Alam Special Forces
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The Alam Special Forces also known as the Fauj-E-Alam or the Alam Sena refers to a non-government counter insurgency force which operated in Punjab, India.[1] The Alam Special Forces has been connected to a number of massacres and false encounters and it worked as a militia under the Punjab Police which was given a free-hand during the Khalistan Movement of 1984-1995. It has, on several occasions, been accused of human rights abuses.[2]
Origins[edit]
The Alam Special Forces was created by Mohammad Izhar Alam; the SSP Amritsar of the Punjab Police as a fighting force of dissmissed policemen.[1] This section included gangsters, rapists, robbers, drug smugglers and drug addicts. [1]
The force was created under Kanwar Pal Singh Gill and Izhar Alam as a force to enter and destroy Sikh militant gangs in Punjab, it first surfaced in Amritsar in 1986, after a raid on the Golden Temple by Izhar Alam and some policemen, although the Punjab's Bullet for Bullet Policy encouraged armed gangs of extrajudicial murderers to discredit the Khalistan Movement.[2]
History[edit]
In its initial years the Alam Special Forces was only a covert extrajudicial counter insurgency force which was equipped as well as Punjab Police was as they were supplied directly by the Indian Government.[1] Originally headed by generally Sikh and Hindu officers, they were replaced with Muslims and the logo was switched from the Five rivers of Punjab to the Zulfiqar, hence the change from a counter insurgency force like the Border Security Force Cats to an Islamic Mujahideen had started, although only the Alam Special Forces leaders remained Muslim, and their titles corresponded with either historical figures who were against Sikhs or traditional Islamic clergy.[1] The Grand Imam of the force was Operation Blue Star commander Israr Rahim Khan, the second-in-command (Ghazi) was Muhammad Mustafa and the founder was Mohammad Izhar Alam.[2] Station House Officer Suba Singh, who nicknamed himself Suba Sirhind after Wazir Khan of Sirhind, was made the Grand Imam after Israr Rahim Khan had left for Noida due to legal cases.[3] Throughout the early 1990s Suba Sirhind was responsible for multiple cases of 'false encounters' also known as extrajudicial killings in Punjab, India, rarely being able to kill any militants or protect people from any known militant agencies.[2]
Controversies[edit]
The Alam Special Forces was known for converting low-caste Sikhs into Islam by force as many other forces did to convert them or any religion other than Sikhism in specific.[4] Suba Sirhind was booked for a case of hate speech as he declared himself the 'reincarnation of Suba Sirhind', a man who tortured Guru Gobind Singh's youngest sons (5 and 7 years old) as they refused to convert to Islam.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Dhillon, Kirpal (2006-12-22). Identity and Survival: Sikh Militancy in India 1978-1993. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-93-85890-38-3. Search this book on
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Vigilante groups hired by Punjab Government to counter terrorism come under fire". India Today. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ↑ Archives, L. A. Times (1988-02-21). "10 More Killed by Sikhs in Punjab". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ↑ Bureau, Sikh Siyasat (2013-07-19). "Izhar Alam who killed Sikhs in 1990s; indulges in forced conversions of poor Sikhs to Islam". Sikh Siyasat News. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ↑ Singh, Parmjeet (2014-09-04). "Izhar Alam, founder of infamous Black-cat groups in Punjab appointed as Vice President of SAD (Badal)". Sikh Siyasat News. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
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