A Sikh man tears into media’s unnecessary communalization of the Sikh tempo driver-Delhi police episode

The Mukherjee Nagar incident of this Sunday has created much ruckus on social media regarding the high-handedness of Delhi Police. In videos which went viral late on Sunday afternoon, a Sikh tempo driver is seen arguing with a Delhi Police personnel. While the officer is seen calmly talking on his phone, the driver is seen brandishing his oversized kirpan and threatening the officer. The media so far has reported with absolute bias in this case. The police version has been given no importance at all. The Sikh driver’s version is being run by media outlets as the only authentic account of what went down that afternoon.

Upon a closer look of the video, it is clear beyond doubt that the officer who was first seen in the video in an argument with the driver was in fact, not even conversing with him. Police say that the driver was recklessly driving and hit a police vehicle. The argument broke out thereafter. The driver, on the other hand, is seen with a naked sword in his hands and is continuously threatening the officer. The driver’s son then tries to take his father away. Meanwhile, a Delhi Police team is seen rushing out of Mukherjee Nagar police station. At first, the police try to capture the man without the use of force. However, the driver shouts “Haath laga ke dikhao”, while brandishing his sword. Before this, he had shouted at the officer “Aaj dekhoge Sardar kya hota hai..”. A policeman tries to get hold of this man from behind, however, he slips away almost immediately. What follows is a chaotic scene of the driver hitting a personnel with the kirpan. Moreover, in the video, it is also seen that the driver’s son tries to run the tempo over the Delhi Police team. The team was not using force on the son prior to this stupid attempt.

On Sunday night, a crowd of Sikhs gheraoed the police station and staged a rather peculiar protest. From videos available on the internet, it is seen that the protestors raise “Khalistan Zindabad” slogans.

How Khalistan got into the picture is out of comprehension for me. This is just another incident of Khalistani and extremist elements taking advantage of the situation to further their non-achievable agenda. What is all the more shameful is the blatant politicization of the incident by the Akali Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, and DSGMC. Akali Dal and DSGMC obviously wanted to gain political capital from this incident. The Delhi CM, however, thought that this was a case of extreme police brutality on citizens. That he would like Delhi Police to come under his control is no secret. Therefore, he too thought it best to score political brownie points out of this incident. The President of DSGMC has been vociferously campaigning against the Delhi Police personnel. On 17^th June, he accompanied the accused, Sarbjeet Singh to Gurdwara Rakab Ganj.

It is shocking that a man accused of violent behavior with police personnel is being provided a political platform at a spiritual place. He also compared this incident to the 1984 Sikh genocide. Why should political leaders accompany criminally accused individuals to religious places? Why is the media not calling out this blatant religious politicization of the incident?

Off late, I have been observing that Sikhs have begun brandishing their Kirpan as though it is some sort of a toy. Either they are not aware of its sanctity, or they are not aware that it is worn for symbolism in today’s times. We are not living in an undemocratic country or in a state where there is anarchy. There is absolutely no threat to common citizens. Sikhs must abandon this unnecessary ‘macho-man syndrome’ immediately. All citizens are equal. The law guarantees Sikhs the right to wear the Kirpan, not brandish and harass people with it. A Kirpan, as the name suggests, must be used only to infuse mercy among the people. It is sad to see some Sikhs use it as a tool to harass others. Moreover, this false sense of victimhood must be abandoned too. One must be ready to face the consequences if one threatens law-enforcing agencies. You will not be pampered if you wield your sword on police personnel and your son attempts to run over officers with a tempo. The law must take its own course. Delhi Police should not buckle under political pressure which is definitely being put on them from various quarters.