Other Survivors' Stories

Few survivors have written their stories. That's understandable; it's a horrible, painful chapter and to write is to relive.


Here are a couple of links about some others survivors of Delhi '84. The first, by a young man with cerebral palsy is especially moving to me. Revisiting 1984 by Amrit in the Writing Cave
















Here are eighteen short eyewitness

accounts. These are brief, but contain a lot of information. Not for the squeamish.



This story is about a reporter who was a witness to Trilokpuri, a poor section of Delhi inhabited at the time by S ikhs, Muslims and Hindus, where some of the worst violence occurred.

This picture of the dog eating the roasted man is from Trilokpuri.




I am adding these gruesome links just as evidence that our stories, while more personally told than most, are not really unusual. I was going to put some more links, but I think this is enough to make my point and, frankly, I've had enough of this for now.

Read and weep.


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

Reprinted from sometimes - 2

Our Stories From 1984

I sat down this afternoon to start a project. I am organising the stories in my/our blogs in some sort of logical order. At first I thought strictly chronologically, but that didn't work since some posts span a lot of time. So I'm still working on that. Most of these are from Sometimes - 2, but a couple are from The Road To Khalistan . Also they were written and posted in a different order than they are presented here, so one or two references really seem out of place. I'm not editing them now, so please live with it. Also the last two posts are from 1985, but I have decided they belong in this post. I have also just now added another post #13, which expands on what was written before.

I am also adding a new link to the post: We Will Never Forget What Others Don't Even Know Happened . This includes a rather long article about what happened, from a Sikh newspaper. It's not really our personal stories, but it's well worth your time. If you're just looking for our stories, jump down to #1, below.



Suni and I have wracked our brains trying to decide the exact date we actually fought in Delhi - and we keep being unable to be sure. It must have been Nov. 3 or 4, but it might have been Nov. 2 or 5. It really was that confusing and traumatic to us.



I have, I think, gotten our stories from 1984 in order, so I'll start there.

1. The Last Time I Saw Amritsar - Early June, 1984




2. Suni's Story - Early November, 1984



3. Hindu Gods And Other Things - Early November, 1984




4. (Shaheed) Mandeep Singh Khalsa - Mani - Sometime in 1969 - Early November, 1984




5. Aftermath - Early November, 1984




6. Conclusion - Not a story, but this needs to be here




7. Vini Speaks - 1926 - Present




8. Suni's Statement - Early November, 1984




9. More Mani - April, 1984




10. (Shaheed) Sandeep Singh - February 14, 1971 - Early November 1984


11. Delhi Again - TWENTY-TWO YEARS AND NO JUSTICE- June, 1985


12. A Fairy Tale - Late 1985
13. Details - 4 November 1984 - This is a recently written post, in answer to someone who felt the need to know exactly what happened, .that day.

INDIA INDEPENDENCE DAY PROTEST RALLY - LONDON

...A good video trailer for the upcoming UK Sikh Protest Rally to take place on 15th August 2007 [London, UK]...forwarded to the Sangat by the Sikh Youth of Southall [UK]...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgZgoE8ODQA


SIKH PROTEST RALLY 15TH AUGUST 2007 LONDON

On India's 60th Independence Day Sikhs Will Protest Agianst India's Continued Human Rights Abuses Agianst SikhsORGANISED BY FEDERATION OF SIKH ORGANISATIONS- SIKH FEDERATION UK - DAL KHALSA UKPLEASE SPREAD THE WORD TO FRIENDS FAMILY AND OTHER GROUPSATTEND THE RALLY OUTSIDE THE INDIAN EMBASSY ON 15TH AUGUST 2007 FROM 2PM - 4PM

...Please forward to your contacts, websites and blogs...

Why Sikhs Shouldn't Celebrate Indian Independence Day

I came across this article in The Gurbani Learning Zone, a Yahoo group. We found it very interesting, stating a lot of facts we have seen in different places, all in one article. We trust that people reading a blog called The Road To Khalistan will not find it too very controversial. We hope you find it interesting and informative:

WHY SIKHS SHOULDN'T CELEBRATE INDIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

15 August marks India's Independence Day and prolongs the suffering of the Sikhs. We are clear about our nationhood, but it is denied by the Indian State and the Indian political class which are not prepared to allow us basic rights.

