A bizarre separatist rant, the creation of Khalistan would act as a “buffer state” to prevent a nuclear conflict in South Asia
PAROMITA DAS
Simranjit Singh Mann, a Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) MP from Sangrur, went on a bizarre separatist rant on July 14 in which he claimed that the creation of Khalistan would act as a “buffer state” and prevent a nuclear conflict in South Asia.
“First, they (the BJP-led Central government) should respond as to whether or not they can keep India intact,” Mann said. Khalistan will become a buffer state if they approve. In order to prevent a nuclear conflict from breaking out in South Asia, Khalistan would act as a buffer between the nuclear-armed Islamic Pakistan, the nuclear-armed Hindu India, and the nuclear-armed Comrade China.
The pro-Khalistan MP claimed that since India was “giving away its land to Pakistan and China,” the demand for Khalistan was acceptable.
Of course, he made no mention of how establishing Khalistan would prevent a nuclear war in South Asia. This seems to be yet another pointless tirade to justify the hatred and separatism that fuel the demand to partition India and establish Khalistan as a separate country for Sikhs.
Simranjit Singh Mann continued after that. He continued by attempting to incite the residents of Haryana as well.
He claimed that the fact that a Punjabi, not a Hariyanvi, is in charge of Haryana’s people should make them feel ashamed. He added that gangsters originate in Haryana, not Punjab.
Simranjit Singh Mann’s unsettling victory in Punjab is concerning.
The by-election results for several Lok Sabha and Assembly seats across states, including the Lok Sabha seat in Sangrur, Punjab, which became vacant after Bhagwant Mann, the MP from Sangrur, was elected Chief Minister of Punjab, were announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on June 26. Gurmail Singh received a ticket from the Aam Aadmi Party but lost to Simranjit Singh Mann of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar).
Mann received 2,52,898 votes, while Gurmail Singh of the AAP received 2,46,828 votes, out of a total turnout of 7,10,825 voters. Simranjit Singh Mann has long been a supporter of the Khalistan moment, so Shiromani Akali Dal’s attempt to win the votes of Khalistani sympathisers by fielding the sister of Balwant Singh Rajoana failed. Rajoana was unable to garner more than 50,000 votes. There were also 1,203 postal ballots cast, of which Mann received 256 and Singh received 504 votes.
The Khalistan movement has long enjoyed the open support of Simranjit Singh Mann. Due to Operation Blue Star, which the Indian government launched to exterminate Khalistani terrorists hiding out in Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, he had left the Police Services.
According to reports, his party members shouted “pro-Khalistan” at the Golden Temple during this year’s Operation Blue Star anniversary.
“May 2021 bring freedom for the Sikh community in form of ‘Khalistan’ that will eradicate social evils such as coercion, discrimination, greed, ego, etc. and restore human values, mutual love, respect, and cooperation,” he tweeted as he expressed his best wishes for the new year.
On the anniversary of Operation Blue Star in 2018, he posted pictures of security personnel in action and wrote, “This naked show of force by the Indian state is to show the world how this Hindu state treats the stateless Sikhs. The Hindu state continues to believe that Sikhs will be scared off by machine guns and turn away from using peaceful means to establish the Sikh state of Khalistan.
Simranjit Singh Mann frequently discussed a separate state for Sikhs and openly demanded Khalistan. According to reports, he may have been detained more than 30 times, including on sedition-related charges, but he was never found guilty.
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