Sikhs Rally Against Attacks

Ever since the Israel-Hamas war escalated in Gaza, Sikhs worldwide, including in Panjab, are participating in protests against Western powers and Israel. Protests against Israel are being suppressed in India. On 2 Nov, a Sikh delegation led by former DSGMC president and now president of the JAGO Party, Manjeet Singh GK met the Palestinian Ambassador to India, Adnan Abu Al-Hija, and offered help to those affected by the Israel-Hamas conflict. The delegation memorandum read: 'We understand that Palestine is currently facing a humanitarian crisis and we offer our assistance to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine and their requirements of civil and food supplies. Sikhs around the world are deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict in West Asia, which has resulted in the loss of precious lives in both Israel and Palestine.' While Singh tried to keep a non-aligned position, in Panjab the protests have clearly been pro-Palestine. It is the same in the Diaspora. On 9 Oct, Harsha Walia made a fiery speech at a rally in Vancouver. On 17 Oct, the Panth Panjab Project released this statement. On 24 Oct, Amardeep Kaur, of the University of Toronto, Mississauga expressed her solidarity with Scholars Strike Canada. On 28 Oct, Panthic Sewadar released their statement. On 30 Oct, Sikhs in Toronto expressed their solidarity. On 1 Nov, Naujawan Support Network, Ontario released their statement. On 4 Nov, Sikhs protested in Washington. On 7 Nov, poet Rupi Kaur rejected the White House’s invitation to Diwali dinner over US support to Israel.

Over the last year, the Center slashed cash-strapped Panjab’s grants-in-aid and contributions by almost 61%. This led to a significant rise in Panjab’s revenue deficit. The fiscal indicators for the first half of the year indicate the grants-in-aid and contributions from the Center this year is just $590M as compared to $1507M last year. The state’s total revenue receipts between April and September dwindled from $4985M in 2022 to $4778M in the corresponding period of this year. Panjab Finance minister Harpal Cheema said, ‘The decline in grants-in-aid and contributions from the Center is responsible for the slow growth of revenue. Being a state ruled by an Opposition party, the BJP-led Center is showing its bias in releasing grants.’ Besides market borrowing to raise funds, the Panjab Cabinet on 6 Nov approved the Panjab One Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme for pre-GST arrears, thereby benefiting more than 60,000 traders. The Chief Minister’s Office said that the scheme has been launched for: recovery of outstanding dues; for settlement of pre-GST arrears; and to enable reduction of compliance burden of legacy cases. The OTS will be applicable from 15 Nov 2023 to 15 Mar 2024 and taxpayers whose assessments have been framed till 31 Mar 2023. Those traders with an amount of total demand (tax, penalty and interest up to 31 Mar 2023) up to $10M, shall be eligible to apply for settlement under this scheme.

After the Panjab and Tamil Nadu governments accused their state governors of delaying action on bills cleared by the assemblies. For context, see SDW Vol. 1, Issue 8, the Supreme Court came down hard on both governors on 9 Nov. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, urged both the governors to not delay the bills that have been cleared by the elected assembly. ‘You're playing with fire. We are not happy with what is happening in Panjab.’ The AAP government in Panjab has been successful in establishing the narrative that the Governor is at fault. The bench also questioned the Panjab government on why it adjourned and did not prorogue the budget session of its assembly. In another case on Panjab’s stubble burning leading to air pollution in Delhi Capital Region, the Court on 7 Nov noted that Panjab needs a switch over to alternative crops other than paddy. The Court said the switchover could take place only if MSP was withdrawn from paddy and shifted to other crops. It also suggested Panjab re-look its Subsoil Water Act, 2009 and the Centre should give subsidies for purchasing necessary equipment. The Amicus Curiae informed the Court that smog towers installed by the Delhi government were not working. Justice Kaul termed it ‘ludicrous.’ As discussed in SDW Vol.1 Issue 4, focusing on one of the causes for air pollution - that too a marginal one - will not solve the crisis. Also, there is now apprehension that the Union government will latch on to the lowest hanging fruit from the case: stopping MSP for paddy.