Sikh sacrifices for freedom

Prior to independence Sikhs were less than 1.5% of the population, but their contribution to the freedom struggle was immense. 77% of those sent to the gallows were Sikh as were 81% of those sentenced to life imprisonment. During the Quit India Movement many indiscriminate arrests were made and Sikhs contributed 70% of the total Punjabis arrested. More than 60% of the 20,000 who joined the Indian National Army were Sikhs.

100-150 million refugees resulted from partition in August 1947 with 40% of all Sikhs becoming refugees. Partition resulted in up to 2 million people being murdered and another 10-50 million being injured.

Sikhs betrayed and promises broken

India's founding fathers gave numerous solemn promises that the Sikhs freedom and dignity would be safeguarded. Jawaharlal Nehru said that "the brave Sikhs of Punjab are entitled to special consideration. I see nothing wrong in an area set up in the north of India wherein the Sikhs can also experience the glow of freedom". These promises were conveniently forgotten after independence and the Sikhs were dismissively told by the same Nehru that the "circumstances had now changed".

Sikhs have rejected India's Constitution

Mahatma [Mai's note: Can we call him 'Mohandas,' his name, and drop this spurious title?] Gandhi and Nehru gave the Sikhs assurances that after India achieves political freedom no Constitution shall be framed by the majority community unless it is freely acceptable to the Sikhs. This promise was repeated throughout the period up to independence. When the Constitution was produced in 1950 it failed to deliver any safeguards or political rights for the Sikhs as a people or nation. The Sikhs therefore refused to sign the Constitution and have never accepted it. Article 25 even denies Sikhism, the fifth largest faith in the world, separate recognition as a religion – an affront that is widely seen as a deliberate act of suppression of the Sikhs.

Demands for greater autonomy were dismissed

The Indian authorities have systematically discriminated against the Sikhs since 1947 and subverted or suppressed all legitimate political demands for greater autonomy. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution of 1973 set out the basis on which the Sikhs were prepared to accept a political union within India, as a federal state. This demand for internal self-determination was pursued through decades of peaceful protest and attempts at negotiation with the central government. The demands were never seriously considered and given the history of the conflict between the Sikhs and India since 1984, this would now be too little too late.

Gross violation of Sikh human rights

In the last 30 years the Indian authorities have unleashed a rein of terror through gross violation of human rights of Sikhs in an attempt to extinguish the calls for freedom and Sikh independence.
In June 1984 the Indian army attacked the Golden Temple Complex and 125 other Sikh Gurdwaras in Punjab and massacred tens of thousands of innocent Sikh pilgrims. This laid the foundation stone for an independent sovereign Sikh State, Khalistan.

In November 1984 tens of thousands of innocent Sikhs were massacred in Delhi and over 130 other cities throughout India by well-orchestrated mobs under the direct supervision of senior Indian politicians and officials.

Over 250,000 Sikhs have been murdered and disappeared since 1984. Many Sikh political prisoners still languish in Indian jails without charge or trial and others have been falsely charged and sentenced to death by hanging. Illegal detention and torture of Sikhs is common place and well documented by independent human rights organisations.

Sikh nationhood and independence

Sikhs first secured political power in the form of an independent state in 1710, after suffering centuries of foreign invasions and alien domination. The larger sovereign Sikh state was established in 1799 and was recognised by all the world powers. The Sikhs, after the two Anglo-Sikh wars, lost their kingdom and the Punjab came under British rule in 1849. However, in giving up power Sikhs were party to several Treaties with the British.

