Punjab Was In Flames

I nearly got skewered in Punjab last month. Since December 1999, I have been traveling every month to Jalandhar to do IVF in batches. Our usual timetable is the last Wednesday-Saturday of the month. Monday night, I was preparing to leave on an early morning Go Air flight on Tuesday to Amritsar & then take a taxi to jalandhar (130 Kms). I got a call from our hosts saying that the situation in Punjab was spiralling out of control. I had had a very busy previous week and had done the cardinal sin of not having read the newspaper for a week! Apparently there was widespread destruction of public & private property as a mark of protest over the shooting of a Sikh religious leader in another continent! The widespread violence in Punjab over the slaying of a Sikh religious sect leader in Vienna exemplifies the mushrooming of sects and the caste fault lines in the predominantly Sikh state.Mr Sant Rama Nand was killed by fellow Sikhs in a temple in the Austrian capital on Sunday (May 24) as he addressed 200 worshippers.

As news of his murder reached Punjab, angry followers - largely low-caste Sikhs, took to the streets in Jalandhar - where the sect's headquarters is located. Angry mobs torched a dozen trains, smashed bus windows and blocked roads, bringing much of Punjab - a key trading crossroads - to a standstill. The Punjab police said two people were killed and 10 injured when they opened fire at two places to disperse the rioting mobs which defied curfew and indulged in large-scale violence.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, himself a Sikh, invoked the preachings of the Sikh gurus as he appealed for peace and urged people to go home and allow the security forces to restore law and order. Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and Phagwara towns remained under curfew on Tuesday (May 26) - the day we landed at Raja Sansi International Airport, Amritsar. Our hosts had organized an ambulance to ferry us as doctors to Jalandhar. I was traveling with my embryologist & the Ambulance driver had an assistant. The situation seemed very tense at the airport & bystanders came rushing up to tell us not to venture on the highway. They mentioned that an NDTV Sat-van & another ambulance had been torched on the National Highway at Kartarpur by a protesting mob. We had no choice; 40 patients had been triggered & now it was a one way ticket for them. If they did not reach the OR, their eggs would release in their peritoneal cavities & the cycles would have been completely washed out. The four of us prayed to God & started our journey. There were no vehicles at all even though the curfew had been relaxed from 2pm-5pm in the state. We thought we were lucky & traveled without a hinderance for about 90 Kms. Just short of Kartarpur, we saw mangled remains of burnt vehicles & 500 metres away, we saw a mob of about 200 people including some women and children squatting on the road. There were also electricity poles uprooted and laid across the highway. My embryologist nearly had an MI and was in tears! The driver decided to cut through some village roads, off the highway even if that meant a detour of about 5 Kms. The assistant sprawled out on the Ambulance bed & covered himself with a blanket. Now he was a serious patient, Anjali(my embryologist) was a nurse & then we were the driver & doctor respectively. The radio blared out:

"The situation remains tense but under control."

We finally managed to get back on the highway after the detour through the village roads. Just when we thought we were safe & would get smoothly into the city, we were in for a nasty surprise. This was a quiet road bordering the Jalandhar cantonment. All of a sudden we saw a mob of about 100 youngsters with lathis (sticks) & swords in their hands about 200 metres away. Before we could turn, we were surrounded by four motorcycles! These guys must have been barely in their teens and seemed to be having a fun time terrorizing the populace rather than protesting for some religious reason. My embryologist nearly collapsed when a couple of them aggressively looked into the Ambulance. I think it was the assistant covered with a blanket & my calm & collected behavior that made them let us pass through. The worst thing was we could see cops all along the highway at every village just sitting doing nothing. This was really sad for a state like Punjab. One can understand corruption & politics in a BIMARU state, but this sort of government apathy in the state which had one of the highest economic growth rates In India is shameful. I blame the politicians completely for this vulgar & deplorable "protest" that cost the state of Punjab Rs. 8000 crores.

Sikhism was founded five centuries ago to counter Hinduism's oppressive caste system. Yet differences between the upper caste or Jat Sikhs, and the Dalit Sikhs, former Hindu untouchables who converted to Sikhism, remain a major flashpoint in Punjab's social and political life."Social interaction levels between the Jat Sikhs and the Dalits may have improved, but there is little change in the social hierarchy," said Pramod Kumar, director of the Institute of Development and Communication, a Punjab-based NGO.With the Sikhs having a large presence in Europe, Britain and Canada, these differences have spilled over to the community in those countries. There are nearly a dozen influential sects, called 'deras', in Punjab, and each is estimated to command a considerable following in the state, especially among the Dalit Sikhs and Dalit Hindus. And their numbers are growing, a development that is viewed with growing concern by the upper-caste Sikhs.

The caste divide has led to the creation of two or more separate 'gurdwaras' or places of worship in most villages, affecting the revenue collection of the gurdwaras of the upper castes. Sources say the genesis of the Vienna clash was a fight over offerings in cash-rich gurdwaras. They say that till a few months ago, the Austrian capital had just one gurdwara, controlled by radical Sikhs.The decision by Dera Sacchkhand Ballan to set up a new shrine on the same street angered those already there. Many of the mainstream Sikhs, especially in the clergy, are deeply resentful of the deras, claiming that they are distorting the faith by worshipping living gurus, their photographs and idols.

Observers say the Dalit Sikhs were among the earliest migrants from India to Europe and Canada. Most toiled in menial jobs in their adopted countries, but over the decades improved their lot and became prosperous. Several European countries also provided political asylum to radical Sikhs in the 1980s after New Delhi crushed the Sikh insurgency in Punjab. Some say it was these radical elements which were behind the Vienna attack.




Whatever the reason, as a Punjabi my head hangs in shame. Prithvi Planet was an iconic hangout for youngsters in Jalandhar with fast-food & bowling lanes & computer games. Political rivalry led to this building being torched alongwith almost 25 cars parked outside(see pictures taken with my cell-phone on Wednesday morning). These goons did not have mercy on kids playing inside & mothers with babies in their arms. The Sikh faith was created to protect the weak & here were goons in the name of religion terrorizing their own brethren.

Punjab was in flames two weeks ago and the fires have not been extinguished till date. These fires have divided the state completely into lower castes & upper castes. We don't need the Taliban or Al-Qaeda to bomb India - caste & politics will devour the Nation. Nursing homes & hospitals were torched. I was shocked to hear Dr Johal's tale of bravery where he had to shoo away a mob trying to light his hospital up in a bon-fire. Just because he had a licensed hand-gun and guts of steel, he went out and faced a 100 goons and saved his family & hospital & patients from being burnt alive. Someone should honor this man & give him an award for being a brave-heart. Unless there is strong political will, this state will join the BIMARU states, sooner than later!