Ranbir Singh Sandhu
Introduction
In June 1984, the Indian Government sent nearly a quarter million
troops to Punjab, sealed the state from the rest of the world, and
launched an attack, code-named 'Operation Bluestar', on the Darbar
Sahib complex in Amritsar and over forty other gurdwaras in Punjab.
Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, head of the Damdami Taksaal, and
many students and teachers belonging to the Taksaal, perished in the
conflict. Several thousand men, women and children, mostly innocent
pilgrims, also lost their lives in that attack. In this essay, we
describe Sant Bhindranwale's life, mission and the growth of opposition
to him. We also look at specific allegations levelled by the Indian
Government against the Sant in the light of his public pronouncements
and of contemporary reports. We specially note the campaign of misrepresentation
and vilification carried on by the Government as well as the role
played by the news media in propagating certain myths.
Sant Bhindranwale - Life And Mission
1. Early Life And Success As A Sikh Preacher
Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was born in village Rode located
in Faridkot District of Punjab, in 1947. From his childhood, he had
a religious bent of mind. Sant Gurbachan Singh Khalsa, head of the
Damdami Taksaal, the premier Sikh religious school, visited the child's
village and suggested to Joginder Singh, Jarnail Singh's father, that
his son join the Taksaal as a student. Coming to the Taksaal in 1965,
Jarnail Singh received instruction in Sikh theology and history under
Sant Gurbachan Singh's tutelage and later Sant Kartar Singh Bhindranwale's.
He grew up to be an effective preacher of the faith. On August 25,
1977, upon the death of Sant Kartar Singh, he became head of the Taksaal.
From July 1977 to July 1982, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale extensively
toured cities and villages of Punjab to preach the Sikh faith. He
also visited other states and cities in India. Wherever he went, he
carried Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib's message to every home exhorting
Sikhs to take Amrit, observe the Sikh appearance, and live according
to the teachings of Siri Guru Granth Sahib. As Tavleen Singh tells
us : 'His philosophy in six words was Nashey chaddo, Amrit chhako,
Gursikh bano (Give up addictions, Take Amrit, Become good Sikhs)'.
Explaining his mission, he said : 'My mission is to administer Amrit,
to explain the meanings of Gurbani and to teach Gurbani to those around
me; and (to tell people) that a Hindu should be a firm Hindu, a Muslim
should be a firm Muslim, and a Sikh should be a firm Sikh'. His preaching
was based on love. He said : 'If we speak to someone with hatred and
try to assert our superiority, it will create hatred in the minds
of everyone. So long as we have the spirit of love, so long as we
have the support of Satguru Hargobind Sahib, the Master of Miri and
Piri, is there any power on earth that can subdue us?' He wanted the
Sikhs to 'come back to Anandpur, their home' by taking Amrit, and
become his brothers and sons of Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib.
Sant Bhindranwale had a charismatic personality and spoke in simple
village idiom. Those who listened to him, were impressed by his simple
living, personal charm, and clear thinking. Joyce Pettigrew, who met
him in 1980, writes:
'There was a very close association between the Sant and the people, as I myself witnessed on a visit to meet Sant Bhindranwale in Guru Nanak Niwas.'
According to Shiva, Sant Jarnail
Singh Bhindranwale 'gained his popularity with the Punjab peasantry
by launching an ideological crusade against the cultural corruption
of Punjab. The most ardent followers of Bhindranwale in his first
phase of rising popularity were children and women, both because they
were relatively free of the new culture of degenerative consumption,
and they were worst hit by the violence it generated. In the second
phase of Bhindranwale's popularity, men also joined his following,
replacing vulgar movies with visits to gurdwaras, and reading the
'gurbani' in place of pornographic literature. The Sant's following
grew as he successfully regenerated the 'good' life of purity, dedication
and hard work by reviving these fundamental values of the Sikh religion's
way of life.
The popularity of Bhindranwale in the countryside was based on this
positive sense of fundamentalism as revitalizing the basic moral values
of life that had been the first casualty of commercial capitalism.
During the entire early phase of Bhindranwale's preaching, he made
no anti-government or anti-Hindu statement, but focused on the positive
values of the Sikh religion. His role was largely that of a social
and religious reformer. 'According to Khushwant Singh: 'Within a short
period of becoming head of the Taksaal, Jarnail Singh came to be recognized
as the most effective instrument of renaissance of Sikh fundamentalism.
He toured villages exhorting Sikh youth to return to the Spartan ways
of the Khalsa started by Guru Gobind Singh: not to clip their beards,
to abstain from smoking, drinking and taking drugs. Wherever he went,
he baptized young men and women by the hundreds. An integral part
of his preaching was that all Sikhs should, as had been required by
their warrior Guru Gobind Singh, be shastradharis - weapon-bearers.'
Tully and Jacob state that:
'In spite of the Government's propaganda, to many people Bhindranwale remained a sant, or holy man, not a terrorist.'
The religious revival lead by Sant Bhindranwale resulted in a large
number of Sikhs, especially the youth, receiving initiation into the
Sikh faith. According to Khushwant Singh: 'Bhindranwale's amrit parchar
was a resounding success. Adults in their thousands took oaths in
public to abjure liquor, tobacco and drugs and were baptized. Video
cassettes showing blue films and cinema houses lost out to the village
gurdwara. Men not only saved money they had earlier squandered in
self-indulgence, but now worked longer hours on their lands and raised
better crops. They had much to be grateful for to Jarnail Singh who
came to be revered by them as Baba Sant Jarnail Singh ji Khalsa Bhindranwale.'
When Sant Bhindranwale was staying in the Darbar Sahib complex during
1982 and 1983, four to five hundred persons were administered Amrit
each Wednesday and Sunday. On April 13, 1983 over ten thousand were
initiated and during the month ending on April 13, 1984, forty-five
thousand Sikhs received Amrit.
This revival was extremely significant and Sant Bhindranwale was
emerging as the leading figure in the Sikh faith and a role-model
for the youth. I was once told by a relative that his two sons had
stopped taking tea. I asked him why, and if they had been to see Sant
Bhindranwale. The reply was: 'No, it is just the way things are in
Punjab. The young people love and admire him so much that if they
come to know what the Sant does or doesn't do, they like to follow
his example.' People sought his advice and intercession for personal
problems and conflict resolution. Khushwant Singh reports: 'On a later
visit to Amritsar I got an inkling into the reasons of Bhindranwale's
popularity. I will narrate two incidents to illustrate this. One day
a young girl came to see Bhindranwale. She clutched his feet and sobbed
out her story of how she was maltreated by her husband's family for
failing to extract more money from her parents and of her husband's
unwillingness to take her side. Bhindranwale asked her name and where
she lived. "So you are a daughter of the Hindus," he said.
"Are you willing to become the daughter of a Sikh?" She
nodded. Bhindranwale sent a couple of his armed guards to fetch the
girl's family. An hour later a very frightened trio consisting of
the girl's husband and his parents were brought to his presence. "Is
this girl a daughter of your household?", he demanded. They admitted
she was. "She tells me that you want money from her father. I
am her father." He placed a tray full of currency notes before
them and told them: "take whatever you want". The three
fell at his feet and craved forgiveness.' Khushwant Singh tells us
that he was so respected that, after his election to be head of the
Damdami Taksaal in preference to Amrik Singh, son of Sant Kartar Singh,
'instead of resenting the choice, Amrik Singh became a confidante
and collaborator of Jarnail Singh.'
2. Conflict With Sant Nirankaris
Sant Bhindranwale first gained prominence in public life when he
organized a protest to stop the Sant Nirankari assembly in Amritsar
on April 13, 1978 after he was unsuccessful in persuading the administration
to stop it. A group of one hundred persons, including 25 from Sant
Bhindranwale's group and 75 from the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, participated
in this peaceful protest. These unarmed people were fired upon by
Nirankari gunmen leaving 13 dead and 78 wounded. The police, instead
of stopping the massacre, hurled tear-gas at the protestors converting
them into sitting ducks. A police officer who was present at the scene
told this writer that the Sikh protestors had agreed to stop some
distance away from the Nirankari assembly and to wait for the police
to negotiate with the Nirankaris to end their public meeting. However,
while they were waiting, Nirankari gunmen moved behind a row of busses,
parked on one side of the road, to come to the rear of the protestors
and opened fire. The leader of the protestors was shot dead by one
of the police officials as he tried to persuade the police to intervene
and stop the killing. Every attempt was made to avoid punishing the
guilty. Instead of apprehending those who had committed the heinous
crime, the local authorities escorted them safely out of the state.
Sant Bhindranwale felt specially let down by Parkash Singh Badal,
then Chief Minister of Punjab, and by Jiwan Singh Umranangal, a cabinet
minister, who was present in Amritsar at the time of the April 1978
massacre. Badal felt constrained by the desires of the Hindu members
of his coalition government and Jiwan Singh Umranangal never saw any
merit in the protest organized by the Sikhs. These events caused extreme
bitterness in the minds of the Sikhs. They felt that the Government
was deliberately siding with the murderers and treating Sikhs as second-class
citizens whose life had no value. An order was issued from Siri Akal
Takhat Sahib calling upon all Sikhs to boycott the Nirankaris.
Immediately
after the massacre, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale personally cared
for the dead and the wounded . This endeared him even more to the
Sikh masses. After prolonged agitation by the Sikhs, a case was registered
against the perpetrators. However, the judge, reportedly upon receiving
a bribe , acquitted all of them stating that they had acted in self-defence.
The state government, controlled by Indira Gandhi's party, elected
not to appeal this judgment. As Sikhs in various places in India continued
to protest the Nirankari practice of openly denigrating their faith,
each protest was met by firing by the police and the Nirankaris with
the death toll of Sikhs gradually mounting to 28. In April 1980, the
Nirankari leader, Baba Gurbachan Singh, was assassinated. His followers
named Sant Bhindranwale as a suspect even though he was nowhere near
the scene of the crime. Several of his associates and relatives were
arrested. For his part, the Sant continued to openly oppose the Nirankaris
and expressed satisfaction that such a wicked person had been eliminated.
He declared that if he met Ranjit Singh, the suspected killer, he
would weigh him in gold. However, it is said that when Bhai Ranjit
Singh did show up clandestinely at Darbar Sahib in 1983, he was not
honoured by Sant Bhindranwale. Also, when Singh Sahib Gurdial Singh
Ajnoha, Jathedar, Siri Akal Takhat Sahib, was considering a rapprochement
with the Sant Nirankaris, Sant Bhindranwale declared that he would
abide by the decision taken by the Akal Takhat.
3. Growth Of Opposition To Sant Bhindranwale
Sant Bhindranwale's phenomenal success in reviving the Sikh faith
among rural masses of Punjab was viewed with concern by the established
leadership of the country. The secularists viewed the revival of the
faith as a reversal of the process of weakening of religious bonds.
