A disillusionment
When the British tried to crush Indian dissent by passing more drastic black laws like the Rowlatt Act in 1919, Gandhi gave a call of ‘Satyagraha’ and it was Punjab which gave the most powerful and militant resistance to such alien repression-showing remarkable Hindu-Muslim-Sikh unity. The historical Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar took place on 13th April 1919 which formed a turning point in Indo-British relations almost as important as the mutiny of 1857. Stanely Wolpert comments, “… On April 13, 1919, Amritsar (Nectar of Immortality), a city sacred to the Sikhs of the Punjab, was transformed shortly before sundown into India’s first national urban shrine.” (Jinnah of Pakistan by Stanley Wolpert, page 64). Martial law was promulgated in Amritsar, Lahore and a number of districts in Punjab on 15th April 1919. Special Courts and summary courts were appointed. Arrests, imprisonment and executions on a big scale took place. Martial Law lasted from 15.4.1919 to 11.6.1919 during which whole of Punjab was isolated from rest of the world by a rigid censorship.
Those who suffered and faced gallows during freedom struggle in Punjab resisting British repression could never have imagined that Punjab would have to face again the same kind of repressive laws, even more drastic, in free India against which they were revolting! It is a sad commentary on the functioning of Indian democracy that the same kind of repressive laws which used to be condemned as Charters of Slavery during British time are being enacted in one form or other in Free India. Though Indian Penal Code and other laws already provide for all kinds of offences like, sedition, waging war against the
Government and acts of Terrorism, the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, popularly known as MISA, was passed in 1971 with the avowed abject of preserving national security, but we know how this Act was used against political parties, Trade Union workers and other innocent activists.
The same government of free India has now passed the National Security Act, 1980; the Punjab Disturbed Areas Ordinance, 1983; Armed Forces (Punjab & Chandigarh), Special Powers Act, 1983; The Terrorist Affected Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1984 and now the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1985. Jur investigation has revealed that these Acts are being widely used in depriving the people of Punjab of their civil liberties and fundamental rights and have given a free hand to the police and other Para military forces to torture and harass the simple village folks for ulterior purposes.
National Security Act 1980
In spite of the harrowing experience of MISA, the present ruling party passed the National Security Act in December 1980. The object and reasons proclaimed for the said Act were:
In the prevailing situation of communal disharmony, social tensions, extremist activities, industrial unrest and increased tendency on the part of various interested parties to engineer agitation on different issues, it was considered necessary that the law and order situation in the country is tackled in a most determined and effective way. The anti-social and anti-national elements including secessionists, communal and pro-caste elements and also other elements that adversely influence and affect the services essential to the community pose a grave challenge to the lawful authority and sometimes even hold the society to ransom.
- Considering the complexity and nature of the problems, particularly in respect of defence, security, public order and services essential to the community, it is the considered view of the Government that the administration would be greatly handicapped in dealing effectively with the same in the absence of powers of preventive detention.
Through this Act the Government acquired powers for preventive detention of such persons who posed a threat to the defence or security of India and maintenance of public order. However, the developments from 1980 to 1984 shows how the Government tackled the detenorating law and order situation in the country, in spite of its resolve to tackle the same ‘in a more determined and effective way’. The activities of Sant Bhindranwale and his various associates were well-known to the Government but the National Security Act was never revoked against him. But how more draconian amendments were made in it after Blue Star Operation and how the same were used against innocent citizens will be seen subsequently.
Blue Star Operation & rigid censorship
Then came the Blue Star Operation, and rigid censorship was imposed in Punjab. There was no independent and reliable source of news about the happenings in Punjab. The rest of India and the world could know about the situation in Punjab only through the government sponsored news. Any journalist or other independent person, who tried to discover the truth, was charged with sedition. There is the case of Brahma Chellaney, Correspondent, Associated Press of America who was arrested and is now being persecuted by the Government for reporting unpalatable news about the official conduct. At the start of the Blue Star Operation, a large number of foreign and Indian journalists had been rounded up and forced to leave Amritsar in a military convoy. A party to the dispute became its own witness and its own judge in its own case.
