The Assam Police is reported to have launched a specialized force called Assam Police Rangers to launch specific operations against militants. The personnel of the Rangers include about 120 policemen specially trained in counter-insurgency operations, and they are deployed in insurgency affected areas of Assam. The Assam Police Rangers is understood to have been formed with personnel drawn from various battalions of the Assam Police, and the raising of this force is said to have already yielded the desired results considering the recent successful operations launched against insurgents. The personnel of the Rangers were also involved in the recent operation against Maoist rebels in the Sadiya area of Tinsukia district. Meanwhile, the task force created by the Assam government for dealing with Maoists is planning to visit some other States such as Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh, where the Maoists have strong bases, in order to study the problem. The Assam Police has also hired more than 30 ex-army personnel for giving special training to Assam Police personnel in the handling of modern weapons.

The creation of the Assam police Rangers is indeed heartening news, especially in the context of the government’s decision to provide modern weaponss to policemen instead of expecting them to take on insurgents armed with AK-47s and AK-56s with nothing better than the old Lee Enfield bolt-action .303 rifles. During the last three decades, people have seen how terribly difficult it has been for policeman to take on militants far better armed than them. Policemen too have their fundamental right to life and cannot always be expected to plunge headlong into totally unequal contests in terms of weapons used. The obvious thing for the government to have done decades ago was to arm the police force with weapons as modern and sophisticated as those carried by militants. The failure to do this has radically debilitated the police force and seriously affected the outcomes of a large number of its encounters with militants and terrorist groups. Had the government taken the most obvious step of arming its police force adequately at the proper time, militancy and terrorism might have been brought under control in the State several years ago.

The formation of the Assam Police Rangers raises a question or two. Here is a case of a special force being raised to discharge responsibilities that the police force had not been able to carry out effectively over the years. There is another very visible area of responsibility where the police force has left a lot of work undone. For instance, the huge tracts of Assam’s territory taken by the Nagas forcibly in the Merapani area have not been defended as they should have been. As a result, the police force today faces a far more formidable task of having to reclaim lost territory. Obviously, this is a far more daunting task than the one of defending territory. Are we, therefore, to expect that the Assam Police would create yet another force to undertake the task of regaining the State’s territory from the Nagas? As for the task force created by the Assam government to deal with the Maoists, it has been directed to identify the reasons of the growth of Maoists, to identify the problem areas, the networking of the Maoists in Assam and the measures to be taken to deal with the problem. As anyone knows, the most outstanding reason for the emergence of outfits like the Maoists is a keen sense of resentment over the kind of social injustice that is visible all around. People will willingly suffer poverty, lack of development and deprivation if the situation is the same all over the country. It is in the glaring disparities that one sees the most glaring instances of social injustice. Besides, there is also large-scale use of black money to finance militant, insurgent and terrorist outfits all over the country. The day the government makes up its mind to give the nation a list of all those people who have put their black money in foreign banks, in gold hoards, in real estate apart from investing in destabilising outfits like the Maoists groups, many of the present problems involving violence and law-breaking can be solved. But the government must have the political will to go in for this kind of major surgery to save the country even though many politicians may be involved. If it fails to take the most obvious steps, it will continue to reap as it has sown.

Secularism is not a fig leaf to be used by the Akalis for their wrong belief that religion and politics are two sides of the same coin. Even otherwise, the ideology of theology is archaic and outdated

When the Akalis are out of power, they indulge either in a dharam morcha or some act which would evoke religious passions among the Sikhs. But when they adopt the same tactics while in authority, it means that they want to divert attention from problems like unemployment, drug trafficking and farmers’ lessening incomes.

To the horror of the country, Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal filed the other day a mercy petition on behalf of Balwant Singh Rajoana, the killer of former chief minister Beant Singh. This week, Badal’s son, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh, is among those who have honoured the insurgents and a few others involved in resisting the army which was deployed to flush them out from the Golden Temple at Amritsar. Both Badals are in charge of  law and order. In a way, they are the custodians of the state. They have not realised even yet that they cannot carry out their duty if they side with militants.  

