Kids Corner

All images are from a painting by award-winning artist, Gagandeep Singh, commemorating the 1984 desecration of The Darbar Sahib. For the artist's explanation of the painting,"The Dark Night", please see below, at the foot of the article.

1984

June 1984:
Eyewitness Testimony from Inside the Harmandar Sahib

Bhai JOGINDER SINGH, Former Jathedar, The Akal Takht

 


  

 

 

On June 4, 1984, I got up at 3 a.m.

Exactly at 4 am, I, along with my wife, Harbhajan Kaur, reached Harmandar Sahib for my duty as Ardaasia Singh. Dr. Amrik Singh (Hazuri Ragi)'s jatha was performing kirtan of Asa di Vaar.

At 4:30, when the Palki Sahib arrived from the Akal Takht (Kottha Sahib), the hukamnama was taken.

Around 4:45 am, when kirtan of Asa di Var was still on, a cannon ball struck into the Sindhi dharamshala. This dharamshala was towards the north of the Akal Takht and was between the Takht Sahib and the Tharra Sahib. (This dharamshala was later on demolished completely.) The cannon ball seemed to have come from the Jallianwala Bagh side.

Three or four minutes after that, massive indiscriminate firing started, which went on till 8:30 pm.

Off and on, the cannon balls kept falling at various places, but no bullet struck inside the Harmandar Sahib. As a matter of precaution, we had shut the doors and windows the Harmandar Sahib.

Singh Sahib Giani Sohan Singh ji and I came out of Harmandar Sahib at 9:30 in the morning, after completion of our duties, and reached our respective residences inside the complex.

On the evening of June 4, the nitnem was concluded at 8 pm. That day, the holy saroop of Guru Granth Sahib was not taken to the Kotha Sahib. Rather, the sukh aasan was performed at Har ki Paurrhi itself. At around 10 pm, power supply to the Darbar Sahib and buildings around it was cut off; the army had taken positions on the tall buildings around Darbar Sahib.

From 10 pm till 5 the next morning (June 5), the firing was very subdued. When I reached Harmandar Sahib at 4 am on June 5 for my duty, Bhai Amrik Singh was performing kirtan of Asa di Vaar, and Giani Sohan Singh, with the help of some sevadars, was bringing down the saroop of Guru Granth Sahib from Har Ki Paurhi. Hukumnama was taken after parkash.

At 4:55, there was a hail of cannon balls, and eight of them continuously struck the Sindhi Dharamshala since they were trying to target the Akal Takht. Firing struck all around the parikarma and inside Harmandar Sahib.

The doors of Harmandar Sahib were then shut. Some 4-5 akhand paatthi Singhs, 15-20 sevadars and a few devotees were present inside Harmandar Sahib. Among them were S. Harcharan Singh Hudiyara, Shahid Bhai Fauja Singh's wife Bibi Amarjit Kaur and sister Bibi Paramjit Kaur.

This Bibi Paramjit Kaur was martyred near Baba Sawaye Singh's chhabeel.

Around 11:30, five of us, including myself, Singh Sahib Giani Sohan Singh ji and three sevadars, reached our quarters, carefully negotiating our way through the firing.

Near Baba Sawaye Singh's chabeel, from where steps led to my residence, many corpses of the martyred Singhs were lying. My residence was also not safe, because some Singhs had already organized positions there. Among them were a few Singhs who had come from Nanded. We saw that these Singhs were bravely countering the firing by tanks, which was coming from Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Bunga side.

These Singhs blew up an artillery group, along with the soldiers who were trying to enter from the rear Paapraan Bazaar side. Around 12:30 pm of June 5, I came along with my family to the store where wet garments are stored. There was already a big crowd of Singhs in this store. We thought it better to go back to our residence, after more than an hour spent in the store.

Around 1:30 that day, the water tank opposite Guru Ram Das serai was blown up. Some 200 shots were fired at the water tank. Around 8 p.m., the army tried to surround the Akal Takht by trying to enter from the Paapraan Bazaar side.

