Warriors In The Temple - 9 April 1984

Twenty-Five Years Ago, Yesterday

I came across this story, quite by accident while looking for a picture for another project. This was published 2 months before the Bluestar Massacre. An interesting perspective, eh?

My comments are in (parentheses and italics).

Reprinted from Sikhs Times

By LAURA LÓPEZ and DEAN BRELIS

WARRIORS IN THE TEMPLE

Time, New Delhi, Apr. 9, 1984

Photo: Bhindranwale, with entourage at the Darbar Sahib complex (also known as the Golden Temple complex), Amritsar

Sikhs and Hindus engage in frenzied clashes

In normal circumstances, entering the Golden Temple at Amritsar, Punjab, the holiest of Sikh shrines, is a serene and majestic experience. Over the past few weeks, however, the temple has become a formidable fortress. Religious symbols mix with modern rifle muzzles, automatic weapons, swords and battle-axes. Even women are armed, and some children as young as five have daggers hanging from their belts.

The Sikhs, a sect (sic) of 12 million that broke with Hinduism at the end of the 15th century, are known equally for being charitable hosts and aggressive warriors. Today they seem solely the latter, as they are preparing for what may be the battle of their lives. (Not to mention the battle FOR our lives) Their increased demands for political and religious autonomy in the Punjab and their use of violence to enforce those demands have made them virtual enemies of the government and the Hindus who once lived peacefully in their midst. The Sikhs have become a grave concern for Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Says a senior Indian official: 'It is the greatest, most volatile crisis this government has faced since the days of partition.'

Resistance to Sikh militancy from Hindus in the Punjab and the neighboring state of Haryana has raised the latest violence to alarming levels. Within the past two months, at least 88 people have died and almost 250 have been wounded in frenzied clashes. In one instance, Sikh extremists threw a grenade into a Hindu religious festival in Amritsar. Three people were killed, 51 injured. The Hindus quickly became an outraged mob, charging the police and accusing them of favoring the Sikhs. Unable to contain the crowd with their long bamboo poles, police opened fire with tear gas and finally, in desperation, with bullets. Before the riot was over, the crowd had burned and looted many Sikh shops and smashed to bits Sikh-owned scooters and bicycles. (Just a foreshadowing of things to come in November.)

Ever since India's independence in 1947, the Sikhs claim, they have faced discrimination. (And still do.) Before then they had enjoyed preferential treatment in the armed forces and civil services, and were given special representation in elected bodies. With independence, those privileges were lost, and the Sikhs became politically subservient to the Hindu majority. (It seems to me, the problem was that we refused to become subservient to anyone. We were insisting on the government keeping the promises made before independence, when the Hindu majority needed our help.) Soon they began agitating for their own state. In 1966 they were given Punjab by the federal government. (An outright lie! If we had been "given Punjab by the federal government," we would have raised out flag, formed our government and lived in peace with India.)Although that state has India's richest, most fertile land, the Sikhs still felt their portion was too small compared with that of neighboring Haryana, the state created at the same time for the Hindus. Therefore, the Akali Dal Party, the political arm of the Sikhs, began an insistent drumbeat of peaceful protest. In 1973 the Akalis passed a resolution setting out various religious and political demands, among them that Punjab's capital, Chandigarh, be made a Sikh capital exclusively, and Amritsar a holy city.

Two years ago, an extreme right-wing (Extreme right-wing? Fascist? I've been called many things in my life, some of them uncomplimentary, but never right-wing or fascist. In fact, I have most often been called things like "dirty pinko commie.) Sikh faction emerged, thus turning the protest aggressive and radical. Its fanatical leader, Sant Jarnail Bhindranwale, (It strikes me as strange that first they call him "Sant," then "fanatical.")36, (So young. So strong. So pure.) now commands at least 1,000 armed followers from the most sacred room of the Golden Temple. Hindus have begun to fear that the demands of the more heavily armed Sikhs will be met as Bhindranwale's movement gains momentum. Even when Gandhi assured them that they would not be let down, Hindus organized to combat the Sikh threat. (Had the Hindu leaders kept their promises, there would have been no "Sikh threat"! Do I detect a tone of prejudice or bias here?)

