US Sikh Lawyer Leads Prayer

On 16 Jul, at Milwaukee, Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, a Sikh civil rights lawyer and Republican Party leader offered ardas (prayers) at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in the presence of Donald Trump – the official Republican Presidential Candidate for the upcoming 2024 US elections. The ardas is usually offered by the Sikhs worldwide before any new endeavor to thank the Divine and seek protection and help in upholding values such as humility, truth, and justice for all. The convention was Trump’s first public appearance after the attack on him. After the ardas, in her short speech Dhillon said, ‘…We thank you God for his (Trump's) examples of Nirbhau, fearlessness and Nirvair, the absence of hate when faced with vitriol.’ For a while now, the Sikhs have conducted the ardas at various occasions in the US. For example, in 2004 at the White House on the celebration of 400 years of the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib, Sikh charter or scripture; as late as 2023 before the commencement of the session of the US House of Representatives; or even in 2016 before Trump was declared the Republican Presidential candidate. However, to use terms from the prayer to wrongly describe Trump’s character is dishonest because he is known to be one of most divisive hatemonger politicians in history. Unlike earlier times, Dhillon’s prayer attracted a huge amount of hate from the right-wing in the US. While the RNC might have tried to use the prayer to showcase pluralism and diversity among the Republicans, there is no denying that Trump’s own politics have enabled this hate.

On 15 Jul, the five piaras (beloved-enthroned) met with the Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh to deliberate on the actions of rebel SAD leaders (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 27, Story 3). The leaders had earlier submitted a written apology on their past errors during SAD tenure in Panjab (2007-2017) that led to the party’s decline. The rebels have urged for the implementation of the Jhunda panel’s recommendations which was set up by SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal after the party’s debacle in the 2022 state assembly elections. Though the report recommendations have never been made public, two rebel leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra and Gurpartap Singh Vadala recently announced some of the key recommendations which include dismantling the party’s student wing Student Organization of India, restoring All India Sikh Students Federation, creating a parliamentary board to distribute tickets for elections, moving SAD head office back to Amritsar, and limiting the SAD chief’s to two terms. At the end of the meeting Jathedar  announced a number of measures pertaining to sacrileges, environment, social services, and asked the SAD chief to explain not being able to represent the community’s sentiments within 15 days by 30 Jul. Badal said that as a devout Sikh, he would follow the orders and appear before the Akal Takht. Former Panjab Police Inspector General Ranbir Singh Khatra, who led the probe into the 2015 Bargari sacrilege cases, met the Jathedar  to discuss the stalled trials. Khatra highlighted that the Panjab govt. failed to appeal the stay on trials by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, leading to prolonged delays. He criticized SAD and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for their inaction.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget on 23 Jul. Sitharaman met the demands of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner political parties that have supported BJP to form the govt. To please the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal United (JDU) chiefs Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, Sitharaman announced special packages for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Sitharaman announced $1.8B for Andhra Pradesh's new capital in her speech, adding that the govt. is committed to financing and completing the Polavaram irrigation project. Additional allocations will be provided this year to support capital investment for economic growth. Similarly, Sitharaman said that the request from the Bihar govt. for external assistance from multilateral development banks will be expedited. Close on the heels of the union govt. ruling out any plan to grant Bihar a Special Category Status – a longstanding demand of the JDU because the Indian Constitution does not allow it – Sitharaman announced multiple development projects for the state. In Chandigarh, upon a visit by Arvind Panagariya, from the 16^th Finance Commission on 22 Jul, Panjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann sought a special package of $15.7B, asserting that the border state, which is also the ‘bread basket of India,’ should be rewarded for its immense contribution in making the country self-sufficient in food production, and for obtaining and preserving independence. Citing legacy debt, narco-terrorism, and declining underground water table, he also demanded that the states should get 50% of taxes collected by the union govt. as their share, instead of 41% at present. However, in the budget, Panjab drew a blank as far as special packages are concerned.

