Author: Kumool Abbi (abbikumool@gmail.com)
Professor at Punjab University, Chandigarh
A very interesting and sociologically significant development during the Punjab election was the sudden death of actor turned activist Deep Sidhu in a car accident. In his death he acquired cult status among the Sikhs and almost attained the glory of a ‘martyr’ for the community. In a surreal reversal of events his untimely death redeemed him before the guilty community which venerated him to the status of a Yodha [saint soldier], who gained nothing but staked all for the sake of the community and single handedly carried forward the hond di ladai [fight for existence]. A series of tributes from artists, religious and political personalities as well as fans have been flooding the internet.
“Sarkar Vs. Farmer” By Deep Sidhu
[The song begins with shots of guns]
Original Punjabi
Chup si jo bole nahin
Bhed asin khole nahin
Lagda hai hun khulvaogi
Saadi gal baat hun dekhi baliye
Hun delhi centre di takat bhul jaogi
Naalan sut den ge palliya te raflan
Vade laeran nu chakran ch paogi
Tal di tal di ni madhi Sarkar
Main lagda hai 47ian chukao gi
Hath jor jehre mangde si votan
English Translation
We were quiet we did not speak
We did not reveal any secrets
Now it seems we will open up
Now see us talk
Delhi will forget the power of the centre
This bad sarkar does not listen
I feel one would have to lift the AK-47
Those who begged us for votes
They are snatching away our rights
The popular response to Sidhu and the political mobilization at “Sidhu’s Bhog Ceremony is only the latest example of how many figures outside the electoral sphere end up acquiring a significant public appeal” (The Quint Feb. 25, 2022).
While the Akali Dal Badal has been representing “the mainstream Sikh institutions and Politics in the electoral sphere” for decades (The Quint Feb. 25, 2022). Other political organizations like the Akali Dal (Amritsar), United Akali Dal and Dal Khalsa have maintained and, in fact, expanded their sphere of influence which may not reflect in electoral victories (The Quint Feb. 25, 2022). In fact, the Bhog Ceremony of Deep Sidhu was the “latest entrant into Sikh political activism, also saw a clear manifestation of the Panthic Political sentiment” (Times Of India Feb. 26, 2022; The Quint Feb. 25, 2022).
Deep Sidhu’s antim ardas “was the sixth mass mobilization in Punjab in the last ten years with the Sikhs at the centre” (Times Of India Feb. 26, 2022). This process was initiated with the protests at the impending hanging of Balwant Singh Rojana in 2012 just after Akali Dal (Badal) won a huge victory. This was followed by a massive mobilization in 2013 when Sikh activist Gurbax Singh Khalsa went on a hunger strike demanding the release of Sikh prisoners. This was followed in 2015 with huge protests after the sacrilege incidents at Bargari, the police firing at Behbal Kalan which led to the death of two Sikhs and the Sarbat Khalsa at village Chabba in Amritsar district on November 10, 2015 attracting huge crowds. The Bargari Morcha initiated by parallel acting Akal Takht Jathedar Dyan Singh Mand, from June 1st to December 9th, 2018 was characterized by two mammoth gatherings in October. The fifth major mobilization was the farmers’ protest from 2020–2021 (Times Of India Feb. 26, 2022).
The persistence of this stream of “radical” politics radiates to many unresolved issues and a lack of closure of “certain grievances among the Sikhs: such as lack of justice of victims of Police atrocities in the 1980s and 1990s, lack of justice for victims of the 1984 Sikh riots, no action against sacrilege cases, issues concerning federalism (The Quint Feb. 25, 2022). It is this strand which has acquired a fresh lease of life with the demise of Deep Sidhu.
“Deep Siyan” by Anterdeep Singh
Original Punjabi
Tu doli naa Deep Singha je turia aukhian ravan te
Tu doli na Lakha Singha je turia aukhian ravan te
‘panth hamesha riha rurakda comradan de lare nu’
English Translation
Don’t waiver Deep Singh when you have started on a difficult path
Don’t waiver Lakha Sidhana when you have started on a difficult path
The panth has always been misled by the comrades
Deep Sidhu: A Man Of Diverse Shades
Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu began his film career with the film Ramta Jogi (2015), followed by Zora Das Numbri (2018) and its sequel in 2020 where he played the role of a gangster. Prior to joining films, he won the Kingfisher Model hunt award and had his own law firm Lex Legal in Mumbai. His initiation into politics was as a campaign manager for Sunny Deol’s Lok Sabha election at Gurdaspur in 2019 from where he meandered into an active involvement with the farmers movement. At the time of his death, Sidhu was working on a film on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Kalra
He emerged as an important analyst and commentator on Sikh history and the future of the Sikhs during the lockdown period when he came under the influence of the writings of Sardar Ajmer Singh. He uploaded several videos on issues concerning the Sikhs (Indian Express Feb. 16, 2022). These included diverse subjects from “politics to history, economics and education” and started garnering a lot of views on Facebook (Indian Express Nov. 29, 2020).
