Jarnail Singh fights back
Jagmohan Singh
The editor of World Sikh News –Jagmohan Singh travels to Delhi to meet Jarnail Singh at his two room apartment in the heart of Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar –a colony built to rehabilitate those who had fled the partition carnage of 1947. Simple but well-dressed Jarnail Singh is now engaged in the throes of a battle to see if some kind of justice can be had for those required to be rehabilitated after the carnage of 1984.
WSN: Upon reflection, what do you think about the shoe you hurled?
Jarnail Singh: It was not my shoe, it was the shoe of the whole community and it was not hurled at one man, but on the face of injustice. I think shoe hit the target hard -Tyltler and Sajjan Kumar. I consider my action as ‘nirmal jazbaat’. It was my soft reaction to a heinous crime against the Sikhs by a violent section of society while the others were mute spectators or accomplices.
WSN: Did the police torture you in police custody?
Jarnail Singh: They took me to the police station, interrogated me and confiscated my Press Information Bureau card.
With the Grace of Akalpurakh, my head is high; my spirit is wonderful, my mother-Nasib Kaur is very happy at what I did. My wife is rendering me full support. I am busy giving final touches to my writings.
WSN: What was the stance of Dainik Jagran in the aftermath of shoegate?
Jarnail Singh: After the incident they have asked me to rest for a while at home and not to talk to the media. It was the right time for me to highlight the 1984 issue so I did not oblige them. After that they ask me to rest till elections are over, but after the election results they started pestering me to resign, so that they could save face with the government. I have no doubt there was pressure from the Congress party to take action against me. After years of service, they terminated me unceremoniously with a mere three months pay.
WSN: How do you keep yourself busy nowadays?
Jarnail Singh: I am giving final touches to my book about November 1984 and hope to release it to time with the 25 years of the carnage that changed the meaning of Delhi for the Sikh community.
WSN: Does the book carry your personal account of the times?
Jarnail Singh: It carries that and much more. The book travels back in time to retell the story of human pain, misery and hope. It would unearth a lot. There is one big chapter on the shoe hurling incident as well. Sometime next month, we should have a preview of the book.
WSN: You must be receiving mails and calls from Sikhs far and wide since shoegate?
Jarnail Singh: Yes, I do and I maintain contact through my blog, www.jarnailsingh.in.
Jarnail Singh: Two days after my removal, when a journalist asked the SGPC chief, Avtar Singh Makkar about my dismissal, he repeated his job offer which I had earlier refused. It is not that I don’t need a job, but I do not want to compromise my independence.
WSN: Being in Delhi, has the DSGMC made any overtures to you –directly or indirectly?
Jarnail Singh: All these days, DSGMC has not approached me at all. More than 3000 innocent Sikhs were killed in Delhi and when after 25 long painful years a Sikh journalist stood against injustice (fully conscious of the consequences of his act) then the chief representative of Sikhs should have supported me whole heartedly, unfortunately, he did not. I am sad, but I do not hold any grudge against anybody.
WSN: Did any Sikh organisation pursue you when you were sitting at home and not yet suspended?
Jarnail Singh: No Sikh organisation came to me. The All India Sikh Riot Victims Action Committee did made a statement that action against me would weaken the fight against Injustice, but no Sikh orgnisation came forward to speak against my removal from service.
WSN: The Sikh Diaspora has reacted sharply to the incident.
Jarnail Singh: Yes, I received calls and emails from far and wide. Their support will ensure that any one who dares to speak the truth like me will not stand alone. I hope that their backing will ensure that my story and those of the affected families of November 1984 is listened to by the Sikhs again and afresh by the international community.
WSN: What did your termination order say?
Jarnail Singh: My services were terminated for “subservient and indisciplinary behaviour”. Nobody has explained what is “subservient” in hurling a shoe?
WSN: Are you worried?
Jarnail Singh: With the Grace of Akalpurakh, my head is high; my spirit is wonderful, my mother-Nasib Kaur is very happy at what I did. My wife is rendering me full support. I am busy giving final touches to my writings.
WSN: Did you receive any offers from other media houses?
Jarnail Singh: Media houses seem to have buckled under pressure. Some media houses (Punjabi) made half offers and did not follow up. I have worked in the media and am very well aware that the media can be easily influenced. More than half a dozen news channels did spot interviews after the termination but those were not telecast. The media barons may have succumbed, I have not.