In mid-February Hindus in Haryana staged then-most violent assaults yet. A mob of 5,000 quickly grew to 8,000, attacking however many Sikhs they could find. In one instance half a dozen Sikh prisoners were held immobile and their beards and hair shorn as Hindus hooted and yelled. 'There goes your hair power,' cried out one Hindu demonstration leader, referring to the Sikh belief that spiritual power derives from long hair. (Not exactly. Notice how they try to make us sound silly and superstitious?)Their heads shaved to the scalp, faces no longer covered with luxuriant beards, Sikhs lay in the street, blasphemed, humiliated and scorned. Blasphemed and scorned, to be sure, but not humiliated. No one can be humiliated without their own consent. I'm sure these brothers never consented to be feel humiliated.)

Last week, in an atmosphere of anarchy, Gandhi's government imposed harsh measures of its own. In clashes between police and terrorists in New Delhi, the Punjab and Haryana, at least eight people were killed and 36 wounded. After five moderate Sikhs were assassinated by radical members of the sect, the government ordered the arrest of 1,225 young Sikh fanatics (read Amritdhari) across the country who were suspected of sabotage and planning insurrection. To quell further uprisings, the government increased military patrols on all railroad lines and highways, bringing the total number of security forces assembled in Punjab and Haryana to 50,000.

Gandhi first moved forces in to surround the Golden Temple in early March, in an attempt to isolate Bhindranwale and stop Sikh provocations. It is unlikely, however, that Gandhi would decide to move them inside. By doing so, she would risk committing a sacrilege that all Sikhs, moderate and radical, would find intolerable. (She did and we did and she ended up executed by our beloved shaheeds, Beant Singh Ji and Satwant Singh Ji.) Since Sikhs make up 25% of the armed forces and hold key command positions, Gandhi does not wish to provoke them any more than necessary. Last weekend, in a bold bid for reconciliation, she established a committee to draft an amendment to the constitution that would define the Sikhs as a separate religion. Sikhs immediately responded to the new development by calling off the burning of 100,000 copies of the Constitution, which they had scheduled for this week. At last a breakthrough seemed possible. (Possible? I guess it didn't turn out that way.)

(Until reading this story I really didn't realise how prejudiced against us the Western press, in this case, Time Magazine, a respected news magazine was.)

(And that's the way it was, Monday, 9 April 1984, as we were preparing our trip to India. It was, of course, the last time we were to celebrate my birthday and our anniversary.)

Hurray For Jarnail Singh of Delhi!

Occasionally, my inbox holds a delightful surprise. This morning when I logged on, I glanced through my e-mail and an item "Sikh Journalist Throws Show At Home Minister" immediately caught my attention. I opened it immediately, abandoning my usual methodical way of dealing with e-mail.


I was not disappointed. It seems one Jarnail (nice name!) Singh, a journalist from Delhi, had had enough of Mr. Chidambaram's cavalier attitude about the phony clearing of tytler and lobbed a shoe at the Home Minister. No charges were filed against Mr. Singh since Chidambaram has "forgiven" him. Might it also have something to do with the upcoming elections?

A perfect gesture, insolent, cheeky, insulting, yet no physical damage. This is what we used to call"insulting with style." There is, however, a saying "Never insult with style when you can insult with substance." The next act may well have some substance. I just read that Congress may withdraw the candinancy of noth Jagdish and Sajjan Kumar. A victory, however small is still a victory. Shall we all sing together?

There's a man by my side walking
There's a voice within me talking,
There's a voice, within me saying,
Carry on, carry it on.

They will tell their lying stories,
Send their dogs to bite our bodies,
They will lock us up in prison,
Carry on, carry it on.

All their lies will be forgotten,
Their viscious dogs lie dead and rotten,
All their prison walls be fallin'
Carry it on, carry it on.

When you can't go on any longer,
Take the hands of your sisters and brothers,
Every victory brings another,
Carry it on, carry it on.

Carry on, carry it on.

Repeat 1st Verse
Carry it on, carry it on.

By the way, I also see in my inbox that the three year sentence of the original shoe thrower from Iraq has been reduced from three years to one. That's better, but still, they ought to give him a medal and a lifetime pension for shucking his shoe at Bush.