The Singhs from our side threw something on those soldiers and we heard loud cries of "Maar diya, Maar diya!" - "They've killed us, they've killed us!" Perhaps all the soldiers down below were killed. Then the army men brought a heavy gun mounted on a jeep. But the Singhs did not allow this jeep to move much.

These Singhs exhibited exemplary bravery till the very end. Around 9:45 in the night, a small tank entered the parikarma. A cannon ball fired by this tank struck our corner room. One of the Singhs who was left downstairs by his associates was injured in this room.

Around midnight, the army was able to take control of this side. Before that, around 10:30 in the night, a few tanks had entered the parikarma from the Langar hall side. Next day, one tank passed by the chabeel Baba Deep Singh and then the shaheed bunga spot. These tanks then fired poison gas balls at the Akal Takht. This gas affected even our side. These tanks kept the firing on all through the night. The bullets kept coming inside our house.

Around 8:45 in the morning of June 6 took place the massive battle in front of the Akal Takht. The army had taken control on all sides, except the Akal Takht itself and the corner on our side where the bungas were located.

On June 6, at 4:05 pm, the army made an announcement using megaphones, asking everyone in the complex to surrender and come out within 30 minutes. Initially we were in a dilemma, but when we saw Bhai Gurdip Singh Ardaasiya and other sevadars coming out of Harmandar Sahib, we also came down from our quarters. We had only locked the outer gate and had merely bolted the rooms. A bit of cash, a couple of watches and some other costly stuff that we had put in a bag, was immediately snatched away by the army men.

Near the deodhi towards the south, they tied my hands behind my back using the small dastaar on my head. At this time, my wife Harbhajan Kaur, mother-in-law Pritam Kaur, sister-in-law Kashmir Kaur and nephew Sukhwinder Singh were with me. When we were arrested, we saw a 3-week old child also lying dead near the chhabeel. All around the parikarma and the rooms, there were many children and elderly devotees who had been martyred.

The arrested men and women were divided into groups of 40 and were handed over to different units of the army. Members of my family and I were in the same group. At this time, the Akal Takht and the darshini deorrhi were both on fire. The 40 of us in our arrested group were brought out alongside the Dukh Bhunjani Beri and then out of the Clock Tower deodhi and made to sit on the debris of the building that had just been destroyed.

Women and children were then separated from the men.

Stuck in the heavy firing ever since the major battle of the morning of June 6, Hazuri Raagi Bhai Amrik Singh and Bhai Balwant Singh, both blind, alongside Bhai Avtar Singh and Bhai Gurcharan Singh, were killed near the Laachi Beri by the soldiers. The ishnaan ghars (bathing places), both for males and females, were packed with corpses.

The army men to whom our custody was given were either Madraasi or Bihari. If anyone asked for water or wanted to go to the urinals, he would immediately be kicked or beaten with rifle butts.

We were brought here around 4:30 in the evening. Around 7 pm, a few commandos came with a bunch of photographs and scanned our faces to see if any matched with the mug-shots they had. The one question we were being asked throughout was - "Where Bhinder has gone?"

Till 10 pm, we were, off-and-on, kicked and beaten with rifle butts. When the children and the elderly started crying badly because of thirst, the soldiers gave us each a glass of water. As our hands were tied behind our backs, the soldiers put the glasses to our lips. That's how we had water.

Later, four young men from our group were pulled out and they were beaten very badly. In the evening, when we were brought there, there were four corpses in front of the Punjab and Sind Bank. But by the time it was morning, these had become 13 corpses. Whosoever they wanted to kill, they would first call him out and take him outside.

Till midnight, we kept sitting there, heads down and our hands tied behind our backs. After midnight, we were ordered to lie down. But with our hands tied, it was not possible to lie down properly and we lay sideways, hovering between life and death.