He was drawn towards the farmers’ agitation and was noticed at the artists protest on Sept. 25, 2020 at the Shambhu border. The Dharna almost overshadowed the kisan unions (Indian Express Nov. 29, 2020). Seeing the massive response and media coverage he started a permanent Dharna on the roadside at the Shambhu border which was successful despite him being recently initiated in political activism (Indian Express Feb. 16, 2022). Another major step taken by Sidhu was when the different agricultural unions decided not to disturb the barriers erected by the Haryana police during their march to Delhi on November 26th, Sidhu joined the BKU Sidhpur to break the barriers and thus pushed the other unions to move on to the Delhi borders (Indian Express Nov. 29, 2020). As Sidhu moved along with the protestors, his argument with the protestors went viral on social media and he became the face of the movement:
Yeh Inquilab hai,ye revolution hai. If they don’t understand the seriousness of the matter, it will define the political structure as well as the geopolitics of India as well as South Asia
(India Today Feb. 16, 2022)
An important factor “that set Sidhu apart from much of the farm unions was his insistence that the protests shouldn’t be about ‘concessions’ but about changing power equations between Punjab and the Centre. He often spoke about geo-politics and invoked Sikh history in his speeches. In September 2021, he formed ‘Waris Punjab de’ to fight for the federal rights of the states (India Today Feb. 16, 2022). Sidhu’s views and his consistent presence at the Shambhu morcha resonated with a section of the Sikh youth who were not associated with kisan unions” (The Quint Feb. 25, 2022). It was these myriad levels of Sidhu’s acumen which endeared him to the “panthic outfits as well, for them Sidhu being an actor, lawyer and model became an effective poster boy to reach out to the youth” (The Quint Feb. 25, 2022). While the Kisan Unions remained “suspicious” of Deep Sidhu and saw him as “a threat to their agenda.” They also felt he was “using his popularity to divert attention from the actual cause” (Indian Express Nov. 29, 2022).
Sidhu remained a “significant social media commentator in Punjab with 5.5 lakh views on his Facebook page” (Indian Express Feb. 16, 2022) until the 26th of January, 2021. The events which unfolded on the 26th of January 2021 involved the Nishan Sahib being hoisted at the Red Fort which was followed by violence.
It was Sidhu who went on Facebook Live, uploaded the video of the moment and “claimed responsibility” (The Quint Feb. 25, 2022). His actions divided and polarized public opinion around him. For some in the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, his actions played a role in “destabilizing the movement and provoking a crackdown” while for others the hoisting of the Nishan Sahib had a important symbolic value and achievement as it echoed in time when Baba Baghel Singh led the Sikh army to victory against the Mughal forces and hoisted the flag at the Red fort (The Quint Feb. 25, 2022). Sidhu was arrested in Feb. 2021 and released from custody in April.
An Actors Death, A Sympathy Wave And Three Beneficiaries
During the Punjab elections 2022, Sidhu found an ally in Simranjeet Singh Mann, the President of Akali Dal (Amritsar) who had always been “uncompromising on issues concerning Sikhs and the Punjab” (The Quint Feb. 25, 2022).
The “higher turnout in Malwa comprising 15 districts of Malwa can be attributed to two factors—The Dera Sacha Sauda element and Deep Sidhu-SAD (Amritsar) effect which have dented AAP prospects” (The Tribune Feb. 21, 2022). “Sidhu’s death intensified the panthic outfits campaign in favor of Simranjeet Singh Mann’s party and against the AAP: it is not clear what may have happened due to the Sidhu Factor in other places, since the dominant narrative may have been to defeat the AAP, it may have benefitted the Congress and the SAD in other seats. The extent is not clear but in seats where there is a three-way or four-way battle, even a loss of a few thousand votes could prove crucial” (Indian Express). It is felt that votes polled for the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and Samyukt Samaj morcha in the Feb. 20, 2020 assembly election following a “sympathy wave” after Deep Sidhu’s death in a road accident has lent a ray of hope for the Congress Party as it seeks to retain power in the state. The sympathy wave has also lent a ray of hope for SAD, Simaranjeet Singh Mann and the farmers outfit (Indian Express). In fact, in an interesting twist to the tale “Mann has emerged as the cynosure of the Congress eyes” (Indian Express). Where the possibility of the “Congress return to power may hinge on the effect the controversy over actor Deep Sidhu’s death has had in the Malwa region” (The Tribune Feb. 21, 2022). Many Congress leaders were convinced that “Deep Sidhu’s appeal to the electorate not to vote for the AAP seems to have worked. It was after many years that voters returned to booths of Mann’s party…wherever Mann’s party did not have candidates, the voters queued up for SSM candidates” (Indian Express Feb. 23, 2022). Another Congress leader from Malwa further analyzed the situation, saying, “we were calculating that Mann and SSM candidates could have polled 1000 to 20,000 votes all thanks to Deep Sidhu” (Indian Express Feb. 23, 2022). Interestingly during the 2017 elections, the vote share of Akali Dal (Amritsar) “was reduced to 0.3% much less than NOTA’s 0.7%” (Indian Express Feb. 23, 2022).
An important development which took place was that “a night before the Feb. 20, polling posters of actor turned activist Deep Sidhu with emotional messages to voters came up in many areas of Barnala, Bhadour, Amargarh and Mehal Kalan” where pamphlets were distributed invoking the emotions of people, saying the best tribute they could pay to Deep Sidhu who died recently was to support SAD chief Simranjeet Singh Mann. The death of Deep Sidhu became a “turning point.” During his campaigning for Simranjeeet Singh Mann his video on the AAP symbol broom became viral after his death. He made “an appeal to voters not to take the broom discarding the sword” (The Tribune Feb. 21, 2022). Asking the “audience to choose” he argued that “one stood for self-respect and the other for servility” (The Quint Feb. 25, 2022). It was the timing of this appeal which “helped shift the balance” (Times of India Feb. 25, 2022). The votes polled in favor of SAD Amritsar, some for the Kisan Morcha and still others may have opted for SAD(Badal) or Congress whichever way the “votes swing, it harmed the prospect of AAP” (Times Of India Feb. 25, 2022) and cut into the “AAP vote share” (The Tribune Feb. 21, 2022). This impact was largely expected to be felt in Barnala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur and Mansa (The Pioneer Feb. 28, 2022).
