Harbir Singh
Ten years ago on June 4 1984 when the Indian Army stormed the Golden Temple.in Amritsar Punjab in its attempt to flush out heavily armed militants under the command of a bold new Sikh preacher ready to challenge the establishment (ironically brought earlier to weaken the Sikhs) Sant Jamail Singh Bhinder wala and his military advisor retired Indian General Subhag Singh little did Indira Gandhi the chief architect of the assault know that this event would plunge the country into one of deepest disintegration crisis since the Indian subcontinent independence from the British in 47 after two centuries of their rule.
Sikhs around the world were outraged after learning the details of the assault ordered by Indira (prime-minister at the time) and approved by a puppet Sikh Indian then president Giani Zail Singh (who reportedly was willing to sweep Indira’s floor if asked to do so and thus the dream of Khalistan (a free state for the Sikhs) was born.
Its foundation further cemented even by the moderate Sikhs who realized the time for peaceful negotiations to settle the long standing grievances with Delhi is over and now the 16 million closely knit Sikh community members mainly in Punjab must resort to whatever available means to free themselves from the Hindu India that has betrayed them and continue read basked state by milking of its Precious economic resources to feed the rest to a head regard for interest of the Sikhs.
To avenge the Golden Temple attack humiliation to Sikh body guards Of Indira swiftly moved Within few months to assassinate Sher while the militants drew a hit list of all army and top government officials involved in the desecration of their most sacred shrine. Hindus outraged by the killing of God like mother Indira in October 84 resorted to full scale street violence for several days and butchered clubbed or set fire to all Sikhs in sight or where ever they could be found including their children and property in the capital and other major cities of India.
Reportedly over 10 thousand innocent Sikhs lost their lives in the post-Indira rioting that was blessed and organized by the local politicians and the policemen became mere spectators of this Camage. the newly appointed prime minister Rajiv Gandhi soon after her mother’s death went on to the national television to add more fuel to fire to Say that when the a big earth moves there is bound to be a fallout (referring to his dead ‘mother as big earth and the fallout to be the thousands of Sikhs butchered by his Congress party sympathizers)
‘Ten years later not one of these culprits including ministers involved in this Sikh massacre was ever tried or punished by the government other than few who were eliminated by the Sikh militants on their own to settle the scores. In the mean-time the Indian police and par-military stationed in Punjab in this period unleashed a terror campaign and eliminated estimated over 100,000 old and new alleged Sikh militants in extra-judicial killings torture camps fake encounters denied the community public funeral nights for their martyred sons in many instances seized their properties taped hundreds of their women Jailed people working for the PHRO (Punjab Human Rights Organization) like Justice Bains pro-Khalistan politicians or other
Sikh sympathizers of the freedom Cause indulged in large sealed extortion for releasing sons of few Who could afford to pay and banned all public demonstrations in the State While the darkest period of post Indian freedom continued all human night organizations like Amnesty Intl and Asia Watch were banned by India from carrying out any investigations of the atrocities being cared by the dreaded Indian police in the state of Punjab.
Last year it held an orchestrated election to appoint an unknown Sikh by the name of Beant Singh as the chief minister of Punjab Who was ready to play to the tune of Delhi and become even more ruthless in dealing with militancy. Early this year the government thus celebrated their victory by proclaiming that the backs of the alleged Sikh militants have been broken India has been able to rid themselves of the menace of terrorism in Punjab and the state is Terrorism back to normalcy.
At the same time India appointed more puppet Sikhs as before to some Very visible positions in the cabinet youth Congress party posts police foreign services to Claim that the community enjoys full nights and respect within the undivided India and problem of Khalistan has been all but solved by their own people. (An occasional appointed Sikh may have frayed and apologized to the high priests at the Golden temple for his involvement in betraying the Sikh cause but then again that is a small price to the be paid for the millions paid in kickbacks to become an agent of the Indian government. One can always become a Sikh again by meting out the penance of washing dishes and polishing shoes in Sikh temples for few weeks.. so thought Buta Singh the Home Minister under Indira Gandhi who recently got punished by the high priests for his involvement in the government service of reconstruction of Akal Takhat the supreme seat of the Sikhs in the Golden Temple).
So has the dream for Khalistan fizzled out during this period or has the movement gone underground in the wake of severe setbacks suffered in their militancy movement? I believe the community is taking a stock of the situation while the peaceful movement to liberate Khalistan continues by means of intense lobbying in Washington DC most notably by Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh World Sikh News World Sikh Organization and their offices in US Canada and UK and several other Sikh spokesmen and organizations around the world Undoubtedly the Sikhs in India have been subdued into not seeking ‘Khalistan’ but that doesn’t mean the dream is not there and the seed was not sown in 1984 It will live on until an autonomous land for Sikhs can be carved out in Punjab where the Sikhs can also enjoy the glow of freedom like its neighbors in Pakistan Afghanistan India Nepal Bhutan Burma and Sri Lanka in the India Sub Continent
Article extracted from this publication >> June 3, 1994
