1984 Anti-Sikh Pogrom Why And What Happened In 1984

[seeker3k]

Why and What happened in 1984

First there was attack on Golden temple by the Government..

India is democratic country and it upholds or try to uphold the democratic system. No democratic government will stand by when there is chaos in any part of the country.
I am not going into the history that much. Far as I know most people know what has happened but there are conflicting views of why it happened. Before the conflict started there came the so called sant Bhinderawale who took power in Punjab. Not as CM but he had his followers to terrorize the public. He wanted to create Khalistan. His slogan was to free Punjab and Punjabi from slavery. The elected government of Punjab had no power to control sant. He became dictator in democracy. When he felt his life was in danger he took refuse in Golden temple. He kind of knew that government will not send police in the temple. There he will be safe to rule.

His statement was one Sikh is enough for 35 Hindus. Then it will be Khalistan for sure. In view of that government had to take action. They try to negotiate but with no result. He took innocent people in the temple as shield. He thought government won’t strike if the public be in side the compound. They were forcefully kept in the compound. Indara Ghandi orders the army into the golden temple. It was blood all over and lot of damaged to the Akal takhet and the temple. How many people died there I don’t know. But one is too many.
The time he was in control no one of the Sikh community in India or out of India spoke against him. Every one was afraid that they will be on hit list if they spoke against him. What kind of religion is this that every one was scared of him? Yet they claim the Sikhism was created to fight injustice. Or every was in favor of Khalistan? Khalistan where only the Sikhs can live. The Sikhs those he approved. What will happen to Sikhs who were living other part of India or overseas? How could all the Sikhs can allow it to happen. We Sikhs are from Hindus. We just did not drop from the sky. How can brother turn against brother? Now people are saying we are not against Hindus. But what was then?
The big question is why this sant took refuse in the temple to save his life. Was he coward? He sure acted like one? He should have fought the government like brave man. And out side of the temple. This shows he was not brave at all. The entire Sikh nation in India and out side were angery at PM Indra Ghandi. Every Sikh turned against Hindus and preached hatret. Some of the Sikhs were making speeches that he will 500 Hindus for every Sikh got killed.
Then the worst thing happened. PM’s personal security guards killed her. It was the worst revenge that the Sikhs took on PM. The Guard broke the trust by killing the PM. Hindus took this opportunity to punish the Sikhs. It was the worst massacre in the history of any religion. All innocent Sikhs in Delhi were attacked and few were killed. In the democratic country it was and is black mark on Hindus and the government. They stood by and did not try to stop it.
Let’s look at few things from the natural point of view. Sikhs were angry because gov disgraced the temple by entering with shoes on and took shot at the temple. Some Sikhs blamed that innocent Sikhs were killed when the army entered. The army has to enter with shoes. The shots at building, that was made of bricks. But what the Sikhs did was worst. The body guards killed the one they posed to be protecting. And Sikhs can’t understand that why the Hindus got angry. They killed the mother of Rajeev Ghandi. How would he felt that the very guard who were hired to protect killed his mother. What is more important bricks or live person? Sikhs have the right to get angry but guy whose mother is killed not supposed to get angry. We have to feel for Rajev too if want to feel for our people. This all could have avoided if the Sikhs stood up against the sant. Any democratic government will not and should not tolerate the splitting of the country.
One person or maybe more wrote here that what should we do sit and take it. We have to rise up against the disgracing the temple. There are courts that we can take the case there. If we take the law in our hands then we have to be ready to bare the brunt.
What happened to this notion that one Sikh can fight 125,000 men? How man Hindus attacked Sikhs in Delhi? 500 how many Sikhs were there in Delhi? One person said Siks went away from the Sikhism by not learning gatka and did not keep fit to fight back. Most of the Sikhs in Delhi had the 6” kirpan which is given to them to protect them and others. Can any one protect himself and others with 6” kirpan? What can kirpan or gatka do in front of guns? We may have to change and give Sikhs AK47.Atleast there is still K in AK47.
Don’t for get many Hindus hid the Sikhs in their home to save then from the mobs. How many Sikhs in Punjab stood by the Hindus when sant order his followers to kill?
Looks to me we Sikhs act like spoiled child who want every thing his way. We have to learn to live with fellow Indians and share every thing. All Sikhs Don’t want Kalistan. What I see only the Sikhs in US<CANADA<UK are pushing for khalistan. Punjab can not survive alone it need India to survive. Punjab has no recourses have no industry. No manufacturing in Punjab, how cam it feed its people? We have to accept our mistake and make up with Hindus. 2% of the populating can not survive among the 98%. We are human and we not invincible no matter what we believe.

