A potentially fruitful area of enquiry would have been to probe further the aspect of Punjabi Hindu presence amongst the Sikh militants which Puri et al. rightly call 'interesting' but do not follow up. This is an aspect of Punjab militancy which remains hugely understudied. There is some interesting information on Roshan Lal Bairagi, the first known Punjabi Hindu turned Sikh 'terrorist', provided by the left-wing magazine Link: "Bairagis are a Hindu Brahmin sect. This particular Hindu sect has closest links with Sikhism. They are generally poor. Some villages in Amritsar district have one or more Bairagi families each. Traditionally, they earn their living by doing daily labour occasionally, begging and performing religious ceremonies, including in Sikh families."2 Some of the other Punjabi Hindus whose names were reported in the media for having joined the ranks of Sikh terrorists were Pardeep Kumar (Sher Singh Sher after baptism), Rakesh Kumar (new Sikh name Ranjit Singh Pappu, killed 1992), Balwant Rai (Gurdit Singh Gullu killed 1992), Ashok Kumar Billa, Ramesh Lal (Kabul Singh), Vikas Pandit
(killed), Vishnu Dutt (killed) and his brother Prem Kumar (Panthjit Singh), Sarwan Kumar (Palwinder Singh, killed) and his brother Ashok Kumar (Sukhwinder Singh, killed), K C Sharma (killed), Sushil Kumar (killed), Sham Sunder Shastri (Ranjit Singh Bittu, killed 1992), Bhai Des Raj Desa Salem Tabri (killed 1992), T{censored}m Raj ('escaped' police custody 1992) and Ram Sarup Pandit (Surjit Singh killed 1992).
It is difficult to say much regarding some Punjabi Hindus' turn towards Sikh militancy on the basis of the limited information available of these individuals. Had the authors done in-depth case studies of the two Punjabi Hindus in their sample, that might have yielded some refreshing information on the question of Punjabi Hindu participation in the Sikh militant movement. If we place this aspect into the larger context of Hindu-Sikh relations in Punjab, we can move closer to solving this apparent paradox. An overwhelming majority of members of the Punjabi Hindu community have genuine and deep reverence for the Sikh Gurus and the gurdwaras, especially the Golden Temple. Similarly it will be difficult to find a Sikh who does not have deep religious respect for the Hindu Gods and the temples. Despite differences in some religious practices/beliefs, the Punjabi Hindus and the Sikhs share a common universe of feelings. They understand and empathise with each others' collective 'structure of sentiments' (to borrow Raymond Williams' term Shared Sorrows Though the media did not adequately report it, a large number of Punjabi Hindus were as emotionally injured at the destruction caused by the army action at the Golden Temple as were the Sikhs. It is not unreasonable to argue that many young Punjabi Hindus, especially in the rural areas where they are more imbued with the Sikh ethos than the urban Hindus, shared their Sikh friends' sense of anger and revenge against the 'Delhi Durbar' for the destruction of the Akal Takhat and other acts of sacrilege. To the Punjabi youth, the Sikh militants' actions of armed attacks at targets belonging to the 'Delhi Durbar' seemed an act of retrieval of self-dignity against the humiliation inflicted by 'Indira's Delhi'. The act of some Punjabi Hindus joining the ranks of Sikh militants was an act of identifying with the Sikh militants' bravery and courage - the values admired and emulated by Punjabi youth
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(killed), Vishnu Dutt (killed) and his brother Prem Kumar (Panthjit Singh), Sarwan Kumar (Palwinder Singh, killed) and his brother Ashok Kumar (Sukhwinder Singh, killed), K C Sharma (killed), Sushil Kumar (killed), Sham Sunder Shastri (Ranjit Singh Bittu, killed 1992), Bhai Des Raj Desa Salem Tabri (killed 1992), T{censored}m Raj ('escaped' police custody 1992) and Ram Sarup Pandit (Surjit Singh killed 1992).
It is difficult to say much regarding some Punjabi Hindus' turn towards Sikh militancy on the basis of the limited information available of these individuals. Had the authors done in-depth case studies of the two Punjabi Hindus in their sample, that might have yielded some refreshing information on the question of Punjabi Hindu participation in the Sikh militant movement. If we place this aspect into the larger context of Hindu-Sikh relations in Punjab, we can move closer to solving this apparent paradox. An overwhelming majority of members of the Punjabi Hindu community have genuine and deep reverence for the Sikh Gurus and the gurdwaras, especially the Golden Temple. Similarly it will be difficult to find a Sikh who does not have deep religious respect for the Hindu Gods and the temples. Despite differences in some religious practices/beliefs, the Punjabi Hindus and the Sikhs share a common universe of feelings. They understand and empathise with each others' collective 'structure of sentiments' (to borrow Raymond Williams' term Shared Sorrows Though the media did not adequately report it, a large number of Punjabi Hindus were as emotionally injured at the destruction caused by the army action at the Golden Temple as were the Sikhs. It is not unreasonable to argue that many young Punjabi Hindus, especially in the rural areas where they are more imbued with the Sikh ethos than the urban Hindus, shared their Sikh friends' sense of anger and revenge against the 'Delhi Durbar' for the destruction of the Akal Takhat and other acts of sacrilege. To the Punjabi youth, the Sikh militants' actions of armed attacks at targets belonging to the 'Delhi Durbar' seemed an act of retrieval of self-dignity against the humiliation inflicted by 'Indira's Delhi'. The act of some Punjabi Hindus joining the ranks of Sikh militants was an act of identifying with the Sikh militants' bravery and courage - the values admired and emulated by Punjabi youth
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