Tension gripped Noorpur Jattan village in Hoshiarpur district after miscreants vandalised a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar on Tuesday morning. Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, leader of the banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), released a video claiming responsibility for the act.
The statue, installed atop a private building, was previously targeted in June 2025, after which it was encased in glass for protection. On Tuesday morning, it was found that vandals had smashed the glass casing and used hammers to damage the bust of the founder of the Constitution.
In the video, Pannu termed the act a “referendum on Ambedkar”, alleging that the Constitution drafted by him erased Sikh identity. He further warned of similar incidents between the Dalit icon’s birth anniversary on April 14 and April 29, the date he claimed voter registration for a “Khalistan referendum” would begin.
Garhshankar deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Daljit Singh Khakh said a fresh case has been registered against Pannu and unidentified persons. He said the statue stands on land with contested ownership. “The owners must resolve their dispute as the police cannot protect the site indefinitely,” the DSP said.
As news of the vandalism spread, members of various Dalit organisations gathered at the spot to protest. Senior police officials reached the village to pacify the agitators.
Meanwhile, Punjab BSP president Avtar Singh Karimpuri served a 72-hour ultimatum to the state government to arrest the culprits, threatening a state-wide agitation if the police failed to act.
The incident is the latest attempt to disrupt the social fabric of the Doaba region, which has the highest concentration of Dalits in the state. Punjab’s Dalit population stands at nearly 32%, and the Doaba belt (Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar) is the heartland of their political and social assertion.
Disturbing trend
January 2025: A life-size statue of Dr Ambedkar on Heritage Street in Amritsar, near the Golden Temple, was attacked with a hammer on Republic Day. The accused also attempted to burn a stone-carved copy of the Constitution.
June 2025: The first attack on the Noorpur Jattan statue occurred, for which SFJ leader Pannu also claimed responsibility.
January 2024: A bust of Dr Ambedkar was defaced in Phillaur, Jalandhar district. The act sparked protests across the Doaba region, with Dalit organisations blocking National Highway-1.
April 2022: A statue of the Dalit icon was damaged in Phagwara on the eve of his birth anniversary, leading to several days of localised unrest.
Source: Hindustan Times