Sikhs are coming to Canada,USA,Uk and make speeches. They write books about 1984.All they are doing is enticing emotional Sikhs to hate Hindus. In the process that are collecting money for their own pockets. If they want peace they should start seminars that promote peace not hatred. Leaders of Sikhs should openly apologies to Hindus for killing Indera Gandhi. They should hold seminars where they should honor those Hindus who took Sikhs in their home to save them from mob. No one is doing this.

Sikhs preach forgiveness where is the forgiveness here? How long we are going to keep the grudge and live with hate? Ever religion suffered genocide. They forgive those who did genocide.
seeker

 

[harbansj24]

Seeker3k ji,

You have raised some very important issues. I too have raised these issues with many and in some posts also but have not received any satisfactory answers. I have raised other issues with my good Hindu friends also, of which I have many and they too mumble some unsatisfactory things in embarrassment.

Seeker3k ji, if seen in isolation what you say is no doubt correct but truth is never so simple and straight forward.

First of all we must examine what led to the protest of Sikhs in mid 70's.

1. Chandigarh which was awarded to Punjab, did not materialise.
2. The riparian rights of Punjab of the rivers flowing through its territories were not honoured.
3. Absolutely simple demand like naming Frontier Mail as Golden Temple express was not heeded. Whereas there were precedents such as naming trains such as Kasi Vishwanath express etc.
4. Relaying Gurbani from Harmandir Sahib through Govt controlled radio was not allowed. However this was started immediately after Operation Blue Star.
5. Then last but not least Nirankaris were allowed to get away with direct sacrilege of basic Sikh faith in SGGS.

So a protest movement was started to address these grievances and as it always happens with such movements the leaders start losing control and it starts to go haywire. But wise leadership always disassociates itself from such negative fallout. Mahatma Gandhi did it, Nelson Mandela did it, Martin Luther King did it. But unfortunately Sikhs did not have such mature leadership and that gave chance to Indra Gandhi to play Machiavellian politics. And the results are there for all to see. Now lets ask the following questions.

1. Indira Gandhi very well knew that arms were being taken inside Golden temple. All the entry points to the temple were well known. Who or what prevented the Govt of India for puting up checks at these points at a respectable distance from the temple to prevent such arm movements. No responsible Govt could have allowed that.
2. When DIG Atwal was shot dead on the steps to the Temple, what prevented the Police from notifying the temple authorities of their intention of conducting a search of the temple premises with utmost respect to the Sikh sensibilities. Who can stop the Govt from fulfilling its responsibilities of investigating a murder committed in broad daylight?
3. Is it not apparent that that Indira Gandhi did all this because she deliberately wanted the movement to build up and get out of hand and then take action which would once for all put the Sikhs in their place and get rid of their "nuisance value". Was it not a deliberate abdication of the constitutional responsibility of the Govt.?
4. Now having allowed this to happen, were all the options properly explored? Was it not possible to starve out the occupants by sealing all entry points and thoroughly searching all the devotees going in and coming out of the premises.
5. Was it at all necessary to go full blast by the full might of the state against a few fugitives holed up in a area of barely a few acres?

Yes it was foolish of the Sikh leadership to have allowed the movement to have gone wrong totally and not to have raised their voice when innocent Hindu bus passengers were segregated and shot in cold blood against this very unSikh like deeds. Later many innocent Sikhs also became the targets because terrorists do not have any religion.

Yes it was also very wrong of the security gaurds who specifically hired to guard the life of Indira Gandhi and who had specifically vested complete faith in her to have killed her. This act was also very un Sikh like deed.

Now let us ask some more questions.

1. Was it right to hold all the Sikhs responsible for the act of just two.
2. was it right to spread misinformation that Sikhs all over India were celebrating the assassination by distributing sweets?
3. Was not the attack on Sikhs meticulously planned by the administration and the police and army just instructed to keep quiet just for 3 days? And after 3 days was not everything back to normal suddenly?
4. Which democratic country of the world has indulged in such a systamatic massacre of its citizens whatever might have been the provocation? and then refuse to be accountable?

These are disturbing qusetions which no responsible "democratically elected" govt can refuse to answer.

Seeker3k ji, Iam very dissappointed and pained by question that where is the power of i sikh being equal to 1,25,000. You know very well that dasam pita used this term only figuretively. He meant that 1 Sikh can take on a legion. that the Sikhs have proved again and again. Our own Maiji took on a mob of murderers who entered her house and continued to battle them even after they had killed her youn son and husband.

All Sikhs should not apologise for "their mistake" because very few Sikhs actually supported the terrorists. At best Sikhs can say that the acts of terrorists could not be condoned. But atleast all have them have been liquidated but what about the Mass Murderers of Sikhs?