Hijacking of India’s Farmer Protests

Summary: Protest with the posters of terrorist Bhindranwale, defacing Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in the name of support to farmers, involvement of organisations who were behind the violent anti-CAA protests, sudden aid from groups which had no interest in farmer woes, pattern of funding, all hint at the hijacking of the protests by forces which do not stand India’s rise.

Former PM of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said “Once the back of Indian forces is broken in the east, Pakistan should occupy the whole of Eastern India and make it a permanent part of East Pakistan…. Kashmir should be taken at any price, even the Sikh Punjab and turned into Khalistan.” The forces at play in the protests make the involvement of Pak and ISI ample clear. China too wants a weak India with frail leadership. China has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to see this happen.

We can conclude that there are very powerful vested interests in India and abroad who don’t want a strong vibrant India with strong leadership or a major pan-India political party to emerge in the country which caters to all interests and concerns. The protests over farm bills hint at this clearly. However, Anti-India forces have to understand that India has internal and external strength to withstand any confusion created by them as India believes in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which aims to unite everyone unlike hegemonistic forces which wish to divide people.

Rulers, Dynasties, Nations came to rule and break India but ultimately they became part of India or withered in History. But democratic India remains the same with strong roots of Hinduism which vouches for peace and love of the world. In the ongoing Farmers Protests active role is played by organizations like PFI, Khalistani, Naxal, Political Parties like Congress, NCP, Shivsena, AAP, SP, RJD, PDP and other parties which are against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP’s success in India internally. Externally they are backed by the Chinese, Pakistanis, Militant Organization’s and other forces to create disturbances in the country. 

Here is the evidence to prove that anti-national people are involved in the farmers’ protest. The protests are so organized that various provisions of tents and other facilities like medical stalls, laundry, library, dental camp, and temples were made available at various locations for protesting farmers. The dental camps were providing tooth retraction, cleaning, filling and scaling treatments. Solar powered mobile charging points have been made. For provisions of food, roti makers which make 1000 rotis an hour are provided in langars. Pizzas were also provided at protest camps, which attracted large crowds. A Step Forward Foot massage chair for elderly protesters is also an attraction! It has also been alleged that funds being received for the protests are coming to India from Canada, via Pakistan through hawala; the allegations were being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. Nowhere in Indian History a Protest is so well-organized, financed and carried out for further six months as the protesters were quoted. 

Hijacking of Farmers Protest 

The worry is this. “Farmers” are participating in the protest with the posters of terrorist Bhindranwale, who was responsible for the death of hundreds of people in Punjab. Even Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Washington DC was defaced, and draped with a ‘Khalistan’ flag in protest against farm laws. These groups are interested in breaking the nation and they are against the idea of nationalism. They do not want to see a united India which is multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingua. They do know what Unity in Diversity or India’s History is. 

A Group called ‘United Against Hate’ has come forward to help the farmers but the fact is that this organization is rattled after the failure of its agenda during Delhi riots and Shaheen Bagh road blockade. Both anti-CAA protests and the farmers’ protest are based on lies and propaganda. Those who were against the CAA said that the law would take away the citizenship of Indian Muslims and in a similar way farmers are being misled into believing that the new farm laws will end the system of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the grain market system will be abolished. 

Women and children were put forward to garner sympathy during the anti-CAA movement. In farmers’ protests, elderly farmers have been pushed to the frontline to tackle the police. An attempt was made to take Delhi hostage during the anti-CAA movement and a similar conspiracy is being hatched in the name of farmers’ protest to take Delhi hostage. During the anti-CAA movement, threats to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi were being given openly and during the farmers’ protest too some people are talking about killing the Prime Minister. 

Several political parties backed by Khalistani and separatists’ elements have come out in support of the farmers’ movement in India by holding demonstrations, rallies and other events where anti-India slogans were raised and terrorists eulogized. 

Another point to be noted is that the Islamic groups which never earlier spoke about farmer issues are in the forefront trying to gain mileage by providing food and other facilities at the protest sites. These very groups were also behind the anti-CAA protests and out of the blue they have found it suitable to join ranks with the farm bill protesters. The agenda here is clearly not a resolution of the farm crisis or betterment of the farmers lives. Their only aim is to create unrest at the cost of lives and livelihoods in India. A cursory look at the profile of the supporting Islamic organizations, their sympathizers within and outside India and their prime donors, give enough clues about their agenda. 