They were afraid that under Sant Bhindranwale's leadership, the Sikh
religion might strengthen, spread and eventually result in the emergence
of a cohesive Sikh nation which might possibly demand separation of
Punjab from the Indian state. Even though many Hindus join Sikhs prayers,
attend gurdwaras, and regularly participate in Sikh religious ceremonies,
the extremists among them misrepresented the daily Sikh prayer as
a call for Sikh domination. Whether by design to undermine the Sikh
religion or due to paranoia against possible balkanization of India
they confused Sant Bhindranwale's emphasis upon the distinct identity
of the Sikh religion with political separatism. Akalis were worried
that even though Sant Bhindranwale insisted that he had no personal
political ambitions , he could emerge as a king-maker and jeopardize
their hegemony over the Sikh community. The Indian news media, by
and large, joined in the witch hunt along with several well known 'intellectuals'.
Even Khushwant Singh, who had earlier discussed the survival of the
Sikhs as a separate community in a rational manner, described this
revival as 'Sikh fundamentalism raising its ugly head'. Each of these
groups, anxious about defending its territory, policies, and/or beliefs,
had a role in promoting misrepresentations and misunderstandings about
Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and/or the Sikh religion. All of them,
with different perspectives and interests, focused on a common target;
Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who spearheaded the Sikh revival.
Misrepresentation And Vilification Of Sant
Bhindranwale
1. Exaggeration And False Apportionment Of Blame
In order to mislead the Indian public and to facilitate the passage
of draconian laws restricting Sikh right to life and liberty, the
Indian Government blamed Sant Bhindranwale for every crime that was
committed in Punjab. At the same time, the level of crime in the state
was grossly exaggerated to justify government oppression as necessary
for control of separatism and the preservation of national unity and
integrity. Punjab was a state with a crime rate significantly below
the Indian national figures. According to government reports , 172
persons were killed in the period from August 5, 1982, to December
31, 1983, and 453 (including 118 killed by the police and paramilitary
organizations and some killed in the neighbouring state of Haryana),
over the period August 5, 1981, to June 2, 1984. Sinha et al. tell
us : 'In Delhi alone in the year 1983, 244 persons were murdered (Statesman,
July 1, 1984). Clubbing together every kind of crime under the heading
and blaming the Akali agitation for all of them is but an attempt
to mislead the people.' Nayar confirms that 'Punjab Government circulated
a secret document. This document said that there were 5,422 murders
in 1980 and 5,068 in 1981 in U.P, while in Punjab there were 620 murders
in 1980 and 544 in 1981.' It is noteworthy that of all the cases listed
in the White Paper it was only in eleven cases that the attackers
are even alleged to be Sikh. In all other cases the assailants were
unknown. Responding to this propaganda, Sant Bhindranwale said : 'If
someone's dog or cat dies, they say Bhindranwala gets it done.' Also
: 'At whatever place, whatever untoward incident occurs, whether any
other place is named in that connection or not, the names of Harmandar
Sahib and Nanak Niwas are always included. This is for anything happening
anywhere, not only in a couple of cases. Madhya Pradesh is thousands
of kilometers from here. Something happened at Bhilai a long time
back. Even that case has been linked to this place. After that, at
various other places, many incidents occurred. The Government and
the Mahashas, communal newspapers, have not hesitated in linking Harmandar
Sahib to these.
These conspiracies are being hatched and stories concocted with the
sole purpose of vilifying the Akali Dal and to make this struggle
unsuccessful. 'Extremist Hindus described Sikh religious practices
as commitment to violence and initiation of people into Sikh religion
as provocative action. They described the Sant's trips to Punjab villages
as : 'Sant Bhindranwale himself used to go about with about 50 of
his armed men in a bus and a lot of tension was generated in the State
as a result.' Noting this, Sant Bhindranwale said : 'One who takes
Amrit and helps others take it; who reads the Gurbani and teaches
others to do the same; who gives up intoxicants and helps others to
do likewise; who urges all to get together and work in cooperation;
who preaches Hindu-Sikh unity and asks for peaceful coexistence; who
says: "If you are a Muslim be a devout Muslim, if you are a Sikh
be a devout Sikh, respect your Isht, unite under the saffron Nishaan
Sahib stoutly support the Panth, and be attached to Satguru's Throne
and Guru's Darbar"; persons who preach like this are now all
being called extremists by this Government and by the Mahasha press.
In particular, I have been given a big title. They call me the "leader
of the extremists". I am a firm extremist, but of the type which
has the characteristics I have described to you.' He also said : 'Who
is an extremist in this Government's eyes? It is one who has a turban
on his head; wears the kachhera; supports unity and follows the Guru;
is desirous of progress of the country; is desirous of justice for
the blood of the martyrs, for the insult of Satguru Granth Sahib;
and promotes good of all mankind. In Punjab today, anyone who believes
in and follows the path of Nanak Naam Chardi Kala Tere Bane Sarbat
Da Balla. "Nanak says: God's Name is glorious; there is good
for all in accepting Your (God's) will", is an extremist.'
2. Staged Crimes
To brand devout Sikhs as criminals, the Government stage-managed
numerous crimes. The modus operandi was that the police would orchestrate
a crime, the Government would ascribe the crime to Sant Bhindranwale.
Following this, the law-enforcement agencies would round up a few
devout Sikhs and harass, torture, rape, and even 'eliminate' them
through torture. A cows' heads thrown in a Hindu temple According
to a report : 'Surinder Kapoor M.L.A. created sensation, when in a
meeting of the Congress (Indira) Legislative Party, Punjab, held on
March 6, 1983, he accused the then Punjab Government of hatching a
conspiracy at Mohali of cutting a few heads of dead cows and of actually
conveying them to Amritsar for being stealthily thrown in some Hindu
temple there and thus lit the first communal fire in the state'. Sant
Bhindranwale and the AISSF had nothing to do with this, were ignorant
about the conspiracy, but were blamed by the Government whereas it
showed no interest in prosecuting a person caught red-handed throwing
tobacco in the Darbar Sahib premises. Sant Bhindranwale said : 'A
person associated with a Hindu Vairagi brought and dropped some tobacco
in the Parkarma. Sikhs caught him right there and handed him over
to the police. He admitted that he been sent by Romesh and that they
were four men who had come. For throwing tobacco at a religious place
of the Sikhs, for the desecration, the police would not even take
him to the Police Station. He was released on the road outside the
Station.
On the other hand, someone brought a head of a dead cow from the
slaughterhouse and dropped it in a Hindu religious place. Neither
any Hindu nor any Sikh witnessed any Sikh boy doing it. Simply based
on suspicion, a price of fifty thousand rupees has been placed on
the head of Jaswant Singh Thekedar of Gurdaspur and of twenty-five
thousand on the head of Rajinder Singh of Mehta. A price was placed
on his head because he grew up in the village where Bhindranwala lives,
because he is a student in the Federation, because he is an employee
of the Shromani Parbandhak Committee, and he has the complete appearance
(of a Sikh).' He further explained : 'No Sikh is in favour of placing
cows' heads in temples. We are also not in favour of killing the cow.
We do not consider the cow a guru, it is a good animal.'
Bombs Thrown at the Chief Minister of Punjab According to Sinha et
al. : 'Dubious attacks on Chief Minister Darbara Singh and such other
activists were stage-managed in order to malign the Akali movement
and to find a pretext to unleash repression. On August 20, 1982, two
hand-grenades were thrown at him at Rahon. A few policemen and onlookers
were injured but the grenade thrown at Darbara Singh did not blast
instead it was securely tied in a handkerchief. One man was claimed
to have been arrested at the place of the incident. The following
night one man in custody was later set free. It was proved that he
was a police person who managed the show, and hence had to be set
free.' Using this stage-managed crime as a pretext, an innocent Amritdhari
Sikh was arrested and tortured to death. Sant Bhindranwale told his
listeners : 'Bhai Gurmeet Singh of Dhulkot, the only son of his parents
... was caught. His nails were pulled out and salt was poured (over
the wounds); his hands were burnt by placing candles under the palms
of his hands. Then Bhullar sent a wireless message to the Chief Minister
of Punjab, stating that his hands had been burnt, his nails pulled
out and salt poured over them but he would not say anything except
Sat Siri Akal and Vaheguru. Then, the words came out of this proud
man's mouth that this man should be shot to death. That is how he
was martyred.'
Extortion Some persons received letters demanding money. These letters
were purportedly written on behalf of Sant Bhindranwale. Upon this
being brought to his attention, he said : 'I like to make an appeal
to the congregation and I like to inform the newspapermen too so that
they can definitely publish it. I have this letter in my hand. Seven
such letters have been received in the Qadian area. One has reached
Pritam Singh Bhatia. In that letter too it is written about a Hindu
that he should reach such and such place near the railway tracks,
where Bhatia Sahib's shelter is located, on August 12, 1983 with 50,000
rupees. The person to whom that letter is addressed has been asked
to reach there at such and such time with 50,000 rupees and if he
does not reach there, he should make preparations because he would
be finished off in a few days. On the top is written: "There
is one God, Eternal: Long live Khalistan." At the end, at the
bottom, is written: "Long live Bhindranwala." So, I appeal
to the congregation that this is the product of the Government's black
deeds. This is because in the cases that they had registered against
Singh's, the Singh's are being acquitted and released. To hide this,
to hide their own black deeds, and to tarnish the brightening image
of the Jatha, to malign it, the Government has started these activities.
There are some names mentioned in this letter. There is one Jag Mohan
Lal, another is Tilak Raj, there are Om Parkash, Subhash Chander,
Mohinder Lal, and Brij Mohan. So, Khalsa Ji, letters have been sent
addressed to these names. There is one for a person with "Singh"
in his name too. This has been done because if all the letters were
addressed to Hindus, it might have aroused suspicion. The manager
of the Punjab & Sind Bank in Qadian is, I learn, a Sikh. In the
letter to him is written: "You should come to such and such place
on August 11, 1983 with 300,000 rupees and you will be safe. Otherwise,
I have Bhindranwala's permission to put you on the train (of death)
on such and such date.
You have the Sikh appearance; you should stoutly support us; bring
a liberal amount." This is what is written in this letter. We
have to guard ourselves against such people. To give a bad name, to
place obstructions in the conduct of this ongoing agitation, the Government
is going to use every possible trick. We ought to be fully alert to
these. This Taksaal has never believed in robberies, thefts, using
intoxicants, nor does it believe now nor it ever will.' Speaking about
the police and their 'dirty tricks', the Sant said : 'Police is set
up for protection of the public. But today's police have taken on
the form of robbers to loot the public. There are innumerable examples
of this, not one, two or four. When there was an investigation into
a bank (robbery) case, during investigation of police officials, their
names came up; if the culprits were caught red-handed placing bombs
in a city, they proved that they were employees of the police. When
dogs were used (to track criminals), they got into the car of the
SDM., they went into the home of a Narkdhari (Nirankari) and they
entered a police station.'
3. Oppression Directed Against Devout Sikhs
Murder of Devout Sikhs in 'Faked Encounters' For officially orchestrated
as well as fictitious crimes, devout Sikhs were rounded up, labelled
as terrorists, tortured and often killed. Tully and Jacob report a
conversation with Darbara Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab : 'He
did order the police to take action against those terrorists they
could not get hold of and there was a series of what the Indian police
call 'encounters' - a euphemism for cold-blooded murder by the police.