Around 7 in the morning of June 7, some army men standing nearby were sending messages on the wireless that Sant Bhindranwala has been killed and "we are fully in control of the Golden Temple."

Around 8 am, cars of senior army officers started arriving. Three army trucks rolled in full of ammunition, including rifles, swords and even spears. All these weapons were taken to the Akal Takht. These were the weapons that were later shown to the people during various photo-ops as having been found inside the complex!

Corpses of two senior army officers who were shot dead by the brave Sikh defenders inside the Golden Temple complex were brought out, covered in white sheets. Then a corpse was brought out which was said to be that of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. This was covered with a yellow cloth and was placed on a slab of ice in the deorrhi of the Clock Tower side.

The information officer of the Golden Temple, Narinderjit Singh Nanda, was also with us. He was tortured very badly during the night. Now the army men took Narinderjit Singh Nanda and Bhai Harcharan Singh Hazuri Raagi to identify Sant Jarnail Singh's body.

When they came back, I asked Bhai Harcharan Singh Raagi if it was indeed the body of the Sant. He said that the face was beyond recognition. A bullet had gone through the neck and a sure identification was not possible, but it did appear to be Sant Bhindranwale.

Between 8 and 9 am of June 7, some army men dragged the wife of Raagi Bhai Jagir Singh, brother of the well known late Raagi Bhai Gopal Singh, from their residence towards the Clock Tower. She was crying very loudly and kept on shouting that these army men pulled out her husband from the room and have shot him dead. Then she fell unconscious and was taken to the hospital where she could not survive the shock and died.

Similarly a large number of sevadars at the Darbar Sahib, along with their families, were shot at point blank range by the army men.

Around noon of June 7, our hands were untied so that we could have food. It is necessary to tell here where the food came from. This food was prepared and distributed by a group of Hindu shopkeepers who were celebrating the army attack on Golden Temple and were openly happy at the killing of the Sant. The tea, rotis, pooris, curries and lentils were in good supply. We were sent this same food. You can well imagine how we partook of this food.

After we had eaten, our hands were tied again. Around 3 pm, we were asked to board the army trucks. It was difficult to climb in, because of our tied hands, but the soldiers would badly beat up anyone who slackened his pace.

Sardar Singh, the sevadar of Baba Sham Singh dera who used to bring a deg every day during the chowki at dawn, found it difficult to climb into the trucks and was beaten so badly that he died by the time he reached the camp jail set up inside a school. Similarly, the sevadar of Gutthrri Ghar (where belongings of devotees are deposited for safe custody), Bhai Kikar Singh, alias Kulwant Singh, whose legs were deformed, also could not survive the torture from the army men and died on June 9 inside the army camp.

Some 50 of us were locked in a single small room on the first floor of the school. People were crying because of thirst and hunger. Women and children were taken away. There was a single tap inside a bathroom from where all of us used to drink water or wash ourselves. Only stale chapatis were given to us twice a day.

Every person was separately interrogated and we were repeatedly photographed.

After intensive interrogation and investigation, I, alongside 83 other employees of the SGPC, was released on June 17, but other members of my family and other visitors to the Darbar Sahib were not released and were instead sent to jail. On June 28, I was able to get bail for them.

After being released on June 17, on June 18 I went straight to the Sikh Reference Library, to which I was closely associated as a researcher. I found the holy handwritten saroops of Guru Granth Sahib and many ancient manuscripts, historical documents, etc. missing.

To this date, the government of the country says that all of this was lost in a fire at the library, but the truth is that all this stuff was taken away by the army, because at that time there was no sign of a fire. The building was burned down much later.

I was perhaps not so saddened by all that my family and I went through, than by the realization that the historical heritage of the Sikh quom had been lost.

I went to my residence where the lock was broken and the army men had taken away every single thing, including utensils and clothes. Sitting in front of the Clock Tower, we had given up all hope for life, but I am eternally grateful to the Akal Purakh who gave me the opportunity to continue an association with Sadh Sangat for some more time.

