Betwixt & Between: Good & Evil

BETWIXT & BETWEEN: Good & Evil

Like clockwork every year, November occupies us with both or one of two realities: either the Gurpurab (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak who was born in 1469 half a millennium ago, or the horrendous and ineptly attempted genocide of the Sikhs in India by mobs and hooligans of the Indian government.

The first marker we celebrate, the second we rue with equal passion. The second event dates from 1984 and resulted in the murder of several thousand Sikh men, women and children in attacks perfectly orchestrated and timed in many cities across India.

True that this second matter is relatively new with no significant antecedents prior to the times of 1984 when it all seemed to start, but it has not been entirely ignored; it has just been purposefully muddled.

Ten government inquiries initiated under pressure failed to find more than a handful of the guilty. Justice and compensation are notable by their absence.

The few movies made on the matter have been seriously censored or banned. Witnesses have been bribed or threatened to change their testimony. Evidence has been mishandled or lost. Books have suffered the same fate – the scissors of the censor or banning their distribution and sale in India. Individuals who spoke out bravely and forthrightly lost their jobs.

The root of the problem really lies in the fact that many of the guilty are either politically connected or serving in high places in the Indian government. An honest accounting will mean that these people would lose their immunity in a corrupt system. The whole system of protection and corruption would come apart. And then what would these privileged classes do?

Under the current Indian law to write insultingly about the head of the government is a crime. So courage is a rare commodity and expensive. Freedom of expression remains somewhat like a mirage.

Ergo, many of these hoodlums and their corrupt leaders and managers occupy high position within the Indian government or in its political machinery; I point to Kamal Nath, Jagdish Tytler, Dharam Das Shastri and countless others of their ilk.

Let me briefly contrast this with another event a few thousand miles away.

The New York Times (November 11, 2011) carried an item buried on page 8 that I think would have packed a more instructive and effective punch as a page one headline.

Moshe Katsav, 65years old, served as the President of Israel from 2000 to 2007. It is largely a titular, ceremonial but distinguished position. He resigned two weeks before his term ended. The charge against him was that he had raped women before he became president and during his presidency as well.

A deal was made that he would not spend any time in jail if he would resign. He agreed but later reneged and decided challenge the judicial process. A lower (district level) court found him guilty of rape and sentenced him to seven years in jail.

The former president appealed to the Supreme Court that upheld the lower court … and lost. Moshe Katsav starts his sentence on December 7, 2011.

Some lessons: No one is above the law. Much of the legal proceedings were conducted while he was in office. Not even the highest office in the land is a bar to justice. In their ruling the judges wrote: A deep shadow descends on the State of Israel that a person who served as a government minister, a deputy prime minister and president perpetrated acts such as those…It is a most difficult spectacle to see a man who was once the country’s symbol of state going to jail.”
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/hard-talk/37599-betwixt-and-between-good-and-evil.html

Mind you I am not an unquestioned admirer of Israel, its territorial expansionism and treatment of the Palestinians, but then nor are the Palestinians very clear headed, innocent or consistent when they reject the right of Israel to exist. But these are different matters – and difficult.

India, like many old societies of the world, is a culture of shame and honor. Excesses, driven by one or the other of these two imperatives, are not uncommon
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37599

I have not yet seen any minister of the Indian government or any honcho of the politically connected class, present or former, hauled up in a judicial court and held accountable for his misdeeds.

Will it happen? Based on past evidence, not at all … certainly not in my lifetime!

Am I hopeful? Absolutely, like a fool!

IJ Singh

 
Do share your immediate thoughts or reactions on this issue? We value your views! Login Now! or Sign Up Today! to share your views with us.. Gurfateh!

Inder ji,

Guru Fateh.

First of all, I want to welcome you to the forum. Thanks for sharing your insightful thoughts here. I would also like you to write a small article about your life and the Books on Sikhi you have written, so others can dig into your inner treasure and learn about Sikhi through them. I must admit, I have enjoyed all your wonderful books.

Now back to this insightful article;

Thanks for one more thought provoking, gut wrenching article about injustice committed against those whose Gurus and ancestors fought for justice for all and sacrificed their lives so others could live theirs in a righteous manner during the Mughal Era and after.

No matter how fiendish these rulers were, they did not do anything beyond of what was decided. For example, they did not kill any one and everyone related to Guru Arjan nor to Guru Teg Bahadur after killing them which they could have easily done with their might.