Darbara Singh admitted as much to me. On another occasion, when Satish
Jacob and I both met him, the former Chief Minister said, 'Encounters
did take place, and they were killed. I told my senior police officers,
"You kill the killers and I will take the responsibility."
' And again : 'Bhinder told me that ten people he described as 'Bhindranwale's
do or die men' had been shot by the police and that more than 1600
people had been arrested.' It is noteworthy that the appellations
'terrorist', 'suspected terrorist', 'do or die men' were being used,
by Tully and Jacob, synonymously with Amritdhari, a formally initiated
Sikh. Nayar reports : 'The police retaliated by raiding the houses
of suspects, beating up the inmates and even killing a few of them
in faked 'encounters'. Twenty four 'wanted' people were killed thus.
This infuriated Bhindranwale the most; he would say that the Hindu
police were killing 'innocent Sikhs'.' Also that : 'Since the police
had no way to distinguish between a Sikh who is a terrorist and one
who is not, every Sikh travelling to Delhi was searched. Trains were
stopped at wayside stations at midnight in cold December and the Sikh
passengers, travelling even in first class AC coaches, were made to
get down to appear before a police official on the platform. Buses
were detained to get Sikh passengers down and at some places the rustic
policemen said: "All Sikhs should come down." Khushwant
Singh tells us : 'The police were rarely able to identify or arrest
the culprits. Its only method of dealing with the menace was to organize
fake encounters and kill anyone they supported.' Often, young Sikhs,
fearing torture by the police, would run away from their homes.
In such cases their families were victimized by the police. Nayar
confirms that: 'Relatives of the absconders were harassed and even
detained. Even many days after the excesses committed by the police,
we could see how fear-stricken the people were. Villagers gave us
the names of some of the police sub-inspectors and deputy superintendents
involved; some of them, they said, had a reputation of taking the
law into their hands.' Zail Singh, who was President of India at the
time, himself confirmed cases of police shooting dead 23 Sikhs in
1982 for the simple reason that, as part of a state wide protest, they
tried to peacefully stop traffic on a road, and of killing another
six for shouting slogans. b. The Chando-Kalan Looting by the Police
and the Chowk-Mehta Massacre On 9th September 1981, Lala Jagat Narain
was assassinated and, immediately, without any supporting evidence,
Sant Bhindranwale was presumed to be associated with the crime. Warrants
for the Sant's arrest were issued on 11th September. The Police tried
to arrest him in village Chando-Kalan in Haryana on the 13th but by
the time they reached there, the Sant had left the place. The Police
ransacked the village, killed 20 persons in indiscriminate firing
, and set fire to two busses belonging to the Taksaal. The busses
contained religious texts. The Sant frequently referred to this wanton
act of arson by the police as sacrilege committed by Darbara Singh,
Chief Minister of Punjab at that time.
Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale announced that he would surrender
to the police in Chowk-Mehta, his headquarters, on 20th September.
The mayhem following his arrest, resulting in death of 18 innocent
Sikhs in police firing, is said to have been stage-managed by the
government intelligence agencies. When Sant Bhindranwale was being
taken away, in spite of his personal advice and entreaties by his
staff for everybody to stay calm and peaceful, some people became
emotional. According to one account , someone tried to grapple with
the Senior Superintendent of Police on duty. There are reports that
this too was orchestrated to give the police an excuse to open fire.
Birbal Nath, the then Director General of Police, is said to have
regarded Lala Jagat Narain's murder as his personal loss and along
with the other members of the Punjab bureaucracy, wanted a 'good slaughter'
of Sikhs at Chowk Mehta. He made plans to storm Chowk Mehta and had
a commando unit trained for the purpose of capturing Sant Bhindranwale.
Joginder Singh Anand, Deputy Inspector General, later committed suicide
presumably because of his remorse at having been associated with this
massacre. The Sant's arrest and the massacre of Sikhs that accompanied
it led to violent reaction in several places in Punjab followed by
still more government oppression. It was much later, after continued
demands by the Sikh leadership, that an inquiry into the incident
was instituted. According to Sant Bhindranwale : 'There was an inquiry
into the Mehta affair. Amrik Singh and others were working in connection
with that. They were arrested and put in jail. The inquiry was completed
but now they are not making it public. This is because according to
its findings many big leaders will have to be punished. They are sitting
on it.' c. Murder of Hardev Singh and his associates On 16th March
1983, the police reported an 'encounter' in which 19-year old Hardev
Singh, from Sant Bhindranwale's organization, was killed along with
some of his associates. Mr. Pandey, Superintendent of Police, claimed
that when the jeep was signalled to stop, the miscreants opened fire
and managed to escape towards the Beas river. He said that he presumed
some persons in the jeep were killed in the police firing.
The Tribune reported its sources as saying that the jeep had been
'earlier followed by police vehicles on its emerging from a religious
place in the city.' The next day, The Tribune reported that police
sources did not rule out the possibility of the police having lobbed
more than one grenade. It was surmised that Mr. Pandey received pellet
wounds in one of these grenade explosions. According to The Tribune
, the Central Bureau of Investigation did not agree with the Punjab
Government's version of the encounter and decided to shift Mr. Pandey
to Delhi to facilitate an independent inquiry. According to Sikh leaders,
it was a clear case of murder of innocent unsuspecting Sikhs travelling
in the jeep. Tavleen Singh reported : 'All the factions that inhabited
the Gurdwara at that point were ... convinced that the murder was
a government plot devised to find an excuse to enter the Temple complex.'
Paradoxically, instead of inquiring into the affair and punishing
the guilty officials, the Indian Government used this murder by ambush
as the basis for canceling the arms licenses of the victims and their
associates.
The Union Home Ministry 'directed the State Government to deal firmly
with the extremists and ensure that its orders cancelling the arms
licenses of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's followers are faithfully
and expeditiously carried out.' While Sikh leaders were crying 'murder'
and praying for the departed souls, extremist Hindu groups were quick
to blame the victims and to protest the prayer meetings. Innocent
persons had been killed but instead of seeking justice and noting
the absence of due process, leaders of he Bhartiya Janata Party charged
the Center and the State Government with 'failure' to deal with 'terrorists'
and called for punishment to the mourners. d. Charges against Amrik
Singh Amrik Singh and Thara Singh had been detained since July 19,
1982. They were acquitted by a court on July 21, 1983 but were kept
in judicial custody for another two weeks or so while the police tried
to cook up some other charges against them.
Referring to this, Sant Bhindranwale said : 'Today they have initiated
a new case against him. They had arrested Amrik Singh. They could
not find any proof for the accusation they levelled against him. It
was apparent that he would be acquitted. Now they have written up
charges against him under the date 16th. I have got a copy of the
F.I.R. on this case. In it, it is said that Amrik Singh shouted Khalistan
slogans. The case has been registered but the arrest under this case
is not being made. They say that they will arrest him when he is released.'
Amrik Singh was released and these charges were never pursued. However,
this false report, drafted before the victims could have had any opportunity
to commit the crime listed, was later presented as evidence before
a judge of the High Court and accepted by him as fact. In violation
of the court's decision, the police planned to rearrest him as he
came out of the gate of the jail. The news media, instead of protesting
government high-handedness, issued a de facto endorsement of the government
policy of arbitrary arrest and detention, by calling the release a
lapse on the part of the police. The police official concerned was
placed under suspension and relieved of his duties even though he
had a history of faithfully torturing and killing Sikh youth and having
his own son join the All India Sikh Students Federation in order to
collect information for the Government .
Cremation of Sikhs murdered by Police The Police routinely refused
to hand over the bodies of Sikhs killed in police firings and faked
encounters to the families of the victims. Sant Bhindranwale repeatedly
mentioned in his speeches that the bodies of the victims of the 20
September 1981 police firing at Chowk- Mehta were not returned to
the families nor were there any post-mortem examination reports made
public. Even after his death, the Police continued this policy of
disposing off the bodies as unclaimed . This was presumably done to
prevent the families from conducting funeral ceremonies which could
serve as gathering points for Sikhs to pay homage to the departed
souls. This practice later on took the form of Sikh young men being
simply kidnapped and 'disappeared'. f Encouragement to Hindu Mobs
Mobs, led by extremist Hindu organizations, repeatedly set upon and
massacred innocent Sikhs in various cities in Punjab and
neighbouring
states. No protection or support was given by the law-enforcement
agencies to the victims of this violence. Often, it was the victims
of violence who were arrested . The attackers' actions were justified
as 'understandable' reaction to Sant Bhindranwale's 'inflammatory'
speeches. Any demonstration or other protest organized by the Sikhs
against these atrocities was met with extreme violence. Sant Bhindranwale
emphasized that at no time in history had any Sikh set fire to Hindu
scriptures or a Sikh mob set upon any Hindus.
4. Role Of The News Media And 'Intellectuals'
In a democratic and free society, one would expect the press and
the intelligentsia to be watchful of activities of the administration,
to expose excesses against the innocent, and to be on the side of
life and liberty. However, in the case of Sikhs, the Indian news media
failed to look for facts and enthusiastically participated with the
Government in its deliberate campaign of vilification of a dearly
loved and deeply respected religious leader, criminalization of an
entire faith through stage-managed criminal acts, and oppression of
a religious community based on false accusations of illegal activities.
Well-known writers, on the one hand, noted that Sant Jarnail Singh
Bhindranwale was an honest religious man without political ambition
against whom no criminal charges could be substantiated and, on the
other, went on to blame him for everything echoing government propaganda.
As typical of this attitude, we quote Sanghvi : 'The rise and death
of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale must be one of the most amazing sagas
in the history of Indian politics.
In 1978, he was an obscure 31-year-old village preacher who toured
the Punjab warning youths against shaving their beards or cutting
their hair. By 1984, when he was only 37, he had come to represent
the single greatest threat to the unity and stability of India since
Independence. And nearly two years after the battle in which he lost
his life, taking the Akal Takht with him, he remains a martyr in the
eyes of many Sikhs. Even today, rare is the Sikh politician who will
dare to call him what he was: a fanatic and a murderer.' It is amazing
that Sanghvi should paint the Sant as a fanatic and a murderer without
any supporting data. He is surprised at Sikhs, directly affected by
government oppression and knowing Sant Bhindranwale more closely,
honouring their extremely popular leader. Most journalists concede
that the Sant was easily accessible and that whenever they met him
he would describe details of police brutalities against Sikhs. Instead
of following up on these complaints and looking for facts, the news-media
ignored them as wild accusations. Nayar reports : 'Bhindranwale's
speech would contain venom; he would pick up some instance of police
excess or of 'discrimination' against the Sikhs and say that the Sikhs
were not getting their due in India and that they must unite to fight
for justice.' One wonders how a call for unity against discrimination
could be construed as 'venom'? Sant Bhindranwale noted the hostility
of the news media in his speeches. For example : 'The newspapers do
not publish or rarely publish the information I provide. I do not
know what pressure is there. But I shall humbly request you, who are
assembled here in large numbers, go to your villages and convey the
message'. Also: 'The newspapers do what they will. May Satguru have
mercy and give them wisdom. I should not say much about anybody in
anger. Sitting there, in order to run their newspaper, they delete
any news that is in the interests of the Panth. Whatever is in the
interest of making money, in the interest of the press or the Government,
is published.' During the agitation that started on August 4, 1982,
thousands of Sikhs peacefully courted arrest.
