Marking the 11th anniversary of the sacrilege incidents that shook Punjab and sparked widespread political and social upheaval, several prominent Sikh leaders gathered today at a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village, where the first reported incident took place on June 1, 2015. Those present included former MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali; former IGP and former MLA Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh; Faridkot MP Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa; Tarsem Singh, father of Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh; and several leaders associated with Waris Punjab De and other Sikh organisations.Addressing a large gathering, the leaders recalled the sacrilege incidents and the subsequent police firing at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan, in which two protesters were killed and many others were injured. They asserted that 11 years later, justice remains elusive and those responsible have yet to be held accountable.The speakers noted that the sacrilege issue significantly influenced Punjab’s political landscape and was a dominant factor in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections. They alleged that successive governments had failed to ensure exemplary punishment for the perpetrators and those responsible for the violence against protesters.Calling on the Sikh community to stay united, the leaders urged all who revere Guru Granth Sahib to join hands and wage a collective democratic struggle ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly election. They stressed that the issue must not fade from public memory and vowed to continue their campaign until justice is secured.The leaders also appealed to voters to support candidates committed to securing justice in the sacrilege cases, stating that the forthcoming Assembly elections would be crucial in determining the future course of the long-pending fight for accountability.The gathering later took part in a protest march from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala to Kotkapura and resolved to intensify public outreach programmes across Punjab to keep the issue alive and mobilise support for a united movement seeking justice for the sacrilege incidents and the victims of the police action.Former MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali said he continued to feel remorse over his association with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) when the sacrilege incidents occurred and justice was not delivered to the victims. He said the failure to bring the guilty to book had deeply hurt the sentiment of the Sikh community and eroded public trust in the political system.Former IGP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh sharply criticised successive political parties, alleging that leaders across party lines had exploited the sacrilege issue for electoral gain without delivering justice. He said those who sought votes by making solemn promises and taking oaths in the name of the sacrilege incidents had ultimately been rejected by the people.“Those who tried to deceive the public on this sacred issue have already been pushed to the margins of Punjab politics, whether they belonged to the Congress, SAD or AAP,” he said.Kunwar Vijay Partap added that while justice might be delayed or even denied in a court of law, no one could escape accountability in the court of the Almighty. Referring to the political decline of leaders such as former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, and the Shiromani Akali Dal leadership, he said their current political circumstances reflected the consequences of failing to honour their commitments on the sacrilege issue.