Agencies probing Punjab gangs' 'links' with Khalistani terrorists

The recent killing of popular Punjabi pop singer Sidhu Moosewala due to a gang rivalry has brought to the fore Punjab's deep-rooted gang culture and the nexus between gangs, drug mafia and the recently revived Khalistani movement in the state.

- DIBYENDU MONDAL

GUN CULTURE

The rise of gun culture in Punjab is often attributed to the popular music industry in the state that glorifies brandishing guns as a popular trend among the youth, thus making them take up arms to look "cool". Punjab's intelligence agencies also attribute the rise of gangs in the state to rising unemployment, drug addiction and the need to climb up the economic ladder quickly.

Former IG of Punjab Police, C. Pal Singh told The Sunday Guardian that poverty, rising aspirations, drug addiction have resulted in a cultural change in the youth of Punjab and this, coupled with the influence of gun-toting pop singers and their frequent interactions with the youth in colleges, are luring the vulnerable youths to join these gangs.

"Post militancy, a strange type of mental change has occurred in the youth of Punjab who wants to live an affluent life without any major income from their small land holdings. Lack of employment opportunities and slow industrial development have further created mental unrest and anxiety among the young population. All the above factors, coupled with gang rivalry, have created a 'toxic cocktail' which is exploding from time to time in murders, killings, and counter killings between different gangs," Singh told this newspaper.

Punjab's gangs and gangsters have had a major influence in the state over the last two decades-be it on the streets to music, from politics to political power and from small sections to big political constituencies and from villages to cities.