DNA Edit: Stoking fires – Nirankari killings show vigilance vital in Punjab

Trouble is never too far from the surface when it comes to Punjab, particularly its border districts. The attack on the Nirankari Bhawan in Amritsar, which killed three and wounded 20 others, has all the hallmarks of a terror operation. The identity of the attackers is yet unknown, but what is undisputable is that the Sikh-Nirankari problem, thought to have been long confined to the dustbins of history back in the 1970s and 1980s, has suddenly reared its head. This is evidence that India’s neighbour across the Radcliff Line is looking for any opportunity to stoke fires, should there be even half a chance. 

Nirankaris, a reformist sect within the Sikh community that eschews any links to the Guru Granth Sahib, have had a turbulent relationship with the Sikh community. A violent confrontation between them in April 1978 — notably in Amritsar — which claimed 16 lives, is seen as the prelude to events leading to Operation Blue Star and the 1980s insurgency in Punjab. The Punjab chief minister has not ruled out the possibility of the involvement of ISI-related Khalistani or even Kashmiri terrorists. For good measure, he has said that 15 such terror modules had been busted in the last 18 months. Lately, India’s Chief of Army Staff too has warned that attempts were being made to stoke insurgency in Punjab. 

Under such conditions, it is important that inter-community relations need to be ensured and the forces of law and order be put on high alert. The Pakistani border is not too far from Amritsar, which has long been witness to terrorist violence in the days gone by. There is little point in over rating the threat of violence just as there are no gains in under rating it. The need of the hour is being on high alert and creating conditions where it becomes difficult for any inimical power to take advantage of.