Stoking the embers

Punjabis have put the decade of violence behind them and it is natural to expect that everyone who has been through that particularly trying time would go the extra mile to ensure that those dark days never return. Unfortunately, political calculations have an uncanny way of making politicians repeat their mistakes, again and again, always at the cost of the people and public welfare. Recent events, which are not causally related in the strict empirical sense, trigger concern among those who wish the state and its people well.

On the one hand is the “martyrs’ gallery” dedicated to those killed during Operation Bluestar. The SGPC top brass was buttressed by counterparts from Delhi and Damdami Taksal chief Harnam Singh Dhumma, who is spearheading the kar sewa for the gallery, located within Gurdwara Shaheedan, a memorial dedicated to the victims of the operation in the Golden Temple complex. Victims must not be ignored, but they should also never be used for partisan gains. The political agenda behind this gallery is obvious, and it is difficult to believe that the timing of the event is a coincidence. The Shiromani Akali Dal has demonstrated a propensity to pick up “religious” issues when it is not in power, and Dhumma’s political alignment is well known. 

On the other hand, the Punjab Police has reacted — perhaps over-reacted — to posters for “Punjab Independence Referendum 2020” by booking five people on the charge of sedition and promoting enmity. This after the Chief Minister had days before dismissed the posters as unworthy of attention. The posters have been around for some time now and had not evoked much interest till political players got into the act. Now familiar demons like “Pakistani intelligence” and “Khalistani elements” have been invoked, and the issue has been escalated. With local body elections round the corner in Punjab, the possibility of political misadventures intensifying cannot be ruled out. Peace in Punjab has come at a great cost, and as the decade lost to militancy goes further back in time, it is important to remember the terrible price that the state and its people had to pay at that. All must observe and ensure restraint in present-day activities that have political implications.