Gurjeet Singh Khalsa, a 43-year-old farmer from Kheri Nagaiyan village, has been sitting atop a BSNL tower in the Samana constituency of Punjab’s Patiala district since October 12, 2024, demanding a stricter law to deal with sacrilege incidents. And a sacrilege Bill was passed in the Vidhan Sabha on April 13 and signed by the governor on April 19.Even after Khalsa completed 500 days atop the tower on February 23, the Government’s response was slow, prompting supporters to intensify their agitation. On February 24, Khalsa’s supporters, under the banner of Dharam Yudhh Morcha, began a dharna at Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Chowk, about a kilometre away from the tower, located in a public park opposite the Samana municipal council office.The chowk is a key junction connecting highways towards Sangrur and Patiala districts and parts of Haryana. Participation grew steadily despite initial resistance from the administration.It was only later that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced a special Vidhan Sabha session to discuss the sacrilege Bill, which was held on April 13.The agitation is being led by a six-member committee comprising individuals from diverse backgrounds, including journalism, psychology, farming, religious preaching, activism, and filmmaking. Let’s learn more about them:Gurpreet Singh, a TV journalistGurpreet Singh, 53, a TV journalist from Batala in Gurdaspur district, has been coordinating the morcha. He said, “On February 24, the sangat came in large numbers to protest. Initially, the Punjab Government tried every way to snub us. They used force against us and even many supporters coming from Sangrur, Mansa, etc were stopped…but despite that a few of us managed to stage a dharna at Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Chowk. Here we were visible to the Government. The chowk was a bypass for the highway leading to multiple places. The number of people participating in the dharna kept growing each day. So the Government had no choice but to pass that Bill.”Gurpreet said that Baba Sewa Singh Rampur Kherewala in Dasuya played a great role as a facilitator between the Morcha and the Government. His mediation forced the Government to call the Vidhan Sabha session. “I, on behalf of the Morcha, attended the meeting of the CM with Sant Samaj on April 21 at Amritsar when he announced that he would call a special Assembly session on the sacrilege Bill on April 13,” he added.Story continues below this ad“Once the Bill is notified, we will organise Akhand Path Sahib and bring Khalsaji down from the tower on the day of the bhog ceremony. This is how we will end the dharna by thanking Waheguru. Hopefully, the notification will be issued on Monday. In that case, Akhand Path will be held on Tuesday and the bhog ceremony on Thursday, the 59th day of our dharna at Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Chowk.”Khushinder Singh Jand Sahib, an activist, psychologist, and farmerKhushinder Singh Jand Sahib, 45, who owns farmland in the Chamkaur Sahib area of Rupnagar district, said, “I am a farmer and psychologist, but for the past few years, I have been working as a human rights activist, raising various issues related to the environment and illegal mining.”He added, “As an Amritdhari Sikh and an ardent follower of the Guru Granth Sahib, I voluntarily joined the morcha as a sewadaar. Later, I became one of the six members of the committee of the Morcha, which coordinated all communication with the Government and panthic organisations regarding the stricter sacrilege law.”Khushinder said that a misconception was being spread that the sacrilege law could be misused. “However, we have sent guidelines to the Government that Rehat Maryada must be followed by the police when investigating any sacrilege incident at a religious institution, and I am sure they will do so. They had followed it in the past as well,” he said.Story continues below this adRehat Maryada is a set of religious and social practices that Sikhs are expected to follow.Khushinder highlighted the inclusive nature of the protest, stating, “This was a Sarb Dharam Morcha as devotees came from various states apart from Punjab. They came from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. Apart from the Sikh sangat from these states, even the Hindu religious leaders came on many occasions.”On funding for the protest, Khushinder said that good Samaritans paid for the tent and sound charges, a devotee set up the stage free of cost, and langar came from various gurdwaras and nearby villages. “You know langar sewa is not at all an issue in Punjab,” he said.He added, “Bikramjeet Singh from Haryana, who runs Singh Sweets at Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Chowk, contributed a lot… He threw open his restaurant for devotees since February 24. In the event of inclement weather, women used to stay there. The toilets of Singh Sweets were used by all devotees. He even arranged a stay for many devotees coming from other states whenever needed.”Amarjeet Singh Maryada, a Sikh preacherStory continues below this adA Sikh preacher at a gurdwara in Kanakwal Bhanguan village of Sangrur district, Amarjeet Singh Maryada, 44, was also present during the October, 2015 Kotkapura protests following sacrilege incidents in Bargari village of Faridkot district. His vehicle was damaged, and he sustained injuries during the police action on October 14, 2015. He is part of the six-member committee leading the morcha.Talwinder Singh Aulakh, a farmerTalwinder Singh Aulakh, a 40-year-old farmer from Samana, said that when a protest is peaceful and the public supports the cause, governments are forced to relent. “No doubt initially they took us lightly and even prevented us from sitting on dharna, using force against us, but finally we made ourselves heard,” he said.Amitoj Mann, an actor, director, and writerKnown for his work in Punjabi cinema, Amitoj Mann, 55, has also been active in public causes. He said, “Issue-based politics is the need of the hour. That’s why various MLAs and ministers who came to the morcha were confronted and asked their stand on the need for a stricter law on sacrilege. As all were united and peaceful throughout, the Government had to bow to the demand of the sangat.”Kaka Singh Kotra, a BKU Sidhupur leaderA farmer leader from Bathinda and general secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Sidhupur, Kaka Singh Kotra, 65, had been active during the protests at Khanauri and Shambhu borders between February 13, 2024 and March 19, 2025.Story continues below this adHe said, “During this nearly two months-long morcha at Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Chowk, several MLAs and ministers from all parties like Chetan Singh Jauramajra, Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Charanjit Singh Channi visited the dharna… When dharna was staged at the main chowk and Khalsaji continued to stay put at the BSNL tower, the Government knew that we would not relent.. However, we are thankful to the Government for understanding the feelings of the sangat and hope that the revised law will be implemented in the true spirit.”