☀️ JOIN SPN MOBILE
Forums
New posts
Guru Granth Sahib
Composition, Arrangement & Layout
ਜਪੁ | Jup
ਸੋ ਦਰੁ | So Dar
ਸੋਹਿਲਾ | Sohilaa
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ | Raag Siree-Raag
Gurbani (14-53)
Ashtpadiyan (53-71)
Gurbani (71-74)
Pahre (74-78)
Chhant (78-81)
Vanjara (81-82)
Vaar Siri Raag (83-91)
Bhagat Bani (91-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਝ | Raag Maajh
Gurbani (94-109)
Ashtpadi (109)
Ashtpadiyan (110-129)
Ashtpadi (129-130)
Ashtpadiyan (130-133)
Bara Maha (133-136)
Din Raen (136-137)
Vaar Maajh Ki (137-150)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗਉੜੀ | Raag Gauree
Gurbani (151-185)
Quartets/Couplets (185-220)
Ashtpadiyan (220-234)
Karhalei (234-235)
Ashtpadiyan (235-242)
Chhant (242-249)
Baavan Akhari (250-262)
Sukhmani (262-296)
Thittee (296-300)
Gauree kii Vaar (300-323)
Gurbani (323-330)
Ashtpadiyan (330-340)
Baavan Akhari (340-343)
Thintteen (343-344)
Vaar Kabir (344-345)
Bhagat Bani (345-346)
ਰਾਗੁ ਆਸਾ | Raag Aasaa
Gurbani (347-348)
Chaupaday (348-364)
Panchpadde (364-365)
Kaafee (365-409)
Aasaavaree (409-411)
Ashtpadiyan (411-432)
Patee (432-435)
Chhant (435-462)
Vaar Aasaa (462-475)
Bhagat Bani (475-488)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੂਜਰੀ | Raag Goojaree
Gurbani (489-503)
Ashtpadiyan (503-508)
Vaar Gujari (508-517)
Vaar Gujari (517-526)
ਰਾਗੁ ਦੇਵਗੰਧਾਰੀ | Raag Dayv-Gandhaaree
Gurbani (527-536)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਹਾਗੜਾ | Raag Bihaagraa
Gurbani (537-556)
Chhant (538-548)
Vaar Bihaagraa (548-556)
ਰਾਗੁ ਵਡਹੰਸ | Raag Wadhans
Gurbani (557-564)
Ashtpadiyan (564-565)
Chhant (565-575)
Ghoriaan (575-578)
Alaahaniiaa (578-582)
Vaar Wadhans (582-594)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੋਰਠਿ | Raag Sorath
Gurbani (595-634)
Asatpadhiya (634-642)
Vaar Sorath (642-659)
ਰਾਗੁ ਧਨਾਸਰੀ | Raag Dhanasaree
Gurbani (660-685)
Astpadhiya (685-687)
Chhant (687-691)
Bhagat Bani (691-695)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਤਸਰੀ | Raag Jaitsree
Gurbani (696-703)
Chhant (703-705)
Vaar Jaitsaree (705-710)
Bhagat Bani (710)
ਰਾਗੁ ਟੋਡੀ | Raag Todee
ਰਾਗੁ ਬੈਰਾੜੀ | Raag Bairaaree
ਰਾਗੁ ਤਿਲੰਗ | Raag Tilang
Gurbani (721-727)
Bhagat Bani (727)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੂਹੀ | Raag Suhi
Gurbani (728-750)
Ashtpadiyan (750-761)
Kaafee (761-762)
Suchajee (762)
Gunvantee (763)
Chhant (763-785)
Vaar Soohee (785-792)
Bhagat Bani (792-794)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ | Raag Bilaaval
Gurbani (795-831)
Ashtpadiyan (831-838)
Thitteen (838-840)
Vaar Sat (841-843)
Chhant (843-848)
Vaar Bilaaval (849-855)
Bhagat Bani (855-858)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੋਂਡ | Raag Gond
Gurbani (859-869)
Ashtpadiyan (869)
Bhagat Bani (870-875)
ਰਾਗੁ ਰਾਮਕਲੀ | Raag Ramkalee
Ashtpadiyan (902-916)
Gurbani (876-902)
Anand (917-922)
Sadd (923-924)
Chhant (924-929)
Dakhnee (929-938)
Sidh Gosat (938-946)
Vaar Ramkalee (947-968)
ਰਾਗੁ ਨਟ ਨਾਰਾਇਨ | Raag Nat Narayan
Gurbani (975-980)
Ashtpadiyan (980-983)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਲੀ ਗਉੜਾ | Raag Maalee Gauraa
Gurbani (984-988)
Bhagat Bani (988)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਰੂ | Raag Maaroo
Gurbani (889-1008)
Ashtpadiyan (1008-1014)
Kaafee (1014-1016)
Ashtpadiyan (1016-1019)
Anjulian (1019-1020)
Solhe (1020-1033)
Dakhni (1033-1043)
ਰਾਗੁ ਤੁਖਾਰੀ | Raag Tukhaari
Bara Maha (1107-1110)
Chhant (1110-1117)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕੇਦਾਰਾ | Raag Kedara
Gurbani (1118-1123)
Bhagat Bani (1123-1124)
ਰਾਗੁ ਭੈਰਉ | Raag Bhairo
Gurbani (1125-1152)
Partaal (1153)
Ashtpadiyan (1153-1167)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਸੰਤੁ | Raag Basant
Gurbani (1168-1187)
Ashtpadiyan (1187-1193)
Vaar Basant (1193-1196)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਾਰਗ | Raag Saarag
Gurbani (1197-1200)
Partaal (1200-1231)
Ashtpadiyan (1232-1236)
Chhant (1236-1237)
Vaar Saarang (1237-1253)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਲਾਰ | Raag Malaar
Gurbani (1254-1293)
Partaal (1265-1273)
Ashtpadiyan (1273-1278)
Chhant (1278)
Vaar Malaar (1278-91)
Bhagat Bani (1292-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਾਨੜਾ | Raag Kaanraa
Gurbani (1294-96)
Partaal (1296-1318)
Ashtpadiyan (1308-1312)
Chhant (1312)
Vaar Kaanraa
Bhagat Bani (1318)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਲਿਆਨ | Raag Kalyaan
Gurbani (1319-23)
Ashtpadiyan (1323-26)
ਰਾਗੁ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਤੀ | Raag Prabhaatee
Gurbani (1327-1341)
Ashtpadiyan (1342-51)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਜਾਵੰਤੀ | Raag Jaijaiwanti
Gurbani (1352-53)
Salok | Gatha | Phunahe | Chaubole | Swayiye
Sehskritee Mahala 1
Sehskritee Mahala 5
Gaathaa Mahala 5
Phunhay Mahala 5
Chaubolae Mahala 5
Shaloks Bhagat Kabir
Shaloks Sheikh Farid
Swaiyyae Mahala 5
Swaiyyae in Praise of Gurus
Shaloks in Addition To Vaars
Shalok Ninth Mehl
Mundavanee Mehl 5
ਰਾਗ ਮਾਲਾ, Raag Maalaa
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New resources
Latest activity
Videos
New media
New comments
Library
Latest reviews
Donate
Log in
Register
What's new
New posts
