Building a memorial for those who died in
Operation Bluestar would not serve any purpose.
It seems there is a conspiracy of
silence in Punjab . It was this silence by those at the
helm which led to a secessionist movement in the state not long ago. The nation
bore the tragic consequences with thousands perishing in the violence which engulfed
the state for a decade and a half.
Now again, by acts of omission
and commission and glossing over a situation which has the potential of
creating trouble, the foundation stone laying ceremony to build a memorial for
those killed in Operation Bluestar was allowed in Amritsar. The symbolic move,
which has the support of the Sikh clergy, could snowball into an issue which
could trigger trouble in the state, if not immediately, then in near future.
This is not a kind of symbolism
which the state and the country can afford at this juncture when peace is still
fragile and fringe elements active and looking for an opportunity to foment
trouble.
Killing of a chief minister and
over a dozen innocent people along with him was also sought to be given
legitimacy at the same time. Balwant Singh Rajoana, the assassin of former Punjab
chief minister Beant Singh who is awaiting an imminent death sentence in
Patiala Jail, was given the title of “Zinda Shaheed’ (living martyr). Honouring
Rajoana by the five head priests can lead to only one conclusion. Killing people, including a chief minister, for
a cause, however misplaced it may be, is justified if it has the backing of the
religions leadership.
There was frenzy all over Punjab
when a lower court in Chandigarh directed that Rajoana be hanged in March this
year, soon after the Akali Dal-BJP government came to power for the second time
in a row. There were protests in several cities, an intensive campaign on the
Internet was launched, the hardliners came into picture, the political leadership
supported the killer, the Sikh clergy came out in open support and the entire
establishment wanted the hanging to be deferred.
Personally, I am also against
death sentence. Simply, because it is irrevocable and in the case of Rajoana
the entire process of law had not played itself out. This means that after the
lower court awards death sentence, it goes to the High Court and if rejected,
it goes to the Supreme Court. Finally the matter goes to the President of the
country for clemency and if rejected, only then death sentence can be executed.
This did not happen in the case of Rajoana.
But a memorial for those who died
in Operation Bluestar of 1984 is obviously an entirely different matter. By
building a memorial, the perpetrators of violence are being given a legitimacy
which will affect an entire generation. By this act, you are portraying the
soldiers who laid down their lives and the Indian state which ordered the
operation as villains. Will anyone deny that arms of all hues were stored in a religious
place and it was nothing else but waging a war against the nation. And mind you, these were not traditional arms,
spears, swords, bows and arrows but modern killing machines.
Police officials who fought
terrorism throughout the 1980s and the early 1990s say that all the ingredients
of radicalization and militancy exist in the state even today. They cite mixing
of religion and politics, increasing relevance of the radical groups and their
new role as lobbyists for the radical cause and a hostile neighbour as factors
which could help revive the embers which were doused after great efforts.
Unemployment on a large scale, drug abuse, diminishing returns from agriculture
and the failure to bring in the second green revolution could be the other contributory
factors.
What has added fuel to fire in
recent months and years is the reach of social networking sites and the new
media through which radicalization is taking place at a much faster place. Such
a powerful medium did not exist in the 1980s and early 90s and clearly
intelligence and police officials are worried about its impact.
There are hundreds of websites,
blogs and facebook pages which extol the terrorists of yesteryears and carry
their pictures, life sketches and glorify their acts of terror, portraying the
government in extremely poor light. The government can do little about it as
they are hosted from foreign countries and even if you ban one, they change the
domain name and appear again. There are websites which ask for donations for
the cause of a separate state and even ask for as little as $5 as contribution.
The case of Rajoana was fought not only through official channels but also
through the cyber world where a few thousand “liked” the page on the assassin
and added their comments on it.
Rajoana’s case was not an
isolated one. There were several other incidents in the recent past which
clearly suggested that the radicals can mobilise the people of Punjab
with little or no effort. Controversy on the voting rights of the Sehejdhari Sikhs
last year, killing of Sant Ramanand of Dera Sachkhand in Vienna
in 2009 and before that the controversy involving Dera Sacha Sauda’s Baba
Gurmeet Ram Rahim in 2007 led to widespread disturbance.
The radical elements are waiting
on the fringes as the Shiromani Akali Dal occupies the main political space in
the state. But overlooking the warning signals could prove to be
counterproductive and it is here that the ruling party in Punjab
will have to be on guard.
There is a section which believes
in the “safety valve theory” insisting that the Akali Dal allowed the
foundation stone laying ceremony for the 1984 memorial and tacitly supported
some other similar developments so that tempers do not run high and the
radicals find an outlet to express themselves through the “official channels”. Even
if that is the case, it cannot be taken too far lest it gets out of control.
Many believe that Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a creation of the
Congress to counter the Akalis in state politics. He soon had a dedicated following
of his own and the consequences were disastrous.
There have been voices of
dissent, both from the Congress and the BJP against the proposed memorial. Even
the Akali Dal has distanced itself from it though an overwhelming number of
SGPC members were elected on its ticket and the SGPC President is always an
Akali nominee. Several intellectuals of the state too have come out against
radicalization, citing the past experience and the accompanying turmoil.
Playing with fire leaves you with
burnt fingers. A line has to be drawn and clearly the Akali Dal has to take a
lead. (June 11, 2012)
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