If the Government’s intentions were honest and it had nothing to hide, then why did it not allow independent observers, journalists and other neutral persons to watch with their own eyes as to how the conflict between the two sides developed and how both of them conducted themselves during the course of the attack? Even during international wars and battles journalists are allowed to cover the same, but in this Blue Star Operation by the Indian Army against its own citizens, majority of them being innocent pilgrims—the Government did not allow any neutral journalists or newsman. In such circumstances, the following portion of the eye witness account given by the ‘girl student’ who was trapped in the Golden Temple along with her family becomes significant:
“…I could not drink the water because it was mixed with blood. Immediately then Bhai Amrik Singh sent USA message that all of ‘you must try to get out of the Golden Temple because you are innocent. If you are captured by the army, they would not spare you because whosoever is captured by them—whether boy, girl, old or child, would be a terrorist for them and would be shot. Therefore you must try to get out somehow so there would be somebody to tell outside as to what actually happened inside. They are making so much false propaganda about us and therefore you must get out telling the real truth”.
During this rigid censorship all kinds of wildest and exaggerated rumours spread in Punjab as well as outside. We already had such experience of ‘rumour mongering’ during Emergency. While All India Radio and Television blurted out the government propaganda, which no Sikh would believe, the newspapers—national or local— had no independent source of information to provide to the public. In the absence of any reliable source of information, the Sikh and non- Sikh opinions stood divided on opposite extremes. The Sikh masses were led to believe that the government had completely destroyed the Harmandir Sahib and occupied it and had deliberately insulted Guru Granth Sahib by defiling and burning it. The other news like destruction of Akal Takht and killing of innocent pilgrims were accompanied by all sorts of exaggerations. Resentment and anger began to develop fast and Akali Dal gave a call to the Sikh masses to organize into ‘Jathas’ and march to Amritsar to liberate Golden Temple from the clutches of the ‘Satanic forces’. In the words of Swarm Singh, aged 65 years and Sarpanch of Jefferwal village: “Meanwhile Akali Dal had given a call to liberate premises of Golden Templ and Morcha had to be started from, 17.7.1984 for this purpose. There were large number of arrests on the eve of this and I was also arrested on 1 4.7.1984 under section 107/151 IPC and was kept in the Gurdaspur Jail for 15 days and then bailed out.”
The news of the attack on the Golden Temple, the rumours of destruction of Harmandir Sahib and defiling of Guru Granth Sahib had traumatic effect on the Sikh soldiers. The training and traditions of the Sikh Regiments are nurtured on religious tenets and before being inducted into the Army as a trained solider, a Sikh has to take the oath of allegiance by physically touching with both hands the Guru Granth Sahib. Lest a Sikh soldier falter in keeping his vow to die fighting in the thick of the battle for the honour of the country, the Guru Granth Sahib accompanies the battalion into the battle-field. And the same Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh soldier was informed, was now being trampled upon under the booted feet of the Indian Army inside the Golden Temple and other Gurudwaras in Punjab. Many of them went out of their mind and started to march to the Golden Temple to defend their faith, without which their very existence seemed meaningless to them.
Bhindranwale became a sort of martyr in the eyes of the Sikh masses—not because he extolled violence and terrorism, but because he had died fighting in defending their faith. Folk-songs eulogizing the brave fight given by Bhindranwale and his associates, and atrocities committed by the Indian Army during the attack on the Golden Temple began to be sung in the villages and cities. The folk-song named ‘SAKA’ sung by famous Nabha ladies, who were arrested later on, became very popular. The song narrated as to how the Sikhs had sacrificed most for the freedom of this country and how they were being killed by bullets and cannon fire, and if they wanted to save their pugree and beard, they had to stand and fight.
As the peoples movement began to gather strength, the Government retaliated by passing the more brutal and draconian laws like the
Amendments in the N.S.A. and the Terrorist Affected Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1984.
Amendments in the National Security Act
The National Security Amendment Ordinance No. 5 was issued in April 1984 by which a detenu may remain in jail for fifteen days without knowing the reasons of his arrest and without having any effective remedy because the period of furnishing the grounds of detention was extended to 15 days. Further the procedure for submission of the case of the detenu was amended in such a way that a detenu will undergo imprisonment for a period of six months before his detention could be found unjustified by the Advisory Board.
The National Security Amendment Ordinance was issued in June 1984 by which Section 5-A was introduced in the Act which provided even if detention order is based on several grounds; it shall be deemed to have been made separately on each of such grounds. Thus the detenu now has to challenge each of the ground of detention in order to get him acquitted. The another important amendment in this ordinance is that after the revocation or expiry of a detention order, another detention order can be issued even if no fresh facts have arisen, provided that total period of detention does not exceed one year. Thus the Government acquired arbitrary and repressive powers in its hands by the above amendments in the said National Security Act. The government officials started arresting the people at their whims and fancy, and there was almost no check on their arbitrary actions.