The Haryana govt. has recommended Police Medals for Gallantry for three Indian Police Service and three Haryana Police Service officers for preventing Panjab and Haryana farmers from marching to Delhi during the Dilli Chalo (March to Delhi) agitation in February 2024 (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 8, Story 1). The police informed the govt. that these officers performed their duty when ‘the police were facing attacks from thousands of agitators from all sides.’ Panjab’s neighboring state recommending such medals signals how they view citizens as enemies of the state. Now that the Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld the farmers’ right to protest, declared the barricades illegal, and asked Haryana to dismantle them, the state has appealed to the Supreme Court (SC). Both these stances show that the BJP govt. in Haryana does not believe in the law or the courts and wants to establish a culture of its own where it benefits those who do its bidding. Meanwhile, on 17 Jul, farmers were gathering in Ambala to demand Navdeep Singh Jalbera’s release. The courts released Navdeep the previous night stating his detention was under false cases. The farmers decided not to proceed towards the Superintendent of Police’s home but gather at the grain market instead to felicitate Navdeep and others released from jail. However, since the Haryana govt. has now petitioned the SC over keeping the road barricades because farmers are dangerous, they tried their level best to provoke the farmers. They detained farmer leaders and blocked their routes to the grain market, but the farmers adhered to their commitment to nonviolence. Finally, the police were forced to allow them to proceed to Shambhu, where they conducted their rally. At present, the farmers are camping at Shambhu and say they will march to Delhi when barricades open (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 29, Story 3).

The dreaded pink bollworm has attacked the cotton crop in Mansa, Fazilka, and Abohar areas of Panjab. In Bathinda and Fazilka, the Economic Threshold Level (ETL) is above the permissible limit of six adult pink bollworm pests per leaf. In Mansa and Muktsar, the infestation is still below ETL. Agricultural officials and farmers have observed the pest attack in fields where farmers grew moong in the summer. Farmers have started extensive spraying of pesticides to deal with the situation. The state agricultural department officials said the insect was spotted on plants being cultivated in villages bordering Rajasthan and Haryana. In some of those areas, farmers have reportedly started plowing back cotton plants into the fields. This is the fourth consecutive year some pest has attacked the crop. It must be noted that bollworm attacks between 1985-2002 paved the way for the Bt Cotton adoption in north India. Now the same seeds have succumbed to the attacks. On 18 Jul, Panjab agriculture and farmers welfare minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian sought Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s intervention to speed up the research and grant of approval to the next generation BG-3 cotton seeds. Khudian also announced that farmers will get $83 per acre incentive for diversifying from paddy to cotton. However, if the crop is under attack and not stable, it does not make sense for farmers to shift. Despite the incentives in Panjab, in the first week of July, Panjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan have reported a total 1M hectares (ha) of cotton crop, a significant decline from last year’s 1.6M. Panjab’s cultivation has dropped to under 100K ha against 750K ha in the 1980s.

In the last 50 years, the area under maize cultivation in Panjab has decreased by 82%. From 577K hectares (ha) in 1975-76, the area under the kharif (summer) crop declined massively and is at 104K ha in July 2024. Similarly, in 19 years, from 2005-06 till 2024, the area under the crop has registered a decline of 20% from 149K ha to 104K ha. Summer maize requires significantly less water compared to paddy, which (depending upon variety) needs to be irrigated 25 to 30 times as opposed to three times for maize, which typically relies on rain. Though farmers in Panjab give more importance to spring maize, which demands more intensive irrigation, varying from 8 to 15 times, depending on soil conditions. Kharif maize, known for its versatility beyond traditional dishes like Makki di Roti with Sarson da Saag, is crucial in crop diversification. To achieve diversification goals, Panjab needs to diversify around 600K hectares. One major reason for the decline is that maize does not fetch the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of $24.9 a quintal. This year more than 60% of the maize sold for $17.9-19.1 a quintal. Of the 5.1M quintal maize sold at the state’s grain markets by 9 Jul, state agencies bought only 114 quintals, while private traders picked the rest. Of 4.5M quintals of maize purchased in 2023, 4.45 lakh quintals or 99% was purchased below MSP. In contrast, the area under maize in India went up from 59M ha to 99M ha in 45 years, because the maize revolution in India is mostly privately owned.

On 18 Jul, when AAP declared it would contest all 90 seats in the upcoming Haryana Assembly election, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said he would not be able to speak on the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue as its sub-judice (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 28, Story 6). This evoked sharp reaction from opposition parties in Panjab, who are now targeting AAP both in Panjab, where it is in power, and neighboring Haryana, where the party is to contest elections. CM Mann's stated position on the issue is that Panjab does not have a single drop of water to share with anyone and thus the question of constructing the SYL canal is moot. Meanwhile, in Panjab, activism around cleaning the Buddha Daria (river) or Nallah (drain) is gaining traction in the form of Kale Pani da Morcha (Front Against Black Waters), started nearly a fortnight ago by environmental organizations Naroya Punjab Manch, PAC Mattewara, and Punjab Vatavaran Chetna Lehar. A number of activists – singer Kanwar Singh Grewal, filmmaker Amitoj Singh Mann, food policy expert Devinder Sharma, journalist Hamir Singh, environmentalist Jaskirat Singh, and others – gathered at the confluence of Budda Daria and Sutlej on 15 Jul to discuss the issue, deciding to hold Freedom from Pollution protest march in Ludhiana on 15 Aug. Amandeep Singh Bains, member of PAC Mattewara, says new cases of rare retinal cancer are being found among residents at the confluence. ‘If the government does not close the factories soon, by 15 Sept we shall dam the Buddha Nallah and recover our Satluj river.’ Activist Kuldeep Singh Khaira says, ‘In the name of Sewerage Treatment Plants they have erected white elephants. Why have the funds spent on cleansing the Buddha Nallah never been audited?’ 

