DING, DONG, THE WITCH IS DEAD!!

DING, DONG, THE WITCH IS DEAD,

Which old witch?  The wicked witch!

Ding, dong the wicked witch is dead!

She’s gone to where the goblins go,

Below, below, below!

Sing it high!  Sing it low!

Let them know the wicked witch is dead!
                                  From :  The Wizard of Oz 

Had Indira Gandhi not been killed on 31 October 1984,  you would probably not be reading this blog because your author would have been killed in Operation Shanti, beginning on 8 November 1984.  Read on, dear readers.


Twenty-six years ago today, Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, Architect of the Bluestar Massacre, enemy of the Sikh people, was executed by Shaheed Beant Singh and Shaheed Satwant Singh, inspired and encouraged by the uncle Shaheed Kehar Singh.  Let us drop any hypocrisy we may be harbouring about this person.  She knew that in attacking Darbar Sahib (Amritsar) she would earn the lasting enmity of the Sikh Quam and go down in Sikh history next to Aurangzeb.  She was evil, but she wasn't stupid.  She surely knew that it was suicidal to keep Sikh bodyguards after desecrating Harmandir Sahib.  Or was she so far gone in her megalomania that she thought she was invincible?  Or did she believe she could implement Operation Shanti before anyone would take action against her?  In any case, her nefarious plans were thwarted by her own action in not reassigning them. 

I was in Delhi at a family gathering when we got the news that she had been shot.  Dead silence followed by, “Well, I hope the bitch is dead!”  She was, of course.  When we later heard that her Sikh bodyguards had shot her, a cheer went up.  None of us was surprised.  The older members quickly sobered up.  “Glad she’s gotten rid of, but there’s going to be hell to pay.”  

Of course there was.  Rajiv Gandhi screamed for revenge.  Amitabh Bachhan came on TV screaming "KHOON KA BADLA KHOON!"   (Blood for blood!)”  Blood for blood there was, indeed.  The mobs were given the addresses of Sikh families, paid in liquor and kerosene and ran off to the joy of the slaughter.  By the time the bloodbath ended, thousands of Sikhs were dead, thousands widowed and tens of thousands orphaned.  The financial losses pale next to the toll of human life, but they were also devastating to the Sikh community.

Consider the situation from our Sikh point of view.  Not only was she responsible for invading and shooting up our holiest site, she also destroyed much of our history in the burning of the Akal Takht and the Sikh History Library.  This was followed by Operation Woodrose, a pretty name for a diabolical action rounding up and murdering Amritdhari males in Punjab.

It is widely believed that she had concocted a larger genocidal plan called Operation Shanti (Peace) to virtually wipe out the Sikhs of India.  This was to be carried out in the second week of November during the celebration of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev ji.

Indira drew a diabolical plan, named Operation Shanti, to carry out a general massacre of the Sikhs, of genocidal proportions, around November 8, when the Sikhs would assemble in various Gurdwaras for Guru Nanak's birthday celebrations. According to the plan, large-scale skirmishes virtually amounting to a war were to take place all along the India-Pakistan borders. And, it was to be given out that the Sikhs had risen in revolt in Punjab and joined hands with Pakistani armed forces which had made considerable advances into the Indian Territory. The Sikhs all over Punjab, especially in Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Kapurthala and Jalandhar districts were to be subjected to massive aerial bombardment, apart from being slaughtered by army and para military forces. The Sikhs all over India were to be subjected to mass scale massacre, loot, arson and incendiarism by lumpen elements organized by Youth Congress(I) activists. Elaborate preparations were made by Youth Congress (I) network all over India; they were to await a coded signal to start mayhem.  Operation Shanti, Sikhwiki.

 Large scale Sikh genocide was being planned by the top layers of government including Gandhi herself. The plan, known as Operation Shanti, was to take place around November 8, as was a surprise attack on Pakistan. Beant Singh, the man who assassinated Gandhi, heard of Operation Shanti from R. K. Dhawan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and decided to kill Gandhi. [source: The Sikhs in History by Sangat Singh]  from  SikhLionz .

I try to be nice, really I do.  I just can't find it in me to be nice about this monster.  Had she not died when she did, who knows what havoc would have been wreaked upon us by the Mad Dog of Delhi, the Wicked Witch of the East, Indira (Nehru) Gandhi?  

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN, indeed.

Hallowe'en. Again.

Two years ago, I wrote a post about Hallowe'en. Last year, I printed an informative article on the subject, Hallowe'en and Sikhs. This year, I am just writing a very short piece about my opinions of this holiday.

I have not celebrated Hallowe'en since my young son objected to it in about 1977, asking, "Why do we celebrate bad, imaginary things like the devil and demons? That doesn't seem very Sikh to me." He was right. There is enough evil - imaginary and otherwise - in Maya that I see no reason to celebrate.

I turn out the lights and let the trick-or-treaters go on to the next house. I don't preach about it, but I answer truthfully (generally without calling the devil and demons imaginary) when asked. Anyway, most Hallowe'en treats are bad for kids and it is no longer acceptable to give homemade goods because of the danger of poison or foreign objects.

And, of course, it is the day (appropriate, I think) of Mrs. Gandhi's execution and the beginning of the Delhi Pogrom.. Hardly a day for celebration.



Should you choose to celebrate, some suggestions can be found in Sukhmandir Kaur Khalsa's article in About.Sikhism, Is Hallowe'en A Good Idea For Sikhs? Should you not choose to celebrate, the column still contains a bunch of great information and you would, no doubt, learn quite a lot by reading it.

Hallowe'en and Sikhs - Again.

Last year I wrote about my dislike of Hallowe'en. That has not diminished over the last year. If you don't know about Hallowe'en, what it is, what it's all about I suggest you check out last year's blogpost about Hallowe'en..

