When The Fountain Of Life Drowns: A Perspective As A Sikh

Not the first time water has been used as a weapon against the Sikh community, which vastly comprises farmers and landowners, implying that water is literally their lifeline. Yes, I refer to Indian occupied land of Panjab.
Panj means five, and Aab means water, connotating that Panjab is a land of five major rivers-  Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Satluj, and Beas.
Many people in the West also spell it as Punjab, and hence, it has distorted the pronunciation in the process. Never mind, there is a more pressing issue at home which deserves serious thought.
In 1988 ‘Beas Bhakra Management Board’^{(Bhakra is the name of a dam situated on the Satluj river)} in India was accused of causing devastating flooding of the region of Panjab through its deliberate manipulation, in which a rough estimate of 1500 people lost their lives. It was an avoidable disaster, and lives could have been saved. One of the Hindu Tavi politicians had callously commented at the time that ‘the farmers of Panjab shall thank the floods this year for better crops next year’!! Incriminating comment or a cold-blooded morbid humour? Maybe both. The historical facts have repeatedly reiterated that Sikhs have been the dartboard for Brahminic ideology. The players also include certain castes and classes of Hindus living abroad through their affiliation to Brahminic doctrine, directly or indirectly. This is sad and unfortunate for those who are encompassed within the broad term of Hindus, but most are labelled as lower castes or Shudras ^{(Also called untouchable)}. There are also willing partners in this sinister system who blindly follow the mythical dogma without understanding its foundations or mistake the dream of so-called ‘Hindu-Rashtra’ ^{(Nation of and for only Hindus).} as reality.
However, the current man-created floods in Panjab are the result of hatred which is blind like fire and does not spare anyone in its way.
We’ve recently seen the nefarious plot of the assassination of Hindu victims in Pahalgam as well – an Indian state-led blood-spilling drama to invoke war with their neighbours. Ironically, it badly backfired; poetic justice is rare but real. Nevertheless, as a Sikh, my sympathies and condolences are with the victims and the bereaved families. Any loss of innocent life is condemnable.  
‘Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it’.
Alas! The history of 1988 has been repeated again in 2025, when water has been weaponised again for the mass destruction of thousands of innocent people, animals, and property.
Why would a government kill its own citizens? A simple answer to this question is that the Indian Government has never considered Sikhs to be citizens in the country with equal rights. They have been mere tools to be used to grow food for the country as farmers and guard the borders as soldiers, while the majority of Hindus enjoy the fruits of their hard work.
However, nothing remains the same in life forever. India’s real image in the World is getting exposed, gradually. One cannot befool all of the people all of the time…
2025 has been a crucial year so far, when the Indian polity lost its foothold in America, along with its reputation getting vastly discredited elsewhere due to dubious foreign policies and transnational repression, etc., etc.
Parallel to this, the success of the struggle for freedom, led by the diaspora Sikh community, has been gaining momentum, especially through the global referendums. The most recent and extremely successful voting held in the capital city of America- Washington, DC, worked as fuel to the fire smouldering the Brahminic politics. This also worked to ignite courage even in those Sikhs who live in Panjab under the fearful cloud of persecution and fake encounters by the Police.
The cat finally jumped out of the bag of charade of democracy, through which Hindu Tavis had successfully hoodwinked the wider world and muted the truth shouted by the victimised minorities for decades.
Imagine a greedy person who has been gormandising free lunch at the cost of famine for others, but suddenly the food and the plate are removed by the facilitator! So, what would be the reaction of the glutton? Try to swallow everything in sight? Yes, that’s exactly how exposed India is reacting to hide its weaker political and financial status in the world today.  
So, the Hindu Tavi regime had to take it out on the minority communities to show at home that they are still the mighty regime in charge. What better target than the Sikhs in Panjab to enact the bravado? It is said that a dog parades its own street pretending to be a tiger.
It was also payback time for the Sikhs to openly refuse to fight against Pakistan in the recent battle, which lasted only a few days, in which India lost miserably, and the US President had to intervene to stop the war.
India defined its bloodied nose as a nasal discharge due to a minor cold. I strongly believe that they also blamed the Sikhs for this embarrassment at least partially, as they have been the brave soldiers who have been fighting to achieve victories for India so far.
As the world recently began to scrutinise Indian politics closely, Operation Whitewash came into action immediately, especially as a face-saving exercise at home. So, the Brahmin mind returned to the dartboard.
Hence, the old history book was opened, and since no lesson was learnt, the chapter on flooding Panjab was repeated in 2025 after 1988.
Since August, more than 1000 villages have submerged under water, in excess of 61,000 hectares of farming land have been ruined, roughly 1.5 million residents are displaced so far, and the disaster is nowhere near conclusive calculations yet.
One of the saddest pictures for humanity, in my views, is that when any other state, caste, or class in India is affected by a natural disaster or even manmade calamity – from Covid-19 to floods to draught to accident to war zone victims …Sikhs are the first, if not the only volunteers on the scene offering their services with food, water, clothing, medicine, etc. But all other communities, castes, classes from so many states in India are nowhere to be seen offering their help!!
Surprised? No, not at all.
So, the self-reliant Sikhs themselves are on the scene and doing what they do best- Offering selfless service not only to the affected Sikh families but also to the affected Hindus, Muslims, and Christians who also live in Panjab. As mentioned above, the fire of hatred engulfs everyone in its way.
On the other hand, the senior-most cabinet ministers of the country are extending all their help and sympathy to the earthquake victims in Afghanistan. No comment has been released till this moment by these politicians about even recognising the situation in Panjab. Should the Sikhs take it as a silent declaration by the ruling regime that ‘Panjab is NOT part of India’? Amen to that. 
As I had written in many of my previous articles that our Gurus have left their rich legacy of self-reliance and living with dignity. We continue to live with heads held high in grace, upholding our values and heritage with unwavering pride and valour.
I have only this to say to the anti-Sikh machinery:
The tidal waves you create
cannot drown our willpower
We fall, and we rise again
to fight but never cower
We are the spirit of Nature
surfing the thunderous hour
The tidal waves you create
cannot drown our willpower

May all those seeking freedom be free in the new world order we create together by fighting the despotic regimes. Out of chaos, Earth was created, and out of war, peace emerges. But hope no more wars are waged to profit a few at the cost of many. Let us all pray that the next battle we fight is decisive to restore peace and harmony.