1984
A Call for Global Sikh Unity
AMANDEEP SINGH SANDHU
The stated intent of Operation Bluestar, in the early days of June 1984, was to evict the resistance fighters who had taken shelter in the Golden Temple, the holiest of Sikh shrines.
It defies logic but the Indian Army, under orders of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, chose June 3, the day marking the martyrdom of Guru Arjan, the founder of the shrine, to launch the offensive. The number of pilgrims at the temple was unusually high. Facing intense resistance, the Indian Army brought armoured tanks into the sanctum sanctorum and the soldiers defiled the place by walking in with their boots on.
Along with the defenders and their leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a large number of innocent pilgrims lost their lives. Simultaneously, the army unleashed its wrath on the Punjab countryside, picking up and killing innocents. All of this sounds like it was an operation conducted in haste, ill-planned and not well thought out. The operation was, in fact, an unparalleled disaster.
The Sikh community felt abused. They felt the nation had disrespected their religious freedom. Bhindranwale became a folk hero. Indira Gandhi’s Sikh bodyguards assassinated her on 31 October. In the pogroms that followed, many thousands of Sikhs were killed, looted, maimed, raped and rendered homeless.
The rage that the Sikhs felt resulted in an escalation of violence in Punjab for another decade. The events mark the erosion of the social contract between the Sikh community and the Indian State. A consequence of this was that many Sikhs sought to escape Punjab and India to start their lives in countries they felt will be less hostile to the community. Britain became one of the biggest destinations for the Sikhs who migrated away from India.
Recent reports coming in from Britain, from declassified documents, point to disturbing facts: they show that as early as February 1984, Indira Gandhi was in talks with her counterpart Margaret Thatcher seeking help from the Special Air Service (SAS) to flush out the resistance fighters from the Golden Temple.
Labour MP Tom Watson and Lord Indarjit Singh have demanded an explanation. The British prime minister has ordered an urgent inquiry into the matter. More facts may emerge to tell us why the operation looked so ad hoc when it was being planned for months in advance.
Yet, one truth is clear. In a year the Sikhs mark a century of joining in the British Army -- and later helping the Allies win World Wars I and II -- the fact that Britain was complicit in the descecration of the Golden Temple and the destruction of the Akal Takht, the seat of justice for the community, is a bloody blow to the Sikh psyche. This flies in the face of the questions the Sikhs who have migrated threw at the Sikhs who stayed back in India: does India treat the Sikhs better than other countries treat them? Sikh-Indians often fail to respond affirmatively because of the three decades of denial of justice to them.
Now, the British files reveal, that line of questioning and engaging with each other is divisive for the Sikh community.
Now we know why it is wrong to believe that only one nation is hostile; nations often gang up against communities. Perhaps every Sikh child has grown up with these lines by Kabir: “Soora so pahchaniye, je lade deen ke het/Purja-purja kat mare, kabhu na chhade khet (The brave fights for the poor. Even when cut to pieces, the brave does not abandon the battlefield)”.
Traditionally, Sikhs have been the soldiers of the society. Now that the declassified documents reveal the collusion of nations against them, it is time for the Sikhs to defend the community.
The British files are a reminder that there is no political succor in escaping India and looking for a safe nation elsewhere. A reminder that Sikhs must unite as a community and, instead of looking at individual governments to address our problems, we need to leave aside questions of which nation is better for us and find ways of becoming a viable and demanding constituency.
The latest revelations are a prompt for the Sikhs to use their diverse strengths to come together and fight for the cause of justice.
[Courtesy: Tehelka. Edited for sikhchic.com]
January 18, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: Gurjender Singh (Maryland, USA), January 18, 2014, 9:05 AM.
This article reminds me of a story in my elementary school about an old man who, on his death bed, called all his seven children and gave them a thin wooden stick and asked them to break it with their hands. Every one was successful in breaking that stick. All the children were surprised why their father had asked them to do this. Then the father took seven sticks and tied them together with a thread, and asked the children to break the bundle with their hands. No one was able to break it. The old man said to his children that the same way is your family. Same situation is happening with Sikhs all over the world without unity.
2: Ari Singh (Sofia, Bulgaria), January 18, 2014, 9:42 AM.
We need a road map to unity. Who will take care of that?
