The police in the Indian state of Punjab had made massive preparations to arrest the self-proclaimed Sikh preacher Amrit Pal Singh with the help of the security forces last Saturday.
The police had arrested several of his close associates, but Amrit Pal Singh evaded the police and left.
On the other hand, his family members are afraid that the police have also arrested him, but their arrest is not being revealed. He has filed a writ of habeas corpus in the local court.
Inspector General of Punjab Police Sukh Chain Singh told a news conference on Monday that during this operation, 114 workers of the organization called ‘Wars Punjab De’ have been detained so far, six different FIRs have been registered and Ten weapons have been recovered.’
IG Sukh Chain further said that ‘Amrit Pal Singh is still absconding and all possible efforts are being made to catch him.’
This action of the police has created panic in the entire Punjab. Rabin Singh, a senior journalist from Amritsar, told the Media that there was peace in the state for a long time, but the situation has suddenly changed.
He said that there was no such influence of Khalistan left in Punjab. It may have little influence in some quarters, but pro-Khalistan organizations and activists in Canada, the US, Australia and Pakistan have been very active for some time now, affecting the environment of the state. With the arrival of Amrit Pal Singh, there has been more talk of Khalistan in the media.
The BBC’s correspondent in Chandigarh, Arvind Chhabra, says that the security forces in Punjab have been sensing for a long time that extremist ideas are gaining ground.
“The law and order situation in the state has deteriorated and the general perception is that the Aam Aadmi Party government has failed to take any effective steps in this regard.”
Congress MP from Punjab Amar Singh says that many things are not clear about what is happening in the state. There is law and order problem in Punjab, gangster culture is flourishing. The cases of looting and forced recovery are increasing.
According to another Punjab leader and former BJP MP Vijay Sampla, ‘Amar Pal Singh invaded the police station in Punjab, leaving no stone unturned to spread riots here. Attempts are being made to spoil the environment of the state, but the way the Punjab government has suddenly taken action has created fear among the people.
It should be remembered that on February 23, 29-year-old Amrit Pal Singh stormed the police station with hundreds of his supporters in Ajnala, a town near Amritsar, to free one of his colleagues from police custody.
He kept the holy Sikh religious book ‘Guru Granth’ as a shield. The police did not take any action against Amrit Pal and his supporters fearing desecration of the holy book and even released his detained accomplice.
After this incident, the police was severely criticized. They were accused of having emboldened pro-Khalistan Amrit Pal Singh by not taking any action, but the police were preparing to arrest him and Waris Punjab De members after this retreat.
Who is Amrit Pal Singh?
Amrit Pal Singh is a modest 29-year-old youth who was born in a village in Amritsar district.
In 2012, he moved to Dubai to join his parents’ transport business. In his messages on social media, he talks about Sikh unity and a separate state, due to which he started gaining popularity.
After living in Dubai for many years, he came to India in August last year during the farmers’ movement.
At that time, his beard was trimmed and his hair was cut. A month later, he was elected as the head of Waris Punjab De, an organization formed after the death of actor and social activist Deep Sidhu in a car accident.
The event was held in the village of Jarnail Singh Bhandrawale, the founder of the Khalistan movement, in the early 1980s. It may be recalled that Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a strong supporter of Khalistan and died in the Golden Temple during the controversial Operation Blue Star.
Amritpal cites Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as his inspiration. He has repeatedly expressed that the Sikhs should have a separate state.
Answering the questions of the reporters, he said, “If RSS and Hindu leaders want to establish a Hindu Rashtra in India, why can’t Sikhs aspire for Khalistan?”
Their beards are now grown like religious Sikhs. They now wear turbans and carry religious kirpans. They imitate the separatist Bhandra Wale in their dress and style and go from place to place giving speeches.
How is his rise in popularity seen in Punjab?
There is no doubt that his popularity has increased in recent months, but many people are skeptical about the sudden appearance of a young radical Sikh leader in the complex and complicated situation of Punjab politics.
Hartosh Singh Bill, the editor of the English magazine Kerevan in India, claimed that the Center is happy with Amrit Pal’s arrival, the agencies are happy, the BJP is happy. It is the state government of the Aam Aadmi Party, with its inexperience, is not able to understand that possibly Amrit Pal has not come but has been brought.
Amrit Pal Singh is surrounded by controversies due to his statements. In his speeches, he says that whether it is the water dispute, the problem of drug addiction or the question of the decline of Punjabi culture, the permanent solution to the problem of Punjab is the establishment of a separate Sikh state.
He is often the center of attention on social media not only for his statements, but also for his association with Dubai.
He used to travel in an expensive Mercedes and was accompanied by several armed operatives for his security.
His critics say that Amrit Pal Singh is creating a divide between Sikhs and Hindus in Punjab with his controversial statements and this is benefiting the BJP.
Indian intelligence agencies had been monitoring his activities for several months. Preparations were going on for the last 15 days for the arrest of Amrit Pal.
Amrit Pal was to be arrested on his way to attend a function on Saturday. Hundreds of police officers and central forces personnel were involved in this operation. However, the police claim that they managed to escape. All his top advisers and several close relatives have been arrested.
Following the incident, supporters of Khalistan on Sunday took down the Indian flag hanging from the balcony of the Indian High Commission in London in protest and tried to hoist the Khalistan flag there.
Supporters of Khalistan also rioted outside the Indian consulate in San Francisco in the US.
India has strongly protested to the governments of England and America for these incidents.
India has demanded that the activities of pro-Khalistan organizations be stopped. Dr. Kanwal Preet, professor of political science in Punjab, says that the state government has tried to deal with the Amrit Pal incident very sensibly.
“The concept of Khalistan is not accepted in Punjab anymore because this is not the 80s or 90s,” she says. Today, the youth are struggling to get a good education, get a job or go abroad in search of a better future.
She said that I have grown up under the shadow of terrorism. Our generation has seen violence and bloodshed. What every woman in the state wants is that her husband, son, daughter, brother all return home safely in Syria. Punjab has already paid a heavy price and now that it is coming out of its bitter past, it cannot afford terrorism and bloodshed again.
