May 1, 2023
Dear Readers,
India continues to be a land of paradoxes and problems. The old order is undoubtedly changing. However, the new one needs to work out ways to overcome weaknesses so the country can move towards inclusive development.
The question being asked in political circles in Uttar Pradesh these days is: has Yogi Adityanath’s government become an agent of violence? This is suggested in light of the increasing encounter killings in the state in the name of improved law and order. Ironically, violent acts go against the principles of democracy. It is the responsibility of the Chief Minister to ensure all citizens are treated equally before the law. Yogi Adityanath’s government has failed in this fundamental responsibility.
Coming to Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal’s demise will impact the political future of the Shiromani Akali Dal [SAD] and the state as a whole. His son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, has an arduous task ahead, even though he has been party president since 2008. He will be under close watch on whether he can tackle Punjab’s complex political environment today.
Sincerely,
Hari Jaisingh
Complexities of Indian Politics
It is undoubtedly creditable that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has taken his removal as an MP sportingly. During his road show in Wayanad in Kerala, he hailed his removal as his most significant gift since it helped him realize that his deeds were correct. This is his political perspective about himself. However, his fighting spirit against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sensitive issue of his relationship with the Adani group, is noteworthy.
Politics in India does not move in a straight line. There are wheels within wheels, and it is difficult to know which wheel drives whom and for whose benefit. The country surely has the resilience and vitality to bounce back in the face of the gravest possible crisis. This might disappoint the prophets of doom.
As things stand, the Indian system is tilted to favor the rich and influences peddlers. This dilutes the purity of freedom of the mute majority, which expects the wheels of justice and development to move freely, fearlessly, faster, and without favors.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has talked about her party joining hands with like-minded parties to defend the constitution, given that the Modi government is misusing every power. She states in an op-ed, “enforcing silence cannot solve India’s problems.”
I don’t think things have gone from bad to worse, as Sonia Gandhi presumes. I also believe there is no need to take a gloomy view of the situation. What the country needs today are honest and determined leaders to carry forward all citizens irrespective of religion, caste community, language, and ethnic elements.
The Indian political structure demands a fresh look, well beyond the narrow linguistic and communal compass, taking into account changing economic, social, cultural, and ethnic necessities of the people.
It needs to be realized that development is not merely a matter of statistics. It is a state of mind and a state of participation. For the wheels of growth to acquire speed, it is imperative to have devolution of power from the center to the state and from the states to districts and down to village units.
As it is, Prime Minister Modi is caught in the politics of high thinking. The country badly needs faster grassroots development with special focus on the marginalised, ensuring better living conditions, healthcare, and quality education.
Prime Minister Modi and his team must learn from their mistakes and the experience of the previous non-BJP governments.
India is a great nation with rich civilizational moorings. All the same, there are paradoxes galore. The country is modern, yet with traces of feudalism. It is reasonably prosperous, yet poor. It flies high on missile power and yet trudges haltingly on a bullock cart.
We cannot and must not accept an order that stifles the desired human growth and initiative – the order to which a large chunk of the population is condemned to the poverty level.
India needs to be rejuvenated from the current mess – not by re-enacting Dandi March but by pursuing the larger goal of fulfilment that human civilisation has been striving for. We also must constantly remember that only persons of courage and conviction leave their imprint on the pages of history. A balanced vision for a modern India demands that we hold all communities together and move on with courage and determination.
April 14, 2023
Tackling UP’s gang wars
Some of the sordid happenings in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in recent months should make serious-minded persons sit up and ponder over the level at which moral and political standards in the country have fallen. There was a time when several outstanding people set the tone for high standards in public life. In today’s changed situation, UP’s political culture is torn asunder.
I maintain that our political life is vitiated because our public spirit is weak. If we tone up public life, politics will become equivalent to social service. Perhaps we need to draw a line between “good politics” and “bad politics”. However, to play the game, we must have clarity about the values: what is right, what is wrong, and what one is willing to compromise on. Further, we must be willing to face the consequences. The million-dollar question is: can we do it?