Following are the few examples of the arbitrary manner in which the National Security Act is used.
(a) Giani Puran Singh, who is a Granthi at Akal Takht was arrested in FIR No. 263/84 on 30.9 1984 under section 124 and 153A and he was released on bail after three months. He was again re- arrested after one month and is still in Amritsar jail. He was involved with 10 others in the said case but none of them was named in the said FIR.
(b) Mrs. Rajinder K aur, President, Stri Akali Dal, Punjab, made a speech on 14.9.1984 in a Gurdwara in which she said, “…We want a place where Sikhs could have breath of freedom.” Then she asked people to raise their hands if they approved of such a place. One lady Mrs. Harbhajan Kaur Khalsa raised her hand. She was arrested under the National Security Act, though Bibi Rajinder Kaur was not arrested. She was able to get bail only in February 1985.
(c) Shri. G.S. Grewal, Advocate, Shri Manjit Singh Khera and Shri Joginder Singh Sahni attended a small meeting in a Gurdwara in Chandigarh on 8.6.1984. Students felt agitated and they wanted to take out a procession. These three and some other elderly persons were persuading them not to do so. During his speech Shri G.S. Grewal said “‘… The weapons which are being shown by the army are not there likely to be the ones used by the terrorists. In that case there would have been more resistance than they are telling us. We must rehabilitate and help families killed in Blue Star and collect funds.”
Shri Manjit Singh Khera said, “‘Our struggle has not ended. It has just begun. We must sit quietly and decide how to carry on our agitation rather than just emotionally agitate.”
Joginder Singh Sahni said, ‘“‘Next week we will commemorate the operation. Then we can wear black turbans.”
All the above speeches were objected to as sedition and all of the three were apprehended under NSA.
In the said meeting only resolutions were passed and one resolution said, “Deserters have deserted because their sentiments were touched. Their cases should be looked at sympathetically and their families should be looked after.” This resolution was also objected to and there was harassment of all those who participated in the said meeting.
Thus the people were being, and still are, prosecuted for merely expressing their resentment and views which is one of their fundamental rights. The time honoured truth of a democratic system, that “the ultimate good desired is better reached in free trade in ideas that best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market,” has been rejected (Mr. Justice Holmes in Abrams Vs. United States—250 US). Ina democracy it is an insult to the people to think that they cannot be trusted to read or hear or understand or to discriminate among various points of views. Gandhi believed if rights of minorities are to be respected; the majority must tolerate and respect their opinion and action.
Waging of war against the Government of India
It was claimed by the government that 1592 civilian/terrorists were captured from inside the Golden Temple and 796 from other religious places. These civilians were charged with waging of war against the Government. A great majority of them were innocent pilgrims and if they were tried in the ordinary courts, they would have easily proved their innocence and got themselves released on bail and acquitted. And if it was proved subsequently that there were only near about dozen of terrorists among the captured, the government action would have become a mockery that it had to use military to capture such an insignificant number of terrorists. According to Shri S.S. Bhagowalia, advocate, Bhindranwale’s men were only 1 40 to 150 and about 80% of them had run away from the Golden Temple at the start of the Blue Star Operation. Therefore charges of waging war etc. were foisted on by the government on thousands of innocent civilians apprehended during the operation, in order to justify the government action. Therefore in order to ensure that these innocent accused do not get any relief entitled to in an ordinary courts, National Security Act was amended in June 1984 and Special Courts Ordinance proclaimed. Following are a few examples to show the type of terrorists captured from the Golden Temple:
- Kanwaljit Singh: He is a 20-year-old student of Khalsa College (evening), Delhi whose father Satnam Singh runs a provisions store at Lawrence Road, Delhi. He had visited the Golden Temple on June 2 and wanted to return to Delhi but found that all the outgoing trains were cancelled and therefore both of them were forced to stay at the Golden Temple at Guru Ram Das Serai. Kawaljit had to miss his interview at Delhi with the Institute of Bank Management on June 3 morning and his examination with the State Bank of India the same afternoon. He was captured by the army along with other pilgrims and is still under detention in the Jodhpur jail.
