SANGRUR, Punjab—Parkash Badal granted a clean slate to former DGP Mohammed Izhar Alam by honoring him with a siropa during the inauguration of Hazrat Haleema Maternity and General Hospital run by the Wakf Board at Malerkotla this past week on November 6. Badal has received wide criticism for supporting Alam who is accused of carrying out mass genocide against Sikhs while heading the “Alam Sena” (Army of Black Cats) a government sponsored terror organization in the 1980s. Several organizations have appealed to the Akali Dal (B) to not grant a ticket to Alam but Badal has remained insensitive to the demands of the Sikh community.
During the inauguration function, Badal asked all of the local Akali Dal leaders to unite under the leadership of Izhar Alam. He believes that Alam’s leadership will help gather the support of the Muslim community and likewise help strengthen it. A closed door meeting was also held between Parkash Badal, Izhar Alam and Sukhdev Dhindsa.
Attempts to Lure the Muslim Community for Votes
While speaking to the local Muslim community, Badal spoke out against various opponents, including Capt. Amarinder Singh, Surjit S. Barnala, Manpreet Badal and Simranjit Singh Mann. Badal alleged that politicians like Mann and Amarinder Singh were responsible for the controversy that now surrounds Izhar Alam. He alleged it was all done to defame the Akali Dal (B).
During the inauguration speech, Parkash Badal held that such cheap tactics being employed by his opponents in fact help his popularity. He in fact used the inauguration function to gain votes. After wishing the Muslim Community “Eid Mubarak,” he mentioned that the State Government will take all steps to help the Muslim community of Malerkotla. He thanked the Muslim community of Punjab for its support in the past and announced funding of Rs. 2,500,000 to be spent towards a local Muslim Community Center. An additional Rs. 1,500,000 were announced for the Waqf Board for its educational institutes.
Sant Samaj Publicly Aligned with Mass Murderers?
After the SGPC elections, both SAD (B) and Sant Samaj were scorned by Sikh organizations for remaining silent about allegations against Izhar Alam. It was finally after pressure by International Sikh bodies that Baba Harnaam Singh Dhumma publicly asked Badal to clear his stance on Alam. As seen in the picture above, Baba Dhumma has shared the stage with Izhar Alam in the past, but now there seems to be a rift between Badal and Dhumma, two allies in the SGPC elections. Even though Baba Dhumma is now opposed to the candidature of Izhar Alam, Badal has shown little concern for the new demands made by the Sant Samaj. At the inauguration function, Badal was confident that the Sant Samaj would soon come around to his point of view at the upcoming party meetings.
What actions, if any, the Sant Samaj will take if Badal does nominate Izhar Alam will be interesting to watch, especially after their inaction upon Badal giving Alam a siropa. It will be the first time that the so-called Sant Samaj, along with Baba Dhumma (Jathedar of Damdami Taksal) will align with mass murderers of Sikhs, including the great martyrs of the Damdami Taksal and other panthik organizations. Just this past month, the well renowned website WikiLeaks exposed human rights abuses in Punjab and the existence of the black cats employed to carry out genocide against the Sikhs. The documents, most likely sourced from U.S. intelligence, point the finger squarely at Izhar Alam for harboring the army of black cats in Punjab.
Izhar Alam: Responsible for Mass Murders and Torture of Sikhs
Following the inauguration of the maternity and General Hospital, Alam organized a press conference at his house in which he tried to deny his involvement in the killings and torture of the Sikhs. Alam told the press that during the days of the Sikh freedom movement in Punjab, Alam was positioned in Jammu & Kashmir from 1990 onwards until 1995. Alam alleged that he returned to Punjab only after the Sikh freedom movement had been crushed by the Government. Although Alam himself has denounced any link to the torture of Sikhs during the 80s, WikiLeaks cables and other solid evidence exists which leaves no doubts that Alam at one time led the army of black cats.
During another press conference organized by the Dal Khalsa a day after Alam denied his role in Sikh killings, HS Dhami lashed out at both Badal and Alam for playing with the sentiments of minority communities. Dhami told the press that although Alam was not present in Punjab from 1990 to 1995, he was posted as SSP of Amritsar Sahib in 1986 for a year and half. HS Dhami expressed shock at the blatant lies by Alam to fool the people of Punjab.
HS Dhami brought to light that Alam worked as head of the border district and was directly in control of Punjab Police’s interrogation centres where Sikh men and youth were tortured and killed in large numbers. Many fake encounters took place under the guidance of Izhar Alam, he said.
Editor’s note: A petition has started online which is requesting Sri Akal Takht Sahib and Akali Dal (B) to investigate the role of Izhar Alam in staged encounter killings of the Sikhs. The petition is available at this link: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-alamsena/
