**1. Introduction**

"Every grade 8 kid is talking about [Bindy] as he is some hero who defied the police and go<sup>t</sup> killed and his interviews are online and people are looking it up, and these grade 6,7 kids are always searching them up and bringing him up. So, one thing I decided is never, ever use his name or react to his name" —(Simran (secondary school teacher), interview, 1 December 2016)

"When we sit down and think about race relations in this country and our community, shit we look at people like fucking Bindy and say: "hey. Did he do something for our community?" Did he? Like moralism aside, put the ethical, moral shit [aside], let's just deal with power relations. And so, when you look at South Asian young men today, this guy becomes fucking icon. He becomes a fucking God in the imagination of the emasculated South Asian male. All of a sudden, they're like "oh right. We can fucking do this"" —(Diljit (former gang member), interview, 15 August 2016)

In the Lower Mainland of British Columbia (BC) the name of late gangster "Bindy Johal" polarizes a community dealing with a perceived problem of gang involvement of Punjabi youth. On the one hand, Johal occupies the position of a 'folk devil', the classical criminological construct that has the ability to stir a community's social anxiety and fuel a moral panic on gangs in the region. Specifically, Johal is posthumously blamed for recruiting a large number of Sikh-Punjabi youth to gangs, as claimed by authorities. Yet Diljit, a former gang member, frames the legend of Johal as a folk hero of sorts, or at the very least a sympathetic figure who has been romanticized or idolized by a generation of disenfranchised youngsters. Under this conception of his legend, Johal is believed to have broken through a pervasive system that has subordinated the masculinity of South Asian males. The dominance of Sikhs in the region at the time through the Khalistani movement coincides with Johal's own rise to power as a gang leader, as well as the involvement of other Sikh-Punjabi youth in gangs. These individuals transformed to modern-day soldiers and followed in the footsteps of their Sikh forefathers to battle perceived injustices perpetrated against them.

Drawing on the literature on moral panics and folk devils, as well as the theorizing on hegemonic masculinities and crime, this analysis provides some preliminary insights on how Johal's legacy has been constructed. Through the narratives of 34 interview subjects who are 'authority' figures in the governance of gangs, this paper explores what these dueling legacies are, and their broader significance and relationships. Indeed, this paper asks the question: how has Bindy Johal as a social figure been imagined by authorities? I argue that Bindy Johal has been imagined as both a contemporary folk devil, corrupting a generation of vulnerable boys to join gangs, as well as a heroic figure who successfully achieved a form of manhood typically blocked to Punjabi young boys and men. Nevertheless, the overall e ffect of these contradictory narratives is the overshadowing of racism, class oppression, and the broader social context, and the region's history of religious extremist movements that might be the product of a local geographic condition that is unique to that area of Canada.

#### *The Story of Bindy Johal*

Understanding these competing narratives on Johal's legacy requires a brief biography on the man often characterized as a "mythic figure". Born on 14 January 1971, Bhupinder "Bindy" Singh Johal, Johal immigrated to Canada as a young boy from Punjab, India, although the exact city Johal was born is hard to locate. Raised by a single-working class mother, Johal was viewed as a problem child and performed poorly in school, as indicated by numerous behavioral and learning challenges he experienced in adolescence. Bindy was first introduced to gangs during a stint in prison for assaulting his high school vice principal. Upon his release, Johal would go on to work for the notorious Dosanjh brothers, predominate South Asian gangsters in the late 80s and early 90s. During this time, Johal became a major player in Metro Vancouver's gang scene, developing a muscular physique, a particular style of dress and clothing, and numerous sexual exploits with countless women, as close associate Diljit describes.

After a falling out, a bloody turf war emerged that resulted in the deaths of the Dosanjh brothers, of which Johal and several of his associates were criminally charged. Nevertheless, Johal and his co-defendants were acquitted of the murders in 1995. The case took a shocking turn, however, when a juror, Gillian Guest, was subsequently charged and convicted of obstruction of justice stemming from a sexual relationship she had with one of Johal's co-accused, Peter Gill, which likely resulted in the acquittals. Guest was given an 18-month prison sentence, but only served 12 weeks, garnering much media attention. The end of the trial nevertheless cemented Johal's reputation as untouchable, and the face of the "Punjabi gang problem". At its peak, Johal's criminal enterprise earned CAD 4 million annually from an assortment of illicit activities, including drug distribution, auto thefts, and even extortion and a murder for hire operation known as the Elite (Pearce 2009).

Johal's fortunes changed on 20th December 1998, when he was shot and killed while on the dance floor of a busy Vancouver nightclub. With many suspects who had a vendetta against Johal, it was one of his closest associates, Bal Buttar, who confessed to the killing years later. The salacious story of Bindy Johal captivated a generation of disenfranchised young Punjabi boys nearly two decades since his death, becoming a part of British Columbia's local cultural zeitgeist, and influencing how his legend has been shaped, however polarizing that legacy has become.

