The detention of Amritpal Singh, chief of ‘Waris Punjab De', and three associates was set to expire on July 24, while the NSA detention for six other associates was to end on June 18.
In his first electoral contest, Sikh radical Amritpal Singh, won the Khadoor Sahib seat by 1,97,120 votes over his nearest rival, Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira.
During the farmers' protest, the actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu attempted to broaden the agenda of the agitation into fighting for the "rights of Punjab". Amritpal is said to have been a vocal supporter of Sidhu and his role in the agitation. Sidhu is alleged to have led a group of farmers to storm the Red Fort in Delhi on the Republic Day of 2021. He was arrested for the action and spent a few months in prison. After getting released on bail, he founded the Waris Punjab De ("Heirs of Punjab") organisation to fight for what he termed the rights of Punjab.
Amritpal also became a part of Waris Punjab De, remotely from Dubai. Others have said that Sidhu did not appreciate the "Khalistani" slant of Amritpal and blocked him from the audio discussion forum during the farmers' protests. Sidhu is also said to have blocked Amritpal's phone from his personal contacts in February 2022.[46]
In Dubai, Amritpal Singh is said to have come in contact with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which has supported the Khalistan movement in the past. He was in touch with Jaswant Singh Rode, a nephew of Bhindranwale and brother of Lakhbir Singh Rode who runs the International Sikh Youth Federation from Lahore, and a Babbar Khalsa militant called Paramjit Singh Pamma. Through them, he is said to have gotten in touch with Avtar Singh Khanda, a UK-based Sikh activist belonging to Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), whose father is a member of the Khalistan Liberation Force. According to Indian intelligence, Khanda then groomed Amritpal Singh to be a Khalistan activist, including sending him to Georgia for training.
Succession to Deep Sidhu
After the sudden death of Deep Sidhu in February 2022,[54] a letter appeared on a Facebook account of Waris Punjab De on 4 March 2022 appointing Amritpal as the organisation's leader.[46] The appointment remains controversial. According to some sources, Sidhu had appointed Harnek Singh Uppal as the head of the organisation even while he was alive. So Sidhu's death did not make a difference to the organisation. A break-away faction of the organisation apparently chose Amritpal as its leader using a "hacked" Facebook account, while the original organisation has continued under Uppal (now called the "Deep Sidhu faction"). Sidhu's family disowned Amritpal and called for an investigation into his antecedents.
Amritpal returned to Punjab in August 2022 with a flowing beard and turban.[44] He gave up his role in the family's business and also his permanent resident status in Canada.[12] In September, he got baptised at Anandpur Sahib in front of a larger gathering.[57][39] A week later, a dastarbandi (turban tying ceremony) was held for him in the Rode village in Moga district, the native place of former militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.[12][41] By this time, Amritpal Singh was already being treated as a big leader. He was lodged in the house of the sarpanch (head of village) and a long line of people came to see him. His dastarbandi served as his inauguration as the head of Waris Punjab De, amid slogans of "Khalistan Zindabad".[12][39]
In his inauguration speech, Amritpal said that the Sikhs had been slaves for 150 years, first to the British and later to the "Hindus". The only way to be totally free is to have "Sikh rule". Passing 15 resolutions including one saying that nobody could "interfere" with Sikh affairs, he declared a "fight for freedom". "Our waters are being looted", "our Guru is being desecrated", "factories encroached into our land", “our groundwater has depleted”, "our turbans are being disrespected", and “the head of our nation calls us keshdhari (long-haired) Hindus”. These were all alleged to be signs of slavery.
Campaigning and Prachaar
Soon after his initiation, Amritpal Singh started a campaign to motivate youth to shun drugs and irreligious (patit) lifestyle, calling them to the gurdwaras to receive baptism (amrit-sanchaar). His efforts received praise from religious authorities. An official of the Akal Takht said that, whereas normally they would receive around 200 youth for baptism on a Sunday, Amritpal's efforts resulted in over 1,000 people coming. Amritpal has visited the outlying regions of Sikhism such as Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan and places in Haryana, and he is also said to have attracted people from far away places such as Delhi, Maharashtra and Jammu.[58][12][59]
Later in November, he started a Khalsa Vaheer tour (religious procession to spread the Sikh belief) through the state of Punjab, to motivate youth to take up Khalsa (pure Sikh order). He marched from Amritsar to Anandpur Sahib over the period of a month. He was accompanied by supporters carrying automatic guns and bullets During the events, he is reported to have preached radical views, glorifying weapons and violence.By the end of December, he had baptised more than 3000 youth, with the alleged motive of inducting them into Khalistan activism.
Drug rehabilitation
Amritpal opened up a drug rehab facility and many, such as local journalists Amandeep Sandhu and Sandeep Singh (the latter having interviewed Amritpal in Dubai), attribute his wide popularity to his willingness to tackle social issues head-on, such as the drug problem, when previous governments have failed to solve these issues.[63] Drug addiction and abuse are serious issues in Punjab, a study by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in 2022 revealed around 15.4% of the state's population of 30 million were narcotic users.[63][64]
Indian security agencies have stated that, although he presented himself as an anti-drug activist, he was in contact with people in Dubai and London who were involved in smuggling drugs into Punjab. He was suspected of using his drug de-addiction centers to set up hideouts and storehouses for weapons being smuggled from Pakistan using drones.[25]
An investigative report by India Today found that the "drug rehabilitation" centers indulged in several irregularities, including administering random pills to inmates and beating those who attempted to leave the center. Police footage showed a number of illegal firearms being seized from the center. The police accused him of using the centers to rope in drug addicts into his private militia, the Anand Khalsa Fauj.[65]
Early controversies
In October 2022, in one of his speeches, Amritpal said, "Jesus who could not save himself, how he will save everyone else?" which was termed hate speech by members of the Christian community. The Christian community staged a four hours-long protest against Amritpal at PAP Chowk for his remarks about Jesus Christ. The protesters demanded that an FIR should be lodged against him under 295A of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) for "hurting religious sentiments and attempting to aggravate communal divisions".[66][67][68]
On 7 October, the Twitter account of Amritpal was withheld in India for his remarks and pro-Khalistani tweets.[39] The Ministry of Home Affairs also instructed the state government of Punjab to remain vigilant over his activities.[69]
With Amritpal's Facebook account already being suspended, his Instagram account was suspended on 25 February 2023. In retaliation, Amritpal supporters clashed with the police, resulting in six policemen being injured.[70][71]
Khalistan and Bhindranwale styling
Amritpal openly supports the cause of Khalistan, the separatist movement calling for a separate homeland/country for people of Sikh faith. He has given several statements in which he openly rallies for Khalistan stating, "Our aim for Khalistan shouldn't be seen as evil and taboo. It should be seen from an intellectual point of view as to what could be its geopolitical benefits. It's an ideology and ideology never dies. We are not asking for it from Delhi". He further stated in a separate instance that the Khalistan sentiment will remain in the population and that no one can suppress it.[72] He threatened Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying that he will meet the same fate as Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.[73]
Singh has stated that Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in Operation Blue Star in 1984, is his hero.[12] He dresses and presents himself in a similar manner, wearing a turban and traditional robes[74] and moving with heavily armed men around him.[2][73] He also entered the Golden Temple with a group of armed men called Faujaan.[75] A minority of his supporters have referred to him as a second Bhindranwale.[