Here is an excellent article about Sikhs and Hallowe'en by Harjinder Singh.

Halloween & The Sikhs

Harjinder Singh

http://www.akaalpublishers.com/

Halloween is a global festival which is cheerfully celebrated with kids trick or treating, people mocking and gimmicking ghosts, ghouls, goblins and demons. For Sikhs on the other hand Halloween carries a real grave significance, of real ghouls and demons, who massacred Sikhs in October and November 1984.

On Halloween, 31st October 1984, Indira Gandhi the Indian Prime Minister was assassinated. (Mai's note: executed) What followed her death was inhumane, depraved and despicable, some call it genocide others ethnic cleansing, I"ll let the readers decide what they feel. The world silently turned a blind eye to these events and rather mourned the death of Mrs Gandhi.

Sikhs were burnt alive, raped, made refugees, murdered on mass, Gurdwaras attacked and Sikh businesses singled out for attacks. All this happened in what Sikhs at the time saw as "mother India." What was the crime of these Sikhs? What had they done to bring out the demons of Halloween?

The bodyguards of Mrs Gandhi who assassinated (Mai: executed) her, were Sikhs, so the orchestrated carnage was planned to "teach the Sikhs a lesson." These children, mothers, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers and grandparents had no link to the Sikh assassins. In the times of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Jee, Guru Jee saw the destruction of the Mughal ruler Baabar and said,

There was so much slaughter that the people screamed. Didn't You feel compassion, Lord? O Creator Lord, You are the Master of all. If some powerful man strikes out against another man, then no one feels any grief in their mind. But if a powerful tiger attacks a flock of sheep and kills them, then its master must answer for it. This priceless country has been laid to waste and defiled by dogs, and no one pays any attention to the dead (Limb 360, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee)

These words ring true of what happened to Sikhs across India following Mrs Gandhi's death, to the extent that Guru Sahibs words above aptly describe the attacks on these common, everyday Sikhs. Sikhs were brutally and clinically attacked in cities across India, Delhi, Kanpur, Patna and the list goes on, over 10,000 Sikhs died between 31st October - 3rd November, 1984, many more refugees lived on with nightmares of what they witnessed.

Hitler killed the Jews in gas chambers which were in secret locations but in India Sikhs were killed in public. The Jews have pursued Nazis for these genocidal acts, today the culprits of Sikh genocide walk free, let's try and achieve some justice. Let's remember these Sikhs and support the surviving families and widows, so the pain of Halloween can be lessened. Please see the links below to start making practical steps in this endeavour;

Genocide of Sikhs: http://www.carnage84.com/
http://www.witness84.com/

Films: http://www.amuthefilm.com/

Human Rights: http://www.lfhri.org/ � Lawyers for Human Rights International

Books: Government-organised Carnage, by Gurcharan Singh Babbar

Events:
Candle Light Vigil, 12pm - 7pm, Wednesday 5th November, 2008
Chamberlain Square, Birmingham
http://www.boss-uk.org/

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WHY TRY TO FIT IN? YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT!

Halloween

One week from today is 31 October, a significant date for all of us Sikhs. In North America, it is also the date of the second most celebrated holiday (Christmas is first) of the year. I realise that readers inother parts of the world may never have heard of this nightmare holiday, so I will attempt to explain it.

It is Hallowe'en, which is an abbreviation of All Hallows' Eve. All Saints' Day or All Hallows' Day is on 1 November of the Roman Catholic calendar. This is a day set aside to honour all the dead saints. The night before, however, evolved into a time to honour everything evil. I am not going to give a history of Hallowe'en here; if you're interested, here is an excellent website.

I am going to talk about the current celebration. Dressing in costumes is the biggest deal. Traditional costumes are things such as devils, witches, ghosts, skeletons and the like. Modern costumes might be anything - from space aliens to monsters to royalty. Little girls often favour the princess or the ballerina. All dressed up and then what?

Most kids love Hallowe'en.They get to go trick-or-treating, which is simply going from house to house, knocking on the door. When the door is opened, the children shout 'Trick or treat!' The adults are expected to make over the kids, complimenting their costumes and pretending not to know who they are. Then they put candy in the containers the children have brought for that purpose. The name, however, means 'give me a treat or I'll play a trick on you. I don't think that's taken very seriously, though, as I have always ignored Halloween and no one has hassled me.

Parties are also popular for all ages. One traditional Halloween game is dunking for apples. Apples are placed in a tub of water. Hands behind the back, the person is supposed to use their mouth to retrieve an apple.

The haunted house is another Halloween favourite. The point here is to scare people. In a darkened room, a person might put their hand into a bowl of pealed grapes and be told they're human eyeballs. Or long, cooked, oiled pasta might be 'intestines. Human skeletons might jiggle around. Blood-curdling screams are heard. You get the idea.

Often teenagers light firecrackers and smoke bombs boom bombs are much in evidence. Our neighbourhood tends to look, sound and smell like a war zone.

It is also a time when a lot of inhibitions are loosened. Alcohol is consumed in great quantities. Murders, rapes, muggings and other violent crimes abound. Across the street from us lives a 'man' - I call him 'the maggot' - who tried to rape his next-door neighbour girl last summer. He hasn't been around much; everybody knows about it and he isn't safe around here. Nobody, including me, will have anything to do with him. Her brothers beat him up rather thoroughly, but stopped short of killing him. I have no idea how his court case is going, but the charges against him - attempted rape, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, supplying a minor with a controlled substance, supplying alcohol to a minor - are serious enough to send him to prison for many years. I am very apprehensive as to what may happen to his house next Wednesday.

I hate Halloween.