Please enjoy this video:


URL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP6gqMRpH3I&feature=related

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

Another Lie of The US Army

I am no fan of the acts of aggression that the US Army have been inflicting on the innocent people of Iraq. And I have thoroughly denounced the atrocities committed at Abu Ghraib Prison and elsewhere. Please do not interpret my stand on this issue as an endorsement of the unrighteous use of force.

That said, this morning I received this latest release by the Sikh Coalition.





It seems that these two Sikh gentlemen joined the Army in order to get money for their education. This is pretty normal in America. There is currently no draft; it is an all volunteer army. So one of their inducements to gain recruits is to offer this financial aid for college. This is the only way that many intelligent young people - both men and women - are able to afford this education that they need.

These two young Sikhs joined up in order to get their educations, both in the medical field. They were told that their turbans and kesh would be "no problem." Now that they are to go on active duty, the Army has recanted on their promise and insist they must abandon their turbans and Articles of Faith, in this cast, their kesh.

Before 1981, turbans were allowed. Then during the repressive Reagan Regime, all "conspicuous" religious articles of faith for its service members were banned by the Army. Those who had previously tied turbans were allowed to keep them. I have managed to track down pictures of the two officers mentioned in the article, also medical officers Colonel Arjinderpal Singh Sekhon, a doctor, and Colonel G.B. Singh, a dentist, both of whom retired last year (2008).




Although many of us have a great disdain for the American military machine, nonetheless, we cannot stand by and let our fellow Sikhs be shorn because of their lies. I see this as a civil rights issue, not any approval of the US Army on my part.

(Note: if they lie to their own people, can there be any reason they would tell the truth to the rest of us?)


From Sikh Coalition:

(Washington, DC) April 7, 2009 - This Vaisakhi, the Sikh Coalition will stand alongside two Sikh military recruits to call on the U.S. Army to end its ban on turbans. The men, both medical professionals in the Army, are being told that they must remove their religiously-mandated turbans and cut their unshorn hair and beards when they report for active duty in July.

Today, we are asking for your help to ensure Sikhs' right to serve.

Captain Kamaljit Singh Kalsi, a doctor, and Second Lieutenant Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist, were part of an Army program that pays for medical education in return for military service. At the time of their enrollment, military recruiters assured both men that their turbans and unshorn hair "would not be a problem."

Captain Kalsi and Second Lieutenant Rattan maintained their Sikh identity throughout graduate school, during specialized Army training, at Army ceremonies, and in Army medical facilities. Four years later, the Army is telling the two Sikhs that the recruiters' assurances were false and that they will have to forsake their religious practices.

Next Tuesday, the Sikh Coalition will launch a campaign to protect Sikhs' right to serve in the U.S. Army with their Sikh identity intact. That day marks the 310th anniversary of Vaisakhi - the day Sikhs received their articles of faith. On April 14, 2009, the Coalition will file a formal complaint with the Department of Defense's Inspector General on behalf of Captain Kalsi and Second Lieutenant Rattan.

"After four years of training in Army facilities, I was shocked to learn that the Army would go back on its promise, and expect me to choose between my faith or my service to my country," said Captain Kalsi. "There is nothing about my religion that stops me from doing my job. I know I can serve well without compromising my faith."

In 1981, the Army banned "conspicuous" religious articles of faith for its service members. However, Sikhs and other soldiers of faith who were part of the army before the 1981 rule change were allowed to stay. As a result, Colonel Arjinderpal Singh Sekhon, a doctor, and Colonel G.B. Singh, a dentist, continued to serve in the U.S. Army with their turbans and unshorn hair for the past twenty-five years. They both retired in 2008. Despite this, Captain Kalsi and Second Lieutenant Rattan are being prohibited from taking up the very same positions in the Army today.

In 2008, the United States celebrated the 60th anniversary of the integration of our armed forces. On that day, President Harry Truman declared "there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion or national origin." Today we are asking the military to follow this core American principle with words and actions.

To learn more, please visit our Campaign Action Center. There, you can sign on to a petition, get details for Tuesday's press conference, and find out about other ways you can help.

As always, the Sikh Coalition urges all Sikhs to practice their faith fearlessly. If someone tell you to remove your articles of faith, please report the incident.

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

W3I: The Sad And Disgusting Affair of Jagdish Tytler - Part Two

After, Tytler was given a clean chit, this article appeared in The Times of India. It is followed by my response, first published in slightly different form in the Gurmat Learning Zone.

