“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” — the farmer protests against the Farm Laws started from a good place but later turned into a Sikh vs Hindu fight with Khalistani feelers infiltrating the movement and brainwashing the protestors. While the government legitimized the entire lot by cowering and repealing the three laws, fearing for national safety, a bigger battle awaits us all.
It’s time that the patriotic, nation-loving Sikh community stands up and takes the initiative to call out the Khalistani elements hiding in plain sight amongst them. The time is nigh or otherwise, the Sikh community might be meted the same treatment as the Islamists and their fundamentalist sympathizers. Rabid Islamists and terrorists have become synonymous terms and it would be a grave pity if Sikhs and Khalistani’s are intertwined into one.
Punjab and its contribution to the Army
Punjab – the home state of the Sikhs is often referred to as the sword army of the nation. The northern state has the second-highest number of soldiers, other than officers, serving in the Army amongst all states and union territories in the country.
According to data released by the Ministry of Defence, the strength of army personnel from Punjab stood at 89,088, as of March 2021. This accounts for 7.7 per cent of the Army’s rank and file, even though its share of the national population is 2.3 per cent.
The paradox of Punjab
Thus it is a rather absurd paradox that a state where families pride themselves in sending at least one army man from their family to protect the country’s border is the same state where a secessionist moment started and where instead of cherishing the memory of Bhagat Singh, few are upholding the memory of terrorists like Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale that desecrated the holy compounds of Golden Temple.
And these Khalistanis do not have the interests of Punjabis or Sikhs in mind. They are simply employed on the payrolls of the Islamists of Pakistan and ISI. Recently, banned terror outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) released a controversial map of Khalistan which attempts to fulfil the deep desire of the fanatics of the ideologue.
Read More: Balwinder Sandhu: A brave anti-Khalistani fighter has been killed in broad daylight
Khalistanis are nothing but ISI backed terrorists
Reportedly, the “map” of their vision of Khalistan included states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and several districts of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. However, interestingly, the map didn’t have a square kilometre of Punjab in Pakistan, or for that matter, any state in the neighbouring country of India.
https://twitter.com/SikhPA/status/1451683715390840834
The netizens were quick to point out that despite claiming to fight for the Khalistani cause, the terror outfit could not furnish a proper map. One of the netizens remarked, “These jokers don’t have the guts to claim an inch from their masters in Pindi. Frauds.”
These jokers don't have the guts to claim an inch from their masters in Pindi.
Frauds.#undistorted https://t.co/AakEujZFzS— Undistort (@Undistort) October 24, 2021
Sikh community needs better conscience gatekeepers
Then, there is a need to call out people sitting in the top echelons of the Sikh society that become the collective gatekeeper of the conscience of the community and yet espouse vitriol.
Earlier this year, on the 37th anniversary of Operation Bluestar, the Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Harpreet Singh Giani had tagged the event as “Chaurasi (84) Da Ghallughara” (holocaust).
Delivering his customary ‘sandesh’ (message) from the podium of Akal Takht, he said that words like ‘Operation Bluestar’ or ‘Saka Neelataara’ must be avoided to refer to the event as it hurt the sentiments.
Comparing the Indian Army’s Operation Bluestar on Golden Temple and Akal Takht with the war between the two nations, Giani said, “Like, the earlier two ‘ghallugharas’, the third one occurred in 1984 when the Indian Army attacked the Golden Temple, the way China and Pakistan attacked India in 1962 and 1965. Upon attack, the Indian authorities did worse than what the winning forces did with the defeated nation’s citizens.”
Even Harbhajan Singh, an Indian cricketer had hailed Bhindranwale as a ‘martyr’ and offered him ‘pranam’ in one of his Instagram stories.
Indira Gandhi, the Congress leader and country’s PM at the time in 1984 had ordered Operation Blue Star to clear the pious compounds of Golden Temple from the clutches of Bhindranwale and his coterie of terrorists that took over the Akal Takht complex and hid there from the forces.
Sikhism has pushed back against tyrannical forces
Sikhs are a close-knit community and they have the best interests of the country in mind. They share a close bond with Hindus with the former great gurus of the community evoking Prabhu Shri Ram, Shri Krishna innumerable times in Guru Granth Sahib.
Sikhism has always pushed back against foreign invading forces since the dawn of time, especially against Islamic plunderers and marauders. Hence, it becomes even more pivotal than the community shakes itself up and calls out the Khalistanis.