This is not the very first time that Punjab has become a topic of discussion in National media. However, it is among those rare moments when a clash between police and protestors has got much attention and it is only because of the involvement of staunch Bhindranwale follower and Khalistan supporter Amritpal Singh. Giving an insight into the matter, a few days back Waris Punjab De Chief Amritpal Singh’s close aid Lovepreet Singh Toofan was arrested by Ajnala Police for kidnapping and assaulting a person. This led to the announcement of a peaceful protest by Amritpal Singh outside the concerned police station. However, the protest did not remain peaceful and turned into a violent clash where policemen were attacked with swords and stones. After this Toofan was released from jail as no evidence was found against him. Now the case is under the scrutiny of Central Government.
This is for the very first time that an organization has become so active and openly speaks about turning Punjab into Khalistan. Let’s get a brief about who is Amritpal Singh and how he came a matter of discussion in Indian media.
Who is Amritpal Singh?
Waris Punjab De Chief Amritpal Singh was born in Jallupur Khera Village of Amritsar in the year 1993. He completed his studies upto 12th and then moved to Dubai for doing business with his uncle there. Amritpal Singh came back to Punjab from Dubai almost 6 months back and announced himself as the Chief of Waris Punjab De Organization started by Deep Sidhu who died in a road accident. On 25th September 2022 Amritpal Singh turned ‘Amritdhari Sikh’ in grand event organized at Anandpur Sahib, Bhindrawala's native village.
His transformation from a transporter to Amritdhari Sikh has been quite fast and fascinating. Many people call him Bhindrawala 2.0 as he dresses up like him, he follows him blindly and has same dreams as he had. Amritpal Singh raised the issue of turning Punjab into Khalistan from his various social media handles and tried to disturb the harmony of the state through instigating speeches because of which his Twitter, as well as Instagram accounts were suspended.
What is Khalistan and where it all started?
The story of Khalistan dates back to 31st December 1929 when Tara Singh during a Congress session held in Lahore demanded a separate state for Sikhs. Post partition, half part of Punjab was given to Pakistan while the other remained in India. In 1947, Akali Dal intensified the demand for a separate state for the Sikhs. With this demand, the 'Punjabi Suba Movement' started and went on for 19 long years. In 1966, Indira Gandhi agreed to the demand and divided Punjab into three parts: Punjab for Sikhs, Haryana for Hindi speakers and Chandigarh for the third part.
The term 'Khalistan' was first used in March 1940. Khalistan means 'country of Khalsas'. In the year 1940, Dr. Veer Singh Bhatti used the word 'Khalistan' for the first time. He had printed some templates at that time, in which a separate country was demanded for Sikhs by the name of 'Khalistan'. He printed these templates in response to the Lahore Declaration of the Muslim League.
After the separation of Punjab into three parts, assembly elections were held in the year 1966. In this election, Republic Party of India candidate Jagjit Singh Chauhan also contested from Tanda Assembly seat, but he lost. Two years after losing the election, Jagjit Singh Chauhan went to Britain and started the 'Khalistan Movement' there. In 1971, Jagjit Singh Chauhan also placed an advertisement in the New York Times seeking funding for the Khalistan movement.
First in 1973 and then in 1978, various rights were demanded for a separate Punjab. Firstly, the Akali Dal passed the Anandpur Sahib Resolution that suggested central government should have the right only over defense, foreign policy, communication and currency, and the state government should have the right over all other matters.
Then in August 1982, Akali Dal leaders HS Longowal and Parkash Singh Badal joined Bhindranwale in joining hands with Bhindranwale to implement the Anandpur Sahib proposal, merge the Punjabi-speaking area with Himachal Pradesh and Haryana into Punjab, and to postpone the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal project.
How Khalistan turned into a well-known history?
In April 1978, there was a violent clash between Akali activists and Nirankaris in which 13 Akali Dal workers were killed. In the early 1980’s criminal activities started increasing in Punjab. Firstly, Lala Jagat Narain, the founder and editor of Punjab Kesari, was assassinated in 1981 then in April 1983, Punjab Police DIG A.S. Atwal was shot dead and Bhindrawala was held responsible for the same.
Later, Bhindranwala made Golden Temple his home and started expressing his views on the Akal Takht, the highest institution of Sikhism. In order to control the increasing violent activities in Punjab, Bhindrawala needed to be caught.
For this, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government launched 'Operation Blue Star'. The military commander of this operation, Major General KS Brar, said that Khalistan was going to be announced in a few days and to stop it, it was necessary to carry out this operation as soon as possible. On June 3, 1984, a curfew was imposed in Punjab. On the evening of June 4, the army started firing. The next day, armored vehicles and tanks of the army also reached the Golden Temple. Bhindranwale was killed on June 6.
Four months post this operation, on October 31, 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. After the assassination of PM anti-Sikh riots broke out across the country. On June 23, 1985, an Air India flight from Montreal to London in Canada was blown up in the air. All 329 passengers and crew on board were killed. Babbar Khalsa claimed responsibility for the attack and called it revenge for Bhindranwale's death. On August 10, 1986, former Army Chief General A S Vaidya, who led Operation Blue Star, was assassinated in Pune. The Khalistan Commando Force took responsibility for this.
What is the demand of Khalistan?
Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, an immigrant cab driver-turned-attorney, formed an organization called 'Sikhs for Justice' in 2007. It was claimed that this organization has been formed to demand justice for the victims of the 1984 riots. In the year 2019, the central government banned this organization. Talking about the demands of Khalistan supporters, in October 2021, Sikhs for Justice released the map of Khalistan. In this map, not only Punjab, but some districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan are also described as part of Khalistan.