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Welcome to all New Sikh Philosophy Network Forums!
Explore Sikh Sikhi Sikhism...
Sign up
Log in
Discussions
Hard Talk
Interviews
Politicizing Death Row In Punjab And At The Surrey Vaisakhi Parade
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Archived_Member16" data-source="post: 163790" data-attributes="member: 884"><p><span style="color: Navy"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">Politicizing death row in Punjab and at the Surrey Vaisakhi parade </span></strong></span></p><p> <span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Gurpreet Singh - straight.com - Publish Date: April 22, 2012 , Vancouver, B.C.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p> <span style="color: Navy"><img src="http://www.straight.com/files/imagecache/wide_article/images/wide/GurpreetVaisakhi.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">The imagery of a convicted Sikh militant on death row in India, Balwant Singh Rajoana, dominated the annual Vaisakhi parade in Surrey.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">His pictures greeted visitors from different corners of the streets as the procession passed through the city Saturday. Slogans were raised in support of Rajoana and ballad singers glorified his action, while others spoke passionately for him from different podiums.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Rajoana is awaiting a death sentence for being involved in the assassination of Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995. The crime was committed by the Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh separatist group now banned in Canada and blamed for the Air India bombings that left 331 people dead in June 1985.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Dilawar Singh, a suicide bomber, triggered the blast outside the Punjab secretariat in Chandigarh, killing Beant Singh and 17 others.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Beant Singh remains a controversial figure in the history of terrorism in Punjab. Victims of various attacks consider him a "martyr", who brought peace in Punjab by crushing terrorism in the name of Khalistan, an imaginary Sikh homeland.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Meanwhile, supporters of Khalistan and human-rights groups accuse him of allowing police brutality that led to mass disappearances and killings of suspects in staged encounters.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Rajoana, who appears to be high on his conviction, not only admits his involvement in the assassination but also wants to be hanged and die as a hero.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Yet a campaign has picked up both in India and Canada to save his life. His supporters want his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">It should not be surprising that he has immense support in Surrey, which has a sizeable population of Sikhs. After all, organizers of the Surrey Vaisakhi parade are die-hard supporters of Khalistan.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">This year, they honoured the widow of Labh Singh, the slain leader of the Khalistan Commando Force, a group believed to have been in an armed struggle.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Although Rajoana has no Canadian connection, a few elected officials from this country have raised this issue, seeking the intervention of Canada, which has outlawed capital punishment.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Unlike Devinderpal Singh Bhullar (another Sikh militant facing death sentence in India)—who is married to a Canadian citizen and evoked sympathy in this country for obvious reasons—Rajoana has nothing to do with Canada. Still, a series of rallies supporting him have been organized across Canada.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Politicians in India have also tried to score points over each other by opposing his death sentence. Among them is Beant Singh’s own daughter, Gurkanwal Kaur, a Congress leader herself.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">She has forgiven Rajoana and is asking for clemency. Certainly, it takes lot of courage to forgive someone who has killed one's dad, but if she really cares for human rights, her Congress party that currently governs India should bring in legislation to end capital punishment, instead of showing mercy in a selective case.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">The ruling Akali Dal in Punjab is also seeking clemency for Rajoana while some unknown people are awaiting death sentence in Punjab jails. Do they too not deserve clemency?</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">If these parties are sincere they should give up their political considerations and honestly work for a civilized society, which has no room for capital punishment. Instead, they pander to the fundamentalist "vote bank" by picking up selective instances of atrocities for short-term gains. By choosing to do so, they are actually bending over their knees before the separatist and theocratic forces.