All these days, DSGMC has not approached me at all. More than 3000 innocent Sikhs were killed in Delhi and when after 25 long painful years a Sikh journalist stood against injustice (fully conscious of the consequences of his act) then the chief representative of Sikhs should have supported me whole heartedly, unfortunately, he did not. I am sad, but I do not hold any grudge against anybody.
WSN: Do you propose to sue Dainik Jagran?
Jarnail Singh: They have succumbed under pressure from Congress party, I am conscious that. This is not a Jarnail vs. Jagran tussle. It is a battle between Sikhs and Injustice and I propose to keep it at that. Can the Home Minister of India dare to make a statement that, “I am glad that the genocidal perpetrators of the Gujarat anti-Muslim massacre have been set free” or “I am happy that the police accused of the Shopian rape and murder case have finally been set free”? Can he dare say that? If not, then how can and why should Sikhs tolerate P. Chidambram’s statement that, “I am happy that my friend Jagdish Tytler has been exonerated by CBI.”
WSN: Despite the embarrassment caused to the Congress party, do you see the possibility of justice for the affected families of November 84 pogrom?
Jarnail Singh: The story of the last 25 years makes me think that justice is going to be a far cry. Neither the police, nor the politicians, administration politicians have made a serious endeavour to find out the naked truth and deliver justice. In India where the judicial system is bogged down with lakhs of cases, to expect justice after a gap of 25 years appears virtually impossible.
WSN: What have been your good moments in the last few months?
Jarnail Singh: My mother is very happy at what I did. Victims, living at Tilak Vihar widow colony felicitated me at Gurdwara sahib. Though premier Sikh organisations have ignored me but common Sikhs, young Sikhs small Sikh organizations, Shabad Choki Jathas and the young Sikhs response has been overwhelming. They have given me a lot of strength. Their affinity and love has reassured me that I did the right thing. It makes me glad when the Sikh on the street recognizes me and comes forward to bless me. Believe me; these blessings are more valuable than anything else.
WSN: Tell us more about your forthcoming book?
Jarnail Singh: My book of stories from the human angle about Sikh families in November 1984, my personal experience of those times and a chapter on the real story of what has come to be termed as Shoegate. It will be available for readers soon. It would unearth a lot about the conspiracy and denial of justice. I hope to bring out the English and Punjabi versions simultaneously.
WSN: Do you nurture any political ambitions?
Jarnail Singh: I am keen to pursue my journalistic career.
WSN: What do you think life has in store for you?
Jarnail Singh: The present times are a little difficult as I face financial hardships. I have full faith in Akal Purakh. Waheguru ji will sort out the problems in the best possible way. I am sure destiny has something interesting in store for me.
Jagmohan Singh is the editor of World Sikh News. He may be contacted at jsbigideas@gmail.com
Blind City of 1984
Jagmohan Singh
This is a peep into the too-well known Blind City of 1984 –Delhi. The capital city of India, for three days hounded the Sikhs in a naked show of savagery, unparalleled in any civilized society. This is a peep into that Blind City from journalist Jarnail Singh’s forthcoming book, which will be released in the coming months.
The first three days of November 1984, turned Delhi blind. The vast media presence in the capital of the country could not see beyond Teen Murti House. On the fourth day, Rahul Bedi of Indian Express opened the eyes of this blind city and its purblind people. Other reporters either wore blinkers or were semi-blind –the killing of Sikhs with burning tyres around their necks was reported as “some stray violent incidents here and there.”
Not only were the people blind, but seemed as if there is a veneer of fear and pressure to stop all news of the killing of innocent Sikhs all around the city.
The only TV channel of the times –the government owned Doordarshan was the blindest of them all. All its cameras in Delhi were devoted to showing the dead body of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from all angles and the remorse of the Congressmen from across the country and the city. Nothing else. Men and women dying on the streets were ignored as pariah dogs or stray cows –which are otherwise worshipped but left to die on the streets.
Civil society rose to the occasion and came to the rescue of the dying Sikhs. The human pain and misery was lost in the efforts of rehabilitation. The story of the families, their anguish about their future was secondary at that moment and time. After 25 years, it is time to record the human side of the event that gave a new meaning to the life of Sikhs in Delhi and others parts of the country.
