Transport went off the road and life was disrupted in parts of Punjab on Thursday as the ruling coalition battled its second religious controversy in less than a month.
The latest crisis was sparked by desecration earlier this week of a copy of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, in a village in Faridkot district.
When Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal on Thursday announced a reward of Rs one crore for information that could lead to the culprit’s capture, it gave a sense of the enormous repercussions of the crime. The highly emotional issue has already resulted in two deaths.
The issue blew up when residents of several villages demanded action against the culprits on Wednesday, two days after pages from the holy book were found in Bargari in the district. Even as the police groped for clues, it added to the unrest by opening fire on protesters in nearby Behbal Kalan village, killing two men and injuring several others. As the news spread about the firing, violence broke out in a clutch of other villages in the area. Scores were injured in clashes with the police. Several police vehicles and buses were damaged or set afire.
The issue doesn’t seem likely to be resolved soon.
Raising the stakes
Though the district police had earlier announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh for anyone providing information about the culprit, the deputy chief minister decided to raise the stakes on that. The previous day, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal ordered a judicial inquiry into the desecration and its aftermath. He said that the act was a “deep-rooted conspiracy aimed at inciting communal tension and destablilising the hard-won peace in Punjab''.
Only last month, the Badals had been hit by another religious controversy. They were faced with protests after Gurmeet Ram Raheem Singh, the colourful head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, on September 24 was pardoned by senior Sikh clergymen for an alleged act of blasphemy. The head of the cult had been accused of insulting Guru Gobind Singh by imitating his attire and his gestures. Singh denied the charges. Nevertheless, some radical Sikh groups have refused to accept the pardon and have called for a Sarbat Khalsa (a congregation of the entire community) to seek the removal of the five clergymen who granted the pardon.
As violence broke out on Wednesday, the dera chief was quick to issue a statement on Twitter clarifying that he and his followers strongly condemned the desecration and that “those who have done it are sinners of the highest order”. It was a timely gesture, aimed at scotching rumours spread quickly that the villagers in Bargari had discovered a poster allegedly put up by the culprit, who had signed off with a phrase associated with the dera followers.
The Punjab government was slow to wake up to the enormity of the incident. News reports suggested that the torn pages found in Bargadi were from a Guru Granth Sahib that had been stolen from the nearby Burj Jawahar Gurdwara in June. However, the police had made no effort to trace the culprits. Even three days after the torn pages were found, the police failed to gauge the anger brewing in the area. It was only after the violence broke out, and the police firing took two human lives, that the state government understood the depth of the crisis.
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
The latest crisis was sparked by desecration earlier this week of a copy of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, in a village in Faridkot district.
When Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal on Thursday announced a reward of Rs one crore for information that could lead to the culprit’s capture, it gave a sense of the enormous repercussions of the crime. The highly emotional issue has already resulted in two deaths.
The issue blew up when residents of several villages demanded action against the culprits on Wednesday, two days after pages from the holy book were found in Bargari in the district. Even as the police groped for clues, it added to the unrest by opening fire on protesters in nearby Behbal Kalan village, killing two men and injuring several others. As the news spread about the firing, violence broke out in a clutch of other villages in the area. Scores were injured in clashes with the police. Several police vehicles and buses were damaged or set afire.
The issue doesn’t seem likely to be resolved soon.
Raising the stakes
Though the district police had earlier announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh for anyone providing information about the culprit, the deputy chief minister decided to raise the stakes on that. The previous day, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal ordered a judicial inquiry into the desecration and its aftermath. He said that the act was a “deep-rooted conspiracy aimed at inciting communal tension and destablilising the hard-won peace in Punjab''.
Only last month, the Badals had been hit by another religious controversy. They were faced with protests after Gurmeet Ram Raheem Singh, the colourful head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, on September 24 was pardoned by senior Sikh clergymen for an alleged act of blasphemy. The head of the cult had been accused of insulting Guru Gobind Singh by imitating his attire and his gestures. Singh denied the charges. Nevertheless, some radical Sikh groups have refused to accept the pardon and have called for a Sarbat Khalsa (a congregation of the entire community) to seek the removal of the five clergymen who granted the pardon.
As violence broke out on Wednesday, the dera chief was quick to issue a statement on Twitter clarifying that he and his followers strongly condemned the desecration and that “those who have done it are sinners of the highest order”. It was a timely gesture, aimed at scotching rumours spread quickly that the villagers in Bargari had discovered a poster allegedly put up by the culprit, who had signed off with a phrase associated with the dera followers.
The Punjab government was slow to wake up to the enormity of the incident. News reports suggested that the torn pages found in Bargadi were from a Guru Granth Sahib that had been stolen from the nearby Burj Jawahar Gurdwara in June. However, the police had made no effort to trace the culprits. Even three days after the torn pages were found, the police failed to gauge the anger brewing in the area. It was only after the violence broke out, and the police firing took two human lives, that the state government understood the depth of the crisis.