 

A WORD FROM THE ARTIST

The images used for this article are from the painting, The Dark Night, by award-winning artist, Gagandeep Singh, using the medium of pen, ink & pencil on paper. Size: 11.8 x 16.8 in. Artist's Note:  "I search for wounds, for signs, and scratches of the Past. I hear music being played on the speakers, I see directions, I hear the bricks fall. The historian in me records the invasion, for I am left with the shining golden dome which speaks to me of the Killing Grounds of Amritsar." 

[Courtesy: Menkent]

 

[This article first appeared on sikhchic.com in June 2009 as # 30 in its series titled "1984 & I"

June 1, 2013

Conversation about this article

1: Mehtab Singh (New York, U.S.A.), June 13, 2009, 9:23 PM.

Thank you for adding this account to your extraordinary 1984 collection. And what a gripping painting you have used to illustrate it! I would love to see more of Gagandeep Singh's work - he has a unique and powerful style. Hope you're going to publish all of these in the form of a book ... I would personally be interested in a couple of dozen copies!

2: Raj (Canada), June 13, 2009, 11:30 PM.

Hmmm ... having gone through such a traumatic ordeal, what were his accomplishments as Jathedar of the Akal Takht later? It hurts to read the articles in this '84 series. Is there any Jathedar, intellectual, politician or anybody who has any idea what to do to ensure it never happens again?

3: Devinder  (Delhi, India), June 15, 2009, 9:31 AM.

Time and again, the Sikh Quom has faced adversities, only to rise to the occasion and rejuvenate. My humble prayer to the Almighty is to grant peace and everlasting abode at his feet to all those who were killed in 1984. When we ask others what have they learnt or are willing to do here onwards, please let us first introspect and ask OURSELVES what WE have learnt and what WE will do henceforth. May the Almighty bless the Sikh Quom and may the Quom realize the invaluable heritage we inherit from the exemplary lives of our Gurus and their sacrifices and, above all, their teachings.

4: Dharamveer Singh (Mumbai, India), July 13, 2009, 9:59 AM.

I have waited patiently all these years to listen to someone who was present in the Darbar Sahib during the military outrage there in 1984. One hazuri raagi from Darbar Sahib is a friend of mine and I asked him to share his experience with me. But he appeared distressed by the memory and and I decided not to push it further. The words in the Immortal Productions song wherein it states that the Sikhs found in the Darbar Sahib complex were shot at point-blank range after having their hands tied with their turbans at their back was something so painful to hear. Now, we have this person who actually witnessed it. One thing I still haven't learned from my search on the internet is whether the SGPC was supporting Bhindrawale and his men. Could somebody tell me the stand SGPC and Akali Dal took during 1984? Also, if somebody could tell me of any newspaper links of the period 1981-1984, I would greatly appreciate it. I pray to the shaheeds of the 80's. [Editor: www.sikhmuseum.com has an excellent 'News Reports Archive' from that period.]

5: Gurinder Singh (Stockton, California, U.S.A.), June 03, 2013, 5:24 AM.

SGPC was reduced to a namesake body. And it was the one that had launched the agitation. Then for getting power, they wanted to cut a deal. But Bhindranwale, a truthful and no-nonsense person, wouldn't let it happen. And the whole Sikh nation was supporting Bhindranwale.

6: H Kaur (California, USA), June 09, 2013, 10:21 AM.

It is just so sad to read these accounts of the Indian Army, an institution which was built to protect its own people. It will be great if we as Sikhs document our history properly and pass it on to our next generations. While it is important to read and learn about 1984, I believe that we should all read and learn about everything that happened from 1469 as there are many instances where the larger Hindu society and Muslim rulers played havoc with Sikhs and Sikh scriptures.

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Eyewitness Testimony from Inside the Harmandar Sahib"









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