The Attack On The Golden Temple: The Turning Point June 4, 1984. The sun was shining brightly. I rushed home afterschool, At the door my brother greeted me with an perturbed expression on his face. He exclaimed, “You won’t believe what I just heard on T.V.! They attacked the Golden Temple.” I couldn’t comprehend what he just said, I said, “that’s impossible! Who would do something so horrible?” My brother replied, “the Indian Army.” The news also reported many people were killed. The sun was no longer shining.
That day my family and I sat watching, our eyes glued to the T.V., waiting for more details. The accounts of the attack poured in; all the stations had various reports. Some stated that only a handful were killed yet others reported thousands were dead. I wished that someone would wake me up from this horrible nightmare. Like a coward I prayed to God that none of the victims were my relatives or acquaintances but I soon realized that all the victims were my sisters, brothers, fathers and mothers.
Days and weeks passed by, we attended innumerable protests and marches. I am sure that the entire Sikh community felt the frustration when the public was not willing to readily accept the fact that India was not the world’s largest democracy, but that it was a great violator of human rights.
The attack on the Golden Temple was the turning point in a long list of grievances with the Indian government. This started with the betrayal of the Sikhs. The Sikhs were promised many things after the independence from the British, The Sikhs were promised greater state autonomy. This never happened. The Sikhs started a peaceful agitation, but their pleas were not heard.
Throughout history the Sikhs have listened to the pleas for help from the oppressed society. Our Gurus stood and some of them died for the freedom of religion and the freedom from oppression. At that time the oppressed people were the Hindus. Years later thousands of Sikhs fought and paid with their lives for the independence of India. For all their deeds in helping the Hindus, what did the Sikhs get in return? Only the killing of innocent Sikhs and the torture and defilement of Sikh women and children. The Sikhs had fought for the freedom from the British Raj; now the Sikhs have to fight for freedom from the Hindu Raj,
June 4, 1984, was indeed a turning point for the Sikhs. On that infamous day, the desecration of the Golden Temple and the destruction of the Akal Takhat laid the foundation for the new Sikh spirit. The Sikhs could no longer consider themselves citizens of a nation that would case such degradation to occur to their holiest shrine. It also opened the eyes of the Sikhs living abroad. They could no longer escape from what was happening to their fellow Sikhs in India.
The attack on the Golden Temple was also a turning point in my life. Before the attack I was leading quite a complacent life. I was not altogether concerned with the events occurring outside of America. I did not think that Punjab was in a serious crisis before this. The heinous attack did achieve some productive measures: it ignited a new fighting spirit in the Sikhs, especially within the youth.
When the Golden Temple was attacked, we all were attacked. It was a rude awakening to what was occurring in Punjab. It is believed that thousands of innocent men, women and children were killed during the attack. I do not care about the statistics nor does the rest of the Sikh community. We all would feel the same anguish if only one person was tortured or killed at the hands of the Indian government. I hope that the Sikhs and others concerned can unite to pass this difficult time and resolve the situation. I pray that the sun will shine again.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 2, 1989
