News Highlights:
- A massive manhunt has been launched in Punjab to arrest Khalistan sympathiser and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh.
- The followers of radical leader Amritpal Singh clashed with the police outside Ajnala police station near Amritsar, Punjab.
Key takeaway:
- Amritpal’s radical outfit Waris Punjab De has been wreaking havoc in parts of the state for several years and is one of the outfits which spread Khalistani ideology.
- The members of Waris Punjab De have been known to clash with the police often and have been linked with many illegal activities.
What is Amritpal Singh-led group Waris Punjab De?
- Founded by:
- Waris Punjab De is a radical group that originated in Punjab and is known to be very active in Amritsar.
- Waris Punjab De was founded by Deep Sidhu, an actor and political activist.
- Deep Sidhu passed away in a road accident in February 2022 while travelling to Bathinda from Delhi.
- The outfit was founded by Sidhu in 2021, just ahead of the Punjab assembly elections, and was often described as a “poll gimmick” by political parties.
- Militant ideology:
- After Deep Sidhu’s death, Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh took over Waris Punjab De and decided to mould the outfit according to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s ideology as an Indian militant and is described as the face of the Khalistan movement.
- While Waris Punjab De was started as an organisation to help those in need in the state, Amritpal’s takeover turned it into a radical group being used to spread Khalistani ideology in Punjab.
The Khalistan issue
- About
- The Khalistan issue refers to a Sikh separatist movement that seeks to establish a Sikh homeland within the Punjab region.
- The proposed state would consist of land that currently forms Punjab, India and Punjab, Pakistan.
- Background:
- The Khalistan issue came to a head in 1983 when a religious militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale seized the Golden Temple with his armed followers.
- This prompted Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to launch ‘Operation Blue Star’, which resulted in the deaths of Bhindranwale and his followers and massive damage to the Golden Temple.
- The aftermath of Operation Blue Star:
- In the aftermath, PM Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards.
- In the 1990s, the insurgency petered out, and the movement failed to reach its objective for multiple reasons, including a heavy police crackdown on separatists, factional infighting, and disillusionment from the Sikh population.
- Punjab became the hub of a long, drawn-out insurgency (allegedly supported by Pakistan) that lasted till 1995.
- The movement continues to evoke sympathy and support among sections of the Sikh population, especially in the Sikh diaspora.
What is the status of the Khalistan movement today?
- Punjab has long been peaceful, but the movement lives among some Sikh communities overseas.
- The diaspora predominantly comprises people who don’t want to live in India.
- The deep-rooted anger over Operation Blue Star and the desecration of the Golden Temple continues to resonate with some of the newer generations of Sikhs.
- However, even as Bhindranwale is viewed as a martyr by many and the 1980s are remembered as dark times, this has not manifested into tangible political support for the Khalistan cause.
- There is a small minority that is clinging to the past. That small minority remains significant not because of popular support but because they are trying to keep up their political influence with various political parties, both from the left and the right.
- Today, the movement is fuelled by vote bank politics, social issues (unemployment, drug menace in Punjab), dissatisfaction among the Sikh diaspora and support from non-state actors.
Pic Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Content Source: The Indian Express