(Comments & report by: Pritpa! Singh Bindra)
In the fight against British for the freedom of India the Sikhs had been foremost in every struggle. They cooperated, rather led the Congress leaders 0 achieve the goal. Eight percent of the people shepherded to the gallows were the Sikhs. They suffered colossal amount of property losses, and faced the depravation of their ancestral lands. Millions of them were uprooted from the areas now called Pakistan, headed towards India to enjoy the benevolence of the freedom. Although hardly two percent of the population, due to their sacrifices, the parallel standing of the Sikhs as the third (next to Hindus and Moslems) political entity in the country was acknowledged prior 10 1947. Considering the enormity of their sacrifices, the prestigious Daily of Calcutta, the Statesman, had pleaded in its Editorial on June 4, 1948, “the Indian Dominion should consider the Sikhs a special case…special sympathy and special practical aid,.. means of creating for the Sikhs a special position in the Punjab.”
But the situation went haywire the day India became independent, All the promises, undertaken by the Congress leaders to win the cooperation of the Sikh community, were disregarded, ‘And the circumstances had no alternative but to tum to the prediction of Daily Statesman in the same issue mentioned above, “If a just and rue solution of the Sikh problem is not found, the larger new Dominion may ‘experience difficulties and even perils in a comer of its territory.” ‘The broken promises and the betrayal by the Hindu leadership in the Congress, forced the Sikhs, in the foreign lands too to redress their grievances. Particularly, the jovialities on the celebrations of the Independence Days prodded the Sikh minds. Many a time, the disgruntled and frustrated individuals indulged in demonstrations that were looked down upon, due to the ignorance of the facts, by the indigenous population.
There has always been a need to enlighten the local population with the facts. To combat the growing ill feeling, probably promulgated by the vested interests from India, the newly formed Ontario Gurdwaras Committee (an umbrella group formed by 18 Gurdwara Sahibs in Ontario) decided to put the truth before the public on the day of India’s Independence, through a press
Conference.
The Conference was held in the Park Plaza Hotel, in the heart of the Toronto downtown, just a few yards from the India’s Consulate General, on the afternoon of August 15, 1995. Ripsodak Singh, the Spokesperson of the Committee, welcoming the guests, reminded that the Sikhs had participated in the process of the attainment of the independence with a hope to celebrate the ensuing Independence Days, But they were deprived of the opportunity to share the fruits of freedom with dignity. In the ‘Media Release’ he expressed, “One of the tragedies of the Indian ‘democracy is that the voice of the minorities has forever remained a voice in the wilderness.” With these thoughts he introduced the Guest Sneaker. Kuldip Singh of Toledo. Quoting the famous celestial revelation of Guru Nanak, “Modesty and righteousness both have vanished and falsehood moves about as the leader,” Kuldip Singh compared the situation
in India with that at the time of Babar’s invasion of India in the 15th century AD. The independence day. as a matter of fact. was a calamitous day for the Sikhs, he asserted. The Sikhs sacrificed to let India have the benefits of the independence but in fact, the Hindus and the Brahmins alone capitalized upon the situation. No doubt, the Sikhs had the opportunity of listening 0 their keertans (celestial recitations) inside their Gurdwaras but that was not the only criteria of independence, independence called for a dignified living.
He referred to the pro-independence promises given by the Congress leadership; in its Annual Session at Lahore in 1929 a resolution was passed that, on achieving independence, no constitution would be framed unless it was acceptable to the Sikhs. (Later Mr. Singh referred to a news item in the ‘Times of London—England that had reported an impressive procession led by Baba Kharak Singh Akali Sikh leader at the time of the conference in 1929. It was the show of Sikh solidarity, then, which had prompted Mr.
Nehru to commit as such).
Furthermore, Kuldip Singh pointed to the promise given by Mahatma Gandhi, Mahauna Gandhi, himself, came to Gurdwara Seesgan) (a premier Sikh Temple), Delhi in 1931 and declared, “I ask you to accept my word and the Resolution of the Congress that it will not betray a single individual much less a community, Let God be the witness of the bond that binds me ‘and the Congress with you.” When he ‘was pressed further he said that the Sikhs would be justified in drawing heir sword out of the scabbards as (Guru) Gobind Singh had asked them to, if the Congress would resale from its commitments (Young India March 19, 1931). But when the Constitution of India was formulated, the Sikhs were denied their identity and designated as the Hindus. The Sikh legislatures refused to accept it and sign, When Nehru was asked about this, he said, “498 members had signed, if two did not, it did not matter.” Whereas the same man had declared in 1946 that a place in the North could be found where Sikhs ‘would live autonomously. In August 1947 when he was reminded about his commitment, he said. “The circumstances now have changed.
