Thousands of Sauda dera followers convert Panchkula into a warzone. Their sheer numbers show police and administration failure despite tall claims by police and chief ministers, leaving citizens shocked and scared. Saner elements and parents urge people to stay indoors.  It is disturbing that one accused and his cultist followers hold the entire state to ransom.

Update: Police likely to crackdown tonight on Dera supporters in Panchkula as Punjab and Haryana High court takes stern view of gathering of thousands in the city. Internet services suspended in Punjab and Haryana for the next 72 hours. Haryana police, anti-riot police, para military police surround the court area and though appeals have been made, there is likely to be a lathi charge during the night as the High court has asked Haryana Director General of Police to vacate the area by the morning.

In Punjab, dangerous cults prodded by the state machinery to make inroads into the Sikh fold and weaken them are now getting out of hands. In 1978, it was the neo-Nirankaris who killed 13 devout Sikhs in broad daylight in Amritsar and 7 devout Sikhs in Kanpur. At the beginning of this century the Noormahlias challenged the basics of Sikhism and to whom the Punjab and Haryana High court has recently given the leeway not to cremate the body of their chief -Ashutosh Maharaj, who died years ago, but whose followers “successfully convinced” the court that he is is “samadhi” and will rise at the appropriate time.

In the backwaters of Haryana, in the sleepy undeveloped district town Sirsa, the government of India propped up the Dera Sauda chief -Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who conducted big tamashas, held political darbars, denigrated Sikh Gurus and swayed the poorest of the poor towards him through largesse and political patronage, consolidating their vote bank to elicit favours and respect.

Today, the Indian state is being made to bite more than it can chew.  As Justice Jagdeep Singh prepares to deliver the judgement in the sexual abuse case of female followers at the Sirsa dera, the state is unprepared to handle the state of affairs. The situation is totally out of hands. It is a battle zone.  

Schools and colleges shut down. Government offices of Punjab and Chandigarh declare 25 August as a public holiday.

State Roadways  suspend transport to and from Haryana. Other means of transport likely to be unavailable. Northern Railways suspends 22 trains to Haryana and Chandigarh.

“In the backwaters of Haryana, in the sleepy undeveloped district town Sirsa, the government of India propped up the Dera Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim, who conducted big tamashas, held political darbars, denigrated Sikh Gurus and swayed the poorest of the poor towards him through largesse and political patronage, consolidating their vote bank to elicit favours and respect.”

Hospital and health facilities on high alert. Health staff and doctors’ leave cancelled.

Like Kashmir and the north-east, mobile internet services appear on the verge of closure.

Additional police companies requisitioned by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Indian army on standby. VIP Security personnel redeployed on streets by Punjab government.

Chief Minister Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar avow readiness to control any untoward situation.  However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has strongly pulled up the Haryana government for its failure to stop the flood of dera followers into Panchkula. They have said that DGP Haryana should be prepared for action should security and safety of citizens is jeopardised.

Punjab converts one cricket stadium, whereas Haryana transforms two stadiums into sub-jails.

There is supposed to be Section 144 imposed in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Yet, thousands of Sacha Sauda dera followers occupy Panchkula and Chandigarh. Petrified tri-city residents choose to stay indoors.

Sikhs are forced to think that in case they were to protest with one-tenth of such numbers as the dera followers, they would have been stopped, lathi-charged, fired upon and leadership at all levels subjected to in-house imprisonment.  While peacefully protesting against this pseudo-cult’s attempt to denigrate Sikh religious sentiments, Kanwaljit Singh of Sunam, Harmandar Singh of Dabwali and Balkar Singh from Mumbai were brutally killed by the private army of the pseudo-saint.

Clearly, there are a different set of rules for those who take favours and give favours and those who contest for rights, including the right to non-intervention in their religious affairs by dangerous cults.

It is still not clear whether the Dera Chief will reach the courts, though he has affirmed that he will despite “a backache”. His supporters talk of peace but their intentions are clear in their numbers, body language and the worst possible scenario of a section likely to take to self-immolation should the verdict go against the cult chief.  Ku Klux Klan in Punjab?

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