3: Harvinder Singh (Jammu, J & K), January 19, 2014, 12:10 AM.
We should unite and put faith in Guru Granth Sahib only.
4: Kaala Singh (Punjab), January 19, 2014, 3:29 AM.
Sikhs must realize that if they can't defend themselves, nobody else will. This was bound to happen because the inept Sikh leaders in 1947 chose to relinquish our sovereignty in return for false promises. We were attacked because our foes knew that we don't have the means to defend ourselves. Imagine if we had an army of our own, who could have dared touch us. Look at this situation, one political crook in India attacks us to stay in power and the the other political crook in Britain colludes with the former for commercial benefit completely forgetting what we as Sikhs have done to serve both these countries.
5: Akaldev Singh Panesar (Southall, England), January 19, 2014, 4:50 AM.
This is a fight to the finish: either you land with Khalistan or you are done away with the help of the media, governments and big business. The agenda must be to reclaim what is ours but usurped by India and Pakistan through the machinations of the three stooges - Gandhi, Jinnah and Nehru.
6: Taran (London, United Kingdom), January 19, 2014, 8:04 PM.
It is a well known belief amongst Hindus and Muslims that Sikhs are action-oriented, not cerebral. A few years ago, there was a Channel 4 documentary in the UK on the partition of Punjab and India. A senior Pakistani Military chief said it on record that Sikhs suffered the most. He further said Muslims were better prepared as they could see what's coming and he also said with a grin on his face that Sikhs only saw it when the disaster had already struck them. Many Hindus also play this card of divide and rule. Bhapa vs. Jutts, etc., etc. Recently when Bhai Gurbaksh Singh took up this righteous cause of getting Sikh prisoners released is when I felt that the community is heeding to the wake up call. Before that I only saw community getting united for a purpose, as was the case under Shaheed Sant Jarnail Singh Bhnindrawale. Now the fact is that we Sikhs have fought all the wars for others which were none of our business and we never stood up for our own rights. If Hitler was a Nazi and we fought for the British, so is the Indian govt. fascist, and we need to stand up against it with equal fervour.
7: Ari Singh (Sofia, Bulgaria), January 19, 2014, 9:12 PM.
We need a leader! Of the likes of Ranjit Singh. Unfortunately, we have had more than our fair share of traitors. That's why we are defenceless today.
8: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), January 20, 2014, 6:29 AM.
If we want global Sikh unity, then firstly we must listen to Guru Gobind Singh ... No Hindu or Muslim rituals or superstitious practices! No caste; No arranged/forced marriage; No dowry; No male child preference; No astrology; No idol worship; No substance abuse. Just purity and decency.
9: Manpreet Singh (Canton, Ohio, USA), January 20, 2014, 1:27 PM.
Akaldev Singh ji: I am not sure if we should demand Khalistan (I prefer calling it Sarkar-E-Khalsa). If we are demanding it, then please be aware that on one side we will have Muslim dominated countries which traditionally have been against us (read Sikhs) and fanatic to an extent. On the other side we will have government/public who would be completely against us (read Hindustan). Our so-called Khalistan would be sandwiched between these two countries and we would rely on sea-port access and other needs on these two countries. It is difficult to become world leader by simply relying on agriculture and, on top of it, please note these two countries are nuclear-abled and they would not want our Khalistan to be nuclear-abled. Now, coming to the prosecution of war criminals like KP Brar and Sikh killers like Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, Kamal Nath, etc., I think we should put all our energy and funds into such activities. There is significant proof against KP Brar that he not only killed captured Sikh fighters but also innocent pilgrims. Not sure if you are aware that Brigadier Onkar Singh Goraya, Balwinder Singh Ramoowalia and few other eye witness have mentioned that one of the senior official from Madras regiment killed innocent pilgrims by lining them up in the Golden Temple complex. All this happened because KP Brar gave the order to finish the captured people irrespective of whether they were associated with the Sikh defenders or not. We all know how they and many others first killed innocent Sikhs and later the higher-ups protected them from prosecution.
10: Kaala Singh (Punjab), January 21, 2014, 1:55 PM.
