AAP govt meekly gives in to Khalistani forces

Has the AAP government in Punjab committed the unpardonable crime of prepping up the State for yet another bout of Khalistan movement? YES. It was a dark day for Punjab on Thursday last, when the state police decided to cancel the FIR against a close aide of self-proclaimed religious leader and Khalistan backer, Amritpal Singh, on the ground that the protestors proved the innocence of the accused, Lovepreet Toofan, a close aide of Amritpal.

The protest itself was a violent one and when something of this magnitude happens close to the border of our enemy nation, it should have provoked all political parties and organizations to demand stern action against Amritpal Singh and his followers. Sadly, national interest does not figure anywhere in the agenda of most of our parties. The attack on a police station with guns and swords and lathi-wielding followers of the extremist forces was not tackled as the police sought to handle the situation gently as they were carrying the holy Guru Granth Sahib. And since when in this country has the system of accepting the defence of the accused as evidence of innocence through a violent protest been initiated?

Amritpal Singh has gained traction in Punjab of late and he has openly backed the Khalistan movement. It is not an ordinary movement as it seeks the separation of Punjab from India. Singh incidentally acts like terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and is following in his footsteps. If it was the Congress that nurtured Bhindranwale in the past, it is Kejriwal and his protege, Mann, who are doing so now. There are several similarities here.

Starting in the early 1980s, radical separatists spearheaded a bloody campaign to carve out an independent, theocratic Sikh state known as Khalistan (Land of the Pure) in Punjab and other parts of Northern India. Punjab, was trifurcated into the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh in 1966, along linguistic lines (Punjab as a Punjabi speaking state, and Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as Hindi speaking states), which created resentment amongst many Sikhs that the historic contours of Punjab were being further divided after it has already been divided between India and Pakistan in 1947. Interestingly, it was the later division of Punjab that allowed Sikhs to enjoy a religious majority in the state, given the predominantly Hindu populations in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. However, the division did not go down well with a section of the population which used a religious prism to examine the new arrangement. Starting in the early 1980s, radical separatists spearheaded a bloody campaign to carve out an independent, theocratic Sikh state known as Khalistan (Land of the Pure) in Punjab and other parts of Northern India. Encouraging such forces will prove deadly for the country. Instead of tackling the problem with an iron hand, the AAP government has chosen to blame Pakistan for the Khalistan tendencies surfacing in India. The rise of Amritpal Singh and the kind of violence witnessed recently in Punjab does not bode well with national security. No doubt, Pakistan is doing its best to destabilize Punjab, but playing into its hands by turning a blind eye to the happenings here is just not done. What if criminals and anti-nationals carry holy books during their anti-national acts? Do we restrain ourselves by

pardoning them?