Sitting in America, Rahul Gandhi is seeing divisions everywhere in Indian society. The Congress scion, whom rivals frequently accuse of playing on the insecurities of Muslim minorities, has now shifted his gaze to the Sikhs. Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress was committed to fighting the RSS-BJP ideology that he claimed was built on excluding other Indians.
To illustrate the point, Rahul Gandhi alleges, “The fight (in India) is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear a turban…whether a Sikh will be allowed to wear a kada or go to the gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about, and it’s not just for Sikhs, but for all religions”.
Rahul Gandhi is the leader of India’s opposition. Because it is a pivotal post, he is doubly obliged to be responsible and factual when speaking in public. Without adducing evidence to claim that Sikhs are under siege in India, the victims of some sort of Xenophobia perpetrated by the government is to callously sow the winds of disaffection which others may use to fuel the whirlwind of separatism.
India doesn’t need to see a repeat of the bloodletting of the 1980s and 1990s in Punjab fueled, yet again, by Congress vote bank politics. A charge that Congress can’t disassociate from, especially when it gave alleged Khalistan sympathiser the late Sidhu Moose Wala a ticket to contest in the last assembly elections.
One could have given Rahul Gandhi the benefit of the doubt, had he been talking about Muslims. There have undoubtedly been hate crimes against the community, but to drag the Sikhs into the same boat without a shred of evidence to back his claims is imprudent.
Here are some hard facts that expose Gandhi’s scurrilous populist trope.
First, about 77% of the total Sikh population in India lives in the state of Punjab. This makes Sikhism the majority religion in Punjab, where it’s practised by 16 million people, or 57.7% of the population. In other words, the Sikhs have numerical superiority to assert themselves unconditionally. And they do.
For instance, despite India being a secular republic, Punjab is the only state in India with a defined blasphemy law. It was passed as an assurance to Sikhs that their religion would be protected in India. Interestingly, the Congress CM Captain Amarinder Singh who managed to expand the law’s scope in 2018 ended up joining the BJP. It stands to reason that Captain Amarinder Singh, a war veteran, a proud Sikh, and a one-time Gandhi family loyalist, wouldn’t have joined the BJP had the latter been viewed as anti-Sikh.
Third, Sikhism is part and parcel of Bharat’s dharmic socio-religious fabric. Being Dharmic traditions both Sanatana and Sikhism are intertwined, sharing similar customs. The Sikh Holy book the Guru Granth Sahib makes references to Hindu gods and goddesses from the bhakti movement, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Parvati, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Rama, and Krishna. This bond is civilisational and unbreakable. Let’s not forget this bond is important to Sikhs too. Thousands of Sikhs fought the Khalistani separatists. Many were martyred preserving the unity of India. KPS Gill, the supercop who cleaned up militancy, was a Sikh.
Fourth, the RSS-BJP and the Modi-led NDA have always promoted the interests of the Dharmic traditions in India, especially Sikhism.
In 2015, Modi’s NDA set up an SIT and re-opened 300 anti-Sikh riot cases, leading to the imprisonment of some of the key accused including Congress politicians. The NDA constructed the Kartarpur Sahib corridor and provided facilities for Sikh pilgrims to travel to Pakistan. The Modi government opened the way to give citizenship under the CAA to Sikhs who were tortured in neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The NDA also made Sultanpur Lodhi, the first Karam Bhumi of Guru Nanak Sahib, a state-of-the-art smart city. Many financial sops have also been showered on the Sikh community and their ecclesiastical bodies.
Restoring Sikh history has also been prioritised with the Modi government passing the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019, to refurbish the hallowed national memorial.
At an individual level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi often talks about how he would disguise himself as a Sikh during the Emergency. Photos of him sporting a turban and kada are all over. For an individual who has always refused to sport the Muslim skull cap, opting to wear a turban speaks volumes about his regard for Sikhs and their faith.
The BJP is packed with Sikhs. The Modi cabinet has Sikhs in important posts. Beyond government Sikhs, who wear their turbans and kadas with pride, are also part of several institutions both in the public and private sector.
Above and beyond these facts, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have little moral authority to speak on Sikh security. Many Sikhs have pointed out the irony of Rahul Gandhi talking about the community’s welfare when the only time ordinary Sikhs faced an existential crisis in India was under Congress rule. These Sikh leaders aren’t wrong.
Then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s statement, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes”, was seen as justifying the violence. In May 2019, Sam Pitroda, when questioned on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, set off a storm by replying, “So what”, to a question on the alleged involvement of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the riots.
Jagdish Tytler’s alleged statement, “We will teach them a lesson”, was seen as inciting violence. Kamal Nath’s alleged statement, “Khoon da badla khoon nahin, badla khoon ka badla” (“Blood for blood, but not revenge for revenge”) was seen as inflammatory.
For years, Jagdish Tytler and Kamal Nath were insulated from justice.
This despite several commissions set up to investigate the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. The Congress party is yet to officially acknowledge its role in covering up the riots.
It isn’t just that the Congress has no moral right to talk about Sikh welfare, but such statements by Rahul Gandhi also play into the hands of Pakistan and the United States.
Pakistan, which once bankrolled Khalistani separatism, has been trying to revive the movement in Punjab. It has nurtured Khalistani terror groups on its soil and looks to clandestinely inject these insurgents back into the state whenever the opportunity presents itself. Bhindranwale wannabe Amritpal Singh, who has been jailed under UAPA, is a case in point. Now, Pakistan can use Rahul Gandhi’s unfounded statements to appeal to Sikhs about their duty to fight the Indian state to save their compatriots “living in fear” in India.
The United States harbours Sikh extremists buying into their false persecution narrative. Rahul Gandhi’s remarks give these separatists cover to continue to claim victimhood. The US State Department could very well point to Rahul Gandhi’s assertions to dismiss Delhi’s claims that the Khalistani separatists should be handed over to India as they are mere Pakistani proxies sponsored to break the Indian state.
In the end, Rahul Gandhi’s latest narrative is a lose-lose case of scorched-earth politics.
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