The Government's consistent response was continued beatings and torture
of Sikh youth. Instead of raising their voice against such oppression,
most intellectuals justified government brutality against innocent
people and accused Sant Bhindranwale of encouraging violence when
he spoke out against state terrorism. Nayar, typical of the news media,
while conceding that the police killed Sikh youth in faked 'encounters',
noted : '...we could not but condemn the extremist elements who were
out to defy law and glorify violence. Those who were accused of heinous
crimes were honoured in their absence in the villages of their birth
and in recognition of their 'heroism' their kin were given saropas.
We were shown in Jalandhar, where we ended our trip, photographs of
people who had been charged with murder, rioting and the like being
'honoured'. And we were pained to note that even the leftist among
the moderate Sikhs were reluctant or afraid to condemn what the extremists
had done.' This renowned columnist apparently equated false accusations
by an oppressive government with the actual commitment of a crime.
Here was a journalist willing to condone widespread inhuman torture
and condemning the relatives of innocent victims for 'honouring' their
dead'.
Khushwant Singh, trying to ridicule Sant Bhindranwale, states : 'There
was very little learning or piety to this man. Also: 'To Bhindranwale
modernity was evil: the Sikhs must return to the simple ways of their
warrior forefathers. They must look like them: wear their beards lose
and not rolled up and tied under their chins; they must wear long
shirts, below knee-length breeches (kuchhas) covering their shins.
Likewise, Sikh women should not drape themselves in sarees which were
Hindu, but in salwar-kameez (baggy trousers and long shirts) which
are Punjabi, nor wear bindis (dots) on their foreheads. His newborn
Khalsa were to be god-like (saabat soorat gur Sikh), while the rest
of the world was ungodly-and woe to the ungodly. The newborn Khalsa
were the Gurus' storm troopers who would trample their foes under
their bare feet like so much vermin. It was a heady brew that Bhindranwale
served to simple-minded Sikh peasants.' The fact is that Sant Bhindranwale
actually employed the tools of modern science in his missionary work.
Khushwant Singh concedes that Sant Bhindranwale wanted Sikhs to carry
modern firearms in addition to the traditional kirpaan; and, instead
of the traditional horses, ride motorcycles. Sant Bhindranwale did
advise people to return to simple ways, shun intoxicants, remember
God, follow the Gurus' teachings, and reminded Sikhs of their role
as saint-soldiers. However, contrary to Khushwant Singh's conjectures,
he never implied that people of other faiths were ungodly and 'woe
to them'. There was no question of 'reborn Khalsa'. The Khalsa, created
by Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib, have always been Gurus' storm troopers
in defence of the helpless and in fighting oppression. Sant Bhindranwale
did not initiate this concept. Like many other journalists, following
the government line in blaming Sant Bhindranwale for all the violence,
Khushwant Singh states , without any supporting evidence, that Sant
Bhindranwale's 'services could be bought by the highest bidder; the
Sant became a big time brigand'. He also reviles the Sant as 'the
Hindu-baiter', 'a martyred hero of lumpen sections of Sikh society'
and blithely refers to 'lads of the A.I.S.S.F. and nominees of the
Damdami Taksal reared in the Bhindranwale school of terrorism'. He
chastises 'gangsters who haul innocent, unarmed people from busses
and kill them, lob grenades in crowded market places and cinemas',
presuming that these gangsters were acting in Sant Bhindranwale's
behalf or upon his instructions, ignoring the fact that Sant Bhindranwale
consistently condemned such senseless acts, and clear evidence that
the Government stage-managed several of these to promote hatred against
devout Sikhs. Khushwant Singh further alleges that Sant Bhindranwale
'well understood that hate was a stronger passion than love: his list
of hates was even more clearly and boldly spelt out. On top of the
hate-list were apostates (patits) who dishonoured emblems of the Khalsa
by cutting their long hair and beards, smoked, drank liquor or took
drugs. However, these patits could be redeemed if they agreed to mend
their ways and accept baptism.
Next on the list were Sant Nirankaris who had gained a sizable following
among the Sikhs. They had committed the cardinal sin of recognizing
a living human being as their guru when it was an article of Sikh
faith that only the holy book, the Granth Sahib, was the 'living'
embodiment of the ten gurus. The Sant Nirankaris had also fabricated
their own sacred texts, Yug Purush and Avtar Bani. They were therefore
beyond redemption and had to be liquidated. Finally, there were the
Hindus-uncomfortably close to the Sikhs, and far too many to be liquidated.
The only way of dealing with them was to treat them with contempt
as an effeminate, non-martial race and a lesser breed without the
law. Had not the tenth Guru, Gobind Singh, proclaimed that one Sikh
was equal to a sava lakh (one and a quarter million) and a fauj-a
one man army? So spoke Bhindranwale: one Sikh could easily reckon
with thirty-five Hindus.' About one occasion when he met Sant Bhindranwale,
Khushwant Singh reports: 'Bhindranwale's short speech was largely
addressed to me as I had been hauled out of the congregation to sit
on the dais. He towered above me; a steel arrow in one hand, the microphone
in the other. Pointing to me he said: "This Sardar Sahib here
writes that I spread hatred between Hindus and Sikhs. This is wrong.
What I do is to preach the gospel of the Gurus; I do amrit parchar
and persuade young Sikhs to stop clipping their beards, stop smoking
and drinking. If I had my way, I would get hold of all these Sardars
who drink bhisky-shisky in the evening, pour kerosene oil on them,
and set the bloody lot ablaze." This statement was greeted with
loud acclamations of boley so nihal! Sat Sri Akal.
It was ironic that more than half the Sardars sitting on the dais
with me, and a sizable proportion of the peasant audience, were hard-drinking
men.' We have not been able to locate these comments in any of Sant
Bhindranwale's speeches available to us. Sant Bhindranwale's speeches
indicate that he hardly knew Khushwant Singh. In any case, the following
statements by Sant Bhindranwale regarding consumption of alcohol appear
to completely contradict Khushwant Singh's report: 'I have declared
that if there is someone who drinks while wearing a kirpaan, and you
catch him drunk, the punishment I have announced is that you should
get him examined by a doctor (to make sure he has been drinking) and
then pour kerosene over him and burn him alive. I shall fight your
court case. This is regardless of the party affiliation of the person
in such a garb doing such a thing. My appeal to all is that no one
should drink but this does not apply to the others, it is only for
those with the kirpaan.
If any raagi, sant, mahatma, granthi even if he is from Bhindranwale
(group), who wears a kirpaan and drinks, wherever you find him, blacken
his face, put a garland of old shoes around his neck, put him on a
donkey and parade him throughout the village or the district.' Contrary
to Khushwant Singh's diatribe, Sant Bhindranwale never held out any
punishment for persons like him. His appeal was only for those with
the kirpaan. It did not apply to the others. His disapproval was limited
to hypocritical Sikh preachers who themselves violated the Sikh Rehit
Maryada. Quoting the following line from Siri Guru Granth Sahib, "First
the noose was placed around the teacher's (neck) and later around
the (necks) of the disciples", he explained: 'The noose will
be put around the necks of the jathedars, the sants, the leaders,
and people in responsible positions; around the necks of such of them
as use intoxicants.' Sant Bhindranwale's use of the words 'pouring
kerosene and setting the on fire' is merely a common Punjabi idiom
equivalent to 'chewing somebody up' in colloquial English. In Punjab
villages, mothers would often use this phrase while scolding their
children. Khushwant Singh's reference to Bhindranwale's discovering
'that fomenting hatred between the two communities was the easier
method of preserving the Sikhs' separate identity from the Hindus
than amrit parchar' and Sant Bhindranwale's 'adding Hindu-baiting
to his other activities' is contrary to his own observations regarding
Bhindranwale's success with amrit parchar.
The Sant was a Sikh preacher and, of course, he appealed to those
born in Sikh families to respect their faith and live by it. His appeal
was based on love, not hatred, and was indeed very successful. He
did not advocate hatred, punishment, or any form of violence against
the so-called patits and others. Sant Bhindranwale's opposition of
the Sant Nirankaris was limited to their public show of disrespect
towards Siri Guru Granth Sahib; their making parodies on the Sikh
scriptures; the Nirankari Guru styling himself as Bajaanwala in imitation
of Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib; and their use of the names of the
Gurus for their servants merely to insult and provoke the Sikhs. Neither
prior to April 13, 1978 nor after that did Sant Bhindranwale 'pronounce
damnation' on them. As Khushwant Singh, the Government , and other
journalists (e.g. Tavleen Singh ), have noted, the Babbar Khalsa,
always opposed to Sant Bhindranwale, claimed responsibility for the
killing of Nirankaris.
Certainly, Sant Bhindranwale deplored the fact that the Government
was not interested in prosecuting the Nirankaris who had murdered
13 Sikhs in cold blood on April 13, 1978 in Amritsar, and at other
places later on, and urged upon the Sikhs to unite in resisting such
attacks upon their faith and their persons. Khushwant Singh's reference
to thirty-five Hindus to each Sikh is picked out of context and distorts
its implication. It was not at all an exhortation for every Sikh to
tackle thirty-five Hindus. Sant Bhindranwale consistently maintained
that Hindu-Sikh unity was an article of faith with him. In the quote
mentioned by Khushwant Singh, he was simply telling the Sikhs not
to be afraid merely because they were only two percent of the population
and that there were thirty-five Hindus to every Sikh. He reminded
them that at the Tenth Guru's time each Sikh had been asked to be
ready to fight sava lakh.
A similar expression was used on another occasion in response to
a threat by the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, that the Sikhs of Punjab
should think about what might happen to Sikhs living in other states.
Sant Bhindranwale responded : 'Bibi, if this is what you think and
this is your attitude towards the turban and the beard, we also have
counted that they are only twenty to each one of us.' He emphasized
that this exchange between him and Mrs. Gandhi was entirely rhetorical
by adding: 'She did not send someone out with a sword, nor did Jarnail
Singh send anybody out with a sword.' Nayar writes: 'The state grew
tense; 115 major cases of violence had taken place in two areas since
Jagat Narain's murder in September 1981 and 24 innocent people had
been killed by the extremists, who came to be known as Bhindranwale's
men.' Also : 'There were regular reports of someone being killed here
and another there and often Bhindranwale's men claimed responsibility
for the killings.' This is incorrect. It was men of Dal Khalsa and
Babbar Khalsa, groups openly opposing Sant Bhindranwale, who took
responsibility most of the time. Again : 'Until 6 October, the target
of Bhindranwale's men were Hindus who were known to be hostile, Nirankaris,
police officials or Sikhs who had been 'informers', or who had sided
with the Government.
