Author: Kumool Abbi (abbikumool@gmail.com)
Professor at Punjab University, Chandigarh
Sidhu Moose Wala in his song “Scapegoat” after he lost the 2022 assembly elections
Ooh jithe aunda sach sab charde ne palla
Ithe pehlan bahut hare
Main hara nahin kalla
Loka bahut sacheya god ni lavayi
Ehna dogleya Bibi Kalra harayi
Jina nu turre si kissan nu haraya
Ehna ne Simranjeet Mann nu haraya
Deke shradhanjaliyan phirde ni khulle
Eh taan Navreet Deep Sidhu nu vi bhule
Kidde eh sake Parivar das kaun
Hun mainu loko oye gadar das kaun
Translation into English by Kumool Abbi
Where one has to face the truth
Everyone escapes
How many have been defeated
I am not the only one who has been defeated
These people never chose the right candidate
These hypocrites even defeated Bibi Kalra
They defeated the farmers with whom they had walked in solidarity
These people defeated Simranjit Singh Mann also
After paying tribute they are roaming carelessly
They have forgotten Navreet and Deep Sidhu
These people are close to whom tell me
Now tell me who is the traitor….
The Sangrur Lok Sabha election, ending with the victory of Simranjit Singh Mann, is just one example of the ripples effect on the electorate following the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala—a further consolidation of the revival of the “Sikh political right.” Simranjit Singh Mann won the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat by 253,154 votes from his nearest rival Gurmail Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party (247,332 votes). The Akali Dal Badal has been representing “the mainstream Sikh institutions and Politics in the electoral sphere” for decades (The Quint Feb. 25, 2022). Despite remaining on “the margins of Punjab”s mainstream politics” (Indian Express June 26, 2022) 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 a reflection of the “latest entrant into Sikh political activism, [showing] 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 regarded as “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 began with the protests at the impending hanging of Balwant Singh Rojana in 2012, just after the Akali Dal (Badal) won a huge victory. Following this was a massive mobilization in 2013 when Sikh activist Gurbax Singh Khalsa went on a hunger strike demanding the release of Sikh prisoners. In 2015 huge protests took place after the sacrilege incidents in Bargari with police firing at Behbal Kalan and causing the death of two Sikhs. The Sarbat Khalsa at Chabba village in Amritsar district on November 10, 2015 also attracted huge crowds. The Bargari morcha—initiated by parallel acting Akal Takht Jathedar, Dyan Singh Mand, from June 1 to Dec. 9, 2018—was characterized by two huge gatherings in October. The fifth major mobilization was the farmers protest from 2020–2021 (Times Of India Feb. 26, 2022). A similar sense of outrage and sense of loss was felt with the death of Punjabi singer and rapper Sidhu Moose Wala who was killed in an alleged gang attack on June 29, 2022. The incident took place days after his security had been withdrawn by the Bhagwant Mann led AAP government—the list of those names withdrawn was made public. Sidhu Moose Wala’s funeral and antim ardas (last rites) drew similar frenzied crowds who mourned the death of a young life like their own and demanded justice at this outrage.
Moose Wala’s death became a rallying point for the Sikh community which felt anguish and hurt at this betrayal. This feeling was particularly rampant among the youth, the die-hard fans who blamed chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s decision on security withdrawal and openly held the government responsible for Moose Wala’s death.
At the same time they also wanted to express their surge of emotions with gratitude and to fulfill Sidhu Moose Wala’s last wishes. Sidhu Moose Wala, despite being a transnational star, had always asserted and was proud of his Sikh identity and his roots. It was this unique quality of Moose Wala which made the Malwa youth relate to him. The outpouring of grief and identification with him and an acute sense of loss at his untimely death, galvanized the youth of the Malwa region once again.
In his death he acquired cult and iconic status among the Sikhs and almost attained the glory of a “martyr” for the community. In a surreal reversal of events, his death redeemed him before the community which venerated him to the status of a “Yodha, jisda maut naal viah” (a saint soldier who embraced death), who attained martyrdom as a bachelor and was poignantly bedecked as a bridegroom as he was taken to the funeral pyre.
Moose Wala’s Antim Ardas (like “Deep 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).
The persistence of this stream of “radical” politics radiates over many unresolved issues and a lack of closure of “certain grievances among the Sikhs: such as delay 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 and Sidhu Moose Wala. Sensing the mood, even the Akali Dal Badal attempted to stake claim on the “panthic space” by implicating Kamaljeet Kaur Rojana (sister of Balwant Singh Rojana) in the Beant Singh Assassination case and lodging her in jail for the past 25 years to contest elections. The only issue the Akali Dal Badal focused on for this election was the release of the bandi Singhs (Sikh detainees).
