As the U.S. unwinds decades of technological interdependence with China, a new industrial and strategic order is emerging. Through selective decoupling, focused on chips, AI, and critical supply chains, Washington aims to restore domestic manufacturing, secure data sovereignty, and revive the Hamiltonian vision of national self-reliance. This is not isolationism but a recalibration of globalization on America’s terms.
Punjab Farmers Begin Fast-Unto-Death Amid Growing Tensions
When the hands that feed the nation are forced to fast, the irony is hard to miss.
As the farmers’ protest in Punjab intensifies, 111 farmers have pledged to begin a fast-unto-death starting January 15, 2025. Punjab farmers have warned that their fast-unto-death is a last-ditch effort to safeguard their livelihoods and bring attention to their plight. Dressed in black clothes, they’re making a stand against the Centre’s inaction on their demands. This marks a critical moment in their ongoing struggle for justice, as Punjab’s Sikh farmers—hailed as the backbone of India’s agricultural economy—take extreme measures to make their voices heard.
The farmers are protesting not only for their rights but also in solidarity with farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has now entered the 51st day of his own hunger strike. Dallewal’s health is rapidly deteriorating. Moreover, reports indicate multi-organ failure and an inability to even drink water. This highlights the deepening crisis.
Also See: Hindutva: India’s Dangerous Export to the World
A Struggle Against Oppression
In a direct response to the growing unrest, the Haryana police have imposed Section 163 of the BNSS in the area, signaling their commitment to preventing any escalation. Despite these efforts, farmer leaders are unwavering, preparing to hold their ground even if it means facing force from the authorities.
A democracy weaponizes its machinery against Sikh farmers—the lifeline of India’s economy. Forced into hunger strikes in black clothes, their peaceful pleas are met with BJP’s Hindutva-driven oppression. Punjab’s Sikh farmers, the nation’s food providers, face betrayal and police brutality. Ignored by a Hindutva-dominated BJP, their demands turn into a struggle for survival.
The ongoing standoff raises uncomfortable questions about the role of the state in suppressing peaceful protest. Sikh farmers in black clothes symbolize defiance against BJP tyranny. Hindutva policies aim to erase Punjab’s spirit, reducing Sikhs to second-class citizens. Modi’s India is a democracy in name, dictatorship in action. Will global powers let Punjab bleed?
The situation is dire. As the government and protestors remain at an impasse, the larger question looms: Will this struggle for justice gain the attention it deserves? Or will political agendas continue to drown out Punjab’s farmers and their pleas?
Sourced from The New Indian Express
SAT Commentary
SAT Commentary
SAT Commentaries, a collection of insightful social media threads on current events and social issues, featuring diverse perspectives from various authors.
Recent
When Insurgents Rule: The Taliban’s Crisis of Governance
The Taliban’s confrontation with Pakistan reveals a deeper failure at the heart of their rule: an insurgent movement incapable of governing the state it conquered. Bound by rigid ideology and fractured by internal rivalries, the Taliban have turned their military victory into a political and economic collapse, exposing the limits of ruling through insurgent logic.
The Great Unknotting: America’s Tech Break with China, and the Return of the American System
As the U.S. unwinds decades of technological interdependence with China, a new industrial and strategic order is emerging. Through selective decoupling, focused on chips, AI, and critical supply chains, Washington aims to restore domestic manufacturing, secure data sovereignty, and revive the Hamiltonian vision of national self-reliance. This is not isolationism but a recalibration of globalization on America’s terms.
Inside the Istanbul Talks: How Taliban Factionalism Killed a Peace Deal
The collapse of the Turkiye-hosted talks to address the TTP threat was not a diplomatic failure but a calculated act of sabotage from within the Taliban regime. Deep factional divides—between Kandahar, Kabul, and Khost blocs—turned mediation into chaos, as Kabul’s power players sought to use the TTP issue as leverage for U.S. re-engagement and financial relief. The episode exposed a regime too fractured and self-interested to act against terrorism or uphold sovereignty.
The Indo-Afghan Arc: Rewriting Pakistan’s Strategic Geography
The deepening India-Afghanistan engagement marks a new strategic era in South Asia. Beneath the façade of humanitarian cooperation lies a calculated effort to constrict Pakistan’s strategic space, from intelligence leverage and soft power projection to potential encirclement on both eastern and western fronts. Drawing from the insights of Iqbal and Khushhal Khan Khattak, this analysis argues that Pakistan must reclaim its strategic selfhood, strengthen regional diplomacy, and transform its western border from a vulnerability into a vision of regional connectivity and stability.
Legitimacy, Agency, and the Illusion of Mediation
The recent talks in Turkey, attended by Afghan representatives, exposed the delicate politics of legitimacy and agency in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. By rejecting the Taliban’s proposal to include the TTP, Pakistan safeguarded its sovereignty and avoided legitimizing a militant group as a political actor, preserving its authority and strategic narrative.