But from then on the killings became indiscriminate; six Hindus passengers
in a bus were killed near Dhilwan, Ludhiana. They were innocent people
who had nothing to do with politics, and this marked a watershed in
relations between the Hindus and the Sikhs.' Even Tavleen Singh who
filed some objective reports, joined in the general chorus of condemnation.
She wrote: 'Slowly the venom that was being spewed out every day from
the Golden Temple started to get into the very blood of the Punjab
and this culminated inevitably and horribly in the killing of six
Hindu bus passengers in Dhilwan village, near Jullundur on 5 October
1983. The men were singled out by Sikh terrorists and shot dead for
the simple reason that they were Hindu.' It is important to note Sant
Bhindranwale's reaction to this killing of bus passengers. He condemned
the senseless act and noted that Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, had
lost no time in dismissing the inept and repressive State Government
upon seven Hindus having been killed whereas she had held out for
sixteen months against demands by various organizations and opposition
parties. Ten days after the killings which were immediately followed
by the dismissal of the State Government, Sant Bhindranwale explained
: 'By installing a proud man with a Dastar (turban) as the leader,
she was desirous of having the turbans of all the other Sikhs taken
off. So long as he kept taking them off, so long as the Sikh turbans
were coming off, the daughters and sisters of the Sikhs continued
to be dishonoured in the streets and villages; sometimes on pretext
of foreign visits, at other times giving various other types of ultimatums;
she kept on making all sorts of excuses. However, it so happened that
someone killed six or seven persons belonging to the Hindu Brotherhood.
All Sikh leaders condemned this.
In spite of this condemnation, she was deeply hurt by the death of
these seven while she was not impressed by the blood of one hundred
and fifty persons with turbans having been spilt. This agitation has
gone on for sixteen months. She did not feel the need to move one
person but when the blood of those seven was spilt, then, Khalsa Ji,
she could not wait even 24 hours.' Again, a few days later, he said
: 'Someone killed seven Hindus in a bus. No Sikh has said this was
good, everyone deplored it. But because seven Hindus had died, even
twenty-four hours didn't pass. The Ministry was dissolved. President's
rule was imposed. The region has been declared as disturbed. However,
one hundred and fifty Sikhs died and one man was not changed. Now
all of you Sikhs should sit down and figure out as to what the thoughts
of this Government of the Hindus are about the turban and the beard.'
Sant Bhindranwale's call to Sikhs to keep weapons as required by their
faith was also misrepresented by the press as preparations for killing
Hindus. Sant Bhindranwale, commenting on this, said: 'For a Sikh,
his conduct has to be: "He (God's devotee) does not frighten
anyone nor does he have any fear." I had given a statement that
in every village there should be a motorcycle and three young men
with three revolvers of high quality.
Opposition newspapers, the Mahasha (Arya Samajist Hindu) Press, have
published this news: "Bhindranwala says, get these and kill Hindus."
Have you ever heard me say that?' Referring to incidents of hijacking
of airplanes, attacks on the Chief Minister, bank robberies, and murders,
Khushwant Singh implicitly and incorrectly assumes that Sant Bhindranwale
was responsible for them. The Sant's connection with any of them has
never been established. For instance, the hijackers of the Indian
Airlines plane on August 4, 1982, belonged to Dal Khalsa which, according
to Khushwant Singh himself, was a creation of Zail Singh. It has been
reported that Talwinder Singh Parmar, a leader of the Babbar Khalsa,
paid for five of the tickets purchased by the hijackers. It has been
reported that when the hijacker of August 20, 1982 landed in Amritsar,
he demanded to see Sant Longowal and Sant Bhindranwale. Sant Longowal
sent his representative but Sant Bhindranwale, upon being assured
that the man did not belong to his organization, refused to oblige.
Sant Bhindranwale protested the Government's barbaric treatment of
the hijackers because they happened to be Sikh but himself had nothing
to do with the crimes. Even instances of oppression against Sant Bhindranwale's
men have been described by some reputed columnists as wily schemes
by the Sant to get his own men killed and tortured in order to assist
the Government against the Akali leadership. Nayar regarded Bhai Amrik
Singh and Baba Thara Singh's arrest in 1982 to be a cunning device
concocted between the Government and Sant Bhindranwale. According
to him: 'Darbara Singh...sent a message to Bhindranwale to start a
morcha earlier so as to take the wind out of their sails. To give
him reason enough, the Punjab Government arrested two of Bhindranwale's
workers on 17th July 1982. And two days later, Amrik Singh, the AISSF
President whose father had made Bhindranwale his successor, was taken
into custody on the charge of murdering a Nirankari. Yet another close
associate of Bhindranwale, Thara Singh, was arrested on July 20.
All this provoked Bhindranwale who went from Chowk-Mehta to Guru
Nanak Niwas and launched a morcha from the Golden Temple, pre-empting
the Akalis.' Apparently, in suggesting that the arrests were merely
an agreed upon device, Nayar accepts that Amrik Singh was innocent
of the crimes attributed to him. Tully and Jacob, without citing any
evidence, write about Amrik Singh that: 'As President of the All-India
Sikh Students Federation he was responsible for organizing many of
the murders, robberies and attacks on government property.' The assumption
is that the Federation was a group of criminals. The fact is that
the Government arrested Amrik Singh and kept him in detention for
a year despite massive Sikh protest; and his release was protested
by the Arya-Samajist press simply because the Federation he led was
engaged in a program for revival of faith among the Sikh youth.
The news media propagated the myth that Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
was associated with or in a position to direct and control the activities
of groups which claimed credit for violent acts. Tully and Jacob concede
: 'Bhindranwale never openly associated with the Dal Khalsa. Until
his death he maintained that he was a man of religion, not a politician.'
However, they make a quick turnaround and, following the Indian Government's
White Paper, say that 'Bhindranwale used to preach hatred against
India and against Hindus.' They also state that 'the Dal Khalsa was
always known as 'Bhindranwale's party'. Contrary to this, Jeffrey
, among others, tells us that the founding of the Dal Khalsa in 1978
was 'with the alleged backing of Zail Singh' of Indira Gandhi's Congress
Party. Again, they refer to 'the Sikh fundamentalist Sant Jarnail
Singh Bhindranwale, who had been spreading violence, hatred and communal
poison in Punjab'; that 'Bhindranwale went on to appeal to Sikh villagers
to organize and support terrorism'. Tully and Jacob state: 'Badal
and Longowal lacked the courage to stand out against a force they
knew was evil. Tohra tried to use it for his own ends.' The 'evil'
force was, presumably, Sant Bhindranwale. The fact is that in one
of his speeches , Sant Bhindranwale complains that Longowal had terminated
his speaking to the public at the Manji Sahib Diwan Hall and that
Tohra did not have the courage to correct Longowal when he denounced
and misrepresented Sant Bhindranwale.
Again, after Sodhi's murder in April 1984, Sant Bhindranwale asserted
that this was done with the connivance of some Akali leaders and wanted
Gurcharan Singh, Secretary, Shromani Akali Dal removed from his office.
He did not succeed in getting Longowal and others to comply. The 'evil'
force depicted as so dominant in Punjab could not or would not enforce
its will even within the confines of Darbar Sahib complex. Nayar states
that 'the reign of terror that began with the Jagat Narain murder
did! ! not stop. Innocent people were killed. The targets were mostly
Hindus and Nirankaris but many Sikhs who had the courage to speak
out against the extremists were also killed.' In fact most of those
killed were Sikhs and the killers were the police. Sant Jarnail Singh
Bhindranwale had nothing to do with these murders. The news media
was eager to blame the Sant but not the persons who claimed responsibility
for the crimes. According to India Today : 'Whereas Bhindranwale has
publicly disowned each act of the extremists, the Babbar Khalsa openly
claim credit for most of these, barring the killing of Hindu bus passengers
and that of Atwal.' Regarding the Babbar Khalsa, we have Tavleen Singh's
report: 'Jathedar Sukhdev Singh, a youth of about 28, who dressed
like a Nihang, started requesting journalists to come up and meet
him in a small, sunless room in the Akal Rest House. He would talk
about how it was really the Babbars who had killed most of the Nirankaris
so far and how they would continue to kill them (the toll was already
around 40) because they followed the dictate of the Akal Takht and
they were only abiding by an edict (hukumnama) issued by them.' Babbars
are known to have opposed Sant Bhindranwale throughout.
According to India Today , their leader, Sukhdev Singh said: 'We
have nothing to do with Bhindranwale who is basically a coward.' Sukhdev
Singh was instrumental in making false accusations against the Sant.
In one of his speeches, Sant Bhindranwale said : 'Day before yesterday,
a farce was enacted here at Akal Takhat. After getting some tape-recording
done by someone, he was called to the Akali stage and made to say
that Bhindranwala was conspiring to get him killed. His name is Sukhdev
Singh; people often call him Sukha. They say that I have hatched a
conspiracy to kill him.' Even American correspondents, fed erroneous
information, went along. Reasoner , apparently following Khushwant
Singh's logic, said of Sant Bhindranwale: 'He hated the successful
urban Sikhs who trim their beards and wear two-piece suits. The poor
and the illiterate loved him and brought him what rupees they could
spare. He spoke openly of the deaths and violence his followers had
caused. These were not murders, he said, but justice; and, if necessary,
the Sikhs would set up their own state and, the Government feared,
start the disintegration of India as a federal nation.' Sant Bhindranwale's
admirers included numerous Sikhs who wear 'two-piece suits' and he
did not advocate disintegration of India. It is extremely unfortunate
that, instead of investigating Sant Bhindranwale's complaints that
innocent Sikhs were being tortured and killed, newsmen regarded him
and the victims he referred to as convicted criminals.
Overwhelmed by the propaganda carried on by extremist Hindus and
the Government, even well-meaning Indian leaders assumed that Sant
Bhindranwale indeed preached a cult of lawlessness and violence. They
did not take the Sant's complaints of violation of human rights in
Punjab seriously. Typical of this attitude was a statement by Gujral
who said, in the course of an eloquent speech, that the Sikh agitation
had been peaceful but was taken over by violent elements. This writer
asked him if he was referring to Sant Bhindranwale as the 'violent
elements'. He agreed. Reminding him that Sant Bhindranwale, in one
of his speeches, had mentioned that over 140 persons had been killed
and another one thousand crippled in police torture up to that date;
that the Sikhs had tried persuasion with the police, legal action
in courts and appeals to the national leaders and the press but that
nobody had made any effort to stop the torture and the killings in
custody; and then had gone on to ask the public as to how long the
Sikhs should continue to quietly suffer without hitting back, this
writer asked Gujral as to whether, in his opinion or according to
his information, Sant Bhindranwale was lying and if not, what did
leaders like him do about the killings and torture by the police and
what should the Sant have done in the face of this oppression? Gujral
replied that he had never thought about the problem from that point
of view.
Allegations By The Government Of India
In justifying its attack on Sikh places of worship, the Indian Government
declared : 'Bhindranwale and others operating directly from the Golden
Temple complex began to extol and instigate violence'; that 'extremists
were attacking conscientious police officers who were doing their
duty of enforcing the law'; and that 'Bhindranwale had advocated the
killing of Hindus in Punjab so as to set in motion a general exodus'.
