CUNNINGNESS ALL THE WAY
No intelligent person is going to be misled by the mischievous release of the allegedly “revelatory noting’s” in late Trilochan Singh Riyasti’s diary. It can aptly be described as a vulgar exploitation of the situation in which the dead can’t rise to confirm or refute the story. And it is nothing beyond a pale imitation of the now familiar frauds that late Indira Gandhi vainly practiced to counter Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s growing popularity with the Sikh masses. The intention behind the release is more than transparent and it is bound to be dismissed by the concerned Sikhs as an infantile exercise to malign the Panthic Committee and to discredit Baba Gurbachan Singh Manochachal.
Delhi is understandably worried over the growing influence of the Panthic Committee and the failure of the Security Forces in subduing the fast swelling ranks of the freedom fighters. Besides, the truth about the Punjab situation has begun to dawn upon the nations of the world. There is increasing sympathy for the Sikh cause and more and more statesmen and organizations are showing concern over the killings of innocent Sikhs in fake encounters and over the draconian laws that make a mockery of the democratic norms. All these developments have added to the nervousness of Delhi and in its anxiety to save its face, it stumbles from one folly to another.
On the one hand, fake encounters are being replaced by cyanide killings and on the other hand plain clothed police men raid the residences of Amritdhari Sikhs and wipe out whole families. These heinous acts are projected as revengeful killing of the police informers by the freedom fighters. The idea is to isolate the freedom fighters and eliminate the Amritdharis with one stroke.
After the miserable failure of the bullet for bullet policy, Ray and Ribeiro have reverted to Delhi’s favorite technique of cunningness and deception. They want the world to believe that the Panthic Committee is the creation of a Central Minister (their finger clearly points to Buta Singh) and that Rajiv Gandhi’s “sincerity” in resolving the Punjab crisis is being sabotaged by that Minister. What kid stuff? Interestingly, all those Sikhs who are striving to create a sovereign state of their own are invariably branded as agents of the Indian government.
If for a moment, it is conceded that Mr. Riyastri, as per the noting’s in his diary, did actually convey this startling information to the Prime Minister, how come the Prime Minister simply ignored it? How it is Buta Singh continues to enjoy his confidence? If Rajiv also is a party to this conspiracy, then, where is his orchestrated “sincerity” in resolving the crisis?
Besides, it is unthinkable in the current Indian context that Ribeiro, or for that matter any other officer, would dare to release to the press noting’s that could spell disaster for the concerned Minister, especially when the Minister happened to be his direct boss. There are numerous such questions that confirm the suspicion about Delhi targeting Sikhs committed to restore Sikh dignity, honor and freedom. Surprisingly, persons with questionable links with the Indian government both in India and abroad are generally found to be floating rumors against the genuine Sikhs. “Government agent” is a very convenient label to destroy the credibility of a Sikh leader and Delhi is always busy in manipulating to stick this label on Sikh leaders who .develop mass following. It is for the Sikh masses to remain vigilant against all such designs.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 29, 1988
