Karat provides that Surjeet additionally warned of the “whipping up of communal sentiments by an RSS-backed platform called Hindu Suraksha Samiti”.

Brinda Karat. File

Veteran CPI(M) chief Harkishan Singh Surjeet had identified in early1980s that “too many (Sikh) extremist leaders found shelter and support” in Canada, CPI(M) chief Brinda Karat has stated in her memoir, An Education For Rita, on her experiences between 1975 and 1985.

“From the early eighties, there were regular reports of the growth of extremist elements with foreign support, mobilising in the name of a separate Sikh state, which developed into the movement for Khalistan. The party in Punjab, with the help of the CPI, was politically fighting this trend, and our comrades were often targeted by the extremists… In particular, the party warned against the politically questionable role of the Congress party and its government towards the separatist leaders. The Congress was attempting to use these elements in the fight against the main political force in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal. Comrade Surjeet and the party argued for the need to find political solutions to some of the genuine demands of the people linked to the autonomy of the state, the status of Chandigarh, the border disputes with neighbouring states, and the sharing of river waters. We stressed on the importance of politically isolating the extremists instead of only resorting to repressive actions by the security forces,” Karat writes in her e-book.

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Vikas Pathak is deputy affiliate editor with The Indian Express and writes on nationwide politics. He has over 17 years of expertise, and has labored earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, amongst different publications. He has coated the nationwide BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has coated the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and lots of state meeting polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers.

Vikas has taught as a full-time school member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a visitor professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.

Vikas has authored a e-book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been extensively reviewed by prime tutorial journals and main newspapers.

He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in commencement. He has been invited to prime tutorial establishments like JNU, St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a visitor speaker/panellist. … Read More

First uploaded on: 14-01-2024 at 01:51 IST