Despite hawkish rhetoric, Punjab backed India-Pak ceasefire, peace efforts
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Unlike a few other states, where sentiment for war appeared strong, in Punjab, an atmosphere of apprehension about the fallout of escalation on the border was prevailing, and there were anti-war voices as well. Only a few spoke out unequivocally against war when escalation started fearing negative reactions, but the ceasefire was largely welcomed in the state.
BJP has been finding it hard to boost its footprint in the only Sikh-majority state in the country, as the community has remained apprehensive of the saffron party.
However, the unequivocal support for the Centre's decision to accept the ceasefire came from Sikh quarters.
From the national parties, only Congress MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi was the first to speak out against war during the escalation. He gave a call to the people to oppose war. The Patiala MP took this stand, using strong adjectives in Punjabi, when Congress MP Manish Tewari strongly argued for an "endgame," India's planning for the permanent extinction of "this artificial state of play in existence since 1947, irrespective of the cost in terms of blood and treasure.
" The Chandigarh-based Kendri Sri Guru Singh Sabha, which had hosted Tewari before Lok Sabha polls, strongly criticised him for his "Hindutva hawkish approach."
Former MP and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann, BKU (Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan, and his associates also strongly opposed escalation and war.
Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj, on May 7, while condemning the killing of civilians in Poonch in shelling by Pakistan, said that the govts of both countries should make sincere efforts to restore peace.
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On May 9, he led a group of Sikhs to perform ardas (prayer) at Takht Kesgarh Sahib for peace in South Asia, and then on May 10, he welcomed the ceasefire, just after it was announced, and said that the region needed peace and communal harmony.
"People of Punjab stood with Indian armed forces firmly, although they suffered due to complete blackouts and debris of destroyed drones and missiles. The ceasefire has brought a big relief.
People of Punjab now should force all political parties of Punjab to support the ceasefire, irrespective of the stand of their national leadership," argued senior advocate H S Phoolka in his post on X on May 11, when pro-ceasefire voices were still feeble.
Leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa also welcomed the ceasefire.
There were other voices in the Punjabi social media space who welcomed the Narendra Modi govt's decision to agree to the ceasefire.
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on May 13 praised the PM for his "statesmanlike conduct in accepting Pakistan's entreaty for a ceasefire following a decisive victory, which saved Punjab from destruction". He also said that Congress and AAP, who were questioning the ceasefire, were the real enemies of Punjab and the nation.
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