On 17 Jul, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (PHHC) asked the Panjab govt. to explain why 48 foreign nationals remain in custody despite completing their sentences. The court was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) initiated in April 2024 after it came to the fore that there is no system for imprisoned foreign nationals to get in touch with their family members. Justices GS Sandhawalia and Vikas Bahl noted instances where consular access was granted as early as 2008, yet nationalities remain unverified, and no deportations have occurred. Such cases are in Panjab, Haryana, and union territory of Chandigarh. Details shared by Panjab administration showed that in some cases, consular access had been provided but the nationality status has not been verified. In other cases, where nationality has been verified, the persons are still in custody and have not yet been deported. Chandigarh administration said they have 18 foreign inmates. The court has asked Chandigarh administration to file an affidavit clarifying how many of the foreign nationals, having completed sentences in the last five years, were deported and the procedure which was followed. Haryana is yet to file a report. In one case in Panjab, a Nigerian national remains in custody despite acquittal, pending an appeal. The court said, ‘In such circumstances, a larger human rights issue arises which needs to be addressed by both the states to put in policies and regulations to ensure that at least once in a month, foreign nationality convicts/under-trials are able to get in touch with their family members by way of phone-calls/video-calls which is to be arranged by the jail authorities.’

The fate of Honey Trehan’s second directorial venture, Punjab ’95, continues to hang in the balance. The film tells the story of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who attempted to uncover the disappearance and killing of Sikh youth during insurgency in Panjab between 1984 and 1994. The Panjab police abducted Khalra and killed him. In 2007, the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld convictions of the five officers involved, enhancing all sentences to life imprisonment. In 2011, India's Supreme Court upheld the convictions and sentences. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asked for 85 cuts. With the cuts, the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer was screened for the CBFC on 14 Jul. Despite the cuts, the CBFC has yet to greenlight its release. This is not the filmmakers’ first run-in with the Censor Board. In December 2022, Trehan’s movie – then titled Ghallughara (genocide) – was screened for certification. The process reportedly took six months, with the CBFC asking for 21 cuts and a title change. Ronnie Screwvala’s production house had appealed against the decision in the Bombay High Court. As a result, the film, also starring Arjun Rampal and Suvinder Vicky, was pulled from the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival’s line-up. It coincided with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accusing India of killing Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Even as cuts have quadrupled from the CBFC’s 2022 ask and uncertainty looms over the release, a cast member says the makers are bullish about it reaching its audience. ‘The film might be butchered, but the team will ensure its release. Right now, we are fighting for its existence’ (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 12, Story 10).

Recently, the Chandigarh-based Panjab Digital Library (PDL) conducted an exhibition titled The Sikh Empire: Perspectives by International Artists & Authors. On display were some 80 plus prints of lithographs, maps, and paintings digitized by PDL, and a few priceless artifacts that included an intricately designed gunpowder-holder from the times of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. Or, should we say Maharaja Runjit Singh? The exhibition featured a complete list of misspelled names duly compiled for the benefits of the visitors — Umritsar, Amrutsir for Amritsar; Punjaub, Pendjab, Punjab and even Pandschab for Panjab. Also, terms Sicques, Sicks, Seiks, and Seeks for Sikhs. Several images were of Lahore in all its splendor. Emily Edon’s 1838’s portrait of Runjeet Singh and George Richmond’s painting of Rani Jindan Singh give the audience a clear vision of the times. Every frame was accompanied with elaborate descriptions. For instance, Interior of Darbar Sahib by W. Carpenter in 1858 captured the openness of the holy place as devotees perform kirtan (traditional hymn singing). A closer look revealed how kirtan was done with native stringed instruments instead of the European harmonium. The exhibition was a result of a five-week internship where seven young Sikh-Americans joined hands with Bilaval Kaur and Amitoj Singh from Panjab. ‘We sifted through thousands of documents to select these frames. What we kept in mind was to pick those panels and quotes that presented Panjab in its true essence. We made a conscious effort to stay away from hyper-regionalism,’ said one of the interns. The exhibition was shown at Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, Chandigarh on 17-18 Jul, and extended by a day due to overwhelming response.