NIA Raids, Fascism, and the Stepping Stones to Genocide
Panth Sewak Collective | @panthsewak_
India's investigative agency, the NIA, raided the homes of exiled and diasporic Sikh leaders, most prominently Khalsa Aid, in an attempt to target and ultimately, undermine the collective capacities of Sikhs. During the Kisaan Morcha (farmers' struggle), Sikhs collectively demonstrated their potential and capacity by manifesting the principles of gurmat in action. These raids are intended to repress the collective consciousness that shaped this mobilization and are the next phase of repression that was launched against Sikh naujawan in the month of March.
Speaking to journalists on August 3, Bhai Daljit Singh, Bhai Narain Singh, Bhai Bhupinder Singh Bhalwan, Bhai Satnam Singh Khandewala, Bhai Hardeep Singh Mehraj, Bhai Rajinder Singh Mughalwal and Bhai Satnam Singh Jhanjian said that the Indian state has intensified the process of repression against Sikhs. Sikhs represent a major challenge to the Indian state due to our ideals of sarbat da bhala, our collective history, the geostrategic location of Punjab and our historic claim to sovereignty. In March, the Indian state started this repressive process through the arrests of Sikh naujawan, alongside a widespread psyop (psychological operation) in order to isolate and directly target Sikhs across the subcontinent.
Members of the collective made it clear that by constantly targeting the leadership of Sikh institutions, the Indian state is attempting to ensure that there is a vacuum of organization and leadership amongst Sikhs. This recent attack was not just against any one institution, organization or select individuals, but against the collective character and capacity of Sikhs. It is imperative that Sikh organizations around the world unite to provide a comprehensive and cohesive response.
They also pointed out that the recent shahadat (martyrdom) of leaders of the kharku sangarsh (armed struggle), including Bhai Parmjit Singh Panjwar and Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, alongside the suspicious death of Bhai Avtar Singh Khanda in the UK, demonstrate that the Indian state has begun a process of eliminating those Sikhs in support of independence–a tactic which may soon be deployed in Punjab as well. In Punjab, the state wants to bring the internal fragmentation and lack of trust amongst Sikhs to a fever pitch so that agencies can then target azadi-pakhi (pro-independence) Sikh leaders in Punjab without issue, while other factions are gradually absorbed into the BJP’s orbit. Everyone currently engaged in the struggle needs to turn their attention to this possibility immediately.
At this time, the Indian state is targeting every organization and personality that has contributed to generating soft capital and the collective capacity of Sikhs worldwide. It is extremely concerning that some Sikhs are simultaneously doing the work of the Indian state, knowingly or unknowingly, by spreading discord and false narratives against Sikh institutions, personalities, and participants in the armed Sikh struggle. By amplifying these manufactured narratives over social media platforms, these actors are contributing to state-led efforts to undermine Sikh leadership figures and demonize the Sikh sangarsh in order to intensify internal conflict and organizational chaos. These internal divisions and a lack of trust do not serve Sikh interests in any way. Sikhs around the world must take guidance from gurmat and Panthic tradition in order to spearhead trust-building and consensus-building initiatives in order to effectively confront this wave of psyops and repression.
Commenting on the situation in India more broadly, members of the Panth Sewak collective noted that the bipparvadi Indian state is rapidly moving towards implementing its goal of a Hindu rashtra, which has resulted in constant attacks and the erosion of diversity, the imposition of uniformity, and the centralization of power at every level. Surveying the scenes from across the subcontinent–from the violence in Manipur, slow genocide and settler colonialism in Kashmir, police violence and “bulldozer” politics in the Hindi heartland, and fascist violence against Dalits and Muslims (seen most recently in Haryana)–the trajectory of the Indian state is crystal clear.
Religious, cultural and linguistic identities, members of scheduled castes, Adivasis (Indigenous communities) and others engaged in resistance are all being targeted by the Indian state. By orchestrating widespread social and religious polarization, those committed to diverse religious, social and ideological identities are being discredited and vilified within their communities while the most active and militant elements amongst all of them are either being killed or incarcerated by the state itself. As a result, the Indian state is gradually moving closer and closer to either assimilating and absorbing communities in their entirety or eliminating them altogether. Members of the collective stated that democracy and the rule of law exist only in name in India, and that while the state is operating like a fascist dictatorship, the law is simply another tool of oppression.
They concluded by emphasizing that any explanations for the recent raids and wave of repression cannot simplistically be limited to electoral politics; such an analysis is misguided and “misses the forest for the trees”. These trends and recent phenomena are the consequences of deliberate, policy decisions being made by the bipparvadi Indian state. As a result, the gravity of the situation in South Asia is rapidly increasing, to the point that India may likely soon become an open arena of genocide across the subcontinent.