Sunday, July 28, 2002		Books

Critique of blood-soaked years
P. P. S. Gill

Violence as Political Discourse Sikh militancy confronts the Indian state
by Birinder Pal Singh, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. Pages 244; Rs 350.

THE black jacket and a red streak in the middle of the cover is more loud than the book under review. For someone, who has been in the thick of 'that' phase of history in Punjab, hair-raising thoughts of which even today send a shiver down the spine, the book in hand revives memories of the time spent in Amritsar (1983-1990), as staffer of The Tribune.

The book has an electrifying effect, as one leafs through its five chapters and an 'epilogue'. Going through the cold, small dark print against off-white pages is like literally walking through a mine-field. It is like revisiting the theatre of militancy. The all-consuming effect of militancy was felt on both Punjab and Punjabis. It affected their physical being, psyche, emotions and economy.

The scars left behind by that phase are still visible and raw. Much has been written and spoken on cross-border terrorism, as it is perpetrated from across the international borders courtesy Pakistan's Inter-services intelligence (ISI) outfit. The same holds true for the violence that shook the state. The horrors of that period are still embedded in the sub-conscious of the Punjabis. The question that is asked often is: Why did Punjab undergo such tragedy and trauma? To whom should the blame be apportioned?

There are no easy answers to unending questions, ifs, buts and whys.

In this entire sordid drama, where in, script and dialogue was written by bullets and blood and innocent lives snuffed out, there are no winners. There are plenty of losers. As one looks over the shoulder, while going through the ''heavy'' stuff that the author has packed in the book, it emerges that there were, in fact, only two major characters, call them actors or villains: ''the Sikh militants and the Indian state''.

As a scribe, one has either punched on the computer or run through thousands of accounts of that time period of violence (militancy or terrorism). By now it is apparent that the book under review is different. It deals more with the ''other'', the 'condemned' Sikh youth—the militant. Broadly speaking, it is a document that tries to understand the ''other'' ; it is a discourse between two opposing camps. Over a period of time, one has seen either side being blamed for what Punjab has suffered. There has not been a focused study, so far, on violence per se. Perhaps, Birinder Pal Singh holds the key to this particular aspect of the Punjab crises of mid-80s that ended towards the end of 1992.

The author leads the reader by first stating the ''problem of political violence'' and gradually opens the door to ''Sikh militant movement'' before elaborating on the ''The state in india''. While proceeding with his arguments and hypothesis, the reader is invited to look at the ''Dialectic of militant violence'' before he finally endeavours to "Making sense of discourse of violence'' and as he bids good-bye, he adds an ''Epilogue''.

There is no doubt that the author has painstakingly collected, collated, collaborated and co-related available literature on every burning issue that concerns Punjab, be it historical, administrative, legal, economic, social, religious, regional, cultural or political. The author has philosophically weaved the mosaic of ''Violence as political discourse'' giving an impression as if he has a ''soft'' corner for the ''other'' .

In a classic way, he has concluded that ''Punjab and Sikh'' are synonyms and discrimination by the Indian state against one means discrimination against the other, as well.

He has divided violence into four distinct phases: 1978-80 (when the Nirankari episode took place); 1981-84; 1984-85 and 1986-1992. He has explained all these four phases at length.

He has also enunciated that whatever has happened in Punjab since mid-80s has also to be viewed and understood in the context of four major ''events''—Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947; Partition of Punjab and Haryana in 1966; The Sikh-Nirankari clash in Amritsar in 1978; and the Operation Bluestar followed by massacre of Sikhs in 1984.

The first two ''events'' he describes as ''division of body'' and the latter two events as ''division of soul''. These ''events'', he says, had a ''hermeneutic significance in influencing the psyche of the Sikhs in general and militants in particular''.

The book, in fact, encompasses all conceivable factors and facets of Punjabi life, while, building up the hypothesis that Birinder Pal Singh later proves. His discourse on militants, their literature (largely displaying a strong streak of Marxist influence), comparative inferences and influences with similar ''movements'' elsewhere in the world, the chaos and confusion caused by the phase of violence in the Sikh mind, the transformation of the Sikh psyche, the distortions in Sikh politics and religion, the ''attack'' on the Sikh 'bana and baní' , the trauma of troubled Sikh minds, the political machination of the State et al have all been discussed. The same is true of the role of the State, particularly of the politicians, bureaucrats and more so of the police.

The book shows objectivity as well as traces of subjectivity when the author describes the two main characters, the Sikh militants and the Indian State, as ''mirror images.'' The author also attempts to project the socio-economic and political ideology followed by the militants through the prism of religion and goes on to list farmers' problems and how diminishing income returns from farms also influenced militants' ideology and actions.

The book is replete with knowledge and information that should help policy-makers take appropriate decisions, so that ''violence as political discourse'' does not re-visit Punjab. Economy, emotions, regional and religious identities and sentiments are well-welded in pluralistic Punjabi society. It makes for serious reading and helps to gain understanding of the Punjabi psyche as well as it’s problems.