In Faridkot, sacrilege cases of 2015 lurk in the shadow

Ruchika M Khanna

Bargari/Burj Jawaharsinghwala/Behbal Kalan, May 26

The “not so new flyover” just before Kotkapura town, that leads towards Bathinda, takes one to these three villages in Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency which have changed the course of Punjab politics forever.

Avoiding the issue

Politicians from all three key parties — SAD, Congress and AAP — know how they have failed us on this very emotive issue. It is their collective failure that has prevented them from raking up the sacrilege issue during these elections. Residents of Bargari

The stealing of Guru Granth Sahib from the gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala on June 1, 2015; the scattering of its ‘ang’ nearly four months later at Bargari; and the firing on those who were protesting against the sacrilege, leading to two deaths at Behbal Kalan, proved to be the biggest undoing for the grand old party of Punjab — Shiromani Akali Dal.

In every election held since then — be it a state election or the General Election — Akali Dal has been tottering.

Nine years down the line, politicians from across the political spectrum have all played their politics around these sacrilege incidents, but justice is still elusive.

“Politicians from all three parties — SAD, Congress and AAP — know how they have failed us on this very emotive issue. It is their collective failure that has prevented them from raking up the sacrilege issue during this election,” says Sohan Singh Gandara, a former panch, and Balbir Singh, a retired junior engineer, both residents of Bargari village.

“Since our disappointment with the politicians is known, they now only speak about their development agenda for Faridkot,” adds Parminder Kaur, who runs a small daily needs shop in front of the gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala from where the ‘bir’ was stolen. “Did you see the fields when you came to the village? They are covered with ashes of burnt stubble and water is lying in the fields. That is exactly how residents here are… angry and burnt, many with scars left by extreme police torture, but calm now with time passing by,” she says, explaining how many in the village, initially suspected of stealing the ‘bir’ and subjected to police torture, still find it difficult to perform their tasks because of the physical pain that has lingered on till now.

In these three villages, though elections bring out the politicians in droves, the residents say that with the cases remaining unsolved and accused roaming about freely (some after getting bail), they are unable to get much-needed closure and move on. Though not part of the political campaign this time, the sacrilege issue still lurks in the shadows.

At Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, amidst calls made on the public address system at the gurdwara for getting the MNREGA accounts opened, Granthi Gora Singh of the Burj Jawaharsinghwala village gurdwara, from where the ‘bir’ was stolen, and his wife Swaranjit Kaur told The Tribune that now politicians from all parties have started coming to the village to seek mandate for the LS elections.

“Most of them are careful about not raising the issue. But someone or the other from the village do question them about justice not being delivered. Both of us were brutally tortured by the police as part of their investigation though everyone in the village knew who the real culprits were. For years, politicians of all hues have assured us of justice, but none delivered. Every time the issue is raised, my wife gets panic attacks thinking about that time. The culprits are roaming freely while we underwent torture,” he says rather bitterly.

Posters of all four main candidates in fray — Karamjit Anmol of AAP, Rajwinder Singh of SAD, Hans Raj Hans of BJP and Amarjit Kaur Sahoke of Congress are pasted on every available wall on the main ‘phirni’ of these villages. Interestingly, it is here, in these villages, where Panthic sentiments run high, that the voters have found a new hope in Sarabjit Singh Khalsa, son of Indira Gandhi assassin Beant Singh.

“He is our new hope,” says Binder Singh, a resident of Behbal Kalan, while Manjit Kaur nods in agreement, explaining how his election programme got the maximum attention, and how he is perceived as one of them — “a sufferer of the system”.

While the morcha led by the family of Bhagwan Singh — one of the Sikhs killed in police firing at Behbal Kalan — to seek justice for the incident, having been long lifted and these villages now sporting fast food outlets like Snakkers, beauty parlours, an interlocking tile unit and even a Bargari Gold Gur unit, showing that life has moved on, one only hopes for closure for the villagers directly affected by the incidents nine years ago.