Panjab Farmers March to Delhi

On 11 Feb, the Haryana authorities closed the Haryana-Panjab border at Shambu for vehicular movement towards Ambala or Delhi. Authorities put in place five-layer barricades with reinforced cement boulders, iron barriers, concertina wires, shipping containers, sand trucks, nails, tear gas drills, and water cannons. Paramilitary is deployed. Revenue officials and police warned villagers in Haryana and Rajasthan. Haryana has suspended the internet along the National Highway 44. Over the next two days, all roads to Delhi were barricaded -- Khanauri, Rohtak, Mandi Dabwali, and even Greater Noida to prevent Uttar Pradesh farmers from entering Delhi. Talks between Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur) with union government ministers failed on 12 Feb night. The farmers' primary demand is what the government promised when the Farmers’ Protest 2020-21 ended: Minimum Support Price. Also, justice for Lakhimpur Kheri, revocation of over 50,000 police cases from the last protest. On 13 Feb, an estimated 50,000 farmers marched towards Shambhu and Khanauri in south Panjab. During the course of the day, the security forces dropped over 2,000 tear gas canisters through drones, and fired rubber bullets; around 200 farmers sustained injuries. Farmers broke down three layers of barricades. The night was a stalemate. At the time this piece is going to press, the farmers have resumed their march. Last year, PM Narendra Modi had called India ‘the mother of democracy’. Just last week the union government conferred Bharat Ratnas on the architect of the Green Revolution MS Swaminathan and farmer leader Chowdhry Charan Singh. Yet, this is the real face of the government – a war on farmers. 

On 6 Feb, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), (Ekta Ugrahan), started a day-night protest against the AAP government in 16 districts. The protest continued until 10 Feb. The protest started on the day the Panjab government started its public outreach program AAP di Sarkar AAP de Dwaar (AAP government at your doorstep). Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, general secretary of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan), said, ‘despite the harsh weather, their members have started the protest against the Panjab government’s farmer and labor policies, debt relief issues, and other  agricultural matters.’ Farmers have set up tents outside deputy commissioner offices in seeking an agriculture policy among other demands. On 8 Feb, in Delhi, farmers from 160 villages of Noida and Greater Noida moved towards the Indian Parliament with their demands. Briefly, the farmers blocked the NOIDA-Agra ExpressWay inconveniencing lots of commuters. The farmers are protesting against ad hoc land acquisition by builders and others. They are seeking a uniform policy. They cite the example of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) which acquired their land promising jobs to their families and a hospital. Neither has happened and they protested for two months in front of the NTPC office. The Uttar Pradesh farmers' protest was muddled with the call from some unions in Panjab to march to Delhi on 13 Feb. Meanwhile, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has written to opposition political parties seeking support for their nationwide industrial strike and rural blockade. SKM has also expressed displeasure over the layered barricading on Delhi and Haryana borders over the 13 Feb SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha Chalo Dilli (March to Delhi) protest. 

On 7 Feb, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (PHHC) sought a response from the Indian and Panjab governments on a public interest litigation (PIL), seeking an independent probe into the alleged extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances during Panjab’s militancy years estimated at 6,733. The plea was filed in Dec 2019 by the Punjab Documentation and Advocacy Project (PDAP) and nine victim families. PADP, headed by London-based lawyer Satnam Singh Bains, has worked extensively in Panjab since 2008 and has currently documented 8,257 cases. Another group, Ensaaf has also documented 5,300+ extra-judicial killings. Human rights lawyer Jaswant Singh Khalra, who was himself abducted and killed, has placed the number of such killings at 25,000. One reason for this case to move in the court could be the appointment of Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia as the Acting Chief Justice of the PHHC. Justice Sandhawalia was appointed after incumbent Justice Ritu Bahri was elevated as the chief justice of the Uttarakhand High Court. Justice Sandhawalia’s father Surjit Singh Sandhawalia was Chief Justice of PHCC (1978-1983) and Patna High Court (1983-1987). While earlier there have been some judgments on individual or collective extra-judicial killings, this is the first time the court is considering this high number together. (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 13, Story 1). Extra-judicial killings in Panjab during the 1980s-90s are part of the people’s memory. If the guilty in this case are brought to trial and punished, it could be a step towards healing Panjab. 

