Birmingham: Mr. Tarsem Singh Purewal, Editor of the popular and often vitriolic UK weekly ‘Des Prades’ recently agreed to an interview with ‘Sunday* which appeared in the 8/28/92 issue, Portrayed as a cold and calculating businessman who sells his paper primarily to Sikhs in England and Germany he claims ‘no interest in Punjab’.
His diatribes against the Indian government are seemingly based On a personal vendetta waged between he and Mr. Darbara Singh. He believes that a report and photo he published of Mrs Indira Ghandi being escorted by Darbara Singh from the stage of the Havelock (England) gurdwara started the fight, Purewal felt there was big news in the story of the sangat refusal to let her speak and that its publication led to his being blacklisted after she came to power. Later when Purewal’s mother was dying of cancer in the Punjab he was denied the opportunity to ‘sit by her side and was deported before he could see her. It is this desire to avenge his deportation that is the motivation that drives him,
His negative feelings about Khalistan may reflect his secure situation as an expatriate with his immediate family well established in England for over 2 decades. His children “yawn if I dare mention Punjab-Khalistan. I don’t need Khalistan for them or myself. Let Punjab be given to a black thief , it does not matter to me. The day Khalistan comes into reality, it would be nothing but a fundamentalist state, where dictators will rule-Sikhs will be pushed back by two centuries. His indifference is tempered with his critical view of western Sikhs who ‘Claim to be fighting for Khalistan’ . “They are hypocrites: most of them come here for economic asylum in the disguise of Political asylum. These leaders are looting gurdwaras in the name of Khalistan. Each gurdwara on an average receives offering worth four lakh pounds a year. Where does all the money go? Ask these leaders where they send this money. They wear turbans only on Sundays to pretend they are true Sikhs.”
Many others have laid similar criticisms at the door of self-proclaimed militant or movement leaders who seem to be motivated more by greed than sincerity including an article by Dr, Amarjit Singh, Khalistan Affairs Center “Beware Academicians….” which WSN reprinted in the last issue.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 18, 1992
