Bhai Harjinder Singh and Bhai Sukhdev Singh and are true Sikh heroes of whom the Sikh nation is justly proud. They did the nation proud when they showed to the world that the Sikh tradition is when an enemy dishonors and insults the community’s conscience, the very soul and heart of this brave nation, called the Golden Temple. No attacker has so far Escaped the wrath of the Sikh nation. Beginning with Ahmed Shah Abdali and ending with Indira Gandhi, every one has had to pay the price for his or her misadventure. General A.S. Vaidya had also to pay for his folly, He presumably agreed to lead the army attack to advance his career prospects just as many other officers these days are busy killing Sikh youths in fake encounters, What is striking about the murder of Vaidya is the open admission by the two Sikh heroes of their well thought out design and their final resolve to do the same thing should any one Else have repeated the mischief at Amritsar, They even Promised to do what they did in their new incarnation too.
That Is the ultimate in commitment. They refused to file any appeal to spare their lives, That, again, is the ultimate in belief of the two in the righteousness of their cause, But evidently these superhuman gestures have had no effect on the intensive Indian state which is determined to execute them,
What is however noteworthy is the climate of mystery created by New Delhi on the eve of its planned action at Pune jail, Is the Indian government playing games? Or, is it in haste to do away with the two Sikh youths? What is the role of the Indian Supreme Court in this drama? These are historical questions answers to which will have to be found in due course, Even some of the traditional Akalis are not above the Indian game plans. They are keen on inheriting the assets of these two heroes but are far from convinced about their political philosophy or program.
Whatever these game plans, the execution, if carried out, will widen the gulf between the Sikh nation and India. The historic letter the two heroes wrote to the Indian President sometime ago will become an article of faith for the Sikh masses as never before.
That is no small gain for the Sikh movement from which the two lived and are willing to die a few hours after we are writing this piece.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 16, 1992