Hari Singh Sekhon, son of former Akal Takht Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke has filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a preliminary inquiry and criminal trial against three police officers in the disappearance of his father in 1993. On 5 Feb, Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu’s Bench issued a notice to the state of Panjab. Sekhon has stated his father was killed in cold blood after keeping him in illegal custody from 25 Dec 1992 to 2 Jan 1993. Sekhon told the Bench that Jathedar Kaunke was arrested from his house in the presence of about 200 villagers and was never produced in any court or even arrested by Jagraon police. On 2 Jan 1993, a First Information Report was registered for an attempt to murder and other offenses at Sidhwan Bet police station, alleging that Jathedar Kaunke was being escorted for the recovery of arms when the police party was ambushed by militants. In the exchange of fire between the militants and the police, Jathedar Kaunke escaped. Sekhon has sought action against former SSP Swaran Singh, former SHO Gurmit Singh, and former CIA staff in-charge Ajeet Singh for ‘fabricating false evidence in the shape of their affidavits, knowing to be false and for producing the same before the court.’ It must be noted that neither SGPC nor the Panjab government has filed a case even though the recently released 1999 inquiry report by Additional Director General Police BP Tiwari questioned the police claims about Kaunke’s arrest and cast doubts on the police version of his alleged escape from custody. (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 15, Story 4)

On 5 Feb, the Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde tweeted his decision to amend the Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Shri Hazur Abhchal Nagar Sahib Act 1956. The amendment is based on a 2014 Bhatia Committee Report, headed by former high court Justice (retd) JS Bhatia. The Report recommended an increase in the representation of local Sikhs on the Nanded board. With this amendment, the number of members sent by the SGPC will reduce from four to two, and the nomination of Chief Khalsa Diwan and Hazuri Sachkhand Diwan will be abolished. The Panj Pyaras (Five Beloved) of Takht Hazur Sahib have opposed these changes in management. The Sikhs in Nanded carried out a march against the move with SGPC head Harjinder Singh Dhami participating in it. Though the Sikh population in Nanded is about 2% of the total, shopkeepers around Hazur Sahib downed shutters in solidarity. SGPC and SAD have called this interference in Sikh affairs and asked the Maharashtra government to revoke the changes. SAD head Sukhbir Singh Badal has written to PM Modi on the issue and asked him to intervene in the matter. With a thaw between BJP and SAD over alliance talks for the 2024 general elections, Badal’s request could prevail. While this matter might be solved, there are differences in functioning and practices between the three Takhts in Panjab and Takht Hazur Sahib, Nanded in Maharashtra, and Patna Sahib in Bihar. The Sikh community needs to come to an agreement over the governance of its Takhts and present a united front. The state and national governments in India need to stop meddling in internal Sikh affairs.

In response to India’s budget presented recently, on 8 Feb the Kerala CM led a protest in New Delhi against the discrimination in federal funds distribution by the Narendra Modi government. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Panjab CM Bhagwant Mann joined their Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan. The Kerala government's agitation against the Indian government comes at a time when Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, two of its neighboring states, have also raised similar allegations against the Modi government. A Wint Investment graphic on uneven wealth distribution shows out of every ₹100 that states contribute as taxes, how much each state gets back. Karnataka gets ₹13.9, Maharashtra ₹7.7, Bihar ₹922.5, Arunachal Pradesh ₹4,863.7, and Panjab 72.9. The southern states allege discrimination against them. This is an issue of fiscal federalism. According to Article 28 (3) of the Indian Constitution, the Finance Commission (FC) of India decides the tax sharing formula. The union government decides the FC’s Terms of Reference. Until 2010, the formula was based on the 1971 Census. The 14^th FC assigned 17.5% weight to the 1971 Census and 10% weight to the 2011 Census. The 15^th FC whose term began in 2017 looked at only the 2011 Census data. Hence, northern states have not implemented population control benefits from taxes from southern states. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tried placing the blame on the 15^th FC, omitting that they work according to the Union ministry’s Terms of Reference. Southern states say they are being penalized for controlling their population and having better development indices.

