US Thwarts Khalistan Plot

On 21 Nov, Sikhs for Justice leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu announced a $10,000 award for Australian Wen Johnson who disrupted the India-Australia World Cup Cricket final match in a Free Palestine t-shirt. Pannu also gave a call to picket Air India flight AI 188 and flight AI 186 at Toronto and Vancouver international airports respectively in Canada on 1 Dec. (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 8, story 2.) The next day, Financial Times reported that an unspecified while back the US authorities thwarted a conspiracy to assassinate Pannu on American soil and issued a warning to India’s government over concerns that it was involved in the plot. The report came two months after Canadian PM Trudeau said security agencies were probing ‘credible allegations’ about a potential link between Indian government agents and the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver in June 2023. Unlike the earlier antagonistic denial to Canada’s allegations as ‘absurd,’ this time India’s response has been muted. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on 22 Nov, ‘The inputs are a cause of concern for both countries.’ Bagchi added India takes such inputs ‘seriously.’ On the same day, Pakistani intelligence assessments revealed that the Indian government's intelligence agency – the Research and Analysis Wing – has been planning assassinations targeting Sikh and Kashmiri activists living in foreign countries. (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 4, Story 2). In what looked like a distraction from this news, on 22 Nov, Indian National Investigation Agency raided 14 locations in Panjab and Haryana in connection with 2023 attacks on the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on 19 Mar and 2 Jul.

The winter of discontent begins in Panjab. A few days back, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha gave a call to hold a three-day ‘show of strength’ in Chandigarh over unfulfilled promises from the 2020-21 Farmers’ Protest. On 26 Nov – Indian Constitution Day and 3^rd anniversary of the Chalo Dilli call – over 3,000 tractors and trolleys from Panjab started marching to Amb Sahib Gurdwara at Mohali, Panjab on the outskirts of Chandigarh. Farmers from Haryana camped in Panchkula and major rallies are being organized in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and other states. The agenda is: legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP); extension of MSP to other crops; withdrawal of cases registered against farmers during earlier farmer protest and for burning paddy; compensation for farmers who died during the earlier farmer protest; waiver of loans raised by farmers and farm laborers; $120 pension per month for farmers aged 60 and above; justice in the Lakhimpur Kheri case; free electricity and withdrawal of Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022; and compensation for crops damaged by floods and pest attacks. Chandigarh police reinforced barricades to prevent farmers from entering the city. Panjab police redirected traffic on roads. Earlier last week, on 22 Nov, farmers from the Doaba region of Panjab blocked the highway between Jalandhar and Chandigarh, demanding a meeting with the government over the increase in sugarcane prices and a notification to mills to procure sugarcane which had started to rot. The Panjab CM remained busy campaigning in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. When farmers blocked trains, the government negotiated with them. The protest ended but the government's price and notification are awaited. SKM leaders met the Governor28 Nov and handed over their demands. After which, as promised, they ended the three-day protest.

On 20 Nov, the Indian Supreme Court came down heavily on the Center over the delay in clearing the names of two Sikh lawyers for appointment as judges at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The judges are Harmeet Singh Grewal and Deepinder Singh Nalwa. The Supreme Court also criticized the government's ‘pick and choose’ approach while accepting names from the Collegium's proposals for the appointment of judges in the high courts. Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said, 'Two of the candidates not cleared are both Sikhs. Why should this arise? Don't let past issues link up with present pending ones.’ They did not specify what past issues. The Supreme Court said such an approach disturbed the seniority among those recommended for judgeships and it did not send a good signal. Justice Kaul said, ‘Six transfers are pending – one each from Allahabad and Delhi and four from Gujarat. What signal do you send when, out of the transfers recommended, four judges from Gujarat have not been transferred at all?’ He added, the Collegium had recommended fourteen appointments of judges yet only one judge was appointed in the Gauhati High Court. ‘When selective appointments take place, people lose their seniority. Why would people give consent to become judges?’ There is an acute shortage of Sikh representation in the higher echelons of Indian judiciary, intelligence, and bureaucracy. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal urged PM Modi to intervene and direct notification of the appointment of two eminent Sikh lawyers as judges.

Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi issued approximately 3,000 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to attend the events celebrating Guru Nanak’s 554th birth anniversary. The Charge d'affaires of Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, Aizaz Khan, extended his felicitations to the pilgrims and wished them a safe journey. The celebrations are being held in Pakistan from 25 Nov to 4 Dec. During the visit, pilgrims will visit major Sikh founder-Guru Shrines Dera Sahib, Panjab Sahib, Nanakana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib; this access issue is another legacy of 1947 Partition. However, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami has expressed strong discontent over the denial of visas to a significant number of Sikh devotees traveling to Pakistan. He said in Amritsar out of 1,684 pilgrims sent by the SGPC to the Pakistan embassy in Delhi, 788 were denied visas. Meanwhile, the Land Port Authority of India’s (LPAI) decision to allow pilgrims to visit the Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor has resulted in an increase in the number of visitors. Many Sikh devotees without a passport or a booking come to the Zero Line to see the Gurdwara. Officials are allowing them to enter the corridor and visit the passenger terminal building too. In the opening year 2019-20, more than 62,000 pilgrims visited the corridor. In 2022-23, this number dropped to 50,584. The daily pilgrim average is still much lower than 200 per day against a potential 5,000 per day. Abolishing the requirement for a passport for a visit to Kartarpur Sahib will boost visitor footfall.

On 19 Nov, BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that a party was organized at the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara premises where invitees danced and consumed liquor and meat. In his tweet, Sirsa said, ‘We had objected to the appointment of a non-Sikh person as CEO of Project Management Unit (PMU) Kartarpur Corridor in 2021. Since the management board has no knowledge of Sikh Maryada (Code of conduct); we were afraid that there might be blasphemous actions at Gurdwara complex. Our fear has come true when a video of CEO Sayed Abu Bakar Qureshi drinking alcohol and eating meat at Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara complex went viral.’ On 20 Nov, two PMU officials refuted the allegation. They said no dance took place at the dinner held on 18 Nov and the viral video ‘must have been doctored for propaganda purposes.’ The officials clarified that the dinner for stakeholders for the development of Phase II of the Kartarpur project was held about 2 km from the Gurudwara in the PMU complex. The Lucknow Gurdwara management committee has sought the Indian PM’s intervention to ensure ‘holy places are duly protected.’ The controversy points to the role of management and corporate funding in religious affairs. We must note Sirsa is currently under flak for allegedly misusing Delhi Gurdwara treasuries (SDW Vol 1: Issue 2, Story 2). On 21 Nov, former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Paramjit Singh Sarna met Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh and urged him to pronounce tankhah (religious punishment) on Sirsa and demanded a probe by the Enforcement Directorate.

In the wee hours on 23 Nov, the Panjab police moved in to evict Nihangs from Gurdwara Akal Bunga directly opposite Gurdwara Ber Sahib, Sultanpur Lodhi. The Gurdwara had become a cause of contention between two Nihang groups. For a while now the Gurdwara has been occupied by Buddha Dal Baba Balbir Singh with patronage from former INC MLA Navtej Singh Cheema. Recently, the Baba Mann Singh Nihang group had staked claim to the Gurdwara. In the firing that ensued during the police action, Jaspal Singh – a constable from the Home Guards – was killed, and eight people including four policemen were injured. Balwinder Singh, a cameraman from a news channel, was grievously injured. Five people have been arrested. The incident took place four days before the Guru Nanak birth anniversary on 27 Nov when an estimated million-strong crowd arrives at Sultanpur Lodhi. To ensure the celebrations proceed without hassle, after the police action, the District Commissioner held a meeting with the two Nihang factions. After a two-hour meeting, the District Commissioner informed that both the Nihangs groups would vacate the Gurdwara. Under Section 145 the state administration will take over the Gurdwara until the matter is sub-judice. The District Commissioner added, during checking of the land records, it came to fore that both the groups have illegally possessed the land, which actually belongs to Waqf board (statutory body incharge of Muslim shrines). No one knows how long the case will continue. As long as it does, because of their in-fighting, the two Nihang groups who are supposed to be guardians of the Sikh religion have ceded control of a prominent Gurdwara in a historic town associated with Guru Nanak to civil administration.

Limited hours of Gurbani (singing of Sikh religious texts) telecast and that too muted on the five large LCD screens on the Heritage Street leading to Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) has irked the Sikh community. Pilgrims and visitors heading to pay obeisance at the holiest Sikh shrine demanded that the screens should be made audible. While the screens are silent, one-liners highlighting the achievement of the AAP government keep flashing the entire day. Some of these one-liners are: Bhrashtachar Mukt Panjab, Sarkar ne Nibhaya Vada (government fulfilled its promise of corruption-free Panjab), Sikhya ate Sehat budget wich 57% vadda (57% rise in education and healthcare budget), Panjab Sarkar Walon Ditiya 36,524 Sarkari Naukariyan (government has given 36,524 jobs). Attempts to lower the status of the Darbar Sahib is a running theme in Sikh history. Preserving the Darbar Sahib’s status is a mark of Sikh resilience. In the 18^th Century the Afghan forces repeatedly raided, destroying Darbar Sahib multiple times but the Sikhs always regained the site and rebuilt the sanctum sanctorum. After “Operation Blue Star” in 1984, the Indian government cleared the 400-year-old historic living museum Mai Sevan market. In 2016, the SAD government inaugurated a revamped entry to Darbar Sahib called Heritage Street. The entire construction and uniform toy-town look was Rajasthani and not inspired by Sikh architecture. In 2021 the union government inaugurated the revamped Jallianwala Bagh near Darbar Sahib which met with severe criticism. Now the AAP government has turned the holy site into a billboard. This time, the Sikhs are still searching for an answer to the nexus between contractors and governments.