#### **2. Materials and Methods**

The arguments made in this analysis are derived from in-depth, in-person, and over-the-telephone interviews conducted with 34 individuals from August 2016 to January 2017, with some professional expertise on the phenomenon of Punjabi gang involvement across several municipalities in Lower Mainland British Columbia, including Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, and Abbotsford. These individuals include representatives from community agencies who do some type of gang advocacy or support work. The category of work includes frontline workers, counsellors, activists, and even a number of former gang members who are involved in anti-gang programming. Additionally, police officers, both involved in gang enforcement and those who may volunteer their o ff-duty time to work with at-risk youth, are also included as viable research participants. Finally, the inclusion of school officials, such as principals, vice-principals, counsellors, teachers, and district level-employees, is also deemed necessary, as they interact directly with youth in high-risk communities, and often refer vulnerable youth to gang programming.

Purposive and snowballing sampling schemes were used to gain access to suitable research participants. This combination of sampling techniques is deemed necessary, given the ontological nature of this study, and allows for the selection of suitable research participants, based on their ability to provide valuable insights on Punjabi gang o ffending. With permission, interviews were tape-recorded and meticulously transcribed. The analytical technical of open-coding was utilized so that key concepts, categories, and properties could be derived from the data, a technique outlined by Glaser and Strauss (1967). Given the qualitative nature of this inquiry, a process of member-checking was used when deemed necessary. This involves a researcher seeking clarification on their interpretations and conclusions by research participants (Creswell and Miller 2000). This step ensures the researcher accurately captures the narratives of research participants, which can be challenging in ethnographic research. Finally, this study received ethical clearance from the University of Waterloo's O ffice of Research Ethics. To ensure the anonymity of interview subjects, culturally appropriate pseudonyms are used to conceal their identity.

#### **3. Literature Review**

#### *3.1. Contemporary Moral Panics and the Construction of a Folk Devil or Hero*

Stanley Cohen laid the foundation for much of the theorizing on moral panics and folk devils, defining these concepts as occurring when "a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests" (Cohen 2011, p. 1). Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) expand on Cohen's analysis of moral panics by articulating a set of criteria of which they are measured, including: concern, hostility, consensus, disproportionality, and volatility. When certain moral panics arise, like the fallout from a high-profile crime or series of crimes, folk devils attached to them are viewed as an existential threat to societal morality, and subject to strict social control (Goode and Ben-Yehuda 1994). Thus, folk devils represent evil personified, induce anxiety among law-abiding citizens, and often are the target of some negative reaction, as they provide a face to the moral panic that is currently in fashion. Gang members, gang leaders, and gangs in general have also undergone extensive analysis by moral panic scholars (Zatz 1987; St. Cyr 2003; McCorkle and Miethe 1998) as they embody key elements of the folk devil.

Examining the underlying motivation behind moral panics, Hall et al. (1978) look at muggings in 1960s and 1970s Britain, suggesting that moral entrepreneurs, such as the police and political figures, likely manufactured or exaggerated the dangers associated with this crime. This panic was initiated to divert the public's attention away from the economic anxiety people were experiencing as the result of the recession, and direct it towards British Black youth, who were identified as the folk devils associated with muggings (Hall et al. 1978). Therefore, moral panics may often work to conceal a far greater crisis that is much harder for policy makers, law enforcement, and other authority figures to address. This line of reasoning is similar to Rene Girard's theory of mimetic rivalry and scapegoating, which assumes people subconsciously imitate others both out of admiration, as well as a primitive urge to compete against those very same people they mimic. This leads to rivalry and potential conflict, with those on the outside looking for a scapegoa<sup>t</sup> to blame, punish, and cast out of a community (Girard 1996).

Given the changing nature of society, moral panic analysis has undergone several significant modifications in order to update it for modern times. For instance, some challenge Cohen (2011) original assertation as to the existence of universally agreed upon moral boundaries, which he suggests are often threatened and give rise to moral panics in the first place. Particularly, Hier (2008) argues that contemporary moral panics are far from universal, with Garland (2008) highlighting counter-reactions that develop to challenge the validity of claims made by alarmists. In an update to his text, Cohen (2011) responds to such criticisms by introducing the concept of a "generalized moral stance" to highlight a moral panic that is more predictable and born from a seamless web of social anxieties that exists in society. In this sense, through the generalized moral stance, the theorizing on moral panics aligns with the literature on governance and the risk society. Specifically, such panics develop from general anxieties individuals have become hypersensitive to by living in a perceived hazardous society, one where gangs and violent crime are viewed as common features (Ungar 2001).

While theorizing on the folk devil is plentiful, the concept of the 'folk hero' has not received as much attention among moral panic scholars. Flinders and Wood (2015) try to remedy this deficiency by understanding the reaction people have to heroic figures, and the euphoria and 'crowd joy' they can produce, which stands in stark contrast to the anxiety and indignation folk devils generate. However, under contemporary moral panics, where counter-claim makers sympathetic to folk devils emerge, theoretical analysis should be cognizant of the morally ambiguous gray area that exists, producing a condition where one person's folk devil may be another's hero, something not captured in Flinders and Wood (2015) analysis. Related to the aims of this paper in particular, the elevation of certain criminals from villains to heroes is important. Kooistra (1989) examines such a transition, such as the admiration some have towards certain criminals like killers or thieves when their acts are perceived as a response to some symbolic resistance to a wrong that has occurred. This archetypal "Robin Hood" figure is affixed cultural group values, like loyalty or courage, and who's criminal behavior is attributed to a social injustice that has precipitated and motivated their crimes (Duncan 1991).

