The Perverse Politics Of Communal Manipulation

Punjab's political leadership -- and most particularly, that on the religious right --appears to be entirely uneducable. 15 long years of terrorism in the State have failed to root out theperverse politics of communal manipulation that resurfaces every time the Akali Dal -- the party that claimsto represent the Sikhs in Punjab, and that ruled the State through five deeply corrupt and inefficient yearsin power before it suffered a humiliating defeat in the February 2002 State Assembly Elections -- fails tosecure a democratic mandate.

Thus, on June 6, 2003, on the occasion of the annually commemorated 'Ghallughara Divas' (Martyrs Day) whichmarks the anniversary of the ham handed Operation Blue Star, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC)declared Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale a 'martyr of Sikh history'. Bhindranwale was the man who initiated and ledthe bloody terrorist movement in the State between 1978 and June 1984, when he was killed in the Golden Templeduring Operation Blue Star.

The 'declaration of martyrdom' came from the SGPC controlled Akal Takht, the highestseat of temporal power in the Sikh Faith. The SGPC and the Akal Takht are themselves entirelycontrolled by the Akali Dal, and have often been brought to the centerstage of the State's communal politics,particularly during periods of strife - as was the case during the extended violence of the Sikh separatistterrorist movement for Khalistan.

The Akali Dal is a partner in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led ruling coalition at the Centre, and themove to confer a martyr's status on a terrorist leader certainly embarrassed the BJP, which sought tounderplay the event, dismissing it as an "unfortunate announcement". There is little evidence of anyof the political formations in Punjab responding seriously to the event -- and in isolation, it is, indeed, oflittle significance. A decade after the virulent Khalistani movement was decisively defeated in 1993, theviolence of that phase has been explicitly rejected by the people of Punjab at large, and repeated efforts torevive the Khalistani ideology and terrorism have failed, despite vigorous support from Pakistan.

There is, however, a combination of factors that suggests that the 'declaration of martyrdom' should not beviewed in isolation, and that there is, in fact, a concerted pattern indicating that mischief is afoot oncemore. It is significant that the SGPC chose to associate itself with the commemoration of the GhallugharaDivas for the first time this year.

The adoption of the Nanak Shahi calendar -- which establishes a separate 'Sikh era'commencing with the date of birth of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak, and which is regarded by many as a moveto deepen the communal divide between Hindu and Sikh in Punjab -- on April 13 this year, is another event thatpoints to the politics of communal polarization being revived once again.

More significantly, some of the most vicious mass murderers of the Khalistani movement, aswell as their most prominent fundraisers and ideologues, have taken the 'surrender route' over the past year,or have simply returned to the Punjab, unhindered and unquestioned by the state, from their terrorist safehavens abroad. Most prominent among these are Jagjit Singh Chauhan and Wassan Singh Zaffarwal.

Chauhan was the self-styled 'President' of the Khalistan 'government in exile' who returnedto his home in Tanda in the Hoshiarpur district of Punjab in June 2001 after 25 years in London. After hisreturn, rejected by the democratic mainstream, Chohan established the Khalsa Raj party, which still aims toestablish a separate 'Sikh nation'. His initial public posture was conciliatory, and he spoke of establishingKhalistan 'through love and compassion'. However, he is reported to have delivered an inflammatory speech atthis year's Ghallugara Divas gathering.

Zaffarwal is the former head of the Khalistan Commando Force, one of the most vicious terrorist organizationsduring the years of terror, and had moved from Pakistan to a safe haven in Switzerland, but chose to return tohis village in Gurdaspur in April 2001, and now harbours ambitions of 'entering politics'. The Indian statehas failed to prosecute or punish these and the hundreds of other former terrorists in currently in Punjab,only a few of whom have been subjected to a desultory judicial process, but with an abysmal record ofconvictions.

This is not all. After nearly a decade of silence, the 'human rights' platform is once again being activatedby front organizations of the Khalistani terrorists, giving currency to the most audacious of falsehoods in aconcerted campaign of fabrications. Chief among such efforts was the publication in May this year of a book byone such organization styling itself as the 'Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab' (CCDP).

There appears to be a sudden revival of such propaganda and other activities by terroristfront organizations, including continuous efforts to mobilize support abroad. Significantly, a ham-handedlypropagandist programme on alleged human rights violations in the Punjab was recently aired on BBC radio aswell.

Other developments that require attention in this context is the distribution, earlier thismonth, by the London-based Punjabi Radio of 'relief' ranging between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 50,000, toex-terrorists, their wives and families during a function at a Gurudwara at Jalandhar. There are alsoincreasing reports of networking between Narain Singh Chaura's Akal Federation and Kanwarpal Singh Bittoo'sDal Khalsa, as well as between these organization and like-minded groups abroad.

These loose strands are bound together by Pakistan's unrelenting intent to do mischief in Punjab. In Decemberlast year, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani spoke of "a new strategy"under which "Pakistan's ISI has again started toying with the idea of reviving militancy in Punjab withsenior officials including President Pervez Musharraf reportedly having meetings with pro-Khalistan leadersduring the birth anniversary celebration of Baba Guru Nanak."

Significantly, Musharraf is reported to have had a closed door meeting with UK and US-basedextremist leaders, including Pritpal Singh, convenor of the American Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee;Gurmeet Singh Aulakh, president of the US-based Council of Khalistan; Manmohan Singh Khalsa, the UK basedleader of the Dal Khalsa; and Ganga Singh Dhillon, the US-based president of the Nankana Sahib Foundation.

It is important to note, moreover, that at least five of the persons on the '20 mostwanted' list that was handed over by the Government of India to Pakistan are Khalistani terrorists that Indiabelieves continue to be located in Pakistan. They include Gajinder Singh, 'chairman' of the KhalistaniCommando Force; Wadhaawa Singh Babbar, chief of the Babbar Khalsa International; Ranjit Singh Neeta,'president' of the Khalistan Zindabad Force; and Bhai Lakhveer Singh Rode, chief of the International SikhYouth Federation.

Pakistan's plans for a revival of Sikh militancy have manifested themselves periodically --for instance, in a brief campaign of random bombings at soft targets in the Punjab between March and July1997, in which 55 civilians were killed; and again in the appointment, in April 1999, of Lt. General JavedNasir, a former chief of the ISI, as the chairman of the Pakistan Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee - anorganization established to take care of Sikh shrines in that country, including the revered Nankana Sahib. Jathasor groups of Sikh pilgrims who travel to these shrines each year are regularly harangued by Sikhextremists in efforts to revive recruitment to extremist ranks.

The lessons of the years of terrorism have not been lost on the people of Punjab, and there is now widespreadpopular revulsion against the activities of those who committed slaughter in the name of the Sikh faith. Therevival of terrorism among those who remember that dark phase of the State's history is improbable, if notimpossible. But there is a new generation that is now growing up without any memories of that period. Tobeguile this generation to take to the terrorist path may not be as difficult a task.

A revival of militancy in Punjab is a possibility that the Indian state must constantlyguard against with the utmost vigilance. Bringing the guilty of those long years of terror to justice must beone of the instruments of such a defense. A state that fails persistently to punish even the worst of itscriminals will eventually come to be ruled by them.

K.P.S. Gill is President, Institute for Conflict Management which runs the South Asia TerrorismPortal and brings out a weekly - South Asia Intelligence Review - courtesy which this piece appearshere.