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COMMENTARY

February 23, 2013 vol xlviiI no 8 EPW Economic & PoliticalWeekly16

Gun Culture in Punjab

Sucha Singh Gill

Sucha Singh Gill (dgcrrid@yahoo.in) isDirector General, Centre for Research in Rural

and Industrial Development, Chandigarh.

A burgeoning gun culture in

Punjab, aided by changes in the

police administration that have

made officers subordinate to

full-time politicians, has led to

meaningless violence breaking

out every now and then. In the

absence of mass mobilisation andwelfare-oriented politics, this

has furthered the growth of a

politician-criminal nexus.

Aseries of violent incidents involv-

ing supporters and activists of

the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal

(SAD) in Punjab have made headlines in

the national media. Police officers, reve-

nue staff, tax officials, hoteliers, teenage

girls, political opponents, and the com-

mon people have been victims in these

incidents. In two prominent episodes in

2012, the victims were young girls. In the

first case, a 15-year-old girl was abducted

during the day from her house in Faridkot

town. Her parents were injured and the

neighbours were kept at bay by firing

guns in the air. In the second case, the

daughter of an assistant sub-inspector

(ASI) of police was harassed by an armed

group of youth in a car in Amritsar. When

theASI, who was in uniform, tried to stop

the delinquents, he was injured. With

their ammunition running out, they wentto the house of a member of the group to

fetch a gun and shot theASIdead in full

view of his young daughter and a crowd.

In another incident, an assistant inspec-

tor general (AIG) police was assaulted in

Ludhiana, fracturing his leg. Earlier, atehsildar was assaulted in his office in

Ludhiana in the presence of a crowd,

and a hotelier was killed in Jalandhar.

The media alleged that supporters and

functionaries of the SADwere involved

in all these cases. They attracted wide

publicity and the persons involved were

arrested and cases registered against

them. But there are a large number of

cases that go unreported in the media.

In many of them, the victims are ordinary

people living in rural areas and small

towns. The Congress has been complain-

ing that a large number of its members

and supporters have been framed by the

police. The Peoples Party of Punjab led

by former SADfinance minister Manpreet

Singh Badal has also made similar charges.

The frightened people are fast losing

trust in the police, which tends to act in

a partisan manner when charges are

made against ruling party members,

supporters, or sympathisers. The rulingSAD-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance

has been in denial, stating that those

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involved in crimes have been expelled

from the SADor are not related to the

party. They have even been labelled as

drug peddlers. But the sequence of the

events before and after ugly incidents

makes these claims ring hollow.

The people of the state have had to put

up with the overbearing behaviour ofruling politicians during elections to

urban local bodies and panchayati raj

institutions. It is alleged that several

members of the Opposition were not

allowed to file nomination papers and

some of those who did were made to

withdraw. Those who insisted on con-

testing were not allowed to put up their

booths near polling stations and their

supporters were prevented from voting.

All this did little for grass-roots demo-

cracy, and decentralised governance

and development in the state. In these

circumstances, mass mobilisation for

democratic protests becomes very diffi-

cult, if not impossible. The trend of un-

dermining freedom runs deep. Running

an independent business in the real es-

tate, television, transport, or hotel and

restaurant segments is well-nigh impos-

sible unless one supports the ruling alli-

ance or a ruling party member/supporter

has a share in the business.

Emergence of Gun Culture

The violence of the ruling elite cannot

be explained without looking back to

the terrorist bloodshed in the state dur-

ing 1982-92. During this decade, politi-

cal leaders and activists who ran the risk

of being attacked were provided gun-

men by the state. The terrorists killed

several leaders who opposed them, while

many of them were killed in encounters,

often staged. Senior leaders were pro-

vided a large number of gunmen and

security personnel who escorted them

while travelling.

This continues today though the ter-

rorist violence ended two decades ago.

Political leaders travelling by road now

have police escorts who clear the way by

using sirens, lathis, and guns, while

driving very fast. Such rash driving

frequently results in accidents. Vehicles

with flashing lights have become a statussymbol in the state. Political leaders,

police officers, and bureaucrats have such

lights on their cars, which also exempts

them from paying tolls. Many jump red

lights at crossings, as though showing

the youth that it is not worth observing

traffic rules. The culture of armed

guards and rash driving is a legacy of the

terrorist phase in Punjab. In addition,

this phase weakened mass mobilisationand protest movements in the state.

