While the youth likes to stay away from history, politics and current news, they do not know how hard it is going to hit their life in the coming time. Some youngsters are busy on their phones watching reels and games while some are either creating positive or negative history. Amritpal is one such young man who chose the wrong way to make a change. Unfortunately, social media and the ignorant minds of the youth are the best tools to pump wrong influences into social structures. It’s high time the young ones know what’s happening around them and how it is going to affect them.
The pro-Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh was arrested by a team led by SSP Amritsar Rural Satinder Singh this morning He was captured on Sunday morning in Moga, Punjab, by a team led by SSP Amritsar Rural Satinder Singh after being on the run for more than a month. National intelligence and the Punjab Police worked together to make the arrest. The pro-Khalistani leader is being transferred to Assam’s Dibrugarh jail, where other members of his organisation are already detained, according to police sources. He was on the run since March 18 when Punjab Police launched a huge manhunt for him, Singh was labelled a “fugitive” in March. The pro-Khalistani politician has also been charged with violating the National Security Act (NSA) by the Punjab Police.
Born in 1993, Amritpal Singh Sandhu hails from Jallupur Khera village in Baba Bakala tehsil of Amritsar district. Before moving to Dubai for employment in 2012, he is believed to have completed up to the plus two levels of study. Only in 2022 did he return to take over Waris Punjab De after working in Dubai’s transportation industry. His surrounding social media activity suggests that he had been advocating for Sikh causes for at least the previous five years or so. He joined the anti-farm law demonstrations, notably the Deep Sidhu-related faction of the movement. According to Deep Sidhu’s statements at the Shambhu Border, this branch of the movement was distinct from the farm unions since it advocated for a more comprehensive political and social reform of Punjab rather than just the repeal of agricultural regulations.
Although Amritpal Singh holds the same opinions as Deep Sidhu, he expresses them differently. Amritpal never met Deep Sidhu and the two interacted only through social media. His backers assert that Deep Sidhu knew Amritpal Singh well and that he was appointed to lead Sidhu’s Waris Punjab De through a proper procedure. Some of Deep Sidhu’s supporters, like Palwinder Singh Talwara, and a few members of Sidhu’s family disagree with his leadership of Waris Punjab De. According to journalist Bhagat Singh Doabi, Amritpal was even blocked by Sidhu on social media. This assertion is still being contested. His detractors claim that Amritpal Singh was abruptly named the leader of Waris Punjab De through a social media statement and that the announcement was made on a personal page rather than an official one, and that Deep Sidhu’s family did not support this.
Amritpal Singh urges a significant political and social revolution in Punjab and contends that farm laws cannot be viewed in isolation. However, he uses sharper and, some could argue, more contentious language than Deep Sidhu. Amritpal Singh claims that everything from farm restrictions to the water shortage in Punjab to the drug epidemic to the influx of people from UP and Bihar into Punjab and the devaluation of the Punjabi language is a part of the “silent genocide” of Sikhs. For instance, when he addressed the people protesting against a liquor manufacturing plant in Zira, he said that such factories are part of the silent genocide of Punjabis as it would lead to increased addiction, besides polluting water.
He also says that the dilution of Sikh values and promotion of pop culture encouraging Sikhs to cut their hair and shave their beard is also part of the same process of “silent genocide”. In addition, he asserts that “Punjab is for Punjabis” and that all levels of employment must be reserved for locals. Amritpal Singh’s detractors claim that his remarks might influence young people to join extremist groups and follow a course that leads to their incarceration or even death. Amritpal Singh reacts to these accusations by saying, “Didn’t Guru Gobind Singh sacrifice his sons? What if he had considered the repercussions as well? What would have happened to Sikhs at that time?” I don’t want anyone to die but if someone’s son gives up his life for Sikhi then he becomes Guru’s son,” he says.
He has been charged by political parties and the mainstream media with attempting to destabilise Punjab, while some of his detractors claim he is widening the gap between Sikhs and other groups, particularly Hindus. In some of his public speeches, he claimed that while “migration of Hindus from UP and Bihar” and “Gujjar Muslims from Jammu” may pose an economic challenge to Punjabi Hindus and Muslims, they do not pose a threat to their culture, and as a result, they may be pleased about such developments. It’s interesting to note that Amritpal Singh is not entirely trusted by those who support Khalistan. This is mostly due to the older guard’s awareness of the workings of state institutions and their reluctance to readily trust new ones. Additionally, various organisations that may support Afghanistan frequently join forces with a variety of groups, including Leftists, Bahujan groups, Muslim groups, and Kashmir-based parties. Many believe that Amritpal Singh’s loud speech does not promote such solidarities. Simranjit Singh Mann, the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and a member of parliament from Sangrur, has been a strong advocate for Amritpal Singh.