The invisible hand of Pak’s ISI 

This whole story of farmer protest has a big history which has to be understood by Indians. As former PM of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said “Once the back of Indian forces is broken in the east, Pakistan should occupy the whole of Eastern India and make it a permanent part of East Pakistan…. Kashmir should be taken at any price, even the Sikh Punjab and turned into Khalistan.” General Zia-ul Haq, who succeeded Bhutto as the Head of State, attempted to reverse the traditional antipathy between Sikhs and Muslims arising from the partition violence by restoring Sikh shrines in Pakistan and opening them for Sikh pilgrimage. The expatriate Sikhs from England and North America that visited these shrines were at the forefront of the calls for Khalistan. During the pilgrims’ stay in Pakistan, the Sikhs were exposed to Khalistani propaganda, which would not be openly possible in India. 

Former ISI chief, General Abdul Rahman, opened a cell within ISI with the objective of supporting the “[Sikhs’]…freedom struggle against India”. Rahman’s colleagues in ISI took pride in the fact that “the Sikhs were able to set the whole province on fire. They knew who to kill, where to plant a bomb and which office to target.” General Hamid Gul argued that keeping Punjab destabilized was equivalent to the Pakistan Army having an extra division at no cost. In 2019 itself a deadly cocktail China, Pakistan,  Khalistanis and urban Naxalites are taking shape to create a fake propaganda against the Narendra Modi Government and to break India. This deadly cocktail is aided by Pakistan’s notorious agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and is operating through fake accounts and handles on social media. Use the social media for creating an atmosphere of hatred among various communities, fuel communal unrest and ensure that it became part of the political discourse in India. 

Then we had Lt. Colonel Shahid Mehmood Malhi, better known as “Chaudhary Sahib” among the Pakistani military, the mastermind of Referendum 2020. Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has called for Referendum 2020 a campaign to “liberate” Punjab from India and make it a nation-state. With systematic planning and dictation from Pakistan on various occasions, Indian diplomats and consular officials have been banned from entering gurdwaras Sikh places of worship  in Canada and the US. For Referendum 2020 Financial support, Moral backing and propaganda is given by Pakistan and few Anti India Forces. 

Within Punjab Propaganda, drugs, weapons and counterfeit currency has been supplied through Firozpur, Pathankot, Tarantaran and Gurdaspur border districts in vast quantities. To attack Hindu Leaders and revive Terror in Punjab one of the chief plotters, Harmeet Singh alias PHD has shifted his base to Pakistan from Dubai. His plan is to target the Hindu leaders in Punjab. He is being aided by Pakistan’s ISI agency. Along with reviving terrorism in Punjab his task is to fuelling communal tension in other parts of India. 

Attempts to Revive the Khalistan movement 

In November 2018, an attack against the premises of the Sant Nirankari Mission in the Indian state of Punjab once again brought back fears of the revival of Pakistan-backed Sikh separatism, known as the Khalistan movement. In several incidents of terrorist violence since 2015, Hindu leaders have been targeted and assassinated in Punjab. Nearly Six terror modules have been uncovered, and 23 suspected Khalistan terrorists arrested in Punjab since April 2017. ISI officers are acting as handlers and organizers of separatist activities in Canada, Europe, US, UK and Malaysia to revitalize the Khalistan movement. Further, ISI is trying to link up Punjab militants with terrorist organizations operating in Kashmir. 

An American court had convicted Khalid Awan, Canadian of Pakistani descent, of “supporting terrorism” by providing money and financial services to the Khalistan Commando Force chief Paramjit Singh Panjwar in Pakistan. In 2018 Indian Home Ministry has conveyed to a parliamentary panel that “Sikh youth are being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan. Interdictions and interrogations have revealed use of jailed cadres, unemployed youth, criminals and smugglers by Pakistan-based Sikh terror groups for facilitating terror attacks. Sikh youth based or settled in Europe, the US and Canada are also being misguided and instigated against India with false and malicious propaganda” it said. 

While the second generation of the Sikh diaspora often lacks real time exposure to India’s interreligious harmony and diversity. Nurtured on the anti-India propaganda engineered by Sikh extremist leaders and the ISI, the youth are trapped for Khalistan movement. Organizations like Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) and International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) banned in a number of countries including India, the US, Canada and the European Union play an important role in this narrative. They are leading the Farmers Protest internationally now. The 2018 US counterterrorism strategy categorically stated that BKI wants to establish an independent Sikh state through terror and violence.

Unity in Diversity 

So the Indian or overseas Sikh diaspora should not become victims to ISI or Chinese Propaganda.  India’s strength lies in Unity in Diversity when its Torch Bearers are Sikh in a big way why they should be trapped by Pakistan or any other nefarious designs? They should stand and fight against any referendum or Tukde Tukde gang in India as India is stronger to fight these separatist forces. Invaders and challengers came and went, but we live for Peace and development for Humanity. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi said recently “We have told them (Pakistan), if they don’t improve, they know what will happen to them.” It is for us to make our Nation Strong and believe in Unity in Diversity. 

