Punjaap Tripped On A Fuse

The spectre had extracted a heavy price in the polls바카라�80 seats less than what was predicted by AAP leaders till just before voting on March 11, 2017. In the context of a Punjab that looks back at the 바카라�80s-90s with an overload of pain, dread and exhaustion, even allowing a whiff of separatism was akin to walking into a trap바카라�and one not ­entirely lain by opponents. Yet, it walked right in with eyes wide open and got singed.

The experience should have served as a permanent cautionary note. After all, AAP had come as an alternative to the identity-peddling Akalis, with a blueprint for governance, not to rouse sleeping demons. And it should have returned to its core areas. But no such luck. Presently, some in AAP바카라�s Punjab unit are accusing the mothership in Delhi of nothing less than sabotage, of letting stray leaders shoot their mouths off on separatism until the unit collap­ses. The charge is unproven, but that it even exists shows the state of play.

How did this happen? Basically, via the enthusiastic support (and funding) it had received from its new NRI converts, AAP waded into the grey swampy zones of radical Sikh politics바카라�and got stuck. The Sikh diaspora has fraught, complicated sentiments towards India and Punjab. 바카라�There바카라�s a culture of competitive radicalism among overseas Sikhs. They have prospered but something INS­ide them is unsettled, perhaps because they feel uprooted,바카라� says social scientist Harish K. Puri. This restlessness they seek to assuage with dollar-contributions and by spreading the message that they know what바카라�s better for Sikhs in India than those in the homeland.

바카라�Ambitious NRI Sikhs also openly fight over who will control gurudwaras. To do this, they raise controversial issues,바카라� adds Puri. The diaspora is least immune to communal propaganda for they live in a kind of vacuum, getting their information from TV news or social media spaces that are so hospitable to false propaganda. 바카라�We saw how even our crowds behave on the Padmaavat issue. People didn바카라�t even want to see the film and just believed rumours. This is how the Sikh diaspora too is misled.바카라�

AAP, during its Punjab campaign, ­garnered much support from NRI Sikhs. Political observers say liberal, secular Sikhs interested in a genuine, modern alternative predominated here. But rival parties successfully conveyed the sense that AAP had turned into a party of 바카라�radicals바카라�. It바카라�s a standing accusation바카라�that it has not distanced itself from this politics바카라�and the cause of much anxiety and confusion within. Some recent statements from within the ranks drove the wedge deeper: the Akalis and the ruling Congress pre­sented it as fresh evidence of AAP flirting with extremists.

바카라�The win in Delhi had enamoured AAP to all Punjabis and they wanted Kejriwal, but the party didn바카라�t understand the basics of Punjab,바카라� says an AAP insider who was very active during the elections. 바카라�Gurudwaras, temples, deras, panj pyaras, we went everywhere. In the process, some leaders ended up cozying up to radical types too. We were afraid that if we speak out against radicals, we바카라�d lose people바카라�s support. This fear persists.바카라�

AAP has repeatedly denied charges of fraternising with the 바카라�Khalistanis바카라�. Yet, the smear has stuck. There바카라�s a touch of irony here because AAP바카라�s appeal in Punjab lay in being the outsider바카라�it did not exist before 2012 and hence has not even the remotest link to Punjab바카라�s past, the least baggage among all parties.

바카라�AAP바카라�s outreach to this section cost it in 2017 but even now their advisors seem to think Punjab is of Sikhs only and that only radical politics appeals to Sikhs. This perception is contrary to reality,바카라� says Puri. At the same time, ­according to him, Sikh identity overseas has been reshaped of late. 바카라�I바카라�ve noted in recent years that overseas they rarely talk about being Indian first. They say they are Sikh first. This is a new way of looking at identity among NRI Sikhs. This way of seeing themselves has not come to Punjab, except among those in (radical) politics.바카라�

Both AAP leaders recently in the eye of the storm바카라�Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann and Kharar MLA Kanwar San­dhu바카라�questioned the recent arrest of British national Jagtar Singh Johal aka Jaggi (see Panth And A Foreign Hand). Both explain why they did so. 바카라�I don바카라�t say Jaggi should be set free. I say the state should contact the UK High Commission. That바카라�s what any Indian would want if arrested overseas,바카라� says Mann.

Mann also asks why the 바카라�radicalism바카라� debate targets AAP while neglecting to record similarities in political culture here and in other states. 바카라�See the Padmaavat issue. Across the country there was no law, only a culture of blood-for-blood. Such impunity exists among Punjab바카라�s authorities too. They are trying to scare people with talk of terrorists,바카라� he tells Outlook.

In Mann바카라�s view, contrarian positions are increasingly difficult to take바카라�the Shiv Sena burned his effigy last Nov­ember바카라�and targeting such voices offers an excellent distraction from promised development works for any regime. 바카라�That does not mean we should be quiet on what is right. We help ­Indian nationals trapped in Bahrain, Libya, Saudi Arabia. I feel Punjab should reciprocate.바카라�

Sandhu, who was for long a mainstream journalist with no radical credentials, has now, as a politician, taken a tough line. He did not find the Punjab Police version of Jaggi바카라�s arrest 바카라�convincing바카라�, and said so. 바카라�In case there is no substantial evidence against him, he should be freed and an apology tendered. In case there is evidence바카라�the information should be shared with UK police and the government,바카라� he wrote on Facebook.

바카라�We don바카라�t toe the Khalistan line,바카라� Sandhu explains. 바카라�The issue is that a lot of Punjabis feel alienated. Nobody got justice in 1984, yet they talk of radical fringe. The difference is we believe you can bring peace using legal means바카라�a probe, proof, then punishment through courts.바카라� Sandhu finds it tough to choose silence while the police are charged with torturing Jaggi. 바카라�Pol­itically ­motivated agencies do catch people and torture them,바카라� he says. One Canadian minister of Sikh origin spoke last year about being illegally detained in India during his youth, a story that circulated widely on social media.

In the highly charged pre-poll atmosphere in Punjab, a bomb had exploded near a Congress rally at Maur. This tipped the scales decisively against AAP, which was already under pressure after Kejriwal was accused of having used the house of an ex-militant (who was in London) to spend a night in Moga. ­바카라�Nobody knows yet who was responsible for that lethal bomb바카라�the police have not solved the case,바카라� says Sandhu.

바카라�AAP is in the past now,바카라� says Ronki Ram, professor of political science at Panjab University, though he disagrees that the 바카라�radical바카라� tag cost it. 바카라�It lost its ground as an alternative by doing what other parties do. Sikh radicalism is ­being hyped up now바카라�there is no feeling of separatism in Punjab.바카라�

Observers say it바카라�s not the way AAP presses the buttons on Sikh issues, but their lack of cohesion that spoils the pitch. Recently its Punjab unit deman­ded a separate bank account. The state leadership is also a virtual merry-go-round. 바카라�We told Delhi to give more ind­ependence to the local leadership but they don바카라�t trust us. They feel Sikhs have a soft corner for separatists and ignore how parties like Simranjit Mann바카라�s Akali faction are routed in every poll,바카라� says an insider. 바카라�Maur was a trap. Yet, if they don바카라�t denounce radical elements, people will get scared and opponents will use this against us.바카라� In a potentially volatile context, it would make sense for AAP to come out and, well, separate 바카라�separatism바카라� from ­genuine justice issues.