PM Modi Visits Dera Sachkhand Ballan; BJP Wins Chandigarh Mayoral Elections

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Dera (sect) Sachkhand in village Ballan, Jalandhar district on 1 Feb to participate in the 649^th birth anniversary of the 15^th century saint Ravidas. Saint Ravidas's verses are part of the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh charter and scripture) and he is also revered by the Dalit (marginalized caste) community. In his speech, the PM said, ‘Our government is continuously promoting the ideals espoused by the saint.’ The event was also marked as the 17^th anniversary of the foundation of the Ravidasia religion. On 24 May 2009, a few Sikhs had killed the then Dera head Sant Ramanand Dass at the Shri Guru Ravidas Gurdwara in Vienna, Austria. In 2010, at Saint Ravidas's birthplace in Varanasi, the Dera had announced the founding of the new Ravidasia religion and launched a separate scripture called Amrit Bani Sri Guru Ravidas (Holy Verses of Sri Guru Ravidas).The Dera head Sant Niranjan Das had written to PM Modi in 2020 to include the new religion in the next census. The conflict between the Dalit icon and the Sikhs surfaced when Modi decided to rename the Adampur airport near Jalandhar as Guru Ravidas airport. Before Modi’s visit, the Speaker of Panjab Legislative Assembly Kultar Singh Sandhwan had put up a slew of demands but none of them was acknowledged. Modi’s visit was part of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) effort to woo the Dalit vote bank. Before elections, due in 2017, all political parties start wooing the multiple Deras to attract the Dalits who form 31% of Panjab’s population according to the 2011 census. Before Modi’s visit, Panjab faced a number of bomb threats: to schools in many districts in the state including Chandigarh and recently in the Punjab and Haryana Secretariat building. A threat was also issued at the Dera a day before the PM’s visit. Simultaneously, BJP candidate Saurabh Joshi has become the Mayor of Chandigarh. BJP's Jasmanpreet Singh has been elected as Senior Deputy Mayor and Suman Sharma is now the new Deputy Mayor. The Aam Aadmi Party and Indian National Congress could not align to defeat the BJP on even one of the posts (earlier coverage).

US President Donald Trump has announced a new trade deal with India featuring lower reciprocal tariffs and expanded market access. He said New Delhi should halt purchases of Russian oil and commit to buying around USD 500B worth of US energy, technology, agricultural products, coal, and other goods. In a social media post, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had a 'wonderful' conversation with Trump. India has not issued any statement on stopping Russian oil purchases or reducing all tariffs and non-tariff barriers to zero, as claimed by Trump. The US too has not released an official statement on it. Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) and India concluded negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on 30 Jan. It is the largest such deal ever concluded by either side. European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen said, 'The EU and India make history, deepening the partnership between the world's biggest democracies. We have created a free trade zone of 2B people, with both sides set to gain economically.' The EU and India already trade over EUR 180B worth of goods and services per year, supporting close to 800K EU jobs. This deal is expected to double EU goods exports to India by 2032 by eliminating or reducing tariffs. Overall, the tariff reductions will save Europe around EUR 4B per year in duties. Responding to the deal, Panjab Leader of Opposition Pratap Singh Bajwa said, 'The full potential of this agreement would be unlocked when manufacturing and agriculture-driven states such as Panjab are meaningfully integrated into its implementation and follow-up mechanisms.’ Highlighting Panjab's strategic location and established industrial ecosystem, Bajwa noted that export-oriented clusters were naturally positioned to respond to European demand in sectors including garments, sports goods, engineering, dairy processing, agri-machinery, and agribusiness. The farmers’ union alliance Samyukt Kisan Morcha called the India–EU FTA an ‘economic colonisation blueprint that will lead to systematic corporate capture of the vast Indian market’. Concurrently, the annual Indian Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament on 29 Jan, shows the agriculture sector grew at 4.6% in 2025-26. However, this growth was driven majorly by livestock and fisheries, rather than crops (earlier coverage).

Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and his Haryana counterpart Nayab Singh Saini met in Chandigarh on 27 Jan to discuss the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue. In May 2025, the Supreme Court of India had directed the two states to cooperate for an amicable solution to the over four decades long dispute. Earlier, CM Mann used to respond on the SYL saying ‘Panjab does not have water to spare’ and the ‘project should be called Yamuna-Satluj link so Panjab gets water’. However, in a Panjab Legislative Assembly session conducted on 5 May 2025, the state government weakened its stance on Panjab’s riparian status on its rivers by calling for a new agreement to be drafted. After India placed the Indus Water Treaty, 1960 in abeyance last year, Mann began suggesting that Panjab should harness Chenab river’s water and would then have surplus to give to Haryana. This time, Mann invoked Sikh history to convey Panjab’s support to Haryana. He said, 'We are the descendants of Bhai Kanahaiya who gave water even to enemies in the war. Haryana is not our enemy; it is our brother.' The reference was to Bhai Kanahiya, who was a disciple of tenth Sikh Sovereign Guru Gobind Singh, and carried a mashk (leather pouch filled with water) in the battle of Anandpur Sahib in 1705, serving water to the wounded on both sides. Responding to the CM’s comment, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal posted on X, 'Bhagwant Mann's twisted reference to Bhai Khanaiya to justify handing over Punjab's river waters to other states, esp Haryana, is outrageous and sacrilegious. Dasam Patshah (Tenth Sovereign) blessed acts of compassion and charity but also taught us to fight for our just rights. It is one thing to offer water to the dying as an act of charity and compassion and quite another to surrender Punjab's lifeline, the river waters.’ Panjab Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said, 'Quoting Bhai Kanhaiya to whitewash the dilution of Punjab’s riparian rights is not compassion, it is a political betrayal.' Both the CMs of Panjab and Haryana have agreed to keep the talks going and decided to work towards a solution (earlier coverage).

On 3 Feb, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former Panjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia walked out of Nabha Jail where he was lodged since his arrest in June 2025 in a disproportionate assets case investigated by the Panjab Vigilance Bureau. The Supreme Court of India has granted him bail. Just before his release, the head of Dera (sect) Radha Soami Satsang Beas, Gurinder Singh Dhillon met Majithia and declared, ‘The cases against him are false.’ SAD cheering their leader is natural but Panjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Sunil Jhakkar has supported Dhillon as have other leaders from the party which points to some agreement between the two political parties. Meanwhile, former Indian National Congress (INC) Panjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (21 Nov 1996–11 Feb 1997) in a controversial statement alleged that, 'I was made an offer by some government officials to create terror in the state to intimidate the public. The fear mongering could get me votes.' Aam Aadmi Party chief spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said the statement is a reflection of the INC party’s 'real character'. However, no political party used this allegation to question the role of the state in the violence carried out in Panjab in the 1990s. Concurrently, suspended INC  leader Dr. Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of INC leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has formally quit the party saying that ‘no promising leader was being heard'. Meanwhile, the US Justice Department made public emails along with thousands of files linked to the convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The documents reveal a communication trail and meetings between BJP leader Hardeep Singh Puri, currently India's union minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, between June 2014–June 2017. A fragment of an email, attributed to Epstein, mentions BJP leader Narender Modi’s 2017 visit to Israel. The fragment says, ‘The Indian Prime Minister Modi took advice and danced and sang in Israel for the benefit of the US President (Trump). They had met a few weeks ago. It worked!’ INC Member of Parliament Manickam Tagore has submitted an Adjournment Motion notice in Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) seeking an urgent discussion on the issue (earlier coverage).

The Indian Army has issued an appeal to the youth in Panjab to join the Sikh Regiment. It noted the regiment’s excellent performance in garnering honors and awards—the regiment has the highest number of gallantry awards—and said its ‘true strength’ lies in the state’s youngsters. Senior Army officers have highlighted that not enough Sikh youth are joining the regiment, which is causing a manpower shortage in several battalions. There was a time when Panjab was famous for sending youngsters into the army but the intake was reduced by union government policy in the 1980s. However, that trend witnessed a shift following the mass migration of young people to countries such as Canada, US, UK, and Australia on study and work visas. Additionally, the Farmers’ Protest 1.0 (2020–21) created a major disenchantment amongst the youth when protesting farmers were branded as terrorists and separatists by the mainstream media. The trend was further accelerated by the launch of the Indian government’s Agnipath (short service) scheme. Retired Brigadier Harwant Singh, terms the Agnipath scheme as ‘contractual bonded labor’ as it offers no guarantee of employment after four years of service. He said, ‘There is a 13% quota for ex-servicemen in state government jobs, but less than 3% are filled. With such dismal facts, how can one expect the youth to join the Agnipath scheme?’ Meanwhile, according to the latest data released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Canada has recorded a sharp decline in new international student arrivals after the federal government tightened controls on study permits. IRCC’s monthly figures show that only 2,485 new study permits were issued in November 2025, marking one of the lowest monthly totals in recent years. By contrast, 95,320 study permits were issued in December 2023. This comparison has led to reports of a 97% decline in new student arrivals. Concurrently, due to the tightening of entry regulations in foreign countries, Panjab’s passport applications have seen a decline. According to data released by the Union Ministry of External Affairs, in 2023, Panjab saw a record-breaking 1.2M passports issued. However, in 2024, this figure fell to 1.06M, and in 2025 it dropped to 708K (earlier coverage).

A Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar-based special court has acquitted 15 people who were arrested in January 2022 of all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). They were accused of having procured arms from Pakistan. Nine of the accused were convicted under the Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act. The remaining six have been acquitted of all charges. The maximum sentence in the case is three years, although most of the accused have already spent approximately four years in jail during the trial period. Meanwhile, a Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) team detained two men—Prince and Satvinder Singh—from the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex, Amritsar on 30 Jan. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) objected to the police action, detained members of the CIA team, and confined them to a room for a few hours. A senior SGPC official said that if the police needed to search for or arrest any individual within the Darbar Sahib premises, it was mandatory to inform the SGPC beforehand. He said the police neither took the SGPC into confidence, nor informed its own police post outside Darbar Sahib. In another incident, a taxi driver, Ranjodh Singh’s car collided with another vehicle near Pavilion Mall in Ludhiana on 26 Jan. Ranjodh said the occupants of the other vehicle started abusing and assaulting him and also passed anti-religious remarks after seeing the poster of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (1947–84, prominent Sikh leader) on his vehicle. Following the argument, police detained and tortured Ranjodh. On 30 Jan, people protested the police’s action and blocked the Bharat Nagar Chowk in Ludhiana. The police finally registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the three police personnel for wrongful confinement and torture and another one against the occupants of the other car for indulging in religious hate speech. Concurrently, the Panjab police has arrested the parents of Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar, Shamsher Singh, and Preetpal Kaur, over allegations of extortion in an FIR dated 3 Dec 2024. The complainant was working in the Education Department and the extortion demand of USD 55K was from the Bambiha gang who worked with Goldy. Since then Goldy and the Bambiha gang have split (earlier coverage).

Four Sikh organizations in Panjab—the Shiromani Akali Dal Amritsar (Mann), Dal Khalsa, Bhai Jagtar Singh Hawara Committee, and Panch Pardhani Jatha—met on 26 Jan to commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the historic 1986 Sarbat Khalsa (Khalsa plenary meet). The conference was held near Gurdwara Santokhsar Sahib in Amritsar, where senior leaders of the four Panthic (Sikh collective) bodies addressed a large gathering. Speakers reflected on the legacy of the 1986 Sarbat Khalsa and discussed its relevance in the present political and global context. The discussions were conducted in a conducive environment with none of the sabre-rattling and sloganeering that has marked such meetings over the last few decades. At the conclusion of the conference, participants held a march to Sri Akal Takht Sahib (Eternal Throne) where a joint declaration was read out by Dal Khalsa acting president Paramjit Singh Mand on behalf of all four organizations which announced two major initiatives: First, the organizations would develop a formal and contemporary institutional framework for convening Sarbat Khalsa and adopting Gurmata (Guru sanctioned resolution). Second, on the 40^th anniversary of the declaration of Khalistan, on 29 April 2026, a new joint policy document would be presented before the Sikh world. The organizations announced that drawing upon the experiences of the past four decades of struggle and keeping in view current Panthic and international conditions, they would coordinate with pro-Khalistan Sikh groups and institutions to prepare a joint strategic policy document outlining the future course of the Khalistan movement. The declaration also reiterated two core pledges: the first pledge reaffirmed commitment to the goal of a sovereign and independent Panjab, presently articulated as Khalistan—envisioned as a state structure based on Sikh political philosophy and Gurmat principles, ensuring justice, dignity, freedom of conscience, and the welfare of all. The second pledge emphasized the transfer of leadership to committed youth. The declaration announced an intention to bring dedicated and ideologically grounded young Sikhs to the forefront of revolutionary Sikh politics with guidance from those who have long contributed to the leadership of the struggle. Notably, the jailed Member of Parliament Amritpal Singh’s political party Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) was missing from the meeting (earlier coverage).

The Punjab and Haryana High Court (PHHC) sought an explanation from the Panjab government as to why Computed Tomography (CT) scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines were not essential facilities in every district hospital in the state. Responding to a petition filed by a resident from Malerkotla highlighting serious deficiencies in the healthcare infrastructure at the district hospital in Malerkotla, especially the absence of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the court sought district-wise details of ICU facilities in district hospitals. It noted that MRI machines were available in only six out of 23 districts, and termed the situation ‘unfortunate’. Meanwhile, in a ruling for older couples seeking parenthood, PHHC quashed a state authority order denying a 47-year-old woman and her husband’s access to assisted reproductive technology (ART), including In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) with donor eggs. A gynaecologist had certified the couple medically fit for IVF but initially refused treatment citing the husband’s age exceeding the 55-year limit under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021. In a landmark gender judgement, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (PHHC) struck down a 40-year old curb on widow’s right to sell land stating that any custom or restriction curtailing the right of a female to alienate a non-ancestral property inherited by her from her husband is inherently discriminatory. The court was hearing a petition on a widow’s right to sell land without consulting the husband’s relatives who belonged to the Meo community in Mewat region in Haryana. The order added that ‘any custom which seeks to curtail, dilute, or abrogate the proprietary rights of a female exclusively based on religion, gender, or sex-based classification is inherently vulnerable to challenge and cannot withstand the constitutional mandate of equality enshrined under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India’. Concurrently, a pastor kept a 21-year-old woman in illegal detention at an undisclosed location for over three weeks in Khanna, Ludhiana district. The accused, Chaman Lal Masih, was arrested after the girl was rescued by social activists led by Nihang Singhs (traditional Sikh warriors) of Taruna Dal on 29 Jan. The family alleged they submitted a written complaint to police on 9 Jan but no concrete action was taken.