The sad part of India is that its democracy although pridefully claimed as the largest because of the breeding,is made of papier mache. This is the only democracy in the world which is not ideology based but voting block based. The parties pimp themselves to get the votes and then protect each other when disasters occur because all pimps have each others' secrets, hence they do not want their own beans spilled, so to speak.

One more important thing to notice is that, India is considered the most religious country in the world and also one of the most corrupt. Our ritual based religions have made us 2 faced Rams/Ravans. We have let them rob our inner treasure, the true ingredient for our personal spiritual development. We need to snatch that back from the honchos of the religions.

So, my hope is when the vox populi of India is loud enough to turn this democracy of papier mache into steel and concrete, so that it can truly become the government of the people, for the people and by the people; then we will see the seedlings of justice sown in this diversified country called India.

Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37599
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37599
And, when this starts to bear its fruits, I am sure people will be caught because justice will not be a one eyed queen. The fate of Pinochet of Chile is a good reminder.

But they say, I am dreamer....

Thanks & regards

Tejwant Singh

Welcome, IJ Singh ji, very nice to see you here.

I have been clamoring for justice as to the 1984 massacres for a long time. I no longer have any idea what justice would be. These men who have chosen to be demonic are rich and powerful men. They have had 27 years of prosperity and seeming happiness, while our husbands and sons and fathers and sometimes, also our mothers and sisters and wives, have found themselves at Satguru ji's lotus feet. Those of us surviving have been forced to observe the spectacle of these shining examples of Hindu-Indian manhood rise to the pinnacle of power in "the world's largest democracy." Justice? Real justice is no longer possible.

As I see it, two things are possible. First, hang the whole lot of them. That would not bring back those dead 27 years ago or take away the long years of loneliness and suffering, but it would bring a sense of completion, if not justice, to the whole sad, disgusting episodes. Public execution would be my personal choice. Watching them Waltzing Matilda, I admit, would satisfy some quite human - if not properly Sikh - longing in me at least. This form of justice - legal justice - is out of the hands of our sangat. We can only hope that the State of India will come to its collective senses.

The second is totally in our control and only we can do it.

Our beloved Sikh Kaum, our Saadh Sangat, must move toward recovery. It is time to regain the chardi kala that has been laying dormant in our once-joyful community. We will never forget. That goes without saying. Two paragraphs need to be added to Ardas - one for the June Massacre at Darbar Sahib and one for the ghallughara following Mrs. Gandhi's execution. These are major events in our history equal to any since the days of the Gurus. However, we must not let these events permanently overwhelm us as a community. The Sikh Kaum must - MUST - regain the joy of being Sikh. I am joyful. I am proud of my family martyrs. I am even - and I hope this is not too egotistical - pleased with my own behaviour in 1984. I am now able to wake up in the early morning, not only proud to be a Sikh, but actually happy to be a Sikh. Surely this is something we can all do. Our shaheeds are not honoured by our hangdog faces and heavy sighs. Far better to honour them with joyous shouts of appreciation for the great gift that they have given Guru and us. I am sure that a chorus of strong, hearty jaikaras would gladden them. And even if it didn't, it would gladden us. We really need that!
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37599

Oh, dear! Have I gotten carried away again? Oh, well, it's all in a good cause.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37599

I love you all.

This post contains compassion, forgiveness, justice, acceptance and Joy, you set the standards high for the rest of us sometimes Maiji on such a personal and sad subject

Harry ji,

I must be perfectly honest with you.

I am sick and tired of 1984. I am sick and tired of writing about 1984. I am sick and tired of reliving 1984 every time I write about it. And I am sick and tired to my bones of reading what I write.

Waheguru! I just want it to be over. I want to be able to get up each morning without the past hanging over my aching head, demanding to be somehow completed. So I push and push and push and push, hoping each push can be my last.

My fondest dream now is to completely retire from public life, let my name - but not my deeds - be forgotten. To let Mai Harinder Kaur disappear back into cyberspace from whence she came is what I want. However, I am determined to see this thing through to the end, either my end in this life or its completion. You see, there is nothing noble in it. I just want it to be over, so I can rest and spend the rest of this life wallowing in chardi kala.

Now, I must take a couple hours rest before my morning nitnem. Good night and RICK to all.

Maiji,

I have an understanding of how you must feel, although no one can possibly really know how hard it is to keep pushing in the way you describe.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37599

I think you should concentrate on terrorising groups of young thugs in shopping malls, I think you have a gift for it, and it sounds like a lot of fun to boot.

But please do not underestimate the effect your posts not only have had on me, but many many others.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37599

I think maybe some swords to attatch to the wheels would be a good idea, ala Queen Boedicca