Kashmir: Pahalgam Attack Reminds Sikhs of Chittisinghpora Massacre

On 22 Apr, five armed men attacked male tourists in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), killing 26 and injuring more than 20, in the deadliest incident of its kind in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The incident took place in Baisaran Valley, a popular tourist destination near Pahalgam which did not have any security cover. At the time of the incident, US Vice President James Vance was visiting India. The killers targeted Hindus, one Muslim man and two foreigners were also killed. The incident was similar to the March 2000 targeted killing of 35 Sikhs in Chittisinghpora village, J&K a night before the US President Bill Clinton was to visit India. Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann held a security meeting and the state has been placed on high alert. The Akal Takht (Eternal Throne) acting Jathedar (leader) Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj strongly condemned the Pahalgam attack. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami said the act was inhumane and brutal. He said spiritual and humanitarian teachings did not promote such violence. Soon after the Baisaran killings, Sikhs in Kashmir opened Gurdwaras to lodge and feed stranded tourists. The Shahi Imam (Royal Mosque leader) of Panjab, Maulana (scholar) Muhammad Usman Rahmani Ludhianvi said those responsible for the Pahalgam attack should be ‘publicly hanged.’ During their Friday prayers, Muslims in Panjab wore black bands. No perpetrator of the Pahalgam attack has been apprehended yet. In a quarter century, the Indian government has also not been able to find the perpetrators of the Chittisinghpora attacks. Yet, India has blamed Pakistan for both the Chittisinghpora and Pahalgam attacks. Pakistan has denied involvement. Incidentally, on 24 Apr, Pakistan Rangers detained an Indian Border Security Force soldier, Purnam Kumar Sahu, after he accidentally crossed the Panjab border near Ferozepur. There has been no official statement from India on Sahu’s detention. Sahu’s wife Rajani has now gone to Pathankot to meet senior officers and secure his release.

Canada’s Federal Elections were held on 28 Apr. According to latest results, the Liberal Party (LP) has won 168 seats while the Conservative Party has won 144. The half-way mark is 172 seats. The Liberals are a bit short but within reach of forming the government for the fourth time, with the help from smaller parties. In his victory speech Mark Carney, the LP leader pledged to ‘deliver for Canadians’ and govern with the entire country in mind after a campaign driven by cost-of-living anxiety and strained Canada-US ties. The night’s biggest shock came in Ontario’s Carleton, where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who had held the seat since 2004, was defeated by Liberal newcomer Bruce Fanjoy, 50.6% to 46%, on a ballot crowded by 85 protest candidates opposing first-past-the-post. Poilievre conceded locally while vowing nationally to remain leader, noting his party’s highest vote share since 1988 and promising to ‘continue to fight’ for Canadians. A second leadership casualty came on the West Coast when New Democratic Party (NDP) head Jagmeet Singh lost the redrawn Burnaby Central seat to Liberal Wade Chang and announced he will resign once an interim chief is chosen. Singh’s exit caps an electoral collapse for the NDP who supported the Liberal Party after their 2022 coalition pact. Poilievre’s loss makes him only the second federal opposition leader in modern history to be unseated while his party’s vote share grew nationwide. Various political parties fielded around 65 candidates with roots in India. Of them about one-third have won, an improvement from 19 in the 2021. Of these 19 are Sikhs. Elections Canada says turnout was heavy in several constituencies and aims to certify every result by 2 May, when the Liberals’ seat count—and whether they must court allies—will be confirmed (earlier coverage).

On 23 Apr, without presenting evidence but blaming Pakistan for the Pahalgam attack, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, 'Recognizing the seriousness of this terrorist attack,' the Cabinet Committee on Security decided upon the following measures: the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect; Integrated Check Post Attari-Wagah border will be closed with immediate effect; Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India; defense officials and advisers in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared Persona Non Grata; India will be withdrawing its own defense advisers from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad; and the overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55, to be effected by 1 May. However, Pakistan extended condolences while simultaneously distancing itself from the attack. Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif said, 'Pakistan has no connection with this. These are local uprisings, from Nagaland to Kashmir, Chhattisgarh to Manipur. It’s not foreign interference.' IWT has been one of the most durable transboundary water agreements in the world. It divided the six rivers of the Indus Basin between the two countries. India received the three eastern rivers (the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, the later two of which flow through Panjab) and releases about 6% of their water to Pakistan. Pakistan received the three western rivers (the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) which account for the majority (almost 80%) of the shared basin’s water. India retains the right to use the western rivers for non-consumptive purposes like hydropower, and for limited irrigation, but is not allowed to store or divert their flows in ways that harm downstream access. India has now placed IWT in abeyance and indicated a phased approach—including building dams and storing water—but that will take years to stabilize. India has also banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels. As Wagah border has closed, Sikh pilgrims have been allowed to use the Kartarpur Sahib corridor (earlier coverage).