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">It is for this reason there was a backlash in Punjab, which resulted in Hindu and Sikh fundamentalists coming to blows. It is pertinent to mention that Sikh extremists targeted Hindus in Punjab when the movement for Khalistan was at its peak, while Hindu extremists frequently attacked the Sikh minority outside Punjab whenever there was anti-Hindu violence in Punjab.</span></p><p> <span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Thousands of Sikhs were systematically killed across India by mobs led by Congress Party leaders following the 1984 assassination of then-Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.</span></p><p> <span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Supporters of Khalistan should reciprocate the gesture of Gurkanwal Kaur and acknowledge the high-handedness of militants who've killed innocent Hindus,moderate Sikhs, families of police officers, scholars, and secular critics.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Khalistan supporters have not forgiven Beant Singh, either. One may disagree with the former chief minister, but he led a war against terrorism in mid 1990s before it had fully entered the consciousness of western countries.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Whereas, the United States only launched a full-scale war against terror after 9/11—and that against sovereign countries like Afghanistan and Iraq—the Beant Singh regime was defending his state from a proxy war in the name of Khalistan that was initiated from Pakistan, a hostile neighbour of India.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Besides, the blast that claimed the life of Beant Singh left many innocent people dead. Instead of facing thus inconvenient reality, the Khalistanis are trying to get a political mileage out of the Rajoana story by showcasing it as an instance of the "unfair judicial system" of India, which has failed to punish perpetrators of the 1984 anti-Sikh carnage.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">The Indian establishment has also shown its weakness by continuously denying justice to victims' families, which indirectly strengthens the hands of the Khalistan leadership who is always looking for an opportunity to keep the pot boiling in countries like Canada.</span></p><p> <span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">To oppose capital punishment for the sake of ideological reasons like nonviolence and pacifism is one thing, but to oppose it selectively as a part of a political agenda is unacceptable.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy">Let Rajoana live, but others who do not subscribe to his ideas should also be allowed to live without fear and intimidation.</span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"><em><strong>Gurpreet Singh is Georgia Straight contributor, and the host of a program on Radio India. He's working on a book tentatively titled Canada's 9/11: Lessons from the Air India Bombings.</strong></em><strong></strong></span></p><p><span style="color: Navy"><strong>Source URL: </strong></span></p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.straight.com/article-667061/vancouver/gurpreet-singh-politicizing-death-row-punjab-and-surrey-vaisakhi-parade" target="_blank">http://www.straight.com/article-667061/vancouver/gurpreet-singh-politicizing-death-row-punjab-and-surrey-vaisakhi-parade</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Archived_Member16, post: 163790, member: 884"] [COLOR="Navy"][B][SIZE="5"]Politicizing death row in Punjab and at the Surrey Vaisakhi parade [/SIZE][/B] Gurpreet Singh - straight.com - Publish Date: April 22, 2012 , Vancouver, B.C. [IMG]http://www.straight.com/files/imagecache/wide_article/images/wide/GurpreetVaisakhi.jpg[/IMG] The imagery of a convicted Sikh militant on death row in India, Balwant Singh Rajoana, dominated the annual Vaisakhi parade in Surrey. His pictures greeted visitors from different corners of the streets as the procession passed through the city Saturday. Slogans were raised in support of Rajoana and ballad singers glorified his action, while others spoke passionately for him from different podiums. Rajoana is awaiting a death sentence for being involved in the assassination of Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995. The crime was committed by the Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh separatist group now banned in Canada and blamed for the Air India bombings that left 331 people dead in June 1985. Dilawar Singh, a suicide bomber, triggered the blast outside the Punjab secretariat in Chandigarh, killing Beant Singh and 17 others. Beant Singh remains a controversial figure in the history of terrorism in Punjab. Victims of various attacks consider him a "martyr", who brought peace in Punjab by crushing terrorism in the name of Khalistan, an imaginary Sikh homeland. Meanwhile, supporters of Khalistan and human-rights groups accuse him of allowing police brutality that