Dear Editor,
It is in response to Mr. Sen’s letter dated Oct. 4 India West I have been watching with discomfort the anti-Sikh tone of letters in India West including that of Mr. Sen’s letter. The purpose has been to negate the achievements of Sikhs and rewrite history. First of all, it is worth mentioning that the fight of Sikhs is not against any particular community, but against the repressive and communal Hindu Government. Communally biased letters like that of Mr. Sen serve no useful purpose except of alienating one community from the other.
Mr. Sen should read Indian History and in particular Sikh history so that in future he should be careful and should realize his mistakes. At the time of first battle of Panipat, 1526, Sikhs had not as yet evolved as a community. However 1st Sikh Guru Nanak forcefully raised his voice against torture and injustice while no Hindu Saint did anything During the period of Akbar to Shahjehan Mr.Sen should know our 6th Guru Hargobind was imprisoned by Jahngir because of his voice against slavery and later fought four decisive battles with Shah Jehan. In fact Hindus supported the Mughal Emperors and got high jobs under Mughal rule and also embraced Islam in large numbers. The Hindu opposition to Sikhs from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh and recently in raiding the Golden Temple and massacre of Sikhs, is well known to the world. Due to their treacherous behavior Hindus remained slaves for 2,000 years. Mr. Sen should read once again about Rajputs before praising their bravery. These very Rajputs invited foreign power to invade India and helped them. The infighting of Rajputs among themselves their jealousies and shameless behavior can be checked from India’s history.
Another popular topic these days is betrayal by Sikhs during 1857 revolt against the British. It should be remembered that Sikhs fought three wars against the British and in 1849 they were defeated by the British with the help of Hindu and Muslim soldiers. How could these very Hindu armies who were instrumental in enslaving Punjabis could claim the sympathy of the Sikhs, just after eight years (1857) of this tragedy.
In fact without Sikhs political Independence would have been delayed by decades and economic freedom virtually impossible. Sikhs have earned their place in the history Mr. Sen and his compatriots will do well to accept the reality.
Sincerely yours,
Zail Singh Dhillon
2350 Galway CA. ko
Santa Clara, CA 95050
Article extracted from this publication >> October 25, 1985