On 25 Apr, during the all party meeting convened by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister (HM) Amit Shah, the Indian opposition asked pointed questions on the security lapse in Pahalgam. With Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) still a Union Territory, the entire security of the region is under the union government. On 8 Apr, HM Shah had excluded the J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah from the security review meeting. The Indian govt.replied that local tour operators began taking tourists to the Baisaran Valley from 20 Apr without local police permission, well before the security apparatus had been mobilized for the Amarnath pilgrimage season. The govt. misled the opposition because according to a J&K official, ‘police authorization has never been sought for the tourist spot, which is open throughout the year barring snowy months.’ Tour operators, tourists, pony riders and local officials in Pahalgam said that the vast grassland spread over two miles is open throughout the year. This points to a clear lapse on the part of the part of the union govt. despite its repeated claims on sealing the international borders. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned from his visit to Saudi Arabia and instead of meeting the families of victims, participating in meetings with opposition, addressing the nation, he went to campaign for upcoming Bihar elections. At Madhubani, Bihar he chose to speak a few words in English for the foreign media: ‘India will pursue the terrorists to the ends of the earth.’ Soon after the Pahalgam attack, Kashmiri students studying across India had to face taunts and attacks from right-wing Hindutva supporters in many states. However, Panjab's nuanced response—condemning the attack, protecting the students—once again demonstrated that it remains one of the most socially and communally stable states in India. There were several instances where groups or activists offered assistance to Kashmiri students in distress.

Akal Takht (Eternal Throne; AT) acting Jathedar (leader) Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj on 15 Apr summoned Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale—under a boycott since 24 Aug 2020 for ‘objectionable remarks’ on Sikh traditions—to present clarifications before AT. The 2020 edict, based on a sub-committee report, barred Sikhs from organizing Dhadrianwale’s congregations or sharing his content until he apologized. Gargajj’s outreach follows Dhadrianwale’s 19 Apr event in Nadala, Kapurthala, attended by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s (SGPC) ex-president Jagir Kaur, prompting Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sarchand Singh Khiala to demand her accountability for violating AT’s directive. Giani Gargajj urged unity among the SGPC, Damdami Taksal, and Sikh institutions to counter religious conversions in Panjab. In the recent past, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal delayed summons to the AT before being declared tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct). Before him Dera (sect) Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim was summoned but he never appeared at AT. Gargajj also announced a 2 May gathering under AT’s patronage to address concerns about films depicting Sikh Gurus, martyrs, and history, citing widespread Panthic (Sikh collective) discontent. In Bangkok, Kolkata-based Satnam Singh Ahluwalia alleged religious discrimination on 12 Apr when a hotel denied him entry over his kirpan (traditional sword) despite explaining its significance. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on 30 Sep ruled a gold kada (traditional bracelet) seized from a Sikh tourist at Delhi Airport was a religious ‘personal effect,’ ordering its release under Baggage Rules 2016. Separately, Sikh scholar Gurtej Singh filed a criminal defamation case in Chandigarh against historian Dr. Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon and a broadcaster owner for falsely linking him to the 1984 Sikh genocide through a 2021 video alleging proximity to ex-Prime Minister Chandrashekhar and saying Singh had ‘falsely claimed’ to have resigned after Operation Blue Star in 1984 when he actually resigned in 1982. The Chandigarh court summoned the accused, with hearings set for 2 Jul (earlier coverage).