Police stations refused to register First Information Reports. The first First Information Report against politicians accused of leading mobs on Sikhs was registered after 11 years. Policemen resorted to disarming those Sikhs who happened to have some arms for self-protection. In some areas police mingled with lumpens in identifying Sikh houses to be burnt and men, women and children to be killed.
Till today, the judicial system has not given a judgment to any of the perpetrators which can be talked about. Those who were the leaders of the criminal acts again became leaders, nay, ministers in the government of India, rubbing salt on the wounds of the victims and their families. The flow of tears of such families refused to stop at the sight of Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, Kamal Nath and others.
Sikh sentiments had been trounced. Sikhs had become numb. Their very existence looked meaningless. Sikhs had been reduced to second class citizens. After 24 years, when Sikhs wanted to recollect the times and seek justice, from the prime minister downwards, there was a call for “forget it” –virtually rubbing salt on Sikh wounds.
In this kind of depressing scenario, it was necessary to raise the voice of the community. It is time to tell the world that we have not forgotten. It is time to grow beyond numbers and statistics and understand the human side of the tragedy. It is time to tell the Sikhs themselves and the world how the poorest of poor Sikhs in Delhi are spending their lives in ignominy in the last 25 years. It is time to tell how the conspiracies were conducted to spread mayhem against the Sikhs in a coordinated and pre-meditated manner. It is time to tell the story of how all the investigating agencies of the country toed the government line, obfuscated facts, destroyed evidence and totally obstructed the path of justice.
The forthcoming book of journalist Jarnail Singh will have these and many other stories in graphic detail. It will tell the story of Jarnail Singh, who was barely 11 years old when 1984 happened. What has happened behind the scenes after the shoe hurling would be another interesting chapter in the soon to be released book.
Jarnail Singh may be contacted at jarnailsingh16@gmail.com
19 August 2009
Jagmohan Singh
The editor of World Sikh News –Jagmohan Singh travels to Delhi to meet Jarnail Singh at his two room apartment in the heart of Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar –a colony built to rehabilitate those who had fled the partition carnage of 1947. Simple but well-dressed Jarnail Singh is now engaged in the throes of a battle to see if some kind of justice can be had for those required to be rehabilitated after the carnage of 1984.
WSN: Upon reflection, what do you think about the shoe you hurled?Jarnail Singh: It was not my shoe, it was the shoe of the whole community and it was not hurled at one man, but on the face of injustice. I think shoe hit the target hard -Tyltler and Sajjan Kumar. I consider my action as ‘nirmal jazbaat’. It was my soft reaction to a heinous crime against the Sikhs by a violent section of society while the others were mute spectators or accomplices.
WSN: Did the police torture you in police custody?
Jarnail Singh: They took me to the police station, interrogated me and confiscated my Press Information Bureau card.
With the Grace of Akalpurakh, my head is high; my spirit is wonderful, my mother-Nasib Kaur is very happy at what I did. My wife is rendering me full support. I am busy giving final touches to my writings.
WSN: What was the stance of Dainik Jagran in the aftermath of shoegate?
Jarnail Singh: After the incident they have asked me to rest for a while at home and not to talk to the media. It was the right time for me to highlight the 1984 issue so I did not oblige them. After that they ask me to rest till elections are over, but after the election results they started pestering me to resign, so that they could save face with the government. I have no doubt there was pressure from the Congress party to take action against me. After years of service, they terminated me unceremoniously with a mere three months pay.
WSN: How do you keep yourself busy nowadays?
Jarnail Singh: I am giving final touches to my book about November 1984 and hope to release it to time with the 25 years of the carnage that changed the meaning of Delhi for the Sikh community.
WSN: Does the book carry your personal account of the times?
Jarnail Singh: It carries that and much more. The book travels back in time to retell the story of human pain, misery and hope. It would unearth a lot. There is one big chapter on the shoe hurling incident as well. Sometime next month, we should have a preview of the book.
WSN: You must be receiving mails and calls from Sikhs far and wide since shoegate?
Jarnail Singh: Yes, I do and I maintain contact through my blog, www.jarnailsingh.in.
Memories of Nineteen-Eighty-Four
Parminder Singh Aziz
There had been J & K, Assam,
Manipur, Godhra and much more,
What rightly haunts Delhi still
are memories of nineteen-eighty-four.
There had been J & K, Assam,
Manipur, Godhra and much more,
What rightly haunts Delhi still
are memories of nineteen-eighty-four.