Bringing the radar back to the situation in UP and recalling recent events: on April 15, gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, and his brother Ashraf, were shot in Prayagraj. This brash incident occurred with the two brothers escorted by police constables and on live TV. Among the local television reporters who surrounded them, were gunmen pretending to be journalists. As per the police, Atiq and Ashraf were being taken to the hospital for a routine check-up.
The assassins – Lavlesh Tiwari and Sunny Puraney—wasted no time in surrendering to the police. Both have criminal records. As per the FIR, they told the police:
"We wanted to kill Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf with the aim of completely wiping out the Atiq-Ashraf gang and making a name for ourselves.”
The reaction of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to the two murders has been complacent, with some attributing the murders to cosmic justice.
As usual, an investigation has been launched, but the incident has opened a can of worms and highlighted events that may have enabled the dual murders.
For one, although the hospital compound had ample parking space, police vehicles stopped outside the gate, and the brothers were exposed in front of the media.
Secondly, the media had open access to the brothers, and the authorities did not even whet the reporters.
Third, there did not seem to be any immediate medical emergency, which brings to doubt why the brothers were taken to the hospital for a routine check-up at 10 pm. Moreover, in such cases, doctors are usually called to prison.
According to a former Director General of Police, Vikram Singh:
“When anyone dies in police custody, it means the police have let the rule of law down. The assailants are of poor background. But they were using guns of Turkish pedigree each costing Rs. 7 lakh, each round costing Rs. 250. Their firing shows they had a lot of practice.”
The 61-year-old Atiq stands amongst UP’s most notorious gangsters. He had over a hundred cases against him and committed his first murder at the young age of 17. He became MLA in 1989 as an independent candidate. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, he contested as an independent candidate challenging Narendra Modi in Varanasi. According to the police, Atiq Ahmed has admitted to links to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Islamic terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
It may be true that the number of murder and rape cases, as well as cases of kidnapping, have been on a steady decline since the Yogi Adityanath Government took over in 2017. However, the current law and order situation in the state is rather worrying and the breakdown of constitutional order ought to be recognized. Adityanath’s approach to resolving gang wars has been encounter killings.
Interestingly, the encounter killing of Asad Ahmed, the son of Atiq Ahmed on April 13, 2023, takes the number of encounter killings to 183 ever since Yogi Adityanath became Chief Minister. In fact, as per Prashanth Kumar – Special Director General of Police (Law & Order), Uttar Pradesh Police – there have been a total of 10,900 police encounters in which over 5,046 persons have been injured, and 185 persons have been shot dead between March 2017 and April 2023.
Yogi Adityanath’s government seems to have emerged as an agent of violence. And this has been Yogi’s evil trump card for winning elections. In fact, what is happening in Uttar Pradesh today is no different from authoritarianism. The encounter killings, in the name of improved law and order, are leading to power being vested in a single leader. This has become Yogi Adityanath’s political ideology and is fundamentally against the principles of democracy. His responsibility as Chief Minister is to ensure that the essence of the rule of law is maintained and that all are treated equally before the law. He has shunned his most basic responsibility and failed to uphold his constitutional oath to ‘bear true faith and allegiance to the constitution of India’.
April 21, 2023
How Parkash Singh Badal Shaped Punjab Politics
Sarbat Khalsa refers to a gathering of Sikh representatives from various factions to discuss important issues. The term translates to “all-encompassing Sikh council." The Sarbat Khalsa was traditionally called in times of crisis or to resolve conflicts within the Sikh community and played a crucial role in the Sikh Confederacy during the 18th century. In the 20th century, the Sarbat Khalsa was called just twice; once in 1920 to discuss the control over gurudwaras and the second time in 1984, as a response to the Indian Army’s Operation Bluestar in the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The last time the Sarbat Khalsa was called was on November 10, 2015, at Chabba village in Amritsar district. The topic of discussion was the management of gurdwaras and the political situation in Punjab. As many as 100,000 people gathered, and the meeting concluded by calling for the ousting of the three high priests of Punjab’s most important gurdwaras, including the removal of Parkash Singh Badal as the head of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex body that manages gurdwaras in Punjab.