Farmer union leaders from the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha—angered by 19 Mar post-dialogue arrests—have warned Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan they will boycott the eighth round of talks set for 4 May in Chandigarh if any representatives from the Panjab government attend the talks. Unions insist on a written assurance after police dismantled year-long protests at Shambhu and Khanauri interstate Panjab and Haryana borders and jailed protestors. Their core demands remain a legal Minimum Support Price for all crops, total debt waivers, comprehensive crop-insurance reform and firm timelines for implementation, and others. In a letter to Chouhan they stated, ‘The Punjab government has hurt our self-respect and insulted us. Farmers across the country are resentful towards them’. While relations sour, Panjab’s farm economy faces widening structural crises: the state will spend about USD 1.17B in 2025-26 on free electricity for roughly 1.4M tubewells, part of a cumulative USD 14.6B subsidy since 1997 that officials say is deepening a groundwater table by a meter each year. Pre-paddy-season power demand hit a record 10,298 MW on 23 Apr and is forecasted to reach 17,500 MW in June. This has prompted engineers to call for two new 800 MW supercritical units and expand coal stocks at major thermal plants. Seeking crop diversification, the Panjab agriculture minister earmarked USD 2.3M for a 33% subsidy on the Punjab Agricultural University-recommended Bt-cotton seed—capped at five acres or ten packets per farmer—and set a target of 125K hectares under cotton in 2025. Meanwhile, as livestock numbers fell by 232K cattle and 522K buffalo since 2019 and factories switched to paddy residue, the once famous golden toori (husk) prices have fallen to USD 2.4-2.9 per quintal—roughly the USD 2.9 (INR 250) baling cost (earlier coverage).

Accusing the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of broken promises, loan-waiver failures, and collaboration with Bharatiya Janata Party, villagers in Panjab have banned their entry in their villages. On 5 Apr Panjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was heckled in village Surjapuri, Muktsar. Since then, a number of ruling AAP Members of Legislative Assembly have faced protests: Dalbir Singh Tong in Baba Bakala, Naresh Kataria in Zira, Gurdev Singh Dev Mann in Nabha, Dr. Balbir Singh in Patiala, Gurdit Singh Sekhon in Faridkot, Gurmeet Singh Khuddian in Lambi, and Rajneesh Dahiya in Ferozepur Rural, among others. On 23 Apr, Punjab Agricultural University became a police garrison when officers pre-empted a non-teaching staff rally over the suspension of junior laboratory assistant Amrik Singh, detaining leaders, sealing gates, until Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain, Ludhiana Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma, and Vice-Chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal promised a three-day review. On 26 Apr, in Akhara village, Ludhiana, police resorted to caning and detaining 19 people while dismantling a year-long sit-in against a biogas plant. The same day Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) Member of Parliament Balbir Singh Seechewal phoned Punjab Pollution Control Board secretary Gurinder Singh Majithia, insisting that No-Objection Clearance be withheld for a paper mill proposed between Dholran and Bassi Gujaran beside Buddha Dariya and Neelon Canal. The Chamkaur Sahib Morcha (front) warns effluent would poison waterways near historic Gurdwaras and has mobilised residents for a 30 Apr public hearing. In another development, over 700 academics, activists and artists across India—including Arundhati Roy, Indira Jaising, and Vrinda Grover—have urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to suspend and charge officers who battered Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) women protesting against Adarsh (Ideal) school management at Chowke village, Bathinda on 5 Apr, rupturing the union’s general secretary Harinder Kaur Bindu’s eardrums. They seek a First Information Report, independent probe and dismissal of cases (earlier coverage).

Private traders have lifted an unprecedented 468K Metric Tonnes (MT) of wheat from Panjab mandis (grain markets) this rabi (winter) season, paying USD 30.8 (INR 2,630) per quintal against the USD 24 (INR 2,425) Minimum Support Price (MSP). Their 10% share of the 4.6M MT haul is expected to trim government procurement and ease pressure on godowns as 1.9M wooden crates are patched, leased or reused. Seed firms, cattle-feed makers, and commission agents are also buying wheat while many farmers are stocking grain hoping for higher resale prices. Sangrur leads the buying at 129K MT. Yet, the state’s diversification rhetoric lags reality: the USD 585K Punjab Horticulture Advancement and Sustainable Entrepreneurship (PHASE) fund and the Bhav Antar Bhugtan Yojana (Price Differential Scheme), promised in successive budgets, remain unlaunched. This has delayed chilli-cluster development in Ferozepur and deferred compensation for potato, cauliflower, tomato, and capsicum growers. A proposed USD 30 Basmati MSP has also been shelved. Horticulture already covers 482K hectares—up 42% since 2011–12—and generates produce worth USD 3.1B, or 17.03% of agricultural GDP of USD 18.2B, but officials concede paperwork outruns fieldwork. Meanwhile, the government’s early-June transplanting window will encourage farmers to sow Pusa-44 which the govt. has banned. Experts warn the new 1 Jun start may revive the variety whose decline saved USD 55.8M in electricity and 5B Cubic Foot groundwater in 2024. May and June are characterized by disproportionately large evapo-transpiration losses and exorbitant irrigation requirements to raise paddy. Analysts add that pushing Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) before monsoon will inflate water demand. Punjab Agricultural University urges sowing short-duration alternative seeds after 20 Jun to uphold the Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 whose purpose was to notify a later date and protect aquifers. Meanwhile, Bayer’s Asia Region head Malu Nachreiner predicts a non-GM herbicide-tolerant hybrid rice for India by 2031, potentially boosting water-efficient DSR (earlier coverage).

