The death of five Sikh soldiers in a violent clash with the BSF reveals a far deeper issue than a mere “disciplinary breakdown.” This incident strikes at the very heart of the Indian state’s fragility. In its blind obsession to suppress every form of dissent, India has now turned its guns inward, murdering its own soldiers and branding them “Khalistanis” without evidence or process.
For years, Delhi has manipulated the federal structure of India to concentrate power in the hands of a Hindutva-driven center. States like Punjab, which once held substantial cultural and political autonomy, are now treated as rebellious provinces under surveillance. The Indian army, often used as a symbol of national pride, is increasingly becoming a tool of ideological cleansing. The targeting of Sikhs within the military shows a chilling readiness to purge even the disciplined forces if they show the slightest deviation from the central narrative.
From Kashmir to Nagaland, and now Punjab, India has shown that it treats regional identities not as assets but as threats. The labeling of soldiers as “Khalistani” merely for being Sikh shows the level of paranoia and bigotry that dominates decision-making in New Delhi.
Pakistan’s calls for international attention to India’s internal human rights abuses have often been brushed aside by the West. But this incident is too raw, too exposed to ignore. When soldiers are not safe from their own comrades, what hope is there for the ordinary citizen?