On 8 Nov, SAD candidate Harjinder Singh Dhami scored a hat-trick when he was re-elected president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) with a convincing win – 118 out of 137 votes. Harbhajan Singh Masana was elected senior vice-president unopposed. Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa and Rajinder Singh Mehta were elected junior vice-president and general secretary, respectively. This week, worldover, the Sikhs marked the Bandi Chhor Diwas – Free Political Prisoners Day – remembering Guru Hargobind Sahib’s generosity in freeing 52 fellow political prisoners (kings) from Gwalior jail in 1619. But SGPC’s own campaign to seek the release of Bandi Singhs (Sikh political prisoners from the 1980s-90s) has remained grounded until now. SGPC wants to submit a memorandum to the President of India through the Panjab Governor, but since April 2023 the Governor’s office has not given them an appointment. Last year, thrice the SGPC submitted the list of Bandi Singhs to the Prime Minister’s office seeking an appointment and even verbally appraised the Indian President Droupadi Murmu when she visited the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) earlier this year. This failure and the harassment the protesters in Mohali are facing over the issue is because the SGPC has not adopted a legal route and no chief minister of Panjab has supported the call. Meanwhile, voter enrollment for the upcoming SGPC general elections – date not yet announced – is witnessing a lukewarm response. The tepid response is because of the requirement that every voter present themselves for registration, as many of them have their kesh altered. The last date for registration is 15 Nov.

On 7 Nov, maverick Panjabi language activist Lakha Sidhana went to Rampura Phul-based, RSS-run, Sarvhitkari Vidya Mandir School. He found that neither the school principal, nor many staff members knew how to speak or read Panjabi. He also noticed pictures of Hedgewar and Golwalkar, but no Panjabi icons prominently displayed in the principal's office. When he protested, the Bathinda police took Sidhana and his supporters into preventive custody. They were later released. While this was going on, some students came out from their classes and informed the media about how the school discouraged them from speaking in Panjabi. The next day, the Global Sikh Council (GSC) condemned the neglect of Panjabi teaching in Panjab. In a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, GSC urged him to take urgent action to enforce mandatory monthly inspections and reporting by all district education officers (DEOs) and district languages officers (DLOs) on imparting and usage of Panjabi education across all schools, especially those under private management. They emphasized the need for proactive enforcement of the Punjabi Official Language (Amendment) Act of 2008 and the Punjab Learning of Punjabi and Other Languages Act of 2008 in all educational institutions and state administrative offices. A citizen’s initiative has now mandated that schools and factories across the state display boards that Panjabi is allowed at their premises. To promote Panjabi language, the Panjab government announced it would conduct an online International Punjabi Language Olympiad on 9-10 Dec. Students from across the world, up to grade IX, can participate in the Olympiad. Students can register on the Punjab School Education Board website.

On 5 Nov, Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, general counsel for the US-based of Sikh For Justice (SFJ) warned Air India travelers that their ‘lives would be in danger’ if traveling on 19 Nov, the day of the World Cup Cricket final being hosted by India, as was discussed in SDW Vol.1 Issue 8. Canada's transportation minister Pablo Rodriguez told reporters in Ottawa on 8 Nov, ‘We take every threat seriously, especially when it concerns airlines. The police are investigating the threat.’ Since his threat, Pannu has backtracked and told Canadian media his was a call to boycott Indian businesses. Pannu is being devious. The wording of the warning is certainly structured as a threat and not a call to boycott. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), regulatory authority for civil aviation in India, asked airport operators in Delhi and Panjab to stop issuing airport entry passes to visitors. The BCAS order of 6 Nov said: ‘Issue of TAEP’s (temporary airport entry pass) entry of visitors to the terminal building of the IGI (Indira Gandhi International) airport (in Delhi) and sale of visitors entry tickets will be banned.’ Pannu’s threat has drawn criticism from the Sikh community worldwide. It is not clear how Pannu enjoys impunity from the United States and Canadian governments. He continues to be allowed to make such statements and even the previous one threatening Hindus in Canada.

On 9 Nov, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee adopted a report by its chairman, BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar, recommending the expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha. The report, which was prepared with a 6:4 vote, alleges that Moitra accepted cash and gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani as bribes for asking questions in the Lok Sabha. Moitra has denied the allegation. Congress’s suspended MP from Patiala – former Congress CM and now with BJP, Captain Amarinder Singh’s wife – Preneet Kaur’s vote was the decider. In an interview, Moitra said the report does not mention cash. She alleged that a ‘nexus’ comprising PM Modi and the Adani Group was behind the Lok Sabha ethics committee report. Claiming the Adani Group (See SDW, Vol. 1, Issue 5) and PM Modi were attempting to hide what she called a ‘coal scam’, Moitra said they were in a state of panic as such an allegation would have ‘brought down the government’ in other countries. Moitra is known for her scathing speeches in the Lok Sabha, including praising the Sikhs and the Panjab. Moitra’s imminent sacking with less than six months before the Lok Sabha is dissolved points to the government's desperation and will make her an even larger figure in the public eye. Given Adani's presence in businesses in Bengal, Moitra has challenged him on her home turf Krishnagar. Meanwhile, the West Bengal government arranged an interactive session with industry stakeholders in Mohali, Panjab ahead of the Bengal Global Business Summit, 2023, which is set to take place in Kolkata on 21-22 Nov this year. The purpose of the session was to explore trade and investment opportunities in the state.

