Prime Minister Narendra Modi simply can’t win with the Diaspora Sikhs, especially those whose lives rotate on Indian Prime Ministers being perpetual enemies. Despite hundreds of social media, WhattsApp groups, websites run by many Sikh individuals and organisations, one news seems to have been missing in all of them. That is the latest news on the MSP, the subsidy for wheat and rice, hot off the press but not in their press.
The threat of withdrawing MSP or Minimum Support Price, was one of the main reasons that the global Sikh community went into an overdrive, literally overdriving trucks, tractors and in more urban places, cars, to express their anger at the notorious Modi Farm Laws. They were declaring their support for the hundreds of thousands of Punjabi farmers who were protesting, braving rain, sun, cold, and sun in Delhi.
Now Modiji has gone and done something that has put many of them in a state of utter disbelief. So dreadful is this situation, that the ‘diaspora Sikh activists’ are lost both for words and actions! They don’t want to believe Modi ji can be so irresponsible! Normally they can dig news from the deepest inner sanctum of Indian establishment. This time they have adopted the approach, see no good, hear no good, speak no good, of the enemy! What has Modi done?
Modiji has supported MSP! SUPPORTED MSP! And what’s more Modiji has taken a warrior like stand at the World Trade Organisation, WTO, in support of protecting the farmers of India, including Punjab. He is not supposed to do that! Modi is meant to be the permanent ‘enemy’ of these protesting Sikh groups. Modi has taken their side. WHAT WILL THEY PROTEST ABOUT NOW?
But it gets more tricky. Facts are challenging sensitivities and loyalties!
At the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, the USA leading G-7 group (which includes the favourite new homeland of Sikhs, Canada) have criticised India for refusing to bring its MSP in line with WTO rules. They accuse India of ‘distorting the market’ by giving MSP of 50% above production costs. This breached WTO rules that restrict it to only 10% above production costs. USA et all went as far as saying that India’s policy is making the grain crises from Ukraine worse.
Now the West has been quite hysterical and emotional about the Ukraine and has sunk ‘logic’ to an abyss of irrationality. It has been shrieking that Moscow wants to occupy all of Europe and even London and Buckingham Palace (King Putin) and must be stopped. Most of the non-western world has been wondering if the West has gone bonkers and wants to stay out of the conflict, much to the insomniac frustration of the G-7 + rest of west.
But to accuse India’s MSP for the world grain crises is taking even irrational statements to a new standard of creationist paranoia.
PM Modi’s Government wants WTO rules to change and permit ‘developing’ countries to give more than 10% MSP above production cost and not be charged at WTO of breaking rules. The US, Canada, Australia and a few others want India to reduce MSP so they can sell their own grain in Indian market and rest of world without competition from India.
The diasporic Sikhs are quiet, perhaps in shock or turning a blind eye to these pesky facts. No word of praise for Modi has been uttered even in whispers. But their biggest dilemma now is, will they drive their trucks, tractors and cars to the White House, or Trudeau’s front door and demand ‘take your grubby hands off our MSP’. It’s a double whammy. First Modi comes to their side, and then their ‘new homelands’ are in fact destroying their relatives in Punjab.
But God is kind, June has come to the rescue. It’s the month when annual rallies by followers of Gandhian Ahimsa, are held to vent anger about the 1984 attack on Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) by India. Around the world, 360⁰. As Modi is the current Prime Minister of India, he is the target of ‘Modi, Hai Hai, Khalistan Zindabad’. His role in the narrative is to be the bad guy. He has broken that contract! God save the Sikhs, never short of a Schtick.
Citizen Rahul Seeks Equality
Rahul Bhai Gandhi wants to be a citizen and wants his rights under the Constitution! A Constitution that his family in history has treated as ‘house rules’, changed and interpreted as their majesty’s wished. Millions have suffered from the Gandhi family interpretations. Now the Constitution has turned on him. It hurts.
Like courtiers at the Palace, Congress leaders have been protesting at Jantar Mantar for the Prince. They are protesting that the ‘family’ is being victimised and that Enforcement Directorate (ED) has no power to question the Shahebzada of India, Rahul Bhai Gandhi. Even Kapil Sibal has got into the act.
