AMRITSAR: Perhaps for the first time in a decade senior Sikh militant leaders of Punjab made a self-critical appraisal of the movement and strongly condemned its negative aspects.
Top leaders of Khalistan Commando Force (panjwar), Khalistan Liberation Force and Bhindranwale Tiger Force of Khalistan met somewhere in Punjab recently. On their behalf Bhai Paramjit Singh Panjwar issued a statement to the Press spelling out conclusions of the conclave.
It is a bitter truth that in the guise of militants; robbers have been having a field day in Punjab. This phenomenon has been less in evidence in the Malwa area. But in the Doaba and Majha regions, hardly any well off Sikh family is left in the villages. Hardcore strong groups of socalled militants equipped with assault rifles stayed often for more than a week in a Sikh house to take shelter and food. They invariably compelled these households to arrange finances also. Whenever the police raided these places, the hosts had to bear the brunt also.
Fathers witnessed their daughters being raped. We remained content to blame police cats for all these happenings but we came to know of the reality only when it was discovered that the entire body politic had been polluted. Our own people made bitter complaints about the behavior and character of the militants. They were left to wonder whether that was the ideal for which the militants had been struggling.
In short, we wreaked the tree that gave us fruit and shelter. The public support to our cause became as hollow as cliche as is “workers of the world” for Communists and “unity and integrity” for Indian rulers.”
“There was a time when thousands of Sikhs came together to mourn the death of a Jugraj Singh. But recently no one shed a tear for such a noble soul as Bhai Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala. The public response to bandh call on the death of Bhai Budhsinghwala was a strong indictment of our conduct,” the statement added.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 8, 1993
