Amritpal Singh
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Briefly
As in 2023Feb
IP Singh, February 26, 2023: The Times of India
It wasn’t the first time a police station in India was attacked by a mob, but what happened at Ajnala near Amritsar has attracted much more attention as the ‘action’ was led by Amritpal Singh, who openly espouses the cause of Khalistan.
Briefly, his associate Lovepreet Singh Toofan had been arrested for allegedly abducting and assaulting a person who was strongly critical of Amritpal Singh. Amritpal and his armed supporters barged inside Ajnala police station using sticks and swords. Later in the day, the Punjab Police announced it had found evidence of Lovepreet’s innocence. Lovepreet walked free on Friday and Amritpal said he stood vindicated as his associate was wrongly implicated. The government’s handling of the case is now under scrutiny.
Meteoric Rise
Born in Amritsar’s Jallupur Khera village in 1993, Amritpal studied up to class 12, and in 2012 left India to work with his uncle’s transport company in Dubai.
He came to the notice of Punjab’s politicians and police only six months ago when he was anointed the head of Waris Punjab De, an organisation founded by actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu. Amritpal and his supporters claim Sidhu, who died in a road accident in February 2022, was murdered by the ‘state’. Amritpal never met Sidhu in person but says he was strongly influenced by him in their online interactions. On Sidhu’s first death anniversary a week back, Amritpal said he had stopped trimming his hair on the late actor’s advice in November 2021.
On September 25 last year, Amritpal went through a formal Sikh baptism at Anandpur Sahib to become an ‘Amritdhari Sikh’. Punjab observers were surprised by the turnout at the ceremony. Just four days later – on September 29 – large numbers of Sikhs again gathered to witness Amritpal’s ‘dastar bandi’ (turban-tying ceremony to indicate the taking on of a responsibility) at Rode village, the birthplace of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, whose name is inseparable from the Punjab militancy.
‘Bhindranwale 2’
Amritpal’s transformation from a clean-shaven transporter in Dubai to a separatist Sikh leader with a flowing beard has been swift. He dresses like Bhindranwale and some are already calling him Bhindranwale 2. In a recent speech, he said he was questioned by the ‘agencies’ for quite some time when he landed at Amritsar airport. A Sikh youth being questioned about returning to his homeland is a sign of ‘ghulami’ (slavery), he added.
He has been espousing the cause of Khalistan on his Facebook timeline for quite some time. Why is it wrong for a Sikh to demand Khalistan if advocacy of a Hindu Rashtra is not punished, he asks.
Unlike Bhindranwale, Amritpal did not attend a Sikh seminary and came into religious preaching after mainly expressing himself on political issues. His lack of training shows up when he speaks on theological issues. Yet, the masses flock to him for his ‘clear and courageous’ political views.
Scratching Old Wounds
Amritpal had backed Deep Sidhu when others vilified him for the Red Fort protests on Republic Day of 2021 during the farmers’ agitation, and it is Sidhu’s large following that has propelled his recent rise. But Sidhu’s own popularity was rooted in the growing restlessness of the Sikhs over the past decade. Outrages on their faith, such as the Bargari sacrilege and the Behbal Kalan police firing of 2015, have gone unpunished, they feel. And while Punjab has been calm on the surface for almost 30 years, the wounds of the 1980s and ’90s have not healed.
In an interview to a Punjabi channel, Amritpal had said he was drawn to Sikh activism after the Bargari and Behbal Kalan incidents. His strong stance, including on Christian pastors, has also added to his popularity among Sikhs.
Filling A Vacuum
There’s also a vacuum in Sikh politics as the Bargari and Behbal Kalan outrages occurred on Shiromani Akali Dal’s watch, which is the political organisation of the Sikhs. That explains the party’s rout in last year’s state elections, winning just three seats in the 117-seat Assembly.
The jathedar of Akal Takht (highest temporal authority in Sikhism) and the gurdwara management body SGPC have also considerably lost their hold on Sikh affairs as they are seen to follow Parkash Singh Badal’s diktats and agenda. In fact, former Akal Takht jathedar Gurbachan Singh was derided for pardoning dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in 2015. Similar circumstances in the 1970s had enabled Bhindranwale’s rise. Sikhs at that time were disenchanted with the Akali Dal, especially after 13 of them were killed in clashes with Nirankaris in Amritsar on April 13, 1978, under Badal’s government. Now, another power vacuum is making it easy for Amritpal to capture the community’s imagination.
Popular But Divisive
In his new avatar, Amritpal initially said Sikhs should bury their internal issues to unite for the larger political goal. However, with a not-so-veiled dig at a missionary Sikh preacher, he revived the first fault line and bitterness between Sikh missionaries and traditional groups, who have differences on the interpretation of Sikh texts and issues of ‘maryada’ (code of conduct).
Some actions of his supporters, such as burning chairs kept in a Jalandhar gurdwara for the old and disabled last December, have also divided opinion. Now also several Sikhs are raising questions on his taking the Bir of Guru Granth Sahib to Ajnala police station. Some said his camp used it as a shield.
While the Ajnala violence was not communal, the incident has given rise to apprehensions. Sikhs and Hindus have no major social and religious contradictions and are seen together at Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), but at the political level a fault line exists that makes Hindus wary of radical Sikh politics.
Official Dilemma
With his growing clout, Amritpal has acquired the trappings of power. Armed supporters guard him round the clock. His words are lapped up on social media and his interviews push up Punjabi channels’ viewership. When word got out that he was marrying a Sikh woman from Britain, TV crews rushed to the gurdwara and he had to change the venue to escape the cameras. Does Punjab’s officialdom have a plan to “contain” Amritpal?
“We find ourselves in a tricky situation: If we act against him without any solid ground, he can become even bigger, and if we just watch, he has the potential to grow more. We are waiting for him to commit blunders which will reduce his base in the community,” said a senior police officer on the condition of anonymity. Sources said the political establishment is on the same page.