After more than 30 years, on 24 Nov, 740 patwaris (revenue officers) joined the Revenue Department. Another 350 patwaris will join soon after the mandatory 18-month training. Last recruited around 1989, Panjab has been facing an acute shortage of patwaris, which resulted in delay of various land and land mutation processes. On the revenue side, with several private builders defaulting on the payment of government dues over $84M, the Panjab Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has written to the Revenue Department to stop registration of properties in respective townships. In several cases, the housing department has also withdrawn the facility of rescheduling of dues and installments that was available to realtors. Maximum defaulters are projects approved by Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA). While revenue officials have now joined service, the Puanjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), which recruits Class-1 officers in the state, has been without a chairperson for the past seven months, leading to a delay in appointments. Amid strained ties, the AAP government is yet to recommend a panel of three names for the PPSC  chairperson to Governor Banwarilal Purohit. The post of the PPSC chairman fell vacant in March when Jagbans Singh Powar retired from service. On 10 Apr, PPSC member Jamit Kaur Teji was appointed officiating chairperson, but she also retired on 29 Sep 2023. PPSC work has been held up at the PPSC. The PPSC has so far put off three exams to select candidates for various posts.

On 24 Nov, the World Hindu Congress (WHC) renounced the term Hinduism, contending that the term reflected oppressive and discriminatory attitudes. The third WHC adopted a declaration: ‘In the term Hindu Dharma, the first word, i.e, Hindu is an unbounded word. It signifies all that is Sanatan or Eternal. And then there is Dharma, which means ‘That, which sustains,’ asserting the word Hindutva was more accurate as it includes the gamut of all that the word Hindu implies. The declaration said that in contrast, Hinduism is totally different because it is suffixed with an ism, which is a term defined as ‘an oppressive and discriminatory attitude or belief.’ The assertion came against the statement by Tamil Nadu Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs and son of Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin, Udayanidhi Stalin, ‘Sanatana Dharma is like mosquitoes, dengue and malaria, and it has to be eradicated.’ He was speaking on 3 Sep at a Sanatana Dharma Abolition Conclave organized by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Forum. The move by WHC is typical right-wing – when challenged, duck. The term Hindu comes from the river Sindhu (Indus) meaning the ‘people of the river.’ The term Hindutva was formulated by Savarkar in 1922. Today, Hindutva stands for the radical Hindus and Hindu nationalism. The change signals the unveiling of Hindutva’s violent agenda to the world and appropriation of the over 100 million moderate Hindus. For Sikhs, who have maintained they are not Hindus, this change consolidates their claim. (SDW: Vol 1 Issue 5, Story 2).

A study by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, says scientific mining along the river Beas could have mitigated the damage caused by floods in Panjab during the monsoon this year. The storage capacity of the river would have been higher and the magnitude of loss suffered by the residents much less. In the current fiscal, 518 mining sites in 14 districts of Panjab have been notified to extract nearly 130M MT of sand. Ropar leads with an extraction ceiling of 17M MT, followed by 16M MT in Nawanshahr and 13M MT, 12.9M MT and 11.4M MT, in Pathankot, Amritsar, and Ludhiana districts respectively. In its proposal, IIT Ropar suggested bathymetry for the analysis of underwater sand mining. The technique involves mapping riverbeds with a drone, which would reveal any unexpected depressions on the surface of the river. The IIT has proposed a Center of Excellence on socio-environmental sustainability for river sand mining. The proposed center will also help the Panjab government in flood hazard mapping-cum-monitoring and protection of riverbanks. The AAP is considering a collaboration with the premiere institute. The IIT also detected the presence of rare metal Tantalum - a hard, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant – in the Satluj river sand in Panjab. The annual report of the Indian Ministry of Mines for 2020-21 identified Tantalum as ‘one of the 12 critical and strategic minerals.’ The metal is used in manufacturing of electronic components.