- Bakshish Singh: He was manager of the Punjab & Sind Bank branch situated at Guru Ram Das Serai, Golden Temple. He was receiving a salary of Rs 3000 p.m. He had taken his wife to the Golden Temple on June 1, 1 984 for her treatment for tumour and they were staying in Guru Ram Das Serai from where both of them were arrested on June 6. His wife was taken to Jalandhar jail, kept there for 22 days and then taken to Hospital and operated upon and then released. Bakshish Singh, aged 43 years is still in the Jodhpur jail.
- Raminder Pal Singh, Aged 20 years. He is the son of Shri Harcharan Singh Ragi who is an employee of the SGPC. His family has its residential quarters in Parikrama Scheme in the Golden Temple. Finding themselves unsafe in the midst of the firing, the family, along with some other employees took shelter in the basement of the Information Office. Raminder Pal Singh was arrested on June 6 along with others and is still in the Jodhpur jail. Extremely studious boy, he also took his B.A. II year examination from the Jodhpur Jail.
- Kashmir Singh, s/o Gujjan Singh, r/o village Baba Bakola, aged 45 years: He had gone to Darbar Sahib for Guru Purb. He has only one and half acres of land and four small children to feed. His wife learnt after one month that he was picked up from Bazar Kathian on June 6 and was falsely implicated as ‘waging war against the State’ and was shown to have been arrested from inside the Golden Temple.
- Bhupinder Singh, s/o Jiwan Singh, aged 22 years, r/o village Rayya, Disft. Amritsar. He used to manufacture steel almirahs. He was arrested from Kathiwali Bazar on June 6 in Amritsar but was shown to have been arrested from inside the Golden Temple.
- Manjit Singh s/o Bawa Singh
- Randhir Singh s/o Mangal Singh
- Randhir Singh s/o Bahadur Singh
r/o village Dehriwal Kiran, P.S. Kalanaur, Distt. Gurdaspur:
These three young boys, like hundreds of others, took the customary village donation of grain to Darbar Sahib on the eve of Guru Parb, were trapped inside the Golden Temple and are now lodged in Jodhpur jail as terrorists.
And there are several cases like that. All these accused numbering more than a thousand have been charged with ‘waging war against the State’ and arc detained under the National Security Act.
The Terrorist Affected Areas (Special Courts) Act 1984 This Act, hereinafter referred to be as the Special Courts Act, was enacted in strange circumstances. Blue Star Operation in June 1984 claimed to have successfully curbed terrorism but soon after one month of the said Operation, this Act was passed in the form of a Presidential Ordinance on 14th July 1984 with the ostensible purpose of curbing and controlling the menace of terrorism.
The avowed object of the Special Courts Act was declared to provide for speedy trial of certain offences in the terrorist affected areas, but in practice the Act is most dilatory, and tortuous. A host of offences have been listed in this Act as scheduled offences which are already covered by the Indian Penal Code. The Explosives Act, the Arms Act, the Telegraph Act, the Railway Act, the Unlawful Activities Act, the Anti-Hijacking Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public property Act. The offences such as waging war, sedition, abetting mutiny or attempting to seduce a member of the armed forces from his duty, creating communal hatred, threat of injury to public servant, harboring offender, defiling or injuring place of worship with intent to insult the religion, intentional acts of such insult, murder, attempt to murder, serious hurt, wrongful confinement, kidnapping, robbery and dacoity are already provided and punishable under the Indian Penal Code. All these things even on paper are so fearful, but in life when used how difficult it must be for a human being to carry out his everyday life. The Government has not explained as to why it resorted to such drastic measures as this Act.
There are about 47 courts presided over by the District and Sessions Judges and Additional Judges and there are only 11 special courts in Punjab. More than 3/4th work of the regular courts now stand transferred to these 11 special courts which are overworked as even ordinary offences without any element of terrorism are being tried by them. The ordinary adjournments are from 5 to 8 months and it is beyond any comprehension as to how it can achieve the object of speedy trial.
The object of ‘speedy trial’ could very well have been achieved by establishing additional courts and appointment of more judges to preside over these courts. But this has not been done. On the other hand an extra-ordinary procedure has been adopted for the special courts which are most fanciful, oppressive and arbitrary.
