OPINION: India strikes back

The massive crack down by Punjab Police since Saturday last (March 18, 2023) on Khalistan secessionist elements led by Amritpal Singh (30), chief of "Waris Punjab De", in co-ordination with various central agencies and backing of Union government, comes as a silver lining in an otherwise dark political horizon where narrow political considerations, coupled with intra party internecine political wars, usually overshadow all other concerns, including the ones with grave security implications for the country.

However, in this case, India has hit back, as one man, on separatist forces which are seeking to push Punjab back to the dark days of 1980-90 - when terror ruled the State. During that difficult decade, all social, economic and political activities had come to a halt, as gangs of thugs, masquerading as soldiers of Khalistan, held the border State to ransom.

Massive manhunt is on to nab Amritpal Singh, once a clean shaved truck driver, now claiming to be a flag-bearer of Khalsa values and interests. As the details of his shady personal life are tumbling out, it's clear that he is a Jekyll and Hyde of our times.

Amritpal professed to be a Sikh preacher, with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as a role model. But there is another side to his personality, far removed from values like austerity and simplicity, long associated with baptised Sikhs. The imposter on the run, loves all good things of life - with little regard for Sikh tenets, traditions, morality and law.

Apart from serious allegations of moral turpitude, Amrit Pal Singh is facing four criminal cases. The allegations against him include spreading communal disharmony, attempts to murder and attacking policemen, during the February 23 siege of a police station in Amritsar district by thousands of his supporters.

The sordid episode leaves several questions unanswered. What is Amritpal's source of strength? Who is behind him? Why did he suddenly drop his truck business in Dubai, parachute into India, get baptised as a Sikh again and managed to assume the leadership of an organisation, wedded to a divisive agenda, in such a short time?

It's clear, fugitive Amritpal, and the cause he professed to promote, Khalistan, had little support in Punjab. There were hardly protests against the police action in Punjab. But why were a number of demonstrations held in his support abroad, in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia? Were such protests not orchestrated? Doesn't all these developments indicate that the movement has no roots in the State, but is largely, controlled, funded and run by vested interests from abroad. Isn't Pakistan's ISI the usual suspect behind this mischief?

There was surely perfect understanding between BJP-run Central government and AAP-controlled Punjab in the planning and execution of this highly sensitive operation. The crackdown on Amritpal, and his supporters, was obviously planned weeks in advance, in perfect coordination by multiple agencies to avoid any collateral damage. It's obvious the operation was coordinated by New Delhi, and executed by the Punjab Police.

The RAW, IB and other agencies have been on Amritpal's heels for some time now. They gathered intelligence and passed it on to Punjab Police. It's evident that he is an ISI prop, dancing to the tune of his Pakistani handlers. The idea was to destabilise Punjab through ideological indoctrination and targeted violence.

In the beginning, the AAP government tried to avoid confrontation with the Sikh radicals, and in fact was accused of mollycoddling them. There was a general impression in the Punjab Police, that inaction was safer than action, which may lead to controversy and may not be backed by those in power. However, the State government soon realised the dangers inherent in such a short-sighted approach. The ambivalent attitude of the Punjab government towards Amritpal and his fellow gangsters in initial stages, emboldened them further.

The attack on Ajnala police station, Amritpal's statements propagating violence, taking up arms and threatening political leaders including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, convinced the Centre and Punjab that any further delay in taking decisive action would result in situation going out of control.

That the apprehensions of the Centre weren't misplaced became clear from the recoveries made by Punjab Police during the recent crackdown. Searches and raids conducted by security agencies at hideouts connected with Amritpal revealed that he was trying to form a militia called Anandpur Khalsa Fauj (AKF) and had imprinted the name of this nascent outfit on bulletproof jackets and rifles.

It is believed that crackdown plan idea emerged during the March 2, meeting between Shah and Mann, who was accompanied by Punjab Director-General of Police Gaurav Yadav. The Punjab DG held meetings separately with senior officials of Central agencies to map the operation.

As a prelude to the operation, the Union Home Ministry sent 18 companies of Central armed paramilitary forces to Punjab in "aid of the State government during law-and-order activities". The decision to take key 'Waris Punjab De' members to Assam also underlined the fact that the Centre and the State were on the same page during this sensitive exercise.

Four persons - fund raiser Daljit Singh Kalsi, Bhagwant Singh, Gurmeet Singh and "Pradhanmantri" Bajeka - flanked by a Punjab Police team were flown to Assam and are now lodged in Dibrugarh Central jail. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called the detainees being brought to Assam an example of "police to police cooperation".

The entire operation was a perfect teamwork, in which political biases and considerations took a back seat, with national security concerns overwhelming all other considerations. The Union Home Ministry first sounded out the Assam government on the plan, and then Punjab sent a formal request a day before the operation was launched.

However, one question - how did the Khalistani desperado manage to escape the police dragnet - remains unanswered. Did the Punjab Police slip somewhere? With Amritpal on the run, his reputation, as a fighter has taken a big hit. Coupled with the shady details of his personal life which are now in public domain, a fugitive Amritpal is seen as a small-time cheap little weasel by the Sikh masses.

Many respectable members of the proud Sikh community have questioned Amritpal's cowardly escape, which's in sharp contrast to the Sikh tradition of facing any threat squarely and meeting a challenge head-on. His decision to take the Guru Granth Sahib to Ajnala police station and use it as a shield, has been termed as a pusillanimous act, belittling the prestige of the pristine Sikh faith.

Both, Punjab and Sikh community are in serious difficulties. While common Sikhs, moulded in the divine identity given by the illustrious Guru traditions, are bogged down by mundane day to day problems, the leadership of the community is often hijacked by pretenders like Amritpal. Drawing from highly divisive narrative propagated by willy British as part of their 'divide and rule' stratagem, foreign funded likes of Amritpal, manage to gather traction among innocent Sikh masses.

India has been fighting against Khalistanis and its backer, Pakistan, successfully, but at a great cost. However, India has never taken head on the narrative that sustains the idea of Khalistan.

The British crafted narrative on Hindu-Sikh relations, is based on half-truths and white lies. The fight against Khalistan has to be two-fold - war against the Khalistanis, and also against the very narrative that inspires the idea of Khalistan. Please see "We are only fighting against Khalistanis but not against the idea of Khalistan" posted on this portal on March 7, 2023.

Punjab is the pride of India, its sword arm, for centuries. Once the top State in the country on most of the development indicators, Punjab has been on a downhill journey for decades. The border State faces drug menace and proliferation of criminal gangs. There a dangerous nexus between gangsters and Pakistan backed elements, working to destabilise the State in the name of Khalistan. Amritpal is just a tip of an iceberg, the problems facing the State-run fathoms deep.

(Mr. Balbir Punj is a Former Member of Parliament and a Columnist. He can be reached at: [email protected])

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.