Amritpal Singh: Who is he and why was he arrested?
INTERPRETER
The 30-year-old self-proclaimed pastor and Sikh separatist has been arrested by Indian police after a months-long manhunt.
Indian police have arrested 30-year-old Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh, who is reviving calls for an independent Sikh homeland in Punjab and fueling fears of violence in a state with a history of bloody rebellion.
Here’s what you need to know about Singh’s notoriety and his arrest:
Who is Amritpal Singh?
Much of Singh’s early life remains shrouded in mystery. He lived in the Amritsar district of Punjab before moving to Dubai at the age of 19, where he worked for his family’s transportation company. He then returned to India in September last year.
That month, he was appointed head of Waris Punjab De, an organization founded by Deep Sidhu, an Indian actor and activist who died in a road accident in February 2022.
The organization was part of a massive campaign to mobilize farmers against the agrarian reforms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Since returning to India, Singh has led marches calling for the rights of Sikhs, who make up 1.7 percent of India’s population, to be protected.
Singh’s speeches have become increasingly popular among supporters of the Khalistan movement.
What is the Khalistan Movement?
The Khalistan movement began around the time India gained independence from colonial British rule in 1947, when some Sikhs called for the establishment of an independent Sikh nation in the state of Punjab.
The movement reached its peak in the 1970s and 1980s.
Singh claims to have taken inspiration from Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a leading figure in the movement during this period. Bhindranwale advocated more autonomy within the Punjab state and not a separate Sikh state.
The Indian government accused Bhindranwale of leading an armed insurgency that left thousands dead in two decades of violence.
Bhindranwale and his supporters were killed in 1984 when the Indian army stormed the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine in the Sikh religion.
Singh has imitated Bhindranwale’s style by donning similar clothes and growing a long beard.
Speaking at a September rally in Bhindranwale’s home village, Singh said every drop of his blood was dedicated to “freedom for the community”.
“We are all still slaves. … We must fight for freedom,” said Singh.
The Khalistan movement is considered a threat to security by the current Indian government and has been banned.
Why was Singh arrested?
The chain of events leading to Singh’s arrest began in February when hundreds of his supporters stormed a police station in Punjab at gunpoint to demand the release of a captured aide.
On March 18, Punjab police set up roadblocks and deployed thousands of personnel to arrest him for his involvement in the storming of the police station.
However, Singh managed to escape during a chase, some of which was broadcast livestreamed by his associates.
Indian authorities then launched a month-long manhunt, deploying thousands of paramilitary soldiers and shutting down mobile internet services in some parts of Punjab.
Police said they also arrested 154 of Singh’s supporters and seized 10 guns and ammunition while he was on the run.
Singh was finally arrested on Sunday in Rode village in Punjab’s Moga district in Gurdwara village, a Sikh place of worship. He was arrested under the National Security Act, which allows those deemed a threat to national security to be held without charge for up to a year.
A top Punjab police official said Singh would be transferred to Dibrugarh in the northeastern state of Assam, where some of his associates are already in jail.