In the Capital city of Chandigarh Paramilitary troops shot Gown: four Sikh young men and injured over three dozen others, twenty of them seriously while trying to stop them from holding a perfectly peaceful protest before the Punjab Assembly building. The protesters simply wanted to register their unhappiness at the non fulfilment of election promises made to them by the Lawmakers relating to the release of thousands of Sikhs who are rotting in Indian Jails as victims of the hurriedly introduced fascist black laws. They also demanded the rehabilitation of Sikh soldiers of conscience who had left their army barracks as a sequence to the destruction of their holy shrine Akal Takht inside the Golden Temple, Amritsar.
‘A dispassionate study of the sequence of events leading to the killing of peaceful marchers brings into focus the painful scenario that obtains in the Punjab and provides a revealing commentary upon the genesis, nature and course of violence that has engulfed the unfortunate state and which treatens to explode into a portentous Hindu Sikh riots on the scale reminiscent of 1947 communal fury and destruction. The marchers were peaceful as they have been during the entire course of Dharam Youth Morcha since July, 1982. Their plan was simply to stage a peaceful protest which is abundantly clear from the fact that after reaching the Assembly building, they did nothing beyond holding a rally. They did not assault or injure any police official nor did they destroy any property even after the grave provocation of shooting and killing. The marchers could easily manhandle or grievously harm D.LG. Mr. Ohri who had fallen among them. They did not go beyond telling him of his dirty behaviour. It is significant that the Paramilitary forces opened fire at the second barricade when 2000 marchers had reached Assembly building. Evidently the firing was made in revengeful frustration or as a calculated design to inject greater dose of violence in the state,
Earlier five students were gunned down and fifteen seriously injured at Nakador. There also the police opened fire at the peaceful protesters who were going to the Gurdwara where Siv Sena miscreants had burnt down the sacred Guru Granth Sahib.
Latest in the chain of these grim killings comes the shooting down of five Sikhs at Anandpur Sahib who were protesting against the arrest of Bhal Mohkam Singh, To Barnala their slogans were a discordant interruption in his threat punctuated speech and in the fashion of Hitler he ordered the silencing of the impudent noise, Barnala acted in consonance with the prevalent spirit of “Indian democracy.”
No eyebrows were raised at this naked state terrorism Not a single non Sikh organisations or political party has condemned this, ‘ongoing outrageous brutality. On the contrary deafening glamour rents the sky whenever a non-Sikh becomes victim of the anger of ‘some aggrieved individual and Punjab suddenly starts looking worse than a slaughterhouse. Its this practice of double standards that is at the root of Punjab problem.
It is now an established fact that Sikhs do not have the privileges of even second class citizens. Their plight is worse than that of Greek slaves in olden times. They have no rights and no legal and constitutional remedy is available to them. They can be tolerated in India only if they reconcile to a life of perpetual humiliation, Let no Sikh be deceived by a few powerless chairs that are doled out to some conscienceless stooges for the purpose of window dressing.
‘The ineffectiveness of the Barnnala ministry and its total slavery to Delhi rulers need no elaborate proof. The sooner it goes, better it would be for the Sikhs, Delhi then, will have no alibi and those Sikhs ‘who are still clinging to their make believe, self-deceptive hope of an honourable life in India will also wake up to face the unpalatable reality. Free World will not accept the truth of the worst kind of persecution let loose against the Sikhs so long Rajiv has Barnalas, Zail Singhs and But a Singhs in his showcase to mislead everybody. Sikhs will have to discard the traitors among them and so isolate
them as to make them redundant if they desire to breathe in a free and honourable atmosphere.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 28, 1986
