Losing the Way

Simranjit Singh Mann’s astounding victory over the Aam Aadmi Party candidate in the Sangrur Parliamentary bypoll, coming on the heel of the AAP’s victory in the state election months ago, is representative of the turmoil underway in Punjab. The virtual disappearance of the mainstream Akali Dal has opened up a huge space in the politics of the Sikh majority in the state and Mann, a maverick radical Sikh politician who has always been on the extreme right of the spectrum of splinter Akali groups, marks only the beginning of a period in which various new alternatives will emerge to fill this vacuum.
Based in Punjab as a reporter, over twenty years ago, I found that, while reporting on elections in rural areas, it paid to take the litany of complaints voters had against the local Akali candidate with a pinch of salt. This was especially true of the Jutt Sikhs, who owned much of the land and provided much of the resources—from money and muscle to madira—that make for a successful campaign in Punjab. After the vote, the most vocal critics of the candidate would tell me, “Vote te panth nu paya”—I have voted for my religious sect, meaning Sikhism, hence the Akali Dal.
Today, in Punjab the easy identification of the panth with a party no longer exists, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party—representing the fledgling Hindutva panth—rules the country.
この記事は The Caravan の July 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Caravan の July 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン

Adani's Millions in Mauritius
The ED and CBI were investigating AgustaWestland kickbacks. They found Adani’s network.

BREATHING SPACE
STUDENTS PROTEST SAVE THE UNIVERSITY ΤΟ OF HYDERABAD'S LAND AND IDEALS

Trojan Horse
The BJP's alliance with the AIADMK masks its long game for Tamil Nadu / Politics

OUT Caste in the campus novel OF SYLLABUS
THE CAMPUS NOVEL HAS CAUGHT UP and discovered caste, now a box to be dutifully ticked.

Documenting riverine communities amid Panama’s greatest ever drought where water remembers
WHEN JENENÉ, our portrait of the Chagres River, was being published, in 2023, Panama experienced its worst drought in over a century. My collaborator, Andrea Lino, and I were aware that the water shortage was becoming increasingly acute, due to climate change, but had no idea this drought would occur so soon after or be so severe. While local communities have borne the brunt, the impact has been felt across the world.

Kunal Kamra: "I'm okay without solidarity"
How to make jokes in the face of state repression

KARNATAKA SOCIAL WELFARE MINISTRY REDEFINING WELFARE
The Government of Karnataka is paving the way for positive change, ensuring that welfare programs reach those who need them most, creating a future of equality and empowerment. Under the visionary leadership of Karnataka's Social Welfare Minister Dr. H C Mahadevappa, transformative policies are driving inclusive growth, justice, empowering SC/ST communities, and shaping a future where every citizen thrives.

Karnataka's Model of Development
Inclusive Growth, Social Justice, and a Vision for the Future

The Adivasi Should Not Dance
Assam's grand displays of culture ignore the issues of indigenous communities /Communities

Out of Place
In November 2022, a confrontation over podu—shifting cultivation practised on forest land—between forest officials and Gutti Koya Adivasis in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district ended with the death of Chalamala Srinivas Rao, a forest range officer.