led to mass disappearances and killings of suspects in staged encounters. Rajoana, who appears to be high on his conviction, not only admits his involvement in the assassination but also wants to be hanged and die as a hero. Yet a campaign has picked up both in India and Canada to save his life. His supporters want his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment. It should not be surprising that he has immense support in Surrey, which has a sizeable population of Sikhs. After all, organizers of the Surrey Vaisakhi parade are die-hard supporters of Khalistan. This year, they honoured the widow of Labh Singh, the slain leader of the Khalistan Commando Force, a group believed to have been in an armed struggle. Although Rajoana has no Canadian connection, a few elected officials from this country have raised this issue, seeking the intervention of Canada, which has outlawed capital punishment. Unlike Devinderpal Singh Bhullar (another Sikh militant facing death sentence in India)—who is married to a Canadian citizen and evoked sympathy in this country for obvious reasons—Rajoana has nothing to do with Canada. Still, a series of rallies supporting him have been organized across Canada. Politicians in India have also tried to score points over each other by opposing his death sentence. Among them is Beant Singh’s own daughter, Gurkanwal Kaur, a Congress leader herself. She has forgiven Rajoana and is asking for clemency. Certainly, it takes lot of courage to forgive someone who has killed one's dad, but if she really cares for human rights, her Congress party that currently governs India should bring in legislation to end capital punishment, instead of showing mercy in a selective case. The ruling Akali Dal in Punjab is also seeking clemency for Rajoana while some unknown people are awaiting death sentence in Punjab jails. Do they too not deserve clemency? If these parties are sincere they should give up their political considerations and honestly work for a civilized society, which has no room for capital punishment. Instead, they pander to the fundamentalist "vote bank" by picking up selective instances of atrocities for short-term gains. By choosing to do so, they are actually bending over their knees before the separatist and theocratic forces. It is for this reason there was a backlash in Punjab, which resulted in Hindu and Sikh fundamentalists coming to blows. It is pertinent to mention that Sikh extremists targeted Hindus in Punjab when the movement for Khalistan was at its peak, while Hindu extremists frequently attacked the Sikh minority outside Punjab whenever there was anti-Hindu violence in Punjab. Thousands of Sikhs were systematically killed across India by mobs led by Congress Party leaders following the 1984 assassination of then-Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Supporters of Khalistan should reciprocate the gesture of Gurkanwal Kaur and acknowledge the high-handedness of militants who've killed innocent Hindus,moderate Sikhs, families of police officers, scholars, and secular critics. Khalistan supporters have not forgiven Beant Singh, either. One may disagree with the former chief minister, but he led a war against terrorism in mid 1990s before it had fully entered the consciousness of western countries. Whereas, the United States only launched a full-scale war against terror after 9/11—and that against sovereign countries like Afghanistan and Iraq—the Beant Singh regime was defending his state from a proxy war in the name of Khalistan that was initiated from Pakistan, a hostile neighbour of India. Besides, the blast that claimed the life of Beant Singh left many innocent people dead. Instead of facing thus inconvenient reality, the Khalistanis are trying to get a political mileage out of the Rajoana story by showcasing it as an instance of the "unfair judicial system" of India, which has failed to punish perpetrators of the 1984 anti-Sikh carnage. The Indian establishment has also shown its weakness by continuously denying justice to victims' families, which indirectly strengthens the hands of the Khalistan leadership who is always looking for an opportunity to keep the pot boiling in countries like Canada. To oppose capital punishment for the sake of ideological reasons like nonviolence and pacifism is one thing, but to oppose it selectively as a part of a political agenda is unacceptable. Let Rajoana live, but others who do not subscribe to his ideas should also be allowed to live without fear and intimidation. [I][B]Gurpreet Singh is Georgia Straight contributor, and the host of a program on Radio India. He's working on a book tentatively titled Canada's 9/11: Lessons from the Air India Bombings.[/B][/I][B] Source URL: [/B][/COLOR] [url]http://www.straight.com/article-667061/vancouver/gurpreet-singh-politicizing-death-row-punjab-and-surrey-vaisakhi-parade[/url] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Discussions
Hard Talk
Interviews
Politicizing Death Row In Punjab And At The Surrey Vaisakhi Parade
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top