LONDON (UK) – British Sikh Association chairman and House of Peers member Lord Ranger CBE has denounced the sinister agenda of Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, the self-styled leader of the Sikh separatist Khalistani movement, to foment trouble in the Indian state of Punjab, where the community has a sizeable presence and clout.
Baron Ranger expressed unhappiness over the absence of a leader for the Sikhs who is worthy enough to carry forward the legacy of the Gurus since Maharaja Ranjit Singh. “We are still trying to get over the fall-out from the lack of vision and leadership of Khalistani leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Now another “visionary”, Pannu, has appeared from the US, wishing to lead the Sikhs by carrying forward Bhindranwale’s legacy. No one has divided Sikhs more than Bhindrawala and also poisoned the minds of our youth,” he said, adding that they have limited understanding of the faith and history but feel angry due to the attack on the Golden Temple, one of the holiest Sikh shrines in India.
The attack on the shrine by Indian armed forces in 1984 to flush out Bhindranwale and his armed cohorts led to the tragic assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The incident sparked off anti-Sikh riots across the country and thousands lost their lives. “It is unfortunate that a so-called ‘Saint’, a man of peace and harmony, could inflict massive damage to the image of Sikhs in India by considering himself to be over and above the rule of law,” said Ranger, who is the founder of Sun Mark, a global marketing and distribution company.
Ranger said that Pannu, unlike Bhindranwale, holds a US passport and yet he feels for the Punjabi Sikhs. “Should he not come to Punjab and lead the Sikhs personally as our Gurus did when they were fighting the tyranny of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb? I am sure he will find that Sikhs in Punjab do not have the appetite to once again bring lawlessness into their state as they are still suffering from the consequence of a self-appointed leader who claimed to get the community more rights than the Chief Minister of Punjab and what the community was entitled to in secular and democratic India,” he added.
Pannu’s vision contradicts the philosophy of the Gurus as they believed in the oneness of the human race. The self-proclaimed leader, on the other hand, professes that Sikhs are a different race with a different DNA, said Ranger, adding that Pannu was trying to divide the community by peddling hatred against non-Sikhs of Punjab. “Sikh Gurus gave us a faith which is based on interfaith teachings to demonstrate that we are all equal. Pannu’s ideology is to deny non-Sikhs equality by proclaiming that Punjab only belongs to the Sikhs. In other words, he wishes to repeat what the Muslims of India did in 1947 by declaring Hindus, Sikhs and Christians second class in the country of their birth and that of their forefathers,” he said.
Ranger, who was nominated to the House of Lords in Theresa May’s resignation honours, pointed out that partition of the country where people once lived side by side in perfect harmony regardless of religion caused death and destruction. He said they had a shared history, heritage, folklore, food and language. Yet, the same people have now become arch enemies and have had four bloody wars since their division.
Referring to his illustrious father, Shaheed Nanak Singh, who championed the cause of Indian independence, Baron Ranger said he could foretell the consequences of religious disharmony. He said that Nanak Singh, who pleaded with the then Muslim leaders not to dismember the nation, warned that a country created artificially with bloodshed would continue to generate more hatred for its very survival. “In his words, ‘India’s diversity is like the colours of a rainbow, its charm will diminish if one is removed’,” he said.
The British Sikh Association chairman holds the view that the Khalistani leader has not learned from history and wants to repeat the mistakes of the past. Pannu wants to see the death and destruction of 1947 happen once again in Punjab and Sikhs butchered outside the state just as we witnessed in 1984, said Ranger. “He also does not seem to care about our shrines outside Punjab as, according to him, the Sikhs should be confined to Punjab only. Does he think there will be no reaction in the rest of India against the poisonous ideology of the Khalistanis?”
A Member of the Order of the British Empire, Ranger said the Gurus have never been parochial like Pannu. “They always stood for humanity and as a result, are revered by the people of every faith. Guru Teg Bhadur Ji paid the ultimate sacrifice to uphold the religious freedom of Hindus in India, and Guru Gobind Singh Ji established the Brotherhood of Khalsa to defend the religious freedom of every Indian. According to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, ‘diversity must be accepted, respected and if need be, defended’,” he pointed out.
He expressed horror at the prospect of Pannu expunging the teachings of non-Sikhs from the Granth Sahib. “When Pannu arrives with his team of lacklustre Sikhs to proclaim Khalistan, there will be an exodus of people from Punjab for the states of Rajasthan, Haryana or UP. What will remain in Punjab? Sikhs will be treated as second class in the rest of India. I hate to imagine if Sikhs are thrown out of the rest of India, how Pannu and his gang will accommodate them in Punjab and provide them suitable jobs. How will he be able to look after the Sikhs from the Indian Army, Air Force, Navy, Police?” Ranger added.
“I can guarantee that Pannu can expect to be arrested the minute he lands in India and will end up spending the rest of his life in prison. He will be lynched by the Sikhs who are suffering because of his anti-India rhetoric,” he said.
In a country with a population of over a billion, Sikhs are less than 2%, yet they have given India a President, Prime Minister, Army, Air Force and Navy Chiefs. And there are members of the community in other states engaged in farming and running businesses, including transportation and freight movement.
Baron Ranger hopes that good sense will prevail and Pannu apologises to the Sikhs Gurus for embarrassing them along with their followers for pursuing an agenda alien to them.
British Herald