The Washington Post reported that the Indian government has dramatically tightened its grip on American social media companies. Silicon Valley firms that were at times defiant are now far more accepting of the Indian government dictates to censor material, in particular criticism of PM Modi and his right-wing BJP. For years, a committee of executives from US technology companies and Indian officials convened every two weeks in a government office to negotiate what could and could not be said on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. At these 69A meetings – reference to section in Indian Information Technology Act, 2000 – officials from India’s information, technology, security and intelligence agencies presented social media posts they wanted removed. The tech representatives sometimes pushed back in the name of free speech. Twitter resisted the most. But two years ago, these interactions took a fateful turn. Where officials had once asked for a handful of tweets to be removed at each meeting, they now insisted that entire accounts be taken down, and numbers were running in the hundreds. Executives who refused the government’s demands could now be jailed; their companies expelled from the Indian market. This escalating censorship in the world’s largest democracy is part of a wider campaign by Modi and his Hindu nationalist allies to monopolize public discourse: tightening their grip on power, advancing their Hindu-first ideology and stamping out critical and dissenting voices. American technology companies have increasingly fallen in line, fearing for their employees’ security and their profits. This is how in March 2023 (See SDW, Vol. 1, Issue 6), once the Amritpal manhunt began, over 100 Twitter handles from Panjab were quickly closed.

Jag Bains, a 25-year-old entrepreneur from Washington and owner of a trucking company, made history by clinching the title of Big Brother 25. His victory, achieved at the end of a grueling 100-day season, saw him win over fellow competitors Matt Klotz, a 27-year-old Deaflympics swimmer from Louisiana, and Bowie Jane Ball, a 46-year-old Australian DJ and barrister. Bains will be taking home a prize money of $750,000. Bains’ win is being largely seen as a Sikh win. It is surprising that Indian television media which usually celebrates even Spelling Bee contests, did not play up this win. The win was well covered in print media. After the show, Bains said, ‘Being a Sikh on the show, like, just being a houseguest on the show, was so important. Having this platform to be able to present myself and my community meant the world to me.’ The win is important in the context of hate crimes and turbaned identity. It is important that it is a win for Sikhs and also other racialized people who are targeted in hate crimes. Jag Bain's full name is Jagteshwar Singh Bains. Name shortening is a norm these days whether in the West or even in big Indian cities. Earlier, not using Singh was common among Leftists in India and in the Diaspora. That is not the case anymore. These days more folks commonly use last or caste names in legal papers and in common parlance.

Though Canada will admit 485,000 new immigrants in 2024 like in 2023, it plans to raise the numbers to 500,000 by 2025. Unveiling immigration plans for 2024-26, Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said on 8 Nov that immigration levels would be capped at 500,000 from 2025. From India, this move will majorly benefit Panjabis who are the biggest migrant group to Canada. Last year, over 118,000 Indians took up Canadian permanent residency (PR), accounting for a quarter of all 437,120 newcomers to Canada. With Canada’s depleted embassy staff in India, it needs to be seen how Canada fulfills its goal. On the other hand, according to a study conducted by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the Conference Board of Canada, some immigrants are leaving the country for opportunities elsewhere. The number of immigrants who left Canada were 60,000 in 2017 and 67,000 in 2019. Though their number is around 1%, it shows a shift in how Canada is perceived by thoseoutside and those inside the country. Factors that influence onward migration include economic integration, a sense of belonging, racism, homeownership or a lack thereof, and economic opportunities in other countries, the study revealed. Since Canada needs a stable workforce, immigrants leaving the country will create a shortfall and lead to greater immigration. Meanwhile, an Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) release outlined its policy position on caste-based discrimination last week. Ontario is Canada’s most populous province. This has received mixed reactions by the Indo-Canadians with some groups welcoming it and others accusing it of fostering bias against minorities in the country.