In a change of decision, the Panjab government has asked the School Education Department to introduce any seasonal fruit instead of providing only bananas in the mid-day meal. (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 3, Story 5). Schools located in south Panjab can go in for kinnow, which is available at an affordable price in the Abohar area. Pathankot schools can opt for litchi while those in Hoshiarpur can give guavas. They have also been asked to consider berries for the Malwa region and mangoes for schools in the Shivalik foothills. This has elated the kinnow growers who suffered a steep fall in fruit prices this season. Farmers in Abohar, cultivating kinnow on 34,000 hectares out of Panjab's total 47,000 hectares, staged a protest on 9 Feb to express their dissatisfaction with Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation's (PAIC) procurement methods. Panjab Agro relies on five major cultivators for its procurement. This year 1,100 metric tons of the total 4,230 metric tonnes of citrus fruit was sourced from the kinnow orchards spanning 74 acres owned by SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal. Jagnoor Singh Grewal, PAIC's additional managing director, said, ‘Kinnows are graded into A, B, C, and D categories based on quality. Once we make a purchase, we need to buy the entire stock. The selection of orchards is based on quality, and preference is always given to small farmers. At the same time, 3-4 large farmers are essential for the commercial viability of the processing project.’ Farmers who could still not sell have been laying them on roads and crushing them with their tractors.

A non-local Sikh was killed while another was grievously injured (later died in hospital) when unidentified gunmen fired upon them in the old city area of Srinagar on 7 Feb. Gunmen shot Amritpal Singh resident of Amritsar, and Rohit, son of Prem Masih, at Shaheed Gunj in Srinagar. Amritpal succumbed to the injuries, and Rohit sustained a bullet injury in the abdomen. Amritpal and Rohit were woodworkers. The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks. In Oct 2021, TRF had owned the killing of a Sikh lady school principal Supreet Kaur. At that time there was a massive protest over Kaur’s killing, likely because she was a local Sikh. In both cases, TRF has not given any reason for targeting the Sikhs. In August 2023, Gurmeet Singh (Sethi Veer Ji) was reported missing from the Kanth Bagh area of Baramulla district. Gurmeet was an engineer in the Public Works department, Baramulla. A few days later his body was retrieved from the Jhelum River after four days. That death was never investigated. A twist to the story of Amritpal’s killing is that his family initially claimed there were no bullet wounds on his body. They refused to cremate him. However, later the police prevailed and he was cremated. On 13 Feb, police arrested Adil Manzoor Langoo, one of the gunmen involved in the shooting. The situation of Sikhs remains precarious in the Kashmir valley.

The Panjab government has decided to do away with the clause of a no objection certificate (NOC) for the registration of any land and property. People from both urban and rural areas were facing problems due to non-availability of NOC. This resulted in the non-execution of the registration of land, creating problems for residents. CM Bhagwant Mann said the decision had been taken in the larger public interest to ensure that people did not face inconvenience. The legal mechanism for the decision has been worked out and details will be shared soon. The government has also amended the Indian Stamp Act to impose a 0.25% stamp duty on loans sanctioned by banks as well as loan crediting companies which would make both vehicles and homes more expensive. The government had also imposed a 2% stamp duty on property transfer through power of attorney. SAD on 6 Feb condemned the AAP government for both increases. SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia said the two measures would impose a burden of ₹1,000 crore ($120M) on the common man who was already reeling under increased value-added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel. Next on the government’s agenda is transfer fees on both general and special power of attorneys. The reason for waiving of NOC seems to encourage and speed up land and property sales so the government can earn money. 

The matter of helmets versus turbans comes up often around the world. Now researchers have studied the role turban styles play when tied by male and female Sikhs cyclists. The paper An Assessment of Sikh Turban’s Head Protection in Bicycle Incident Scenarios is by Dr. Mazdak Ghajari from Imperial’s Dyson School of Design Engineering and Dr. Gurpreet Singh from Imperial’s Department of Materials and the Sikh Scientists Network. The study shows how turbans mitigate impacts on the head during cycling incidents. The findings allowed the researchers to make evidence-based recommendations so that Sikhs who wear turbans might benefit from the best head protection possible: covering a larger area of the head with a thick layer of fabric; placing energy-absorbing materials between the layers of the fabric to increase impact duration and reduce force, reducing the risk of skull fractures; and reducing the friction between the layers of fabric to reduce the rotational force transmitted to the head, thus the risk of brain injuries. ‘The study provides important evidence that we hope will point the wider scientific community to invest in the best headgear fabrics to absorb shock,’ says Dr Gurpreet Singh. Ruth Purdie OBE, Chief Executive of The Road Safety Trust, which funded the research, said, 'The findings of this study could really support Sikh cyclists and help reduce their risks of head injury.' Old pictures of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Khalsa Fauj also show Sikhs wearing turban helmets. That could also be an avenue to explore.