India
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Punjab bandh for Sikh prisoners brings border barricades
The Hindu··21 Aug
On 21 August 2026, Qaumi Insaf Morcha observed a Punjab bandh from 7 am to 2 pm seeking release of Sikh prisoners it calls Bandi Singhs. Shops shut in parts of Sangrur, Mohali and elsewhere. Chandigarh Police, including the Rapid Action Force, staffed barricades at Mohali border points. Heavy deployment was reported in Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you needed to cross Chandigarh-Mohali on 21 August morning, RAF and local police were on the barricades and some approaches had vehicles parked across the road.
- Anyone with a child in a government school was told classes would run. Private schools in several towns had already declared a holiday.
- If you use chemist shops or hospitals, the Morcha listed those, airport travel, exams and weddings as exempt from the shutdown.
What's Happening
- SGPC, factions of Shiromani Akali Dal and some farmer unions, including BKU Rajewal, publicly backed the call.
- On 15 August, protesters near the Punjab Governor's residence in Chandigarh were dispersed with tear gas and water cannons. SAD Amritsar chief Simranjit Singh Mann was detained while trying to reach the house.
- Mann has already met Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on a 10-day parole request for Hawara.
Who The Bandi Singh Demand Names
- Bandi Singh is the campaign term for Sikh prisoners the organisers say have finished or exceeded ordinary sentence terms and should be released or paroled.
- Hawara is serving life for the 1995 Beant Singh assassination. Rajoana was convicted in the same case. Bhullar's sentence relates to a 1993 Delhi bomb blast.
- The Mohali-Chandigarh sit-in began on 7 January 2023. The 21 August bandh is a statewide pressure tactic built on that camp, not a new organisation.
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