In October 1947 a general letter from the Government of India was issued, which designated he Sikhs as the criminals and impressed upon the authorities no violet them come across Ambala (outside the precincts of the Punjab).
The uprooted Sikhs from Pakistan were allotted minimal land in India, as compared with their holdings left back.. ‘They were told that the land left by the Muslims, migrated to Pakistan was much less than the land the Sikhs had left behind, Therefore the Sikh were given proportionately small tracts. But, after completion of the distribution, thousands of acres were left surplus which were sold by the Government at ‘exorbitant prices, later, to cam money. The backward classes in the Sikh community were denied the same privileges as the ones in the Hindu Religion. To rectify this injustice the Sikh had to fight for more than two years.
Commenting on the devious manipulative attitude of the Congress leadership Mr. Singh narrated how Mehar Chand Mahajan was planted in Kashmir (0 coerce Maharajah to sign the treaty of accession, and, then, Mahajan was rewarded for his accomplishment with the Judgeship of the Supreme Court of India and later on he was appointed Supreme Judge of this Highest Court, According to the data collected by Khushwant Singh, for whom the Sikh have no regard, only five percent of the people of India belong to the caste of Brahmin’ But 70% of the top most jobs. are occupied by them and that was why the Sikh were forced to call it a
Brahminvad, the rule of the Brahmins. In 1911 an Englishman alerted the Sikhs towards the Sikhs and, then, again in 1918 Macauliffe raised voice to warm them to be aware, as the forces of Hinduism were bent to annihilate the Sikhs, the way they had the Buddhism, Relating to the future program Kuldip Singh stressed upon the need to recognize the enemy. He lamented how every village in the Punjab was mourning; there was not a single house in the villages where there had not been at Teast one martyr (in the hands of the Governmental agencies), With warning shot, “You have suppressed a few sparks but the flames are still towering,” he admonished the Government of India and with Sir Winston Churchill’s famous speech, ‘we shall fight on the beaches…” he wound up is deposition,
Although Kuldip Singh had raised a few serious questions, and, in spite of the presence of some argumentative members of the media, the response towards his analogies and postulations was quite bleak, except, however, a couple of questions from Sukhminder Hansra, Ankhecla Punjab and AjitJain,India Abroad.
Ripsodak Singh explained the formation and objectives of the Ontario Gurdwaras Committee to Ajit Jain and assured that their aim was to promote ‘awareness of Sikh cause through peace full means, such as this Conference; they had no plans of demonstrations or disruptions.
In reply to Sukhminder Hansra, Kuldip Singh urged that the Sikhs should support only those leaders who are striving for the freedom of the Sikhs, and in this regard, he wanted prompt support for Simranjit Singh Mann, He added that it was the time for the Sikhs, like Manmohan Singh and Buta Singh, to come out of the Congress and join hands with effective leadership to protect Sikh identity. In this connection he quoted the advice given by M.A. Jinah to the Muslim Congress leader and the President of the All India Congress at the time, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad,” Refuse to discuss with you by correspondence or otherwise, as you have completely forfeited the confidence of Muslim India. Can you not realize you are made a ‘Muslim Show boy congress president to give it color that is national and deceive foreign countries? You’ represent neither Muslims nor Hindus. The Congress is a Hindu body. If you have self-respect, resign at once.
At end Harbhajan Singh Pandori, President, Dixie Sikiy Temple thanked the guests and requested the press to “take our message” to the people of Canada.
The absence of the English media was quite conspicuous. I asked Ripsodak Singh why had they not invited correspondents from Toronto Star, Globe & Mail, Mississauga News ic, le was very sore on the points, They had informed all of the above and other English Media well in advance but unfortunately no one had responded, He expressed that it was typical of the Western Media; news was not as a news if there was no sensational aspect attached to it, Last year when a few discontented Sikhs indulged in protest against the arbitrary hoisting of the India’s flag in the Mississauga’s Town hall, the English media flaunted the fact. This year the Sikhs wanted to express their feelings peacefully, they did not want to know. Had the Sikhs demonstrated outside Indian Consulate all of the Canadian media would have been there with full force.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 25, 1995