Gurjeet Singh
Sikh Federation (UK)

Reprinted with permission

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

'They've Forgotten And Moved On'

Back on 31 May, I sent this out to just about everyone on my mailing list:

To All my Cyberfriends and Family:



For the next week or so I will be very busy with Bluestar/ Third Gallaghura activities and will not be readily available. If you do not see me online or if you see a 'do not disturb' red ball on chat, do not worry about me; I am fine, just very busy. Please respect the red ball if it is there unless you have a real emergency. Send an email and I will respond as soon as I can.



I am sending this out individually instead of in one mailing as I know many of you prefer to keep your addresses private.



All of you, please take care.



Talk to you later.



Love and hope,



Mai

Most of the replies I got were along the line of 'yeah, sure, I understand, no problem.' One I got, however, I found very disturbing:

--------
From: (A 23 year old Hindu man in Amritsar)

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH...................

This response made me angry and I had no intention of continuing the correspondence. But a few days ago, he sent an e-mail and I decided to let him know that he was out-of-bounds, as he didn't seem to realise he'd done anything wrong. (OK, I do tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. I sent him a copy of my note and his response and told him simply that his laughing was highly offensive because 'some things just aren't funny.'



I received this response: (I have changed the form a bit because his style of writing is distinct, and I didn't ask for his permission to reprint it. but it is exactly what he wrote. Highlighting is mine.)

OK, see, this is a very old e-mail, so I don't exactly remember why did I write this...



but maybe because of your obsession with this Bluestar phenomenon...



As such we here [in Amritsar] didn't observe any such day...and you are so far away...not even a citizen of ours considers it important...so I may have laughed...laughed not at the deaths of innocent people...but of your attitude of bringing this thing up every now and then



or maybe I laughed to see that red balls thing you wrote about being busy...



I don't remember...it's got to be one of two reasons...or maybe both...



But as I write I am more convinced it was the former one...



But no offence meant...



Mai, you need a break really about this Bluestar thing...because where it happened...those who suffered...those who were at the forefront... they've forgotten...and moved on...



I saw just today a report on NDTV...couldn't find you a link...They showed how children of former terrorists are becoming doctors and engineers...



Now you take care of your health, OK?



But I meant no offence that day!!...OK, Ji.



Bye bye.

Remember, this is a letter from AMRITSAR. Is it really possible to ignore this bloody massacre in our capital city? Have those demons running the Indian government really done their work so well that this young generation can pretend it never happened and believe that the people it happened to have 'forgotten and moved on'?

Waheguru!


And this young man hasn't an inkling that his whole response is insulting and condescending and offensive in the extreme.


I am publishing this because I think it is important that we have some understanding of the young Hindus today in the Punjab. This deluded young man thinks he is our friend. He has even sent me snaps of himself with arms draped over the shoulders of his turbaned Sikh friends. If this is the attitude the sympathetic ones, one can only imagine what the majority think.


I am sorry to post something so offensive, but I think we need this kind of information. To anyone I have offended, please accept my apology in advance.

Poll Results

Here is what it said: 48 people responding:

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF KHALISTAN?

It is vital to the survival of the Sikh people/nation/religion.
23 (47%)

It's a great idea, but not vital, Guru Ji will ensure our survival.
17 (35%)

I don't know.
1 (2%)

You are a bunch of nut cases; go into therapy.
4 (8%)

You are terrorists, potential or actual.
2 (4%)

No opinion
2 (4%)

I am Sikh
33 (68%)

I am not Sikh
4 (8%)

So what do I make of this?

There were many more respondents than I expected. In the Khalistan part, there were 49 answers, so someone answered two of those answers, which is fine.

I was very surprised that only two people thought we were terrorists; I guess those in the Indian government weren't voting!

Twice as many thought we are crazy; I expected more there, as that seems to be a fairly common reaction to the idea of Khalistan.

The real surprise to me was the last two question. That was 33 Sikhs to 4 non Sikhs or about 8 to one. That didn't surprise me as I know some from both groups read here now and then. What intrigues me is that 33 + 4 = 37. I wonder about the other 11. It doesn't really matter, of course, but I am curious. My mind just works that way.

Remember, there is nothing scientific about this poll, it is only to satisfy curiosity. In my new poll, I'll try to find out about some demographics.