However few leaders are trapped like Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu who said that visiting the neighbour country is better than going to South India due to ‘language and food problems’. But he does not understand that Guru Gobind Singh travelled all over the country in order to escape from the clutches of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, who wished to consolidate his kingdom by defeating the Guru. They visited numerous places across the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh and many of these visits are immortalised in the form of Gurudwaras. 

According to legend one of the Guru’s most beloved followers (Bhai Sahib Singh), also hailed from Bidar in Karnataka. Regions across South India have always had a strong connection with Sikhism. Their legacy as a part of Sikh history cannot be forgotten. Even today, Sikh communities recount these legends with great pride and fervour. So the difference is not Bharat but unity in diversity is Bharat. From North East to South to Kashmir to Maharashtra to Gujarat to Indian Ocean we are all children of Bharatavarsha. Any step to divide us will only make us stronger for the sake of the nation’s unity. 

They want a weak India! 

There is a warning which India has to think very seriously as outside powers try to change public opinion and generate mistrust among the common people. Global powers, nefarious neighbors and regional powers covertly or overtly trying to influence another country has become common in international affairs now which is due to fundamental transformation in Telecommunication and Digital Age. There are many ways that nations have created unrest internal and externally in another nation through bags of cash being delivered, scandalous stories leaked to foreign newspapers, millions of pamphlets with misinformation, posters and stickers printed, create hundreds of social media accounts impersonating and supporting radical groups, planning and promoting rallies, and reaching millions of social media users. They try to intervene in the democratic process by leaking private conversation and secret documents. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as a powerful leader in the world. He is leading the climate and solar alliance and has reached out to the small, medium and powerful nations alike. Few neighbors, regional and multilateral actors don’t like his rise. Such protests are an attempt or an intervention to stop his success. 

China wants a weak India with frail leadership. It is to see this happen, China has adopted a multi-pronged strategy. Firstly, it is supporting terror groups directly in India’s North East and supporting Pakistan directly at the United Nations Security Council. It is also indulging in military exercises with Pakistan and providing it with fighter jets, transferring military hardware to counter India. In order to ensure that Pakistan is fully in its fold, it has forced it into a debt trap. Secondly, Pakistan which is a neighbor to India always wants a weak leadership or a coalition. It has always tried to change perception or create ruckus against the ruling dispensation. It is directly supporting Khalistani forces and Tukde-Tukde gangs of Urban Naxals. In 2019, the then Defence Minister and present finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman accused opposition parties of seeking help from Pakistan to “remove Narendra Modi as the PM.” Thirdly, the use of Social Media to create unrest in India is a major factor. Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg has admitted prior to Parliament Elections that he was “sure someone’s trying” to meddle in elections via Facebook. The big revelations by Zuckerberg came after the Narendra Modi government had cautioned him following Facebook’s admission that Cambridge Analytica used data that had been collected from 50 million users without their consent, which is an act of breach of privacy. 

The nexus of Communists and Urban Naxals who are most likely funded by China have not left the iPhone manufacturing plant, run by Taiwan-based tech giant Wistron Corporation at Narsapura in Karnataka. A majority of the nearly 2,000 employees, who were exiting the facility after completing their night-shift, went on a rampage destroying the company’s furniture, assembly units and even attempted to set fire to vehicles. Wistron had received 43 acres at Narasapura industrial area from the state government after it proposed to invest around Rs 2,900 crore and give employment to over 10,000 people. The Narasapura facility is being used to manufacture Apple’s smartphone iPhoneSE, Internet of Things (IOT) products and biotech devices. Nearly 460 Crores loss has been reported and iPhone’s have been stolen too. After the Covid-19 downturn in the economy, when many countries in the world want to invest in India, a systematic effort is being made to destabilize FDI flow to India that too from a friendly country like Taiwan. The external ‘nation state’ which is said to be behind such incidents is anybody’s guess. 

At last we can conclude that there are very powerful vested interests in India and abroad who don’t want a strong vibrant India with strong leadership or a major pan-India political party to emerge in the country which caters to all interests and concerns. They wish to see a scrambled alliance of self-serving political parties who cannot take decisions which are of national interest. These external entities wish that India should be a mild power and should not interfere with neighbors, or in regional or global affairs. It is now evident that they all have ganged up using the farmers issue as a launch pad to create ruckus. When the Government of India is unequivocally inviting anyone to come, discuss and solve the concerns, why are the organisers of the protests not interested to meet and solve the issue? 

Ultimately India is for all. One cannot go on creating ruckus for long. India’s leaders are strong enough to handle these types of forces which are supported and guided by external entities. Anti-India forces have to understand that India has internal and external strength to withstand any confusion created by them as India believes in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which aims to unite everyone unlike hegemonistic forces which wish to divide people.

Chandrashekar TS

M.AM.PhiL/(PhD SNU South Korea)