Punjab's proposed sacrilege law pushes the state back

Indian Express

10 hours ago

The Punjab government's bill proposing life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh for the desecration of any religious text — sent to a Select Committee — is deeply problematic. The existing laws address the crime, there was no need for a separate piece of legislation. It pushes the state back into a debate that had receded into the background. In 2015, the Bargari sacrilege incident followed by police firing that killed two protesters, and a chain of 'beadbi' cases, had set the state on edge. It became a flashpoint, and a potent symbol of the growing disillusionment with the then-ruling Akali-BJP alliance, which had been in power for an unprecedented two successive terms since 2007. The public mood was already souring; Bargari crystallised the anger.
Congress, which succeeded the Akalis, tried to ride that wave by pushing for a sacrilege law, capitalising on the issue's emotional resonance. This period also witnessed the meteoric rise of the Aam Aadmi Party, which played the 'outsider' card and swept the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections. The AAP's victory was less a testament to the party's popularity, given that it had never been tested in the state, than a collective indictment of legacy parties that had persistently failed to meet the people's aspirations. Sacrilege, by then, had become a non-issue. Voters said they were weary of hollow promises about smooth roads and clean drains.
It is troubling that the AAP, which appears to have shifted gears after its electoral setback in Delhi, should now choose to steer Punjab back towards the volatile terrain of sacrilege. In 2015, such incidents carried a discernible political undertone, and suspicions were trained on the role of the Dera Sacha Sauda. But in the years since, the sporadic episodes have increasingly appeared to be individual acts of crime rather than politically orchestrated. There is no denying that sacrilege wounds deeply as it strikes at the core of faith. But for a border state grappling with economic, social, and security challenges, the reintroduction of this emotionally charged issue into the political discourse is a cause for concern. Punjab's agricultural sector flounders in the absence of diversification. Despite handwringing over depleting groundwater, the state still pushes paddy cultivation to new highs. Land pooling for real estate is fuelling new tensions in a state struggling to transition from an agrarian economy to one led by manufacturing. The drug menace continues to kill and the law-and-order situation teeters on the edge. This bill can only be read as an attempt to stoke emotions and consolidate votes in the extended run-up to the 2027 Assembly elections. At a time when Punjab needs to focus on rebuilding its economy, and restoring public trust, it's a dangerous distraction.