With the next Punjab Assembly elections only months away, the politically sensitive 2015 sacrilege issue is once again set to return to centre stage, with Shiromani Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) announcing a major protest march on June 1 across key locations associated with the decade old controversy.
The party, headed by jailed pro Khalistan leader and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, will take out a march from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala to Kotkapura via Bargari and Behbal Kalan, villages that became the epicentre of the sacrilege controversy and subsequent police firing in 2015.
The development comes at a time when political parties have started positioning themselves ahead of the Assembly elections, with the sacrilege issue continuing to evoke strong emotions among sections of the Sikh community despite the passage of more than a decade.
The controversy began on June 1, 2015, when a bir of the Guru Granth Sahib was stolen from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala. Days later, torn pages of the holy scripture were found near Bargari village, triggering widespread protests across Punjab. The agitation culminated in police firing at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in October 2015, leaving two protesters dead and several others injured.
While multiple commissions, Special Investigation Teams and court proceedings have followed over the years, the issue remains unresolved and continues to be a potent political and religious subject in Punjab.
Ironically, the protest is being spearheaded by a party headed by Amritpal Singh, whose supporters were involved in the controversial February 2023 incident at Ajnala Police Station. During the agitation seeking the release of one of his aides, supporters accompanying Amritpal Singh carried Sri Palki Sahib to the police station premises, drawing sharp criticism from several Sikh organisations and political leaders, who alleged that using the religious symbol as a shield during a confrontation with the police amounted to disrespect towards Sikh traditions.
According to Daler Singh Doad, district president of Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), several Panthic, religious and political leaders are expected to participate in the march. These include Faridkot MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa, Tarsem Singh, father of Amritpal Singh, AAP MLA and former sacrilege SIT chief Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh and SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali.
Sukhraj Singh Niamiwala, whose father was among those killed in the Behbal Kalan police firing, said the emotional wounds of the 2015 incidents remain unhealed and continue to resonate across Punjab.
With legal proceedings still pending and political activity gathering momentum ahead of the Assembly polls, the planned march is expected to once again bring the sacrilege issue and the demand for justice back into Punjab’s political discourse