The army action was described as 'operations taken to remove terrorists,
criminals and their weapons from sacred places of worship.' Indira
Gandhi, in her broadcast to the nation on June 2, 1984, described
the leadership of the Sikh agitation as 'a group of fanatics and terrorists
whose instruments for achieving whatsoever they may have in view are
murder, arson and loot'.
The Indian Government's 'White Paper' charged that 'the tactics employed
by the secessionist and terrorist groups were: systematic campaign
to create bitterness and hatred between Sikhs and Hindus; indoctrination
in the ideology of separatism in militant terms behind the facade
of gurmat camps; training in the use of modern weaponry; use of terrorism
against specific targets in the police and the administration of Punjab;
preparation of 'hit lists' of those who disagreed and organizing their
murder; random killing of persons of a particular community aimed
at creating terror and instigating communal violence; stockpiling
of arms and ammunition in places of worship; utilization of smugglers
and anti-social elements for procuring supplies of arms, ammunition
and for looting banks, jewellery shops and individual homes; and obtain
covert and overt support from external sources?' Was this indeed true.
Let us examine the various allegations.
1. Initiation Of Violence
Tavleen Singh reports: 'Contrary to the popular belief that he took
the offensive, senior police sources in the Punjab admit that the
provocation came in fact from a Nirankari official who started harassing
Bhindranwale and his men. There were two or three Nirankaris in key
positions in the Punjab in those days and they were powerful enough
to be able to create quite a lot of trouble. The Nirankaris also received
patronage from Delhi that made Sikh organizations like Bhindranwale's
and the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, headed then by Bibi Amarjit Kaur's husband,
Fauja Singh, hate them even more.' Khushwant Singh tells us: 'Terrorist
activity preceded the morcha by more than six months and was born
out of encounters faked by the Punjab police and the armed conflict
between the Nirankaris and Sant Bhindranwale beginning April 13, 1978.'
Sant Jarnail Singh Bindranwale repeatedly declared that he would never
initiate a dispute or a confrontation. However, he also asserted that
if someone attacks a Sikh, he should get a proper response. In his
view : 'When is a Sikh wrong? It is when he poses a question. When
is a Sikh's sin washed away? It is when he responds. A Sikh will never
be the first to attack, to ask the question. Asking the question means
being the first to attack. That is what we call asking a question.
Later, seeking justice is called the answer. If we are sons of Sikhs,
we shall never be the first to attack in the form of a question. Also,
if we are sons of Sikhs, we shall never hesitate in responding. If
we hesitate then we are artificial Sikhs, spoilt Sikhs, not real Sikhs.
If we attack first then too we are spoilt Sikhs.'
Attacks On 'Conscientious' Police Officials
As oppression against devout Sikhs escalated during 1982 and 1983,
Sikhs from villages flocked to Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale seeking
redress. At first he felt that there were some unscrupulous police
officials who were responsible for the spate of arbitrary arrests
followed generally by brutal torture and often resulting in death
in police custody. He sought redress from higher authorities in the
administration and from courts. Higher police officials listened to
him, assured him of fairness but took no action. For example, referring
to the assurances given by the Inspector General of Police in the
case of Harbhajan Singh and Harpreet Singh, Sant Bhindranwale commented:
'Deviously, they keep telling the President (of the Shromani Akali
Dal) on the phone that the boys have not committed any offences. If
they are innocent then why are they kept there, for fun? How long
are we going to suffer this oppression?'
The news media and the political leadership would not believe his
charges of police brutality. The administration, instead of punishing
the guilty policemen, rewarded them with promotions. He found that
the courts were powerless in enforcing their decisions. For example
: 'At the time of Amrik Singh's arrest, Puran Singh Hundal, his lawyer,
went to the judge. He petitioned the judge and after submitting the
petition came and met the (police) officers. He said to the officers:
"Here is his (Amrik Singh's) petition to the judge and the judge's
signature. The lawyer can stay (with the accused)." The officers
at that place told him: "We do not know the judge. Here, we are
the judges." The lawyer went back to the judge and told him:
"Sir, here is your signature. These are your orders and the officers
say they do not know the judge and that they are the judges."
The judge folded his hands and said that this was not in his power.
Where will you go? When there is no respect for the judge and the
(police) officer says he is everything, then there is the instruction:
"With your own hands, take care of your business".' He publicly
identified some of the most notorious culprits in the police force.
Some of these officials were eventually killed, possibly by surviving
relatives of their victims. The Government and the news media immediately
held Sant Bhindranwale responsible for 'death of conscientious police
officers' without any evidence that he was connected with these incidents
in any direct manner. For example, he protested that he had nothing
to do with Atwal's murder in April 1983. However, most writers continue
to blame him for it.
There is a feeling that the Government had got Atwal killed to silence
him forever. He was a Sikh police officer who knew too much about
the murder of Sikhs in Chowk-Mehta in 1981 where he was on duty at
the scene, and the murder of the 19-year old Hardev Singh and his
associates by the police in March 1983 for which he was supervising
the investigation. However, later on, faced with continuing torture
and brutality of his adherents, Sant Bhindranwale did declare that
he would provide shelter to any one who would punish the culprits.
This was after the Sikhs had been driven to the wall. Frustrated in
his attempts to get the Government to inquire into incidents of police
excesses and to punish the guilty officials, he told his audiences
in March 1983: 'Khalsa Ji: one gets justice out of inquiries when
there is room for (vcIl, dlIl, apIl) legal representation, argument,
and appeal. Here (under Indian Government) it is outright injustice.
They have decided to annihilate the Sikhs, to insult their turban,
to destroy their Faith. Under this situation, why do you need to use
a lawyer and appeal?' Again, in July 1983, he said: 'Khalsa Ji: what
assurance, what justice, what fairness can you expect from a Government,
from courts, which no longer trust people, which have lost all faith
in men and trust only dogs? How can you expect justice from them?
Those who have no faith in men, those who have no faith in the legal
process, in reasoning, and in appeal to conscience of the perpetrators;
those who only trust dogs, but if the dogs point to their own house
as the source of crime, they don't trust the dogs either.'
Keeping 'Hit-Lists'
The Indian Government and its supporters have said that Sant Bhindranwale
kept 'hit lists of those who disagreed with him and organize their
murder'? Amarjit Kaur refers to 'the barbaric acts, duly sanctioned
by the author of the 'hit-lists' living in the safety of Akal Takht'.
Noting this propaganda, Sant Bhindranwale said : 'If, from this stage,
I say something naming someone they say: "Bhindranwala has given
out the name of such person, now this name has come on the list."
This kind of gossip goes on.' Also : 'It is said that I have already
made a list. I haven't made any so far but the way these people are
forcing us, it is quite possible that the youth may have to start
such a list. I have not made any.' He got quite upset upon learning
that Indira Gandhi had accused him of keeping 'hit lists' and said
: 'She has said that Bhindranwale has prepared a hit list. You might
even have read this in the newspapers today. I have challenged her
and given a warning. Upon my life and upon my breath, let her prove
where did I get the paper for that hit list, where did I get the pen,
and the ink and the inkpot. She should get the CBI to check this out.
If she proves that I have signed any paper; that I have signed for
the purpose of any body's being killed; standing here in the presence
of Hazoor, I declare that I shall cut off my head and place it before
the Congregation. I shall leave Guru Nanak Niwas and go away. But
she should tell, she should provide proof. If she does not have any
proof but has some honor, dignity and some little decency, she should
resign the office of Prime Minister and come before the public in
the streets. A person should be occupying an office of such responsibility,
be the Prime Minister; and listening to news from favourites like Romesh,
news from the likes of Virendra and Yash should start saying "He
is very dangerous. He has made up a hit list!" Where is that
list? It is only in the newspapers. If she has said that a list has
been made, who has told her about it? She should apprehend those people
who have found it. She should interrogate them the way others, Singhs,
are treated. They should tell her where that piece of paper is. She
should get that paper and show it to me.' There never was such a list
though many journalists bought the official line and kept harping
on it. Khushwant Singh claims : 'I was on Bhindranwale's hit list
for the many unkind things I had written about him in my columns and
said over the BBC.' The fact is that Sant Bhindranwale hardly knew
him. Addressing a Sikh gathering, he said : 'There is one Khushwant
Singh. I have only seen him barely once. He is from Delhi and is close
to Indira.' Apparently, Khushwant Singh was claiming to be on a fictitious
'hit list' merely as a quixotic target of a non-existent threat.
Hating And Killing Hindus And Others
The Government blamed Sant Bhindranwale for 'advocating the killing
of Hindus in Punjab so as to set in motion a general exodus', 'random
killing of persons belonging to a particular community aimed at creating
terror' and for 'carrying on a systematic campaign to create bitterness
and hatred between Sikhs and Hindus'. As noted earlier, prominent
intellectuals and the news media went along with the official line
of thinking. Sant Bhindranwale emphasized the uniqueness of the Sikh
faith being founded upon its set of beliefs and practices, not upon
hatred of any religion. He advised everyone to be true in their own
faith. The Sant did not consider Hindus to be 'close' to the Sikhs
in their beliefs and practices. However, emphasizing the catholicity
of the Sikh faith, he pointed out that Siri Guru Granth Sahib includes
verses composed by some Hindu saints. Addressing the Hindus, he said
: 'Who was Jaidev? Wasn't he a Hindu from amongst you? He was a Brahmin.
Jaidev is sitting here in Guru Granth Sahib. If a son of a Sikh has
made obeisance here he has done so at the feet of Jaidev, the Brahmin.'
Sant Bhindranwale did note that even though Sikhs had defended the
Hindus' right to free worship, Hindus were ungrateful. He said : 'The
one who got the Fifth King tortured on the hot plate was from among
them; the one who administered poison to the Sixth King was from among
them; the one responsible for the martyrdom of the Sahibzadas was
from among them.
For the sake of all of them, for the sake of their janeoo and tilak
the Ninth Kinggave his head and now these people have had books published
claiming that Guru Tegh Bahaadar Sahib Ji gave his head for some personal
feuds and he did no service to the Hindus. What can we expect from
the nation, the people, into whom such ingratitude has crept in.'
Nayar, informs us that : 'Bhindranwale asked Longowal to give a call
to the Sikh masses to purchase motorcycles and revolvers to kill Hindus
in Punjab.' This accusation was based upon a public statement by Sant
Harchand Singh Longowal, President of the Shromani Akali Dal. Sant
Bhindranwale took Longowal to task for attributing to him something
that he could never even dream of, namely, killing members of a certain
community. During one of his speeches attended by many Hindus, he
said : 'You have learnt from the newspapers, and from propaganda by
ignorant people, that Bhindranwala is an extremist; that he is a dangerous
man, a communalist; that he kills Hindus. There are many Hindus sitting
here. You should carefully note how many I injure and how many I kill
before leaving. You will be with me. Keep listening attentively. Having
listened, do think over who are the communalists; whether they are
the turban-wearers or your newspaper owners, the Mahasha Press.' Addressing
this issue in some detail, he said : 'I have no enmity with the Hindus
as such. If I were their enemy, why would I rescue the daughter of
a Hindu from Jalalabad. Kailash Chander owns a retail shop here. His
shop was burnt down. The Retail Merchants Union asked him: "Name
Bhindranwale." He did not do so. The Hindu along with two Sikhs,
the three of them, came to see me in my room. He came and started
to cry. I asked him: "What is the matter? Why are you crying?"