Riot victims speechless

Kanchan Vasdev
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 3
Veeran (70), a victim of 1984 riots, has consoled her seven daughters
all these years saying that justice would finally be meted out to
them. She had lost her only son and two sons-in-law to the riots. She
is speechless since yesterday and does not know how to face her
daughters after years of reposing their trust in the CBI.

Agency's clean chit to Jagdish Tytler yesterday not only scratched
their wounds but also rubbed salt on them. "We somehow survived the
riots, lived with the loss of our breadwinners, hoping it would be a
balm on our wounds. We are more hurt today not for the fact that we
have been wronged but because justice eludes us," said Veeran.

She had fled from her house in Tilak Nagar in New Delhi during the
three fateful days along with her daughters and took refuge in a
local gurdwara. She lives in state's biggest colony of 1984 riot
victims, who echoed their sentiments to a The Tribune team today.

With tears in their eyes, they narrated their horrid tales of 1984.
"Burning tyres were put around the neck of our men. The girls were
chased, kidnapped, raped and killed. Bodies of many girls were not
even traced," said Harbans Kaur, who lost her brother-in-law and four sons.

Davinder Kaur, whose husband was burnt alive; Gurcharan Kaur, whose
infant son was thrown in a tandoor in the compound of her house;
Veeran Wali, who lost her husband; and Baldev Kaur, whose husband was
burnt after his truck was torched, were shocked at the decision of the CBI.

"When the inquiry was ordered, we had a sigh of relief that the CBI
would deliver justice. Now, I am certain the CBI sleuths, too, work
under the wings of AICC supremo Sonia Gandhi. We are totally broken,"
Surinder Singh, a victim.

Later, they burnt an effigy of the CBI and blocked traffic on the
southern bypass. [Note by Mai: We burn effigies, they burn US!.

My response:

I read this today and nearly cried. I need to write to my sisters, fellow survivors of this horrendous experience.

My dear, beloved sisters (and brothers, too),

I am sure some of you who are readers of this blog will read this. Even though you are silent, I know you are there. Nearly 25 years ago, our worlds were shattered, our families tortured and murdered before our eyes, all that we loved bloodied and destroyed in a few days of madness. But, stop! Not everything we loved was destroyed. We have proven ourselves to be true Singhnis and Kaurs, worthy to be called "Lioness" as well as "Princess." We have proven that we are spiritual descendants of our Sikh foremothers, that through Guru's kirpaa, we can be as strong and as tough as is necessary.

It has been hard, harder than can be explained, even for me, and it was much easier for me than for most of you. I had the country of my birth, Canada, as a refuge, with a sorrowful affluent family to shelter me from most of the physical, and many of the emotional, hardships you have faced. You were left, not forgotten, but not properly cared for and honoured as the mothers and daughters and wives of shaheeds, as well as heroes in our own right.

For all these years, we have cried for justice, for those who instigated this bloody pogrom to receive the punishment they have so richly earned. It looked as if we would finally, finally, get the satisfaction of seeing at least one of our tormentors pay for his misdeeds. It seems as if that is not to be. Today we are hurt, angry, devastated. How could this happen? Corruption? Bribery? Ineptness? Something else? I do not know.

But this I do know. My sisters, we are Sikhs! We do not give up. We do not give in to despair. I feel the pain of Bibi Surinder Kaur ji when she exclaimed, "We are totally broken." I know it feels that way. But the broken can be mended and, perhaps, become stronger than before. There is a lot of truth to the statement, "What does not destroy me, makes me stronger." We are not destroyed. We must dig deep into ourselves and, especially those of us who are Khalsa, find that infinite well of chardi kala that is the gift of Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj, our beloved Guru Papa Ji.

My sisters, make noise! Make a lot of noise! Block traffic! Burn effigies! Make a huge stink so these people know that, while they can kill these mortal bodies, they cannot destroy us and they cannot touch the spirit of chardi kala that burns within each of us. We must hold each other up and freely share our strength with each other. Never let those who seek to destroy us forget that the Sikhs, both Kaurs and Singhs, are here and we won't disappear. And we won't be ignored.

