The situation in one of the most highly sensitive border states, Punjab, is turning grim. A second alleged incident of sacrilege was reported from Punjab’s Kapurthala less than 24 hours after the incident at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The man was beaten to death.
The police said that the man had entered the gurdwara for committing theft. On Saturday a man suspected of trying to commit a sacrilegious act at the Golden Temple in Amritsar was also lynched. The man allegedly barged into the inner sanctum, where Sikhism’s holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, is kept. Sikhs regard the Guru Granth Sahib as not just the holy scripture of their religion but also as the living guru and believe it should be treated with respect as a human might be.
The desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib is a highly emotive issue among the Sikh community. Several desecrations took place in 2014 and 2015, and it became a major political issue during Punjab’s elections in 2017 and 2019. This kind of incident, arising just months ahead of the election, points towards the possibility of a deep conspiracy. Punjab, which shares international border with Pakistan, is a sensitive state. For years, it was battered by terrorism. Sikh separatists waged terrorism, seeking a separate nation.
Normalcy had returned after much sacrifice. The repeated incidents of alleged attempts of sacrilege followed by lynching have the potential to push the state into chaos. Both Punjab, as well as the government of India, should join hands and make effort to keep the state peaceful.