He said: "My shop has been burnt down." ... I gave him the
five hundred rupees. In Kapurthala, a copy of the Ramayana was burnt.
The leaders of that place know about this.
The Jatha spent 5,000 rupees in litigation over that. On the 4th
(April 1983), two Hindus were martyred in connection with the 'rasta
roko' agitation. Shromani Akali Dal and the Shromani Committee paid
(their families) 10,000 rupees each and the Jatha gave another 5,000
to each family. If I was an enemy of all the Hindus, where is the
need for me to pay all this money?' He did not at any time preach
initiation of conflict or confrontation although he did advise resistance
to oppression and to wanton killing of innocent people. In response
to Indira Gandhi's accusation, he declared : 'She says that Bhindranwala
destroys temples, that he does not like temples and wishes to destroy
them, that he kills Hindus. Responsible persons who are associated
with the Jatha go there and build temples. You can figure out yourselves
whether I am in favour of destroying temples or of keeping them. Our
Father sacrificed his entire family for the sake of (Hindu) temples
and she gives help to people who destroy gurdwaras; to the followers
of human gurus and of hypocrites. On top of it she blames Sikhs that
they make trouble.' Emphasizing the need to stay peaceful and to avoid
confrontation as far as possible, Sant Bhindranwale said : 'The Government
is trying very hard to start Hindu-Sikh riots. Avoid this as along
as you can. However, if the Hindus also get into the Government's
boat and start to dishonour the daughters and sisters of the Sikhs
and to take off the Sikhs' turbans, then, in order to save our turban,
we shall take what steps the Khalsa, following the path shown by Guru
Gobind Singh Ji, has always taken in the past. We might have to adopt
those methods but we shall do so only when we are forced to. We shall
not resort to those methods on our own. We have to be peaceful.'
Hiding From The Law
Was Sant Bhindranwale a criminal wanted by the law? India Today reported
in December 1983 that a senior officer in Chandigarh confessed: 'It's
really shocking that we have so little against him while we keep blaming
him for all sorts of things.' The fact is that when the Government
was in the process of training army units in the planned invasion
of Darbar Sahib, the only charges against Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
were that his speeches were 'objectionable'. Sanghvi reports : 'In
April 1980, after the Congress had returned to power, murderers believed
to be linked to Bhindranwale, assassinated Baba Gurbachan Singh, the
leader of the Nirankari sect. At the time, there was an outcry and
demands were raised for the arrest of Bhindranwale. As Home Minister,
Zail Singh told Parliament that Bhindranwale had nothing to do with
the murder: a statement for which he has been criticized by every
writer on the Punjab. His supporters do not dispute that he made the
statement (it is on record) but argue that it was a reply to a Parliamentary
question and had been written for him by his civil servants. In fact,
they say, whatever Bhindranwale's involvement, the Government had
no concrete evidence and the ministry thought it inadvisable to arrest
him on a flimsy case only to have him acquitted and transformed into
a hero.' Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had, apparently, not committed
any violation of the law and, accordingly, had no need to 'hide' anywhere.
But, speculates Khushwant Singh : 'When Bhindranwale sensed that the
Government had at long last decided to arrest him, he first took shelter
in the Golden Temple, then occupied and fortified portions of the
Akal Takht.' Why, one might ask this famous columnist, would Sant
Bhindranwale present himself, along with over 50 of his supporters,
at the Deputy Commissioner's residence on the day he moved to the
Darbar Sahib complex, if his purpose in moving there was to hide from
the law? Gurdev Singh, District Magistrate at Amritsar till shortly
before the invasion is on record as having assured the Governor of
the state that he could arrest anyone in Darbar Sahib at any time.
There were people who felt offended by Sant Bhindranwale's views and
wanted him silenced.
They noted his innocence but stubbornly refused to accept it. Commenting
on Sant Bhindranwale, Shourie conceded : 'For all I know, he is completely
innocent and is genuinely and exclusively dedicated to the teachings
of the Gurus'. However, he went on to state in the same paragraph:
'It is not Bhindranwale who triggers reflex actions in the tension
that precedes a riot, it is this apprehension and fear that he has
invoked.' Amarjit Kaur, while accepting that the Government had to
release Sant Bhindranwale after his arrest in 1981 'for the lack of
any legal proof', goes on to state : 'Everybody was frightened because
they felt that if they did give any evidence against Bhindranwale
or against any of his men, they and their entire families would be
killed. Bhindranwale had put fear into the people because innocent
people were being killed and any officer who went against his wishes
was killed.' Why were these people frightened and so apprehensive
if he had committed no crime? It was a self-imposed dread of the revival
of the Sikh faith and the popularity of the Sant. Why would he hide
from the law? No court had asked for his personal appearance for any
crime. Was he wanted by the 'lawless' police and an oppressive government
so that he could be killed, as many other Sikhs had been, in order
to silence the voice of protest and to check the revival of the Sikh
faith which he led?
Advocating Political Separatism
The Government blamed Sant Bhindranwale for 'indoctrinating an ideology
of separatism in militant terms behind the facade of gurmat camps'?
A government note alleged : 'The obvious direction and thrust of the
movement was towards an independent Khalistan-fully supported by
neighbouring
and foreign powers. The terrorists led by Bhindranwale were perhaps
only cogs in the wheel. If the army action had not been resolute and
determined, the movement would have moved towards full scale insurgency
which would have crippled the armed forces in any future confrontation
across the borders.' These were wild and baseless accusations but
many Hindu writers joined in this chorus.
According to Surendra Chopra : 'it is argued that all this would
end when shackles of slavery are broken. Bhindranwale never elaborated
what he meant by this. An obvious connotation is the achievement of
sovereign state.' Nayar claims that Sant Bhindranwale said 'the next
stage was to have a separate homeland, and for that the Sikhs must
be ready to fight'. There is no corroboration available for this view.
In fact, the Sant repeatedly declared that he had no interest in political
matters and had not raised the slogan of Khalistan . Firstly, the
gurmat camps were not organized by Sant Bhindranwale and the only
ones he spoke to were those held within the Darbar Sahib complex.
Secondly, claiming his assertion, that Sikh religion had an identity
of its own and was not a sect within Hinduism, to imply political
separatism and demand for an independent state is illogical and perhaps
mischievous propaganda by the Government and extremist Hindus. Sant
Bhindranwale was repeatedly questioned by reporters regarding the
demand for an independent state for Sikhs. He explained : 'I don't
oppose it nor do I support it. We are silent. However, one thing is
definite that if this time the Queen of India does give it to us,
we shall certainly take it. We won't reject it. We shall not repeat
the mistake of 1947. As yet, we do not ask for it. It is Indira Gandhi's
business and not mine, nor Longowal's, nor of any other of our leaders.
It is Indira's business. Indira should tell us whether she wants to
keep us in Hindostan or not. We like to live together, we like to
live in India.' Also :, 'How can a nation which has sacrificed so
much for the freedom of the country want it fragmented but I shall
definitely say that we are not in favour of Khalistan nor are we against
it.' He declared : 'I have given my opinion that we do not oppose
Khalistan nor do we support it. We are quiet on the subject. This
is our decision. We wish to live in Hindostan but as equal citizens,
not as slaves. We are not going to live stuck under the chappals (Mrs.
Gandhi's shoes). We have to live in freedom and with the support of
Kalghidhar. We wish to live in Hindostan itself. It is the Central
Government's business to decide whether it wants to keep the turbaned
people with it or not. We want to stay.' There were persons, some
of them even close to Sant Bhindranwale , who supported an independent
state but he himself was not one of them. Sant Longowal is said to
have confirmed that, as late as June 5, 1984, Sant Bhindranwale refused
to declare his support for an independent state. He did, however,
declare that if the Indian Government invaded the Darbar Sahib complex,
foundation for an independent Sikh state will have been laid. This
was to emphasize that the invasion would unalterably confirm the Government
as an enemy of the Sikhs. The Khalistan bogey was apparently a creation
of the Indian Government responding to the clamour of the extremist
factions among the Punjabi Hindus.
Getting Support From External Sources
Did Sant Bhindranwale 'receive covert support from external sources'?
Raising the spectre of 'the foreign hand' was Indira Gandhi's
favourite
ploy and it was eagerly accepted by the Indian public which is always
suspicious of 'colonial powers'. The accusation was obviously added
to other innuendoes against Sant Bhindranwale in order to mobilize
public opinion. Responding to an accusation by Indira Gandhi, Sant
Bhindranwale challenged her saying : 'If you know that persons from
Pakistan come here to see me, you have so large a C.I.D. why are those
persons not arrested on their way? Then, they return from here. Why
are they not apprehended at that time? If you know that they come
to see me then you must be in league with them and they must be coming,
getting out and returning with your permission' He further said: 'It
has been said from this stage that Indira should resign her office
but, perhaps, I am right when I say that only such persons do this
who have some sense of dignity. What is the use of saying anything
to those who have no sense of shame at all? Occupying such high office,
having become the Prime Minister of Hindostan, without thinking, she
has herself started to accuse leading personalities. Which court will
you turn to for justice?'
Regarding receiving funds from Sikhs living outside India, he told
the prospective donors : 'The foremost way of helping the martyrs
is that if the congregations in foreign countries collect some money,
bring it yourselves. From here I shall give you a car and my driver.
He shall take you to the homes of the martyrs. You can give them yourselves
whatever you consider appropriate. The second alternative, if you
cannot adopt the first, is that I can give you the addresses of all
the martyrs. You can take these and directly send help to the martyrs,
not through intermediaries. The third alternative is that if you can
trust the Jatha and you voluntarily wish to send the moneys to the
Jatha - I do not ask you for any money - you may send it. I do not
ask for it.' There was nothing underhanded or secretive about this
at all. Sant Bhindranwale was a preacher and there was no support
for this activity from any foreign government. To Sikhs settled abroad,
his advice was to help the families of victims of torture and extra-judicial
killings by the police. His enemies interpreted, and continue to do
so, this assistance to the victims of government brutality as support
of terrorism.
