaras are languishing for lack of care and upkeep.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has announced that Guru Granth Sahib ‘saroops’ (tome) will henceforth have QR (quick-response) codes on them. During the meeting chaired by SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, it was decided that from now onwards, every holy ‘saroop’ printed by the SGPC would have QR coding to register their count, authentication and other related information. ‘Effort will also be made ahead to cover those holy saroops as well which are presently available in different Gurdwaras and with the sangat (community) at their homes,’ said Dhami. This is a good step to prevent misappropriation of the saroops. Dhami also said employees of SGPC and its related institutions can avail a maximum foreign leave of two years in their entire service tenure. A decision has been taken to construct a campus for the Nishchay Civil Services Training Academy being run by SGPC in Chandigarh to prepare Sikh youth for India and Panjab civil services and other competitive exams. This building will be constructed at Gurdwara Sahib Bagh Shaheedan, Sector 44, Chandigarh. On 17 Apr, SGPC admitted it had failed to get the PM’s attention on its demand of releasing the Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners) but has decided to continue to pursue the cause. Dhami reiterated the demand as one of the ten resolutions passed by the SGPC general house in its budget meeting last month (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 14, Story 5). Following the breakdown of its talks with the BJP about an alliance in the forthcoming general Indian elections, the issue will likely take center stage in the SAD campaign this election in June in Panjab and SGPC elections expected later this year.

On 13 Mar, Amritsar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ghanshyam Thori proposed reasons to extend Amritpal Singh and associates’ detention under National Security Act before India's Ministry of Home Affairs (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 13, Story 5). The issues raised are alleged misuse of a telephone facility in jail to spread anti-national sentiment, and recovery of material allegedly used to communicate with Khalistani elements in Pakistan and other countries. The DC’s proposal has a set of 44 annexures, most of which are audio and video clips to support the grounds for detention. The DC has prepared a separate proposal for each detainee, seeking an extension of detention by listing grounds for each of them. On 8 Apr, Amritpal Singh's mother was placed under preventive arrest in Amritsar before a proposed Chetna (Awareness) March from Takht Damdama Sahib in Bathinda. Balwinder Kaur’s demand is to shift the Waris Punjab De chief from the Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam, where he has been lodged since his arrest in April 2023, to a prison in Panjab. Since 22 Feb this year, Kaur and relatives of the nine associates have staged a hunger strike near the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Upon release after 8 days, Kaur stated she is disappointed with the leadership and the community. Meanwhile, the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMIC) Ajnala Gurpreet Kaur on 17 Apr discharged Chanpreet Kaur for lack of evidence in a February 2023 case registered at Ajnala police station for extending help to Bikramjit Singh, a close associate of Amritpal Singh, who is believed to have gone underground. She was taken into custody by authorities on 14 Apr 2024 from Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi.

On 18 Apr, Ludhiana Sessions Court awarded 38-years-old Neelam Kaur the death sentence for burying alive Dilroz Kaur, the two-and-a-half-year-old daughter of her neighbor, Harpreet Singh on 28 Nov 2021. Neelam, mother of two boys aged 8 and 10 years, had a longstanding feud with Dilroz’s family members as they would check her sons for creating ruckus in the neighborhood in Shimlapuri locality. Neelam kidnapped the toddler when she was playing in the lane at 2:15 pm and drove off on her scooter to Salem Tabri, 13 km away. Neelam had the pit prepared earlier with the motive to bury the toddler alive. Ironically, Neelam was supposed to shift out of the locality the next day and initially even joined the search for the toddler. In March 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the death penalty to Baljinder Kumar alias Kala for killing his wife Seema Rani, his kids — three-year-old Suman Kumari and two-year-old Harsh, and sister-in-law Reena Rani in November 2013. Days before the murders, the convict visited his mother-in-law Manjit Kaur and threatened to kill his wife and children, who had left him over a dispute. He demanded $420 as part of the divorce settlement. Dismissing the convict’s appeal, the division bench of Acting Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji said, ‘We confirm the death sentence under Section 368 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.’ While the intent of punishment is reform, in both these cases, the crimes are so heinous that the court has decided they are ‘rarest of rare’ and awarded the death penalty.

In Malaysia, Sikhs are often called Bengalis which riles them up. In 2008, Malaysian Sikhs had even walked out of a program upon being called Bengali. Recently, former Managing Director of Google and Twitter Parminder Singh shared a probable reason for this mistake in identity: ‘British India had three seaports – Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. British Malaya was served by ships from Calcutta and Madras. Most North Indians used the Calcutta port, the majority of whom were Sikhs recruited for army, police, and security jobs. To the Malay people, everyone who didn't come from Madras, essentially everyone from North India, was a Bengali.’ Singh is not a historian but his reason seems plausible. Sikh presence in the country goes back 150 years to 1828. That is a lot of time to correct the term in use. In 2021, the Gurdwara at Derry, Northern Ireland had burnt down in a massive fire. On 11 Apr this year, the Gurdwara reopened after reconstruction. The multi-storey beige building, on the eastern bank of the River Foyle, bears a long history. An old sign indicates the Gurdwara was constructed in 1915, and a newer one introduces it as the Sikh Cultural Center established in 1995. As the community waited for the Gurdwara to be rebuilt, Derry’s Sikhs gathered in each others’ living rooms and kitchens to continue their Sunday prayers, langar (free kitchen) and even funeral services during COVID-19. The Gurdwara is also a place of worship for other minority religions, like Hindus, who don’t have a nearby temple.