On 23 Apr, on the basis of leaked WhatsApp chats on social media, the Panjab police arrested Balkar Singh of Khanna, a 17-year-old student from Moga, and Lakhdeep Singh of village Sardargarh, Bathinda. Upon checking their messages, the police found a 600-member group linked to jailed Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh. The police alleges that messages on the group plotted killings of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Bikram Singh Majithia after his National Security Act detention was extended. The messages also mentioned foreign funding, arms buys, and support for attackers’ families. The police have filed cases under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (Indian Penal Code), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and Information Technology Act, 2000. Majithia has called for a National Investigation Agency probe and Bittu has warned of return of militancy which Panjab experienced in the 1980s-90s. That same day a joint Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad–Sahibabad police unit captured Khalistan Commando Force fugitive Mangat Singh near Amritsar after three decades at large. Mangat is wanted in a 1993 Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act arms case and will be moved to Ghaziabad for questioning. Meanwhile, On 22 Apr, at the Rouse Avenue Court, New Delhi, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee’s former chief Manjeet Singh GK testified that witness Surender Singh was threatened to recant in the Pul Bangash murders trial of Indian National Congress leader Jagdish Tytler. Also, the Supreme Court of India bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra 2025 reinstated pension benefits for retired Kingsway Camp Station House Officer Durga Prasad—accused of inaction during the 1984 Sikh genocide—on the basis of evidence that Prasad tried to cane charge and aerial fire with limited forces, making harsher punishment unwarranted (earlier coverage).

In Lahore’s historic Panjab heartland, Muslim Rababis (rabab instrument players and singers) trace their lineage to Bhai Mardana (1459-1534), Sikh religion's founder Guru Nanak’s rabab-playing companion whose itinerant kirtan (devotional music) spread messages of oneness across Asia. Centuries later the hereditary musicians added tabla (hand drums) and harmonium but still teach the art within families, son to son. 50-year-old Ustad Moeen Ahmed Chand, thirteenth in an unbroken line from Bhai Mardana, guards the fading art from a cramped house near Shalimar Gardens. He recalls dawns from his childhood when his mason father laid bricks then rehearsed ragas by lamplight. Before the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan, Chand’s grandfather led daily kirtan at Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), earning a stipend that the shrine remitted—‘even INR 200 rupees then equalled INR 25,000-30,000 now,’ he notes. Post-migration to Lahore Gurdwara, the funding dried up, pushing his kin into labor. Despite sustaining the tradition for 13 generations, Rababis now play only at Guru Nanak’s birth anniversaries. No local sangat (community) hires them so Chand sings Sufi qawwali at melas (fairs) and urs (death anniversaries) to survive. His nephew, tabla player Mohsin Ali laments that in Pakistan ‘nobody calls us’. Commercial music’s rise and self-styled imitators worry Chand. He urges pupils to render kirtan ‘like reciting scripture’, insisting Rababis train under an ustaad-shagird (master-disciple) bond and credit their teachers. Scholars say the community’s plight reflects wider neglect of shared Sikh-Muslim heritage. Preservationists urge cross-border patronage, digital archiving of rare compositions, and visas that let Rababis perform at Panjab’s Gurdwaras and global diaspora events, creating a reliable income stream while safeguarding intangible cultural history. Without sustained support, Chand fears the nuanced musical improvisations like taans and bol-alaaps and original rabab tuning could vanish within a generation, erasing a living bridge between faiths. Advocates want Pakistan’s culture ministry to seek United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization intangible heritage listing and encourage collaborations with Lahori music academies, Sikh institutions, and streaming platforms to reach younger ears globally.