Procuring Weapons For Looting Banks, Jewellery Shops
And Individual
Homes
Keeping weapons is part of the Sikh faith in which the ideal person
is a 'saint-soldier'. Sant Bhindranwale often reminded the Sikhs that,
in line with the principles of their faith, they should possess and
carry arms and quoted Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib's instructions:
'Without weapons and hair a man is but a sheep. Held by the ear, he
can be taken anywhere. Listen, my beloved Sikh, this is my command:
Without weapons and hair, do not come to my presence.' Sant Bhindranwale
explained that a Sikh does not keep weapons for offence or for hurting
people: they are only for defence against oppression. He compared
the Sikh concept of keeping weapons with a nation's maintaining its
defence forces in a state of preparedness. He quoted from Siri Guru
Granth Sahib: "When the house is on fire, he (one who did not
use his time to prepare for the possibility) goes to dig a well to
get water." Following Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib's teachings,
Sikhs were not to be looking for conflict. However, Sant Bhindranwale
reminded Sikhs of Guru Sahib's statement that when all other means
of redress fail, it is right to use weapons to fight oppression. Explaining
the Sikh attitude towards possession of arms, Sant Bhindranwale expressly
reminded his listeners : 'I am strongly opposed to having weapons
and then engaging in looting shops, looting someone's home,
dishonouring
anyone's sister or daughter. With reference to weapons I shall only
say that you should bear arms. Being armed, there is no greater sin
for a Sikh than attacking an unarmed person, killing an innocent person,
looting a shop, harming the innocent, or wishing to insult anyone's
daughter or sister. Also, being armed, there is no sin greater than
not seeking justice.' This teaching, basic to the Sikh faith, was
described by many Hindus as 'cult of violence'. Sinha et al. wrote
: 'Bhindranwale wanted to revive an older tradition of armed fight
which went several centuries back, and originated in some of the Gurus
themselves. This went very well with the archaic outfit of the revivalist
movement. It also filled its adherents with the irrational zeal.'
After the British occupied Punjab, Sikhs were completely disarmed.
In 1914, the Government agreed that any Sikh could keep a kirpaan
as part of his faith. However, for firearms, one had to obtain a license
from the local authorities. This practice has continued after India's
freedom from British rule. The Indian Government as well as the press
have harped on the circumstance that Sant Bhindranwale, on his travels
in the country, was often accompanied by an armed retinue. It is not
at all uncommon for important persons in India to have armed escorts.
All the weapons carried by Sant Bhindranwale and his men were, at
one time, duly licensed and he was not breaking any laws. There have
been no reports of any of Sant Bhindranwale's escort hurting anyone.
On the other hand, the press never protested the fact that the Nirankari
Baba travelled with enough armed men with him, that in Amritsar on
April 13, 1978, they fired upon an unarmed group of about 100 protesting
Sikhs killing 13 and injuring another 78. The 'White Paper' referred
to the subsequent Sikh protest as 'dogmatism and extremism'. The Indian
Government's solution to the problem was to disarm the victims, instead
of protecting them. In 1981, responding to the clamour of the extremist
Hindu Press in Punjab, the licenses issued to Sant Bhindranwale and
his men were ordered cancelled. In March 1983, after Hardev Singh's
murder by the police, the Home Ministry asked the State Government
to seize all firearms in the possession of the Sant and his men. When
the Sikhs launched an agitation in August 1982, government response
to peaceful protest consisted of beatings, brutal torture, and killing
in fake encounters of Sikh youth, in particular of those belonging
to Sant Bhindranwale's group. Sant Bhindranwale placed the number
of persons so killed at 113 in February 1983, about 140 in July 1983
and about 200 later that year. Over 2,000 are said to have returned
from police stations as cripples. It was under these circumstances
that Sant Bhindranwale asked his men to defy the order to deposit
their weapons so that, if need arose, they could defend themselves
against the Nirankaris and others who might be bent upon mischief.
Much has been made of the Darbar Sahib complex having been turned
into an arsenal and a fort by Sant Bhindranwale. Since 1982, extremist
Hindu factions had demanded that the Government forces should enter
the Darbar Sahib complex and arrest Sant Bhindranwale.
All the Sikh leaders, including Sant Bhindranwale, had made it clear
that if the Government invaded this center of the Sikh faith, they
would resist with whatever means they could muster. The Government
is alleged to have arranged for weapons being smuggled into Darbar
Sahib. This influx of weapons was apparently planned to heighten the
scale of the conflict in order to justify the killing of as large
a number of Sikhs as possible without arousing a national protest
against the genocide and also to ensure that after the invasion was
complete, these could be shown as having been recovered from the so-called
'rebels'. Noorani states : 'Prem Kumar reported in The Statesman of
July 4: "The arrival of light machine-guns and sophisticated
self-loading rifles had been taken notice of by various agencies.
The information received was so detailed that even the make and the
country of origin of the weapons was known...The authorities had some
idea of the source of these weapons, mainly smuggled from Pakistan
and obtained through thefts and robberies and leakage from Indian
Ordnance units... Many may be surprised over the fact that the Central
and the State Governments used to receive almost hourly reports of
monthly meetings of Akali leaders even when only five or six of the
top leaders attended these meetings in the Temple complex. When Sant
Bhindranwale discussed his plans with only one or two close confidantes,
the information reached the authorities. It is understood that the
Government got information about Sant Bhindranwale even when he was
confined to the Akal Takht and till as late as June 6." As P.S.
Bhinder, former IGP, told Neerja Chowdhury and Shahnaz Anklesaria
of that paper, shortly before he quit, "Intelligence information
reached the places it should have. It was a political failure."
A.S. Pooni, Home Secretary of Punjab, also confirmed that "the
Government had a fair idea of the kind of weapons inside the Golden
Temple". How did they reach there? In Kar-seva (voluntary
labour)
trucks carrying food and construction material. "They were not
intercepted because there were oral instructions "from the top"
until two months ago not to check any of the Kar-Seva trucks",
Bhinder told the two correspondents.'
Closing Remarks
In the history of mankind, whenever a corrupt and degenerate society
has felt threatened by moral and social revival, the powers of the
day have branded the leaders of such revival as traitors and criminals
and so justified their elimination and brutal subjugation of their
associates and disciples. These messengers of peace and brotherhood
were killed not because they had committed any crime but because they
did not toe the line of the rulers of the time. These people were
'inconvenient' because of their popularity and influence with the
people. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's martyrdom represents yet
another addition to this illustrious list. Sant Bhindranwale was a
religious preacher without interest in politics. His mission was to
propagate the basic principles of Sikh religion. He emphasized a life
of prayer and saintliness and himself set an example for the other
Sikhs. He advised Sikhs to possess weapons and to be ready to lay
down their lives, if necessary, in the interest of ensuring justice
and protection of the defenceless and the weak, in line with the teachings
of the Gurus. He insisted that a Sikh should never initiate a confrontation.
A Sikh's way is one of love and mercy and not of violence. Sikh response
to oppression and injustice had to consist of persuasion, legal action,
appeal to higher authorities in the Government, and that a Sikh should
follow the tradition of recourse to weapons only as the last resort
when all other means had been exhausted. This is the path he followed
when faced with escalating state oppression. After the confrontation
with the Sant Nirankaris on April 13, 1978, when 13 Sikhs lost their
lives to firing by gunmen in the Nirankari camp, all he wanted was
that the Government arrest and prosecute the murderers.
After the incident at Chowk-Mehta, on September 20, 1981, in which
the police fired upon Sikhs and killed 18 of them, all he asked for
was a judicial inquiry into the matter and for punishment of those
who were guilty. Upon Amrik Singh's arrest, convinced that this was
arbitrary and that Amrik Singh had committed no crime, he sought the
intervention of the District Magistrate, Amritsar, through peaceful
demonstration. He sought legal redress and found the courts to be
powerless in enforcing their judgments; their orders were not obeyed
or the victims were re-arrested on trumped-up charges immediately
after being released. The news media and the national leadership,
instead of checking police brutality, lauded such arbitrary re-arrests
and indeed called for them in order to keep the 'terrorists' behind
bars. The Government cancelled the arms licenses of the victims and
not those of the perpetrators. He would narrate stories of police
brutality to news reporters but they, instead of pursuing the matter
to bring these to public attention, dismissed them as his 'favourite
yarn'. Till the very end of his life, the Sant claimed that he had
never used his weapons to hurt any one and complained about police
high-handedness. Arbitrary arrest, torture and elimination of young
Sikhs was carried on till the Sant felt pushed to the wall and, not
getting redress from the higher authorities, the courts, the news
media, and the national leadership, told his men to resist because
arrest, in most cases, meant elimination in police custody and a faked
report of an 'encounter'. The revival of the Sikh religion that Sant
Bhindranwale led worried the extremists among the Hindus because it
stemmed the tide of apostasy among Sikh youth and reinforced the Sikh
sense of religious identity.
The so-called 'moderates' among the Sikhs at first wished to use
this immensely popular religious leader to advance their own purposes
but later, as his popularity among the Punjab peasantry grew, considered
him to be a threat to their hegemony over Sikh affairs. He had to
be killed not because he had committed any crime but because too many
people loved him and looked up to him for guidance in their misery.
Laura Lopez wrote in June 1984 : 'By early this year, it was apparent
to her that Bhindranwale had become so popular he had usurped the
Akalis' authority, leaving the party impotent in negotiations and
fearful of his violent fanaticism. No matter how long she talked to
the Akalis, Mrs. Gandhi concluded, they could never deliver on an
agreement that would hold while Bhindranwale was alive.' In order
to eliminate him, he had to be depicted as a criminal, as the symbol
of all that was evil and dangerous for the country. Indira Gandhi's
Government, influenced and assisted by extremist Hindu politicians
whose support she needed for the next elections, and the polarized
news media, carried on a continuous disinformation campaign to vilify
Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and the institutions he represented
and symbolized. He was blamed for everything that went wrong and for
every crime that was committed in Punjab.
Government agencies routinely fed the news-media with such 'information'.
The Hindu-dominated press and the Indian Government found it convenient
to interpret the centuries old Sikh prayer as a call for Sikh supremacy
and secession and, therefore, an act of sedition. Sikh possession
and carrying of weapons - the Indian Constitution accepts the possession
and carrying of a kirpaan by a Sikh as part of practice of his religion
- was described as creating tension and terror. Peaceful Sikh
protest against public ridicule of their religion was met with bullets.
The tradition of peaceful civil disobedience, successfully used against
the British by M. K. Gandhi, was regarded as treason when it was used
by the Sikhs to press their economic and religious grievances, and
met with mass killings to 'teach them a lesson'. At the same time,
attacks on Sikhs and Sikh institutions were dismissed as 'natural
reaction.' The propaganda was eminently successful. Even though there
was no evidence of the Sant having committed any crime, many well-meaning
people were misled into believing that he was leading a revolt against
the country, that he was a secessionist, that he hated Hindus and
encouraged their being massacred, etc., and that Government action
against him and other Sikhs was justified. The sensitivities of the
Indian people were dulled to the point that they accepted without
protest, and even endorsed, the gruesome torture and unlawful elimination
of tens of thousands of devout Sikh men, women, and children.
Many Hindus felt the Sikhs had brought upon themselves the misfortunes
that visited upon them. If Sant Bhindranwale was indeed the fountainhead
of all trouble, Indian Government's success in killing him should
have marked the end of the campaign. But it was not so. Sant Bhindranwale
was merely a symbol. What needed to be destroyed was the Sikh faith
as taught by Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib because it was viewed as
a threat to the concept of Indian nationhood that had to be fostered.
According to Pettigrew : 'The army went into Darbar Sahib not to eliminate
a political figure or a political movement but to suppress the culture
of a people, to attack their heart, to strike a blow at their spirit
and self-confidence.'