I have been told they had to bow before “pressure.” If the rulers have to act under the direction of insurgents, the state is in for uncertain times. Punjab has been through the phase from the mid-70s to mid-80s when the extremists had upper hand and instilled fear among the Hindus that they were not safe in the state. A hiatus between the two communities began to be visible from that time. The insurgents have now founded a memorial for Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who, once sponsored by the Congress, challenged the state from within the precincts of the Golden Temple.

Sukhbir’s explanation that the memorial was laid by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) is not credible. The Akali Dal itself controls the SGPC. In fact, the government of India should go at the roots of the problem and scrape the gurdwara act. Let the entire Sikhs community, not those who are on restrictive electoral rolls, run the gurdwaras.

The problem with the Akali Dal is that it does not differentiate religion from politics. Bhindrawale committed the same mistake and Punjab paid the price. I do not know what the Akalis have in mind because they are traversing the same dangerous path. How embarrassed must have been Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Sikh and the new Chief of Army Staff, Bikram Singh, also a Sikh, over what the ruling Akali Dal did to glorify the insurgents who polluted the Golden Temple, the Sikhs’ Vatican? The government had to employ the army to destroy the barricades and the bunkers that Bhindranwale’s men had built to fight against the army. How can a memorial be built to perpetuate those who wanted to disintegrate the country and give a bad name to the Sikhs who are proud citizens of India?

Lt. Gen. K.S. Brar who led the force during Operation Bluestar has spoken in pain about the operation. In an interview to a daily he has said: “The Akalis are allowing a move to revive terrorism. Siropas are being offered to the kin of the terrorists. Militants and their families are being garlanded. Are the Akalis attempting to get the sympathy of militants by allowing such activities?” Brar’s question should better be addressed to both the chief minister and his deputy who have not yet understood that they have to crush the divisive forces which believe in separatism.

I do not know why no Sikh organization or a non-political person of consequence from the community has condemned the honouring of a killer and the laying of the foundation. The Akalis are creating a Frankenstein which will one day devour the peaceful citizens of Punjab.

The silence of the Bhartiya Janata Party surprises me. It is a partner in the state government. The BJP is either giving its tacit support to the radical fringe or sticking to ministerial postings for their personal gain. Both ways, they do not serve the interest of the party or the country. If they are really “unhappy,” as some reports say, they should quit the government. But then they too, like the Akalis, have electoral considerations in view. And the victory at municipal polls must have strengthened their decision to stay with the Akalis.

Whether the Akalis realize or not, there is a wave of indignation against what they have done at the Golden Temple. But the main anger is directed against the Badals who have gone along with those who had held the integrity of India to ransom. Both the Akali Dal and the chief minister owe an explanation to the nation.

It would be, however, pertinent to know whether the Intelligence Bureau warned Punjab about what the radicals and insurgents were up to. Although Home Minister P. Chidambaram is pre-occupied, he should have pointed out in writing to the Punjab chief minister about the ramifications of what was contemplated at the Golden Temple. It amounts to the failure of the constitution and the state government should have been taken to task.

The Punjabis are oblivious of why the Akalis are supporting groups like Damdami Taksal and the Dal Khalsa, both known to be terrorist organizations. On the one hand, the party is talking of development and requesting the centre for a special package and, on the other, it is endangering peace without which no development is possible.

The Akalis should not forget the second innings the people have given them in the recent polls. The reason why they preferred it to the Congress was the promise of development which the deputy chief minister made at every election meeting. People are so puzzled over the presence of the same person in the ceremony at the Golden Temple. His projection as the future CEO of the state is being doubted. How can he guarantee social harmony and development when he himself presented saropas?

The Akalis are playing with fire which may push them to a point where they may feel the heat. The party has too much at stake. It cannot afford to fritter away the goodwill it created in its earlier innings. Faith in a pluralistic society is a commitment which cannot be diluted for placating the radicals.

Secularism is not a fig leaf to be used by the Akalis for their wrong belief that religion and politics are two sides of the same coin. Even otherwise, the ideology of theology is archaic and outdated. Not long ago, it looked as if the Akalis were changing their outlook to imbibe progressive ideas and modern thoughts. The loss is that of the Akali Dal if it wants to cling to gurdwara politics. The Punjabis will assess them and vote accordingly at the general election in 2014.

 Kuldip Nayar