196-R, MODEL TOWN, JALANDHAR CITY, PUNJAB 144 003
How the Punjab came to be infested with terrorism is worth examining. The first shooting incident of Apr. 13, 1978 at Amritsar took place when the neo-Nirankaris, a movement launched against the Sikhs and supported by the Bharat Sarkar, shot dead a number of Sant Bhindranwale’s followers on a peace mission. They were on their way to request the neo-Nirankaris not to denigrate the Sikhs, their gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib. But before they could plead so, the neo- Nirankaris fell upon them and killed a number of them. (That the neo-Nirankaris are supported by the Bharat Sarkar is quite clear from the fact that whenever the head of the neo-Nirankaris visited a foreign country he was given treatment of an Indian Ambassador). A case was registered against these offenders. However, on the bidding of the Bharat Sarkar, the case was transferred to a court in Karnal (Haryana) where it could be proceeded with according to the desires of Delhi and Congress Sarkar.
Henpecked judiciary: As suspected the case was dismissed and the murderers let off scot free. This caused a great resentment among the Sikhs, particularly members of the Damdami Taksal. This also speaks for the independence of the judiciary in India. Expecting no justice from the Congress Sarkar, Sant Bhindranwale planned to avenge the murder of his followers. Neo-Nirankaris became the target. Even their head, Baba Gurbachan Singh, was not spared. Strange, even on this no arrests of Damdami Taksal members were made. The govt. perhaps wanted the two sections to finish themselves off through fighting.
Jagat Narain murder: Then came the murder of Lala Jagat Narain, proprietor of the Hind Samachar Group of papers, who often wrote against Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Sant Bhindranwale. The murderer was not apprehended but one already in police custody was declared caught while hiding near the place of the crime. Would any murderer act in this silly manner? Actually there were no eye witnesses to the scene. But Sant Bhindranwale was suspected, he was arrested at the place and time decided by the Sant himself i.e. at Chowk Mehta (Amritsar dt.) where a huge religious congregation had been arranged. Nothing incriminating was, however, found against the Sant and he was freed after a few days.
Indira throne shaking: In this game, the Congress leaders, especially from Punjab, played an unhealthy part, their aim being firstly to let down each other, and secondly, to bring a bad name to the Akali Dal and Sikhs in fact. It was only the Akalis and no other political party that had started an agitation against the Emergency imposed in 1975 when Mrs. Gandhi’s “throne” had started shaking following the adverse Allahabad High Court judgment. Secondly, the Akalis had supported the Janata Party in the 1977-78 elections against the Congress.
Major killings: A number of killings followed the murder of the Lala. The major victims were: Ramesh Chander (the Lala’s son), Sardar A.S. Atwal, DIG, Harbans Singh Manchanda and a number of others. But the murderers have not been caught so far. This speaks a lot for the govt.’s intentions.
Anandpur Saheb resolution : Then the question of Punjab river waters were raised. To deprive Punjab of its water, a Satluj-Yamuna link (SYL) Canal was proposed to carry the river water to Haryana. The Akalis opposed this and started an agitation. They also demanded implementation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution of seeking more powers for the States. However, the Akalis are not the only political party in the country to put up this demand.
All this suited the machination of Indira Gandhi who started propagating that the murderers of the various persons were taking refuge in the Golden Temple. The Bharat Sarkar even gave a list of 46 such men to the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabha dhak Committee (SGPC). The latter fell into her trap and pointed out that some of these had died and some gone abroad, leaving only 26 behind in the country. So much so, Sant Bhindranwale, Akalis and SGPC played into the brahminical hands of Mrs. Gandhi.
Blue Star Operation: The obliging brahminical press propagated this inside the country and also abroad. The situation was so created as to enable Mrs. Gandhi to take a stronger step. She deployed ten divisions of the Indian Army throughout the tiny State of Punjab. Some of these troops had previously received training on sand models of the Golden Temple as to how to assault and capture it. Curfew was imposed throughout the State. No movement was permitted. No vehicle of any type, not even a bicycle or a bullock cart was allowed to move about.
It appeared that the Bharat Sarkar had been thoroughly briefed by its masters. Golden Temple plus other important gurdwaras and the villages were all besieged as if the area belonged to some foreign country.
Soon the Indian Army struck ruthlessly. No consideration was given to whether it was a male or a female, young or old, so long as they were Sikhs. The gurdwaras were destroyed, copies of Granth Sahib burnt, Sikhs killed in thousands, their property looted and then destroyed and Sikh women raped.
Sikh children were called as progeny of serpents and killed. Akal Takht was destroyed by gun fire, there was not a single place or building in the Golden Temple complex that had not received a bullet or a shell.
Unparalleled violence : The surviving Sikh youth was put into jail. The Sikh reference library, a rare collection, was burnt to ashes thus depriving the coming Sikh generations of their valuable literature. The situation in the districts of Amritsar and Gurdaspur was the worst.
The Army acted as if it was operating on a foreign soil against foreigners. Brutalities at the hands of the country’s own soldiers committed against a part of the country’s own population has no example in the world history.
This was followed by “Operation Rosewood” with similar atrocities committed against the Sikhs but more thoroughly.
These actions of Indira Gandhi gave rise to what she and her govt. started calling “terrorism”.
The blood of the Sikh youth boiled and they were all up to avenge the disrespect shown to their religion, their religious places and religious book (Guru Granth Sahib) and their womenfolk.