In his own terms, Simranjit Singh Mann, a former IPS officer who sacrificed his career and stood steadfastly for the Sikh cause for decades, represented a sign of hope, honesty and service to the community in this election. His selflessness endeared him to the electorate who appreciated his steadfastness. He stood tall in comparison to the leaders of traditional political parties—especially the Congress and the Akali Dal Badal who were considered inadequate and flawed. They were seen as opportunistic and mired with infighting, factionalism and corruption, lacking commitment to the welfare of Punjab. After having been elected to the Taran Taran parliamentary constituency in 1989 and to Sangrur in 1999, Simarnjit Singh Mann has savored this success after eighteen years. It is this resurgence of faith which made the supporters pray feverishly as they switched channels showing the Gurbani telecast from the Harmandir Sahib taking the last hymn “sahib mera meherbaan“ (the blessing of the almighty God is with us) around 1pm on the June 26 as a signal of good luck for his impending victory. Though Simranjit Singh Mann lost the recent Punjab Assembly election from Amargarh—securing almost 30% of votes and closely followed by Gurjant Kittu in Mehal Kalan with 21% of the votes (The Quint June 10, 2022)—the assembly elections masked a quiet road to recovery for the Akali Dal Amritsar on the electoral front. Simranjit Singh Mann is considered the “last man standing on issues of Sikh identity and justice for the community” (The Quint June 10, 2022). His party polled 386,176 votes in 2022, higher than the 49,260 secured in 2017 and 39,106 votes in 2012 (India Today June 3, 2022). His party, which had a vote share of 0.28% of 57 constituencies in the 2012 assembly elections contested 54 seats in 2017 and secured 0.32% of the vote share—then steadily increasing to 2.48% in the 2022 state assembly elections (India Today June 3, 2022). The victory of Simranjit Mann has further expanded the “ideological space he represents” which “seems fertile in the State” (India Today June 3, 2022).
Sidhu Moose Wala’s killing “seemed to have generated sympathy for Mann’s candidature as Moose Wala had committed his support to him and even promised to campaign for him in Sangrur” (Indian Express June 26, 2022).
The Sangrur Constituency represents 1,569,240 eligible voters—830,056 identified as men, 739,056 identified as women and 44 belonged to other gender identities (India Today June 23, 2022). The prominent candidates were Kamaljeet Kaur Rojana SAD (Badal), Dalvir Singh Goldy (Congress), Kewal Singh Dhillon (BJP) and Gurmail Singh (AAP), all who lost their security deposits.
The badlav (change) the AAP thought it would usher in gave way to a deep sense of rejection by the electorate. This was reflected when only 45.3% eligible voters cast votes, nearly 27.1% less than the 2019 elections (Indian Express June 24, 2022).
Apart from deteriorating law and order, many other factors piled up and accounted for the defeat of the Aam Aadmi party in the Sangrur election—considered an aberration—as ninety days are usually a honeymoon phase for any ruling party. These factors included: the inability to meet the expectations of the pre-poll promises, the inaccessibility of local legislatures, the choice of Rajya Sabha candidates, the persistence of different mafias in the state, the inability to focus on the issue of corruption despite the Mansa MLA Dr. Vijay Singla being caught red-handed, the charges of being puppeteered by Delhi, the lukewarm response regarding core issues concerning Punjab, the paddy sowing season and the extreme heat wave in north India. There was a realization of a likeness between the Aam Aadmi Party members and those of other mainstream parties, causing a disillusionment from the general populace. They began to dismiss the AAP as being as flawed as the other parties after the initial euphoria when the candidates were voted to power with their fresh and idealistic promises.
During Deep Sidhu’s campaigning in the 2022 Punjab assembly elections for Simranjit Singh Mann, his video on the AAP broom symbol 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) in favor of hond di ladai (the battle for identity) that led to many Mann supporters to assert that, now in continuum with Sidhu Moose Wala’s statement, “Quam jaag gaayi” (The Sikh community has woken up). It was to those “who gave their blood to the Sikh community” that Simranjit Singh Mann dedicated his victory (Zee News June 26, 2022).
The last adage going viral to account for Simranjit Singh Mann is the saying “sada ki kasoor sada zila sangrur” (what is our fault, our district is Sangrur) explaining the victory and a new “inquilab” (Indian Express June 26, 2022) of the “original” Khalsa over all “duplicates”. (Ahead News June 26, 2022).
(edited by Alex Prosi)