@6 Above: Considering our present state of affairs, we seek solace in the past. Also, we have not been action-oriented either. We have only reacted to situations around us. We have only acted like gun fodder for others and not acted for ourselves. The Muslims and Hindus saw it coming because they had capable, educated leaders who had this foresight and were able to protect the interests of their people. We had brilliant and educated leaders too (a la Sirdar Kapur Singh, Hardit Singh Malik) but we side-lined them and allowed our enemies to sideline them and push forward bufoons like Baldev Singh and Swaran Singh. It is no surprise that we find ourselves in this situation. 1984 should encourage us to get back to our bearings.
11: Dr Birinder Singh Ahluwalia (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), January 29, 2014, 9:23 AM.
I am a little intrigued by comments like the one re "Sarkar-e-Khalsa", etc. Last time I checked, it is a democratically elected Akali Govt. - (by the people, of the people and for the people) running day to day affairs of the State of Punjab. Am I missing something here ...
12: Varinder Singh (London, United Kingdom), January 30, 2014, 4:51 AM.
Sikh global unity is a noble, laudable idea, the pre-requsite for which is the need for intellectual and strategic leadership which has the universal support of the vast majority of Sikhs all over the world. In the absence of such leadership, the victimization of or injustices against the Sikhs, more so in India than anywhere else, will not stop. As individuals, Sikhs are gifted, talented and hugely successful everywhere in the world. As a group, they are in disarray and wilderness. The vast spectrum of the Sikh leadership, such as it is, is oblivious to the reality for the panacea for their grievances, particularly in India. We cannot deny that there is an alarming level of disunity and discord among the Sikhs themselves, sadly and predominantly in gurdwaras, of all places. We preach but do not practice the teachings of our Gurus. Guru Nanak set out to eradicate the caste system. Yet, Sikhs continue to be ridden with caste-based divisions. A gursikh is easily identifiable by his or her physical appearance, and by that very token, he/she is also easily recognizable by his/her words and deeds. Any Sikh who distinguishes herself in an exemplary manner in the world is a source of great pride and joy for all the Sikhs. More than that, she commands the respect of others. Whether or not they possess leadership qualities, a disproportionately large number of Sikhs portray themselves as Sikh leaders, often driven by self-interest rather than by a desire to render selfless service for the common good of the Sikhs. They propagate ideas contrary to Sikhism and detrimental to the well-being of the Sikhs generally. Diplomacy seems an alien concept to Sikhs. Sikh TV channels, certainly in the UK, host daily discussions by panelists with blinkered, hard-hitting, subjective views driven by the "Might is Right" philosophy: it ill-serves the cause of the Sikhs. Such panelists, even though genuine in their passion for seeking justice for Sikhs, are barren of intellect, of leadership qualities and of the essential analytical reasoning skills so necessary in the complex, modern societies. We need to put our own house in order first before we can contemplate dealing effectively with the injustices against us by the outside world. The establishments in the West, particularly in the UK, tolerate what they regard as undesirable views and actions, not far off from being extremist, of some frimge elements of Sikhs. This they do out of deference to the Sikhs on account of the high esteem in which they hold them for historical reasons, as generally honest, hard working, industrious, law abiding, peaceful and, above all, brave people. It is, however, sad that the UK Government does not seem to have raised with sufficient vigour the human rights violation issues against the Sikhs with the Indian Government. Perhaps, the reason for this is that Sikh representations to the UK Government have been made by light-weight Sikh Groups, ill-equipped to make any sustainable impact upon their listeners. The Indian population at large is unaware of the contributions and sacrifices made by Guru Gobind Singh and his Sikh followers in the preservation of the Hindu religion against the tyranny of the Moghul Emperors, aimed at wiping out that religion. On the contrary, certain minority sections of the Hindu extremists have attempted to obliterate and re-write the historical truth about the Sikh contributions and sacrifices. It is up to the Sikhs themselves to ensure that such distortions are corrected and the Hindus all over India are made aware, through appropriate information channels, the historical fact that had it not been for Guru Gobind Singh, Hinduism might not have survived in India. I applaud and support any initiative by the Sikhs towards global Sikh unity. But, I repeat, we can only achieve our objective, firstly, through introspection and, secondly, by a genuinely concerted effort towards universal Sikh unity, based on credible leadership. It is only then that the world will take us seriously in our quest for fairness and justice and the recognition of the values of Sikhism.