Amritpal Singh’s meteoric climb over the past few months has been aided by two elements. The first is that he has attracted a lot of media and social media attention. Remarkably, Punjab’s mainstream news outlets are paying heed given their widespread reputation for censoring pro-Khalistan content. The second point is that his supporters, particularly those on social media, have reacted violently to any criticism of him. Videos of his followers replying to his detractors, including journalist Bhagat Singh Doabi, Baba Banta Singh of the Manji Sahib Gurdwara, and Palwinder Talwara of the opposing Waris Punjab De sect, can be found on YouTube. Though this is an extremely early stage and one can’t say what Amritpal Singh’s political trajectory will be. His rise can be seen as the result of a vacuum at three interconnected levels in Punjab: political, religious and unrest among the youth.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal)’s delegitimization following the 2015 Bargari sacrilege and the Kotkapura killings marked the beginning of the void in the pantheistic community. This resulted in the foundation of the Bargari Morcha and the Sarbat Khalsa that same year. The political turbulence in this area has continued since the fall of the Badals. The gap between Punjab and New Delhi grew even wider as a result of the farm legislation. This churn is what led to Simranjit Singh Mann’s political fortunes suddenly turning around, as well as the ascent of Deep Sidhu and now Amritpal Singh.
Due to the sacrilege instances from 2015 as well as the alleged rise in corruption and drug use during their rule, the Badals were irreparably damaged in terms of legitimacy. However, the mediocre Congress administration headed by Captain Amarinder Singh and then Charanjit Channi failed to bring about stability or meet the needs of the populace. Because of this political void, the Aam Aadmi Party automatically benefited and earned a commanding majority in the elections in 2022. But compared to the Congress, its honeymoon phase was somewhat shorter. This was amply demonstrated by Simranjit Singh Mann’s victory over AAP in Bhagwant Mann’s Lok Sabha seat of Sangrur. The perception that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is being controlled by AAP’s Delhi leadership is also a cause of resentment. No one in the political sphere seems to inspire people. There is a vacuum and different entities are trying to fill it. The untimely death of Deep Sidhu and the killing of Siddhu Moosewala has hurt a large section of Punjab’s youth badly. Though different in their appeal, both stood for an independent political stand on issues concerning Punjab and Sikhs.
The youth lacks role models and Amritpal Singh is trying to fill that vacuum at least for a section of Sikh youngsters. Additionally, with unemployment being such a big problem, the appeal of “Punjab for Punjabis” and the desire for job reservations might gain some traction. One frequently hears the phrase “At least someone is doing something” among his younger admirers. In that regard, there are some similarities to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s early activism in the 1970s, when he travelled the length and breadth of Punjab preaching against materialism, addiction, and pornography. That also flourished in the political and social void left by the Green Revolution, the policies of the Centre, and unpopular state leadership.
Punjab appears to be experiencing social and political change. Amritpal Singh is a person who is a part of this flux and has the power to make it stronger. How the BJP government in the Centre and the AAP government in Punjab react to Amritpal Singh will determine a lot of things. Such political figures have appeared in Punjab previously. The government has occasionally chosen to repress such voices harshly, and other times it has chosen to let them continue, blow off steam, and wait for them to die down. AAP may take harsh measures against Amritpal Singh if it wants to make a strong statement to the national constituency it is attempting to win over. If it wants to maintain a balance in Punjab, it may wait and hope its popularity declines on its own.
The BJP may use this as an opportunity to confront AAP and position itself as the only defender of “national security” and Punjab’s Hindu population. Regardless of whether one agrees with the accusations made against Amritpal Singh, it is safe to conclude that Punjab’s political dialogue will certainly become more heated shortly. You may like politics and news or not, but every single happening in the country now will be a deciding factor in how your life is going to be in this nation. in the years to follow. Watch carefully.