Sardar Badal, the tallest of Indian political leaders of recent times, is no more. He was highly respected nationwide, and his demise at 95 years leaves a void.
Badal was viewed as a secular voice among Akalis. He had said several times that his government would endeavor to re-establish Hindu-Sikh amity. He did his best in this direction. In 2015, he was conferred the honor of Padma Vibhushan.
I had known Parkash Singh Badal during my stint with The Tribune and held him in admiration. He was an exceptional leader who garnered respect from all over the country and across political affiliations. His demise has come as the Akali Dal struggles to regain its Sikh vote bank.
Parkash Singh Badal played a vital role in shaping the politics of Punjab. However, the 2015 Sarbat Khalsa significantly impacted his political career and reputation. Following the Sarbat Khalsa, there was widespread demand for Badal's resignation as Chief Minister of Punjab. Badal did not resign; however, resolutions passed at the Sarbat Khalsa weakened his political authority and credibility.
Badal served as the Chief Minister of Punjab for five terms. He was associated with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) throughout his career. During the eighties and early nineties, Punjab witnessed a period of violent militancy, wherein Sikh separatist groups such as the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and the Babbar Khalsa carried out a series of bombings, assassinations, and other violent acts, in their demand for a separate state of Khalistan.
Badal was a key figure among those who played a role in ending the insurgency in Punjab. He was the Chief Minister of Punjab when Operation Bluestar was launched, and he played a prominent role in restoring peace and normalcy in the state in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar. He supported the government's efforts to crack down on militancy and worked to rebuild the state's economy and infrastructure. Badal was also involved in negotiations with Sikh militant groups, such as the Akali Dal (Longowal), which led to the signing of the Punjab Accord in 1985.
While Badal's role in ending the Punjab insurgency is widely recognized, there are also criticisms of his leadership and handling of the situation. Some have accused him of being complicit in human rights abuses and corruption during his tenure as Chief Minister.
In recent years, there has been occasional resurgence of militant activities in Punjab. These, however, have been limited in scope and scale and do not indicate a widespread and coordinated movement.
Regarding whether Amritpal Singh Sandhu can bring militancy back to Punjab, it is essential to note that political and economic factors have primarily driven recent incidences of militancy in Punjab, and there have been efforts by the government to address the underlying causes of unrest in the region.
Moreover, the vast majority of the people of Punjab have shown a strong desire for peace and stability and have repeatedly rejected the use of violence to achieve political goals. Therefore, it is rather unlikely that militancy will return to the levels witnessed four decades ago. However, a group of scholars argues that, if not addressed, the persistence of underlying grievances among the Sikh community, such as economic marginalization and political exclusion, could provide a fertile ground for the resurgence of militancy.
Prominent writer, Khushwant Singh, had once condemned the violence and bloodshed that characterized the period of militancy in Punjab, but he also called attention to the underlying political and economic grievances that fuelled the movement. Notably, Singh also criticized the role of external factors, such as Pakistan, in fuelling the militancy in Punjab. He argued that the movement had its roots in internal Indian politics and that external interference only exacerbated the situation.
The current political environment in Punjab is complex, with several regional and national parties vying for power. Moreover, Punjab faces significant challenges; for example, the state has a history of drug abuse, which has led to related crimes such as trafficking and violence. Measures towards improving law and order in Punjab need to be implemented; the police force needs to be strengthened, intelligence-gathering capabilities need to be enhanced, and the criminal justice system is crying for improvement.
It remains to be seen how Badal’s absence will impact the political future of Punjab and the SAD. His son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, has been the party president since 2008. He has a tough road ahead as his party competes with other regional and national parties that have made significant inroads in recent years. His ability to adapt to the state's changing political scenario and address the people's concerns can provide a fresh perspective to the party. We will have to wait patiently for the emergence of post-Badal Punjab.
April 28, 2023