According to section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Magistrate can give police remand only for 15 days but in the Special Courts Act this period has been extended to 30 days. Moreover, according to the Criminal Procedure Code, on the expiry of 60 or 90 days as the case may be, the accused is bound to be released on bail. But the Special Courts Act has extended this period to one year. The result is that the police have been empowered to deprive an innocent person of his liberty for a period of one year without even bringing a charge against him. There have been several cases in which a person was arrested by the police just to harass and torture him and after the expiry of 7 or 8 month period in jail, the police has just withdrawn the case on the ground that no material could be gathered against the detainee. Though the accused is released in such cases, but during the period of detention, the family of the accused stands broken and his means of livelihood deprived.
Following are the illustrative cases to show how the police are making use of this Act in order to deprive the innocent persons of their civil liberties:
- Randhir Singh, s/o Harbans Singh Ghumman, r/o village Ghumman Kalan, aged about 20 years: Randhir Singh was arrested in Gurdaspur on 16.8.84 in FIR No. 80/84 dated 2.4.84 u/s 302 IPC of PS Dera Baba Nanak. After torturing him for a number of days and keeping him in jail for more than 3 months, the police withdrew the case against him. The orders of the Addl. Sessions Judge, Batala, Shri R. N. Moudgil, dated 26.11.84 are as follows:
Present: App accused in custody. ASI Gurpal Singh, P. S. Dera Baba Nanak, ASI Gurpal Singh who is present in Court states that Narinder Singh is no longer required by them in this case. His further judicial custody is not requested. Accused Narinder Singh be therefore, released.
Sd/ R. N. Moudgi! JMIC 26.11.84
Contention of Shri Narindar Singh is that he was released because the police wanted to liquidate him in false encounter and how he saved himself is described in his statement filed as Annexure………. 3 Since then he is underground.
- Pargat Singh: Pargat Singh was arrested in June 1984 and he was able to get his bail when he showed to Court the three different versions of the police and the military about the recovery made from him and his arrest. The whole order is reproduced below:
In the Court of Sardar K. S. Bhalla, Judge, Special Court
Judicial Zone, Jalandhar
Bail application No. 668 of 1984
Date of Decision: 11.12.1984
State Versus Pargat Singh, Son of Harbhajan
Singh r/o village Bhullar Hans,
District Amritsar.
F.I.R. No. 143 dated 29.6.1984 P. S. Kathu
Nangal (Distt. Amritsar) U/s 4/5 Explosive Substances Act
Present: Shri P. S. Hundal, Counsel for the applicant
Shri V. K. Gupta, Public Prosecutor for State.
Order
Arguments heard. In this case under section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act a hand grenade is said to have been recovered from the possession of applicant Pargat Singh but there are three different versions with regard to the recovery. One is provided by Capt. S.C. Shukla, a commissioned Officer of Indian Army. He in his written report dated 29.6.84 addressed the SHO, Police Station Kathu Nangal, states that on receipt of information houses were searched in village Bhullar Hans and a hand grenade was recovered from the possession of applicant Pargat Singh. It has not been spelt out in the report from where the recovery was made and how the possession of the applicant is fixed so far as the hand grenade is concerned. The SHO in his turn provides 2nd version through FIR No. 143 of 1984. In that important documentaries mentioned by S.I. Joginder Singh that applicant Pargat Singh on his interrogation, made a disclosure statement to him at his house in village Bhullar Hans which was already secured by Military authorities, leading to recovery of a hand grenade after digging out of the court yard of his house.
The light of the day has been shown in the third version in a Calendar dated 10.7.1984 prepared by an officer not less than the rank of Inspector Police, SHO, Police Station, Kotwali, Amritsar, photo state copy of which has been placed on the file by the counsel for the applicant and existence of which calendar is not disputed. In the version provided by said responsible officer in that Calendar under section 107/151 Cr. P. C. It is mentioned that security forces apprehended the applicant from Golden Temple complex, Amritsar while fighting after collecting arms and ammunition against the Indian Government during Military action. If the applicant was apprehended, during military action which took place in the first week of June 1984, recovery if any was bound to have taken place at Amritsar and in the first week of June 1984? In this situation of the matter for obvious reasons, it is fit case to admit applicant Pargat Singh to bail and he is, therefore, ordered to be released on furnishing personal bond with one surety in the sum of Rs. 7000 each to the satisfaction of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Amritsar.
sd/Judge Special Court, Judicial Zone
Jalandhar