#### *3.2. Masculinities and Crime: Racialized Men and O*ff*ending*

"Manliness" is a socially desirable trait that some individuals might look for in a hero. Indeed, the theorizing on masculinities and crime sheds light on how a gangster may be viewed as a hero for some. Connell (2005) concept of "hegemonic masculinity" has been particularly useful in understanding men's monopoly over physical violence, which is not only directed against women but other men as well. Masculinity falls under a spectrum where at one end is the 'hegemonic ideal', a dominating, oppressive representation of manhood that ensures the institutional supremacy of men who meet this standard (Connell 2005). Violence then is a tool used by some men to preserve their hegemonic status and superiority, as a counter-measure when they feel wronged, or to reclaim a sense of justice owed (Chodorow 2002).

Men who do not meet this standard fall at the other end of the spectrum and possess a subordinate masculinity, yet, despite their station, all men are required to position themselves in relation to the hegemonic masculine ideal (Connell and Messerschmidt 2005). As Morrell (1998) explains: "the concept of hegemonic masculinity (which) provides a way of explaining that though a number of masculinities coexist, a particular version of masculinity holds sway, bestowing power and privilege on men who espouse it and claim it as their own" (p. 608).

Certain racialized and disenfranchised men are considered to have subordinate masculinities, including working-class males, on account of failing to reach socially desirable economic goals based on their lived realities (Hooks 1995). Additionally, under the stress of structural powerlessness, some men resort to gangs as an alternative way of performing masculinity, making hyper-masculinity through violence an antidote to poor self-esteem (Messerschmidt 1997). Thus, Vigil (2007) suggests that gangs are an expression of marginalized masculinity. Adding to this, Rios (2011) examines the gang behavior of urban racialized men, suggesting that gang symbols, dress, and language, as well as hypermasculine behavior, are ways to reclaim lost status and stake a claim on the masculine hierarchy. Similarly, Gutmann (1996) looks at cultural machismo among Latino gang members as a form of reworking masculinity for marginalized men, themes this study examines through Johal.

Punjabi men have not received as much attention among the masculinity and crime literature. More broadly, South Asian masculinity is regulated under subordinate status, as it falls short of meeting the hegemonic standard (Finch-Boyer 2014). However, the performance of masculinity for some South Asian men requires the endorsement of machismo or traditionally masculine beliefs in order to protect family, and preserve the honor and purity of women or caste identity (Gilmore 1990; Malhotra 2002; Dube 2001; Yim and Mahalingam 2006). Frost (2010) provides one of the few analyses on South Asian gang involvement in British Columbia, linking it a group of males classified as "Surrey Jacks". A Surrey Jack is a subculture of Punjabi boys with a set of expectations on the performance of masculinity, which ultimately resembles a counter-protest to the dominant hegemonic standard (Frost 2010). According to Frost (2010), the Surrey Jack stands in contrast to the "Brown boy", a category of South Asian males who more closely align their masculinity with the standards established by their white peers. Surrey Jacks, on the other hand, are more willing to use violence and aggression at slight provocation, and are blamed for the perceived gang problem. Frost (2010) defines "the Brown boy" in relation to the "Surrey Jack":

"These boys' conceptions of their ethno-racial identities are bound up with their understandings of masculinity, how brown has evolved as an alternative way of "doing male" which not only contests a white hegemonic masculinity but confronts versions of Punjabi masculinity embodied by their fathers as well as the media's representation of the typical Indo-Canadian man or "Surrey Jack" which has emerged in Surrey as a form of subordinate protest masculinity". (p. 213)

A figure like Bindy Johal may be celebrated by "Surrey Jacks", as well as other young Punjabi boys who have had to navigate and perform a protestive form of masculinity.

Punjabi-Jat ethical codes centered on male Izzat (honor), a cultural moral principle that is associated with a man's reputation, and the respect and dignity he is able to covey (Das 1976). A man's izzat also dictates the level of power, influence, and authority he commands (Das 1976). Nicola Mooney (2013) suggests that hypermasculinity is a reactionary response to the construction of South Asian men as feminine by the British. An alternative means to obtain izzat for young Punjabi boys then, is the hypermasculine performance of masculinity in order to achieve power, respect, and reputation. Izzat is also relational. For the Sikh-Punjabi male, the women in his life (i.e., daughters, sisters, wives) are associated with his izzat, which is strengthened in his ability to protect and guard them (Mooney 2010). Female relatives must also uphold a man's izzat, by regulating their behavior and not bringing sharam (shame) to the family.