Still are in agony the victims of that
naked dance of pseudo-power,
the death of civilization in the country
following the ‘Operation Bluestar’.
naked dance of pseudo-power,
the death of civilization in the country
following the ‘Operation Bluestar’.
The operation where Government used
its machinery against its own folks;
the single instance of its kind in the world,
at which humankind still mocks.
its machinery against its own folks;
the single instance of its kind in the world,
at which humankind still mocks.
To ‘them’, God is dead, tolerance vanished,
righteousness gone, and humanity is no more.
‘They’ have slept for ages and now;
if someone wakes up, they cannot endure.
righteousness gone, and humanity is no more.
‘They’ have slept for ages and now;
if someone wakes up, they cannot endure.
One, who comes out of the slumber,
is here always known as a rebel.
And ironically, democracy
is ‘of, by and for the people’.
WSN: Since your dismissal from service, has any Sikh organisation approached you for service or not?is here always known as a rebel.
And ironically, democracy
is ‘of, by and for the people’.
Jarnail Singh: Two days after my removal, when a journalist asked the SGPC chief, Avtar Singh Makkar about my dismissal, he repeated his job offer which I had earlier refused. It is not that I don’t need a job, but I do not want to compromise my independence.
WSN: Being in Delhi, has the DSGMC made any overtures to you –directly or indirectly?
Jarnail Singh: All these days, DSGMC has not approached me at all. More than 3000 innocent Sikhs were killed in Delhi and when after 25 long painful years a Sikh journalist stood against injustice (fully conscious of the consequences of his act) then the chief representative of Sikhs should have supported me whole heartedly, unfortunately, he did not. I am sad, but I do not hold any grudge against anybody.
WSN: Did any Sikh organisation pursue you when you were sitting at home and not yet suspended?
Jarnail Singh: No Sikh organisation came to me. The All India Sikh Riot Victims Action Committee did made a statement that action against me would weaken the fight against Injustice, but no Sikh orgnisation came forward to speak against my removal from service.
Jarnail Singh: Yes, I received calls and emails from far and wide. Their support will ensure that any one who dares to speak the truth like me will not stand alone. I hope that their backing will ensure that my story and those of the affected families of November 1984 is listened to by the Sikhs again and afresh by the international community.
WSN: What did your termination order say?
Jarnail Singh: My services were terminated for “subservient and indisciplinary behaviour”. Nobody has explained what is “subservient” in hurling a shoe?
WSN: Are you worried?
Jarnail Singh: With the Grace of Akalpurakh, my head is high; my spirit is wonderful, my mother-Nasib Kaur is very happy at what I did. My wife is rendering me full support. I am busy giving final touches to my writings.
WSN: Did you receive any offers from other media houses?
Jarnail Singh: Media houses seem to have buckled under pressure. Some media houses (Punjabi) made half offers and did not follow up. I have worked in the media and am very well aware that the media can be easily influenced. More than half a dozen news channels did spot interviews after the termination but those were not telecast. The media barons may have succumbed, I have not.
All these days, DSGMC has not approached me at all. More than 3000 innocent Sikhs were killed in Delhi and when after 25 long painful years a Sikh journalist stood against injustice (fully conscious of the consequences of his act) then the chief representative of Sikhs should have supported me whole heartedly, unfortunately, he did not. I am sad, but I do not hold any grudge against anybody.
WSN: Do you propose to sue Dainik Jagran?
Jarnail Singh: They have succumbed under pressure from Congress party, I am conscious that. This is not a Jarnail vs. Jagran tussle. It is a battle between Sikhs and Injustice and I propose to keep it at that. Can the Home Minister of India dare to make a statement that, “I am glad that the genocidal perpetrators of the Gujarat anti-Muslim massacre have been set free” or “I am happy that the police accused of the Shopian rape and murder case have finally been set free”? Can he dare say that? If not, then how can and why should Sikhs tolerate P. Chidambram’s statement that, “I am happy that my friend Jagdish Tytler has been exonerated by CBI.”
WSN: Despite the embarrassment caused to the Congress party, do you see the possibility of justice for the affected families of November 84 pogrom?
Jarnail Singh: The story of the last 25 years makes me think that justice is going to be a far cry. Neither the police, nor the politicians, administration politicians have made a serious endeavour to find out the naked truth and deliver justice. In India where the judicial system is bogged down with lakhs of cases, to expect justice after a gap of 25 years appears virtually impossible.