Trade unions and labour movements are

now at a low ebb, while the farmers

movement, once very powerful, is frag-

mented and weak. Political parties occa-

sionally hold rallies to demonstrate their

strength but have been unable to launch

any mass movement. The dominant

ones use money and muscle power to

garner electoral support.

The way in which electoral support is

mobilised and the manner in which the

political leadership has projected its

power have promoted a gun culture in

the state. Popular folk songs today por-

tray Jat or Punjabi youths dancing with

guns and enjoying alcohol, and they are

played in buses plying in the state. The

leaders of political parties and members

of the State Legislative Assembly and

Parliament (MLAsand MPs) get security

guards at the cost of the state exchequer.

Of course, lower-level leaders and cadresare not that privileged. Besides police

security guards, the leaders have licenced

weapons of their own.

The lower level leaders and cadres

imitate their leaders in terms of dress and

eating habits, and in acquiring weapons

too. A press report (Tribune, 28 Decem-

ber 2012) had the startling figure of

3,25,000 licences for guns in the state.

The most are in Gurdaspur district, fol-

lowed by Bathinda, Ludhiana, Jalandhar,

Patiala, and Amritsar in descending order.

Sometimes, one licensee is allowed more

than two weapons. The main accused in

theASImurder case in Amritsar had three

weapons on one licence, which means

that the number of privately-owned

weapons in the state is in excess of

3,25,000. This is in addition to the weap-

ons possessed by the security forces and

the illegal guns possessed by criminals.

Having a weapon has become a fashion

statement and a matter of prestige forinfluential people, creating a gun culture

in the state.

Guns are now displayed in public, es-

pecially at marriage ceremonies and on

other festive occasions. One hears gun-

shots being fired at marriage celebra-

tions. Guns have a great role to play in

intimidating opponents at election time.

They help whichever is the ruling party

win contests in strategic locations. Gunsand those who can fire them in the air or

at a target when the situation demands

it are critical in constituencies with

tight contests. An incident indicating

the growing importance of such persons

was narrated by a high-level official

on condition of anonymity. A cabinet

minister went to have a cup of tea in the

Patiala home of a person facing several

criminal charges, making a deputy super-

intendent of police wait outside. The

embarrassed officer was not only miser-

able, but also wondered aloud how law

and order could be maintained in such

a situation. This is what has happened

in the state.

Partisan Police

There has been a radical change in the

police administration in the state. Earli-

er, the police administration in a district

was run by the senior superintendent of

police (SSP) with the help of several sub-ordinate officers and constables. It was

the SSPs prerogative to appoint those in

charge of police stations, or station house

officers (SHOs), and other personnel. A

couple of years ago, police stations were

placed under halqa (constituency) in-

charges, who are ruling party MLAs or

defeated candidates in the assembly

election (if the MLAis from an Opposi-

tion party). SHOs now work under the

overall guidance of those who are consti-

tuency in-charges. They are not chosen

by the SSP, but by the constituency

in-charge, an active politician. The primary

interest of a constituency in-charge is

promoting his or her partys interests in

the constituency. This leads to the use or

abuse of police force, and its effects can

be seen in the implementation of welfare

schemes and centrally-sponsored pro-

grammes. Party supporters are favoured

even when they are found to be not eligi-

ble, and the deserving are denied bene-fits when they do not back the party

in power.

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Making SHOssubordinate to constitu-

ency in-charges has played a huge role

in promoting the gun culture and the

issue of gun licences to party cadres on a

massive scale. Those involved in killing

the ASI in Amritsar and the Chadha

brothers in Delhi had been issued arms

licences in Punjab. In both cases, theypossessed multiple weapons. The exis-

tence of such a large number of licenced

weapons tempts people to use them in

feuds over petty issues. SHOsplay a cru-

cial role in the weapons licensing proce-

dure because they give the final clear-

ance certificate that district magistrates

use as the basis for granting arms licences.

Of course, an SHOs report is routed

through the SSP, who has no other chan-

nel to verify how deserving an applicant

is. And SHOsnow act under the guidance

of constituency in-charges who seek to

promote themselves by getting licence

clearance certificates for their support-

ers. Long-term law and order is thus be-

ing sacrificed on the altar of immediate

popularity and support. According to

the news report, of the 3,25,000 licen-

ces, 50% are for double-barrelled guns,

30% for pistols and revolvers, and 20%

for rifles. This has created a nexus bet-

ween petty criminals and politicians,not to mention the one between the

police and politicians.

