Since the farmers from Punjab are predominantly Sikhs, BJP’s troll army and some of their apologists in Bollywood have begun attacking them on social media frequently branding them as “Khalistanis” or those seeking a separate Sikh homeland of Khalistan.
The armed struggle for an imaginary Khalistan to be carved out of Punjab had left thousands of people dead between mid- 1980s-mid 1990s. The movement was the result of the state repression of Sikhs who were merely asking for political autonomy and several economical and religious concessions. The situation was allowed to escalate and turned violent, and Khalistan which was never popular among the Sikhs gradually gained momentum, until it was ended brutally by the police that was given extra judicial powers by the government to suppress it.
It partly fizzled out because the Sikh militants also lost support because of the excesses committed by them.
Although the movement has become irrelevant and mainly survives at a propaganda level mostly in the Sikh Diaspora, it has become convenient for the followers of Modi or the Indian establishment to brand any Sikh as a potential Khalistani to silence any voice of dissent.
This is not to suggest that others are immune from being branded in such a way. Modi supporters have been used to label any Muslim critic as Jihadi terrorist and a leftist critic as Maoist or urban naxal. The most common message for all of them is that either stay in India on our terms or go to Pakistan.
It is pertinent to mention that the attacks on religious minorities and political dissidents of any stripe have grown under Modi ever since he became the Prime Minister in 2014. Obviously, these people remain blind to what Hindu extremists who are bent upon turning India into Hindu theocracy are doing to the minorities, especially Muslims and Christians.
They have conveniently overlooked the fact that the Punjab farmers represent a diverse group. Among them are practicing and non-practising Sikhs, atheists and believers, leftists and Khalistanis. Ironically, the Khalistani militants had killed many leftists during the insurgency. How can one ignore such complexities, considering that any grassroots movement for a common ground can bring a variety of people together, irrespective of their religious or political beliefs?
It is noteworthy that the Sikh farmers have received massive support from Hindu and Muslim farmers from other states as well as their issues remain similar. The current conflict is the result of the ordinances brought by the Modi government which are being widely seen as anti-farmer. These laws are affecting the livelihood of the broader farming community which is the backbone of the Indian economy. Their anger is directed at the fact that Modi, armed with majority in the Parliament, did not do all this in a transparent manner and aims to roll back all the subsidies and protection to the farmers which were long guaranteed to them in an agro-based economy.
It is not surprising that some of Modi’s own allies are also upset. The members of his party’s farmers’ wing have expressed their displeasure.
Why are those who have described Sikh farmers as Khalistanis silent about that? Why not use a similar expression for those Hindu farmers owing allegiance to the right wing ideology? Why not call them Hindu supremacists?
One can safely conclude that this narrative has been created to discredit genuine agitation in an attempt to isolate Sikhs who are leading the campaign and instil fear in the minds of the majority.
This has only backfired and given more fuel to the Khalistanis abroad. Next time when you notice more and more people waving Khalistan flags and raising slogans for it, please blame the Modi regime and their stooges. On one hand you don’t listen to the Sikh farmers, then you try to stop them from marching to the national capital of New Delhi, then you assault them brutally and if that is not enough you give them a bad name. Such measures will bring more alienation. There are many young Sikhs in Canada who believe that India mistreats their community and they have no place in that country. These actions will only reinforce those ideas.
If you don’t want to hear this or find this inconvenient then please go ahead and call me Khalistani too as I am born in the Sikh community. But let’s be clear that these labels won’t work if people are united in their fight against repression.
In the meantime, follow my campaign #MeTooKhalistani on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
More by Gurpreet Singh:
If Modi really cares about Nanak’s teachings, he must treat farmers with respect
Modi must not be allowed to appropriate Bhai Taru Singh
Nothing humanitarian behind sham clemency to Sikh prisoners
The Khalistan conspiracy makes startling revelations about the state complicity in Sikh Genocide