This is the Constitution that Great Grand Daddy made after plagiarising the 1935 British India Act. It is committed to secularism. When minority religions asked for their culture to be given statutory protection, Great Grand Daddy Nehru, said ‘Nahi ho sakta’ we are now secular. But when Hindus asked for cow protection, Nehru seeing votes sliding, quickly enacted ‘cow protection law’, treating cow as a minority. Although they say there are more cows in India than people. When asked, he said it is ‘Indian secularism’, really meaning Nehru secularism dependent on vote banks. Minorities then reverted to non-voting methods to get their version of Indian secularism in law.
Then Grandmother Gandhi decided Indian Constitution only requires one vote to win. So she disenfranchised all Indians of a vote and by her single vote, she brought in the Emergency in 1975. She called it Indian-type democracy. Or Gandhi interpretation of the Constitution. The Sikhs and the international community chased her out after two years, 80,000 in jails, many tortured and the hapless Dr Subramaniam Swamy having to run from the country, seeking refuge in a Harvard teaching post. Modi ji escaped by tying on a turban and pretended to be a Sikh sewadar at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in Delhi.
Then family interpretation of the Constitution led to attack on Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) to ‘arrest’ Bhindrawallah and 24 others. Twelve were already dead and others were not present there. There was no charge sheet against Bhindrawallah. No court case. But who cared about such literal interpretation of constitution! It was the Gandhi family interpretation. She decided he was a terrorist and one morning decided she needs to send in the Army to arrest him. Didn’t end well for her.
Then Daddy Gandhi, suspended State and the Constitution’s primary duty of protection of life and liberty through the 59th amendment in 1989. Rajiv Gandhi, treating the Constitution as house rules, decided that as Sovereign family, he can behead people at will (or under his will) and not be bound by silly European ideas of the State’s purpose to protect life and liberty. The trigger-happy Punjab Police was over the moon and went on a shooting spree, termed ‘encounters’ and ‘eliminated’ over 20,000 young men. UN and many Governments reminded Rajiv that life and liberty is the basic purpose of the Constitution.
Then he brought in a number of laws for detention without charges, without trials and you name it. The Constitution was what the Gandhis wanted it to be, albeit with the help of a flock sheep in Parliament shepherded to agree with King Gandhi. Under TADA, 78,000 Gujratis ended in detention without charges in Gujrat where there was no known terrorism. About 75,000 Punjabi Sikhs were detained in Punjab. Only a 160 or so were finally convicted of any ‘terrorist’ threat and that also without much evidence.
Then puppeteer Mummy Gandhi put gold star servant Manmohan Singh to do her bidding. Sikh political prisoners languished in prisons although no constitutional provision permits life sentence for political prisoners. However, the Constitution is what the Gandhis wanted it. Police excesses continued. Bribes apparently broke world records.
The list is endless. Detention without charges or even proper procedures. In Bhuller case, there was no evidence and no witnesses
Now Rahul Bhai wants Constitutional rights! Dr Swamy, the nemesis of Gandhis, has never forgotten his exile from the one woman democratic decision of ‘Emergency’. He wants to exile the Gandhi family to an Island that might sink under climate change.
He brought a charge in court of money laundering against prince and mummy Gandhi who are major shareholders in a company called Young India, even though they are geriatrics. Apparently Congress handed them ₹2,000 crore of property which should really be owned by the country as the original company, Associated Journals, was started by 5,000 freedom fighters and Great Grand Daddy to run a newspaper National herald. It has passed on to the ‘Family’.
The Enforcement Directorate is simply doing its jobs as would be required by court, since charges are at court. Unlike during the Gandhi years, Rahul is free to go home and come back and not in some dingy detention centre being kicked around by a drunken Punjab cop saying ‘oyee’.
The comical group of once very terrifying and powerful entity known as the Congress high command have been reduced by Modi to gather at Jantar Manter shouting and asking for rights that they used to trample on when in power. How things come around! He is only receiving what the family established. Still, if jailed, authorities might oblige and station female jailers wearing shorts, one of Rahul’s visions for modern India.