The police administration in the state

has meekly surrendered to a partisan

way of managing it. This is because some

important police officers face court cases

for allegedly misusing their authority.

Some officers got quick promotions dur-

ing the phase of terrorism without under-

going the necessary training, passing

promotion examinations, or meeting other

requirements. To maintain their posi-

tions, which are considered lucrative,

these officers have learnt to accommo-

date politicians. They do so to such an

extent that they do not protest even

when they are superseded by their

juniors. The conduct of these officers is

so well known that they are easily iden-

tified as being with the SAD or the

Congress. This has diminished profes-

sionalism among them and seriously im-

paired their ability to function objectively.There is neither an internal process

within the police administration nor the

political will among dominant politicians

to rectify this.

Politics as Business

With politics emerging as a very profita-

ble occupation, winning elections is of

paramount importance. Since there is

no mass mobilisation, weapon-wieldingsupporters and allies become very handy

for emerging victorious. The electoral

process promotes the politician-petty

criminal nexus. This has become impor-

tant in the absence of welfare-oriented

politics. The poor financial health of

governments in the last two decades has

pushed the welfare role of politics as

well as mass mobilisation to the back-

ground, increasing the part of money

and muscle power in politics. The cur-

rent phase of violence against women,

lower-level state officials, and common

people is a manifestation of the politician-

musclemen nexus. This has decreased

the role of dissent in politics and within

political parties. Outside criticism is not

acceptable to political leaders, who can

pay for favourable news reports. Those

who cannot be bought are threatened by

using the police or thugs. This shows the

diminished role of dissent and different

viewpoints, so essential for a workingdemocracy, in the state today.

The gun culture and violence is bound

to be inimical to decentralised gover-

nance and development in the state. It

has already affected the performance of

the government machinery, especially

tax collection. Tax collection is consider-

ably lower than its potential level, which

has eroded the capacity of the government

to undertake development and welfare

activities. It is in the larger interest of the

state and society to eliminate the culture

of violence that prevails among its elite.

The violence cannot be contained by

patchwork solutions or cosmetic measures

like transferring low-performing officers.

It is the underlying structure responsible

for this that has to be dismantled. Even

the recent government announcement

that women and children will not be

summoned to police stations cannot be

effectively implemented without bring-

ing down this structure.To control violence, the proliferation

of guns has to be checked, while the

police and administration are depoliti-

cised. As a first step, the licences issued

for guns in the state during the last one

decade have to be reviewed. A screening

process has to be carried out at the dis-

trict level by a committee of experts. The

licences of those who do not face any

threat need to be cancelled and theirguns deposited with the police. This will

not succeed if the extra-constitutional

practice of appointing constituency in-

charges, who have a lot of power but

no responsibility, is not stopped. The

authority of district police officers must

be restored, and they will be able to

exercise it if their records are clean. It is,

therefore, necessary to ensure that all

officers who face court cases should not

be given such responsibilities. This re-

quires that ruling politicians rise above

petty politics and act as statesmen. Such

a change is necessary to safeguard the

long-term interests of Punjabs society

and economy.

SurveySeptember 8, 2012

Revisiting Communalism and

Fundamentalism in Indiaby

Surya Prakash Upadhyay, Rowena Robinson

This comprehensive review of the literature on

communalism and its virulent offshoot,

fundamentalism in India considers the various

perspectives from which the issue has soughtto be understood, from precolonial and colonial

times to the post-Independence period. The

writings indicate that communalism is an outcome

of the competitive aspirations of domination

and counter-domination that began in colonial

times. Cynical distortions of the democratic

process and the politicisation of religion in the

early decades of Independence intensified it. Inrecent years, economic liberalisation, the growth

of opportunities and a multiplying middle class

have further aggravated it. More alarmingly,

since the 1980s, Hindu communalism has

morphed into fundamentalism, with the Sangh

parivar and its cultural politics of Hindutva

playing ominous roles.

For copies write to:

Circulation Manager,

Economic and Political Weekly,

320-321, A to Z Industrial Estate,

Ganpatrao Kadam Marg, Lower Parel,

Mumbai 400 013.

email: circulation@epw.in