Founder | Deep Sidhu |
---|---|
Founded at | Punjab, India |
Type | Political group |
Location |
|
Official language | Punjabi |
Founder-Cheif | Deep Sidhu (until 2022) |
Jathedar | Amritpal Singh (since 2022) |
Waris Punjab De (meaning "heirs of Punjab") [1] [2] is a Sikh-Volunteer political group based in Punjab, India. It was initially a Pressure group to protect the rights of Punjab, [3] which subsequently became a political group for pro-Khalistan. [4] Deep Sidhu was the group's founder-chief until his death in February 2022. [4] Amritpal Singh took charge of the group after the death of its founder. [5]
On 29 September 2021, Sandeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Deep Sidhu, announced the formation of Waris Punjab De, as “a Pressure group to protect and fight for rights of Punjab and raise social issues”. [3] [6] [7] The organization played a role in the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest under the leadership of its founder. [7] During the protests, Amritpal Singh joined Waris Punjab De, founded by actor and activist Sidhu to mobilise farmers. [8]
Amritpal Singh took over as leader of the organization after the death of its founder in an automobile accident. It is rumoured that Deep Sidhu and Amritpal Singh had never actually met in real life and only interacted over social media. [9] The family of Deep Sidhu have questioned Singh's claim to leadership. [10] After the coming of leadership of Amritpal Singh, the mission of the organization has shifted towards the aims of “follow the tenets of Sikhism” and “establish Khalsa Raj”. [11] The organization supported the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) in the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. [12] It launched a movement to promote Sikhs to undergo the Amrit Sanskar initiation ceremony into the Khalsa order, condemned drug usage and addiction, casteist and misogynistic beliefs and practices (such as dowry), through tours throughout the state of Punjab in November 2022. [13] On 23 February 2023, clashes between supporters of the group and police broke out in Ajnala, Punjab. [14] The group was criticized for carrying a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs, during the clashes, with some arguing that it was used as a "shield". [15] The body has been accused of being funded by the Pakistani ISI. [16]
On 18 March 2023, Indian authorities launched a manhunt for Singh after he was accused by police of attempted murder, obstruction of law enforcement and creating "disharmony" in society. [17] During the manhunt, Indian authorities deployed thousands of paramilitary police and restricted Internet and mobile messaging services for nearly 30 million people across the Punjab state. [17]
Indian authorities also arrested more than 200 people while conducting a massive manhunt. [18] [19] [20] Meanwhile, Singh was nowhere to be found. [21] After more than a month, on 23 April 2023, Singh was arrested from Rode village in Moga district, Punjab. Later, he was taken to the high-security Dibrugarh jail in Assam state. [22]
Sikhs are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, an Indian or Dharmic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term Sikh has its origin in the Sanskrit word śiṣya, meaning 'seeker', 'disciple' or 'student'. According to Article I of Chapter 1 of the Sikh Rehat Maryada, the definition of Sikh is: Any human being who faithfully believes in
The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan in the Punjab region. The proposed boundaries of Khalistan vary between different groups; some suggest the entirety of the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Shimla and Lahore have been proposed as the capital of Khalistan.
Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) is a Sikh Nationalist political party led by Simranjit Singh Mann, it is a splinter group of the Shiromani Akali Dal. They use 'Balti', the Punjabi term for bucket as their official election symbol. Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) was formed on 1 May 1994. The party has seen a resurgence in support after the deaths of Deep Sidhu and Sidhu Moose Wala who were supporters and seen as sympathetic to the cause of Simranjit Singh Mann. Their 2022 Lok Sabha victory after more than two decades has been viewed as a resurgence in Sikhism, and a political vacuum due to collapse of other traditional political parties in Punjab. The last major victory for Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) was in 1989 Lok Sabha elections where the party and their allies won 10 out of 13 seats from Punjab.
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Simranjit Singh Mann is a former Indian Police Service officer and a Member of the Parliament in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India, representing the constituency of Sangrur since 2022. He is the president of the political party Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar). Mann has served three-times as an MP; once from Taran Tarn between 1989 and 1991, and twice from Sangrur between 1999-2004 and since 2022. He is known as a Khalistani supporter and his party is known for their pro-Khalistan stances.
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