![]() There are a lot of posts showing male bonding. “You are a lion” is an oft repeated compliment suggesting that, at some level, thecriminal exploits are tapping into the lion imagery that is associated with Sikhs. “Miss you brother” is a frequent sentiment for those who have been killed by rival gangs or are now in jail. Many such Facebook pages have fans running into thousands. A large number of posts are about the no-nonsense attitude of Jats and how a Jat is like a “lion”, loves weapons and vehicles and is ever eager to protect one’s own honour. ![]() Once in a while, they threaten those perceived to be doing harm to the Sikh religion. ![]() Many posts are on the greatness of the Sikh religion. Those who are arrested, and the Punjab Police is rather good at arresting criminals, would even post pictures on Facebook showing how they were enjoying life in jail and how they were able to conduct operations while still imprisoned without any hindrance. It pleased them no end to be addressed respectfully as “baba ji” by a scared population. A similar pattern was noticed in an interview-based study conducted by the sociologist Paramjit Judge who, along with political scientists, Harish Puri and Jagrup Sekhon, found that the terrorists in Punjab of the 1980s and 90s vintage were basically young boys taking to terror in search of an adventure and a little izzat. The bromide of people resorting to violence as a result of some deprivation or because of a desire to fight for justice is used by such people to the hilt in order to claim legitimacy for a multi-crore “scare business” in Punjab. These criminals tap into the long-standing cultural myth of the dominant agricultural community in Punjab - the Jat - being a “lion” and twist it to justify their own criminality. Society too needs to reflect a little for its failure to set up correctives to prevent these young men from taking to a life of crime, profiting from it, becoming role models for the young and worse, for allowing such young men to use the symbols associated with Sikhism and the great Gurus for their criminal ends. But it should force the polity to think about its failure in empowering the police and the law courts through legislative changes so that such men, once caught, remain under the control of the law. The jail break at Nabha on November 28, when a bunch of criminals broke out of jail and a couple of terrorists accompanied them, should be embarrassing for the state authorities. Rather, they come from relatively better-off families in Punjab. These are not young men who are deprived of anything.
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