I firmly believe that everything that happens is the Hukam of Vaheguru. I rarely understand why this or that happens; Akaal Purakh neither consults nor explains its Hukam to me. I am not in charge. I can only do what I see to be right to the best of my ability. This I know for certain, although evil flourishes around us, this is not our destination. This is not our home. Every day, each of us, wherever she (or he) is on this great journey, moves closer to the day when when we are re-united with our Husband as the unblemished bride.

So, my beloved sisters, this great injustice is just a temporary setback, not a defeat. We must pick up the broken pieces of our lives and the pieces of our broken hearts and carefully glue them all back together with the superglue of chardi kala. We are loved. We are strong. We are Kaurs.

Chardi kala!

Your sister,
Harinder Kaur, called "Mai"

]

W3I: The Sad And Disgusting Affair Of Jagdish Tytler - Part One

************************************************************

Note: I went looking for the latest Sikhtoon and found this instead:

Quotes of the week
"I am happy today that truth has prevailed. I will fight the election and I am hundred per cent sure that I will get the votes of all sections of the society."

JAGDISH TYTLER, 1984 genocide accused after getting cleared by India's Central Bureau of Investigation - April 2nd, 2009
************************************************************

I had not intended to write about "Sikh issues" under the W3I title, but this one belongs nowhere else.

I wrote this yesterday and, upon showing it to some friends, it was strongly suggested that some of what I had written could, perhaps, be problematic. I have edited out those parts. Please note that this is not censorship; I have voluntarily removed these.

[Edited]
.

Let me digress from Tytler's case for a moment and give a short course in US Constitutional law. The First Amendment to the US Constitution, the beginning of the Bill of Rights reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

These rights are very broad and have been very liberally interpreted by the US Supreme Court. In the USA, where I currently reside and to whose laws I am bound, the "freedom of speech," which is interpreted as "freedom of expression" is very liberal and taken very seriously. Hate speech is "protected speech," even the burning of the national flag is, legally, "protected speech." Hurting the feelings of any community is "protected speech." I believe that a public blog, such as this one is, is also protected as "freedom of the press," equally liberally interpreted. Even most pornography is legal, although there are rather strict limits to broadcast TV and non-pay radio - called the "public airways." So I have two Constitutional protections to protect me. I am free to say almost anything.

[Edited]

A friend of mine in Punjab has described the feelings of the people there. Here is an e-mail I received yesterday morning:

waheguru ji CBI gave clean chit to TYTLER.. y this is so ji, such a
corrupt country.. no one our side.. dear ji wat wl happen nw.. is
this hukam of waheguru ji..

Evidently, many are in a state of shock. Bleeding Punjab continues to bleed. We are crying, crying tears of sadness and pain, of course, and also tears of anger of rage, of frustration. We must not let our emotions overwhelm us. We must act rationally and calmly. After, we are looking for, in fact, demanding justice. Our people continue to be mocked by the Government of India, in this case by the CBI. I am no expert in the Laws of India, so I must ask, "Have we really tried every peaceful means of bringing this criminal to justice? Is there nothing further to be done?" These are honest questions. What are the answers?

We believe that this [man] is responsible for the deaths of many of our people in and around Delhi in November, 1984. As most readers of this blog will already know, the dead include all of my immediate nuclear family, as well as two brothers and some cousins. We have been waiting nearly 25 years, not waiting patiently, but waiting.


Now this. And these two [people]. Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar are on the Congress Party ticket. I wonder at the sanity of any Sikh who would vote Congress with those two standing for office. (Of course, my own sanity has been questioned by those opposed to the establishment of Khalistan, but that is not relevant here.)

Can you believe that this Jagdish Tytler is gloating. Look at the look on his face. He says he is "happy that the truth has come out." I wonder what definition of "truth" he is using. Of course he is happy. He dodged a bullet on this one. Or did he? Bribery, I am told, is common in such cases. He even claims, according to the Times of India, that Sikhs have always voted for him. Is he insane or are we?

The Ultimate Sardar Joke

.
"A bombshell of a Sardar joke was dropped on all of us a few days ago and here it is in case you missed it." Thus a friend wrote to me. Like almost all Sikhs, I detest Sardar jokes. This is the worse, most insulting I have ever seen and I cannot bring myself to post it in my blog. Still, you need to see it.

'To quote George Orwell

"The aim of a joke is not to degrade the human being,

but to remind him that he is already degraded." '