The once vibrant sanctuary—the Harike Patan wetlands, Tarn Taran district—is gradually losing both the number and diversity of its winged visitors according to a bird enthusiast who has been observing them for decades. Dr. Astha attributes this alarming trend to continuously warming winters, deteriorating habitat quality and rising pollution levels in the region that reduce the need for long-distance migration for the migratory bird population. Since temperature plays a crucial role in migration patterns, as winters become milder in breeding regions, birds remain closer to their native habitats. Rising maximum temperatures shorten the period of wetland suitability, accelerating early departures. Furthermore, water pollution in the Sutlej river—laden with industrial and agricultural waste—has degraded water quality and reduced fish availability, a crucial food source for migratory birds. The findings are based on data compiled from regional meteorological trends in Panjab. Additionally, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has pulled up the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) for persistent illegal dumping of solid waste by the Municipal Council (MC), Sirhind, on Hansla Nadi (a rivulet), which it regards as a serious regulatory failure by the PPCB. NGT recorded that solid waste has been dumped without any consent or authorization on both sides of Hansla Nadi, which is a natural flood drain, in clear violation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. NGT further noted that the MC Sirhind created another illegal dumping site at Bassi Pathana in Fatehgarh Sahib district which it termed as a ‘gross violation’. This despite the USD 11K environmental compensation collected by PPCB from all 166 Urban Local Bodies (ULB) in Panjab to comply with solid waste management. The PPCB has imposed penalties of nearly USD 330K per month on ULBs for non-compliance since 1 Jul 2020. The increasing problem of waste management is interlinked with water. Dumping everyday waste in canals and rivers is becoming commonplace, especially in the absence of a waste management system. On 2 Feb, on the eve of World Wetlands Day, environmentalists raised a strong and unified call to protect wetlands, small rivers, village ponds, and natural water bodies at a conference held on the banks of the sacred Kali Bein rivulet in Kapurthala district (earlier coverage).

‘Masjid dha de, mandir dha de, dha de jo kujh dhainda. Par kisi da dil na dhavin, Rabb dilan vich rehnda’ (Break down the mosque, break down the temple, break down everything that can be broken, but do not break a human heart, for that is where God resides).’ This couplet from the 17^th-century Panjabi Sufi poet Bulleh Shah echoes true today amidst the tides of rising hate, religious polarization, and a general fragmentation of society. Ironically, the late Sufi poet’s shrine was vandalized at Mussoorie, Uttarakhand by miscreants claiming to be from Hindu Raksha Dal. Born in 1680 in Kasur in present-day Pakistan, Shah’s real name was Abdullah Shah. Scholars trace his birth to the Pandoke Bhatian village in Panjab, Pakistan where his father, Shah Mohammed Dervish, worked as a teacher. An upper-caste Syed man, the parish preacher was well-versed in Arabic, Persian, and the Quran. Despite the increasingly intolerant Mughal rule, Sufism flourished in the 17^th and 18^th century Panjab largely due to the Qadri order, and its fondness for vernacular devotional poetry like the kafi. Bulleh Shah’s family, owing to their exalted Syed lineage, opposed his decision to take Shah Inayat Qadri as his teacher. Only his sister, who also chose to remain single like him, supported him. Lore has it that Shah met Qadri when he was tending vegetables in Lahore and asked him about the path to enlightenment. Qadri replied, ‘Bulleya, rab da ki pauna, itho putna uthe laana.’ (O Bulleh, seeking God is simple, it’s just a shift of consciousness from worldly to spiritual). While acts of shrine vandalism (from faiths other than Hinduism) are on rise in India, in Pakistan’s Panjab, the centuries-old Loh Temple, the Sikh-era hammam (bath) and the Athdara pavilion at Lahore’s historic Shahi Qila were formally opened to the public. Local tradition links the site to Loh, the son of Hindu God Ram. Located at the foothills of the fort, the Loh Temple was uncovered in recent years and later underwent detailed excavation, research, and preservation. Conservation efforts also covered the hammam and the Athdara, where Maharaja Ranjit Singh once held court. The pavilion was originally built during Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s reign and later converted into a hammam during the Sikh period.