WSN: What have been your good moments in the last few months?
Jarnail Singh: My mother is very happy at what I did. Victims, living at Tilak Vihar widow colony felicitated me at Gurdwara sahib. Though premier Sikh organisations have ignored me but common Sikhs, young Sikhs small Sikh organizations, Shabad Choki Jathas and the young Sikhs response has been overwhelming. They have given me a lot of strength. Their affinity and love has reassured me that I did the right thing. It makes me glad when the Sikh on the street recognizes me and comes forward to bless me. Believe me; these blessings are more valuable than anything else.
Jarnail Singh: My book of stories from the human angle about Sikh families in November 1984, my personal experience of those times and a chapter on the real story of what has come to be termed as Shoegate. It will be available for readers soon. It would unearth a lot about the conspiracy and denial of justice. I hope to bring out the English and Punjabi versions simultaneously.
WSN: Do you nurture any political ambitions?
Jarnail Singh: I am keen to pursue my journalistic career.
WSN: What do you think life has in store for you?
Jarnail Singh: The present times are a little difficult as I face financial hardships. I have full faith in Akal Purakh. Waheguru ji will sort out the problems in the best possible way. I am sure destiny has something interesting in store for me.
Jagmohan Singh is the editor of World Sikh News. He may be contacted at jsbigideas@gmail.com
Blind City of 1984
Jagmohan Singh
This is a peep into the too-well known Blind City of 1984 –Delhi. The capital city of India, for three days hounded the Sikhs in a naked show of savagery, unparalleled in any civilized society. This is a peep into that Blind City from journalist Jarnail Singh’s forthcoming book, which will be released in the coming months.
Not only were the people blind, but seemed as if there is a veneer of fear and pressure to stop all news of the killing of innocent Sikhs all around the city.
The only TV channel of the times –the government owned Doordarshan was the blindest of them all. All its cameras in Delhi were devoted to showing the dead body of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from all angles and the remorse of the Congressmen from across the country and the city. Nothing else. Men and women dying on the streets were ignored as pariah dogs or stray cows –which are otherwise worshipped but left to die on the streets.
Civil society rose to the occasion and came to the rescue of the dying Sikhs. The human pain and misery was lost in the efforts of rehabilitation. The story of the families, their anguish about their future was secondary at that moment and time. After 25 years, it is time to record the human side of the event that gave a new meaning to the life of Sikhs in Delhi and others parts of the country.
Police stations refused to register First Information Reports. The first First Information Report against politicians accused of leading mobs on Sikhs was registered after 11 years. Policemen resorted to disarming those Sikhs who happened to have some arms for self-protection. In some areas police mingled with lumpens in identifying Sikh houses to be burnt and men, women and children to be killed.
Till today, the judicial system has not given a judgment to any of the perpetrators which can be talked about. Those who were the leaders of the criminal acts again became leaders, nay, ministers in the government of India, rubbing salt on the wounds of the victims and their families. The flow of tears of such families refused to stop at the sight of Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, Kamal Nath and others.
Sikh sentiments had been trounced. Sikhs had become numb. Their very existence looked meaningless. Sikhs had been reduced to second class citizens. After 24 years, when Sikhs wanted to recollect the times and seek justice, from the prime minister downwards, there was a call for “forget it” –virtually rubbing salt on Sikh wounds.
In this kind of depressing scenario, it was necessary to raise the voice of the community. It is time to tell the world that we have not forgotten. It is time to grow beyond numbers and statistics and understand the human side of the tragedy. It is time to tell the Sikhs themselves and the world how the poorest of poor Sikhs in Delhi are spending their lives in ignominy in the last 25 years. It is time to tell how the conspiracies were conducted to spread mayhem against the Sikhs in a coordinated and pre-meditated manner. It is time to tell the story of how all the investigating agencies of the country toed the government line, obfuscated facts, destroyed evidence and totally obstructed the path of justice.
The forthcoming book of journalist Jarnail Singh will have these and many other stories in graphic detail. It will tell the story of Jarnail Singh, who was barely 11 years old when 1984 happened. What has happened behind the scenes after the shoe hurling would be another interesting chapter in the soon to be released book.
Jarnail Singh may be contacted at jarnailsingh16@gmail.com
19 August 2009
