Rajat Singh

Hello Bijla Singh ji... I have studied History and beleive you have as well. But i am sure that you will agree that the people who write the history books are the ones who cause confusion. I do not see any point in arguing with you as I sense anger which is being fueleed bys omething that is not really apparent. I am a bit constrained on time but think that your retort needs an appropriate answer...otherwise my silence would seem as I did not have any answers. I BENEFITTED FROM YOUR SACRIFICE?? OR WOULD YOU WANT TO SAY THAT "WE" BENEFITTED FROM THE SACRIFICE OF ALL THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS!!! You DECIDE WHICH IS right!!! The wars the sikhs fough in 1939 were for the hindus indeed. The sikhs helped the Hindus because a part of their ideology was to do that...and the Hindus must have and surely still do agree to that...But your assumption that Sikhs were the only freedom fighters is plin wrong. there were many hindu freedom fighters. I think the lack of information on behalf of one party should not be the reason why people disagree...and so I would ask you to do some readings on the freedom struggle of India without being biased. When jalianwala bagh happened,the wntire nation cried for the people who ided there and the incident became one of the biggest motivating forces for all people (hindus, muslims and sikhs) to come together and fight the british rule. If you think that the hindus have not fought for your cause ever then again you are wrong. Today there are millions of sikhs in india who live peacefully because the people of india do not feel that the Sikhs are any different from themselves. I was in Delhi University, which has two Sikh colleges (Both by the name of Khalsa College) and I had many friends in those colleges who would have disagreed with you. About the mughals...You are agin wrong. History books do GLORIFY Mughal rulers like Akbar and babur because they were truly great....while not rulers like Aurangzeb who went on a rampage. Your knowledge about these things is so biased that I am really finding trouble explaining things. How do you know what is written in Indian history textbooks when you havent even read them.?? IF you have then please tell me which book you read. I would have to see this myself and make a formal complaint about it.... You do not know what Suffering is Mr.Bijla....lack of food for poor people is not the only suffering and i very well understand that. the kind of suffering you claim the sikh peple in India are going through would e no different from the suffering of prejudice every member of society feels when they are ganged up upon by people of another caste or religion. A very dear person who has been in the Indian Police services and has known to be an extremely honest oficer was recently suspended for 12 months from duty just because of his caste in Utaar pradesh. he belonged to the rajput community but because of mayawati's rule in U.P. he was illegally suspended. Only very recently was he reinstated after a long legal process.. You being out of India and unaware of the ground realities do not have the right kind of judgement on things. Your opinion is based on either corrupted hear say or the wrong kind of infrmation base. I can see that you are an intelligent yet angry person. and anger must forst be removed from a discussion to be logical. you say would I not consider you a brother if you had khalistan. of course i would...But there is a fundamental paradoz. if i would consider you a brother then i would never let you be divided from us. You make a mistake of assuming that you are the only group that has suffered injustice at the hands of someone else in india. We all have....but you need to read newspapers and books and see the news and make logical interpretations before you realise that... The govt. of India is in disarray because of a falwed system that needs to be reformed at the social level and at the political level. the social reform is just this...that bias on the basis of religion should be minimized. that is what i am trying to do. But you seem to not agree with that. You think Canada and America are safe havens when you very well know that the White population will always look at you with suspicion (even though i wish that would not happen). you will go ahead and be friends with someone who does not share your language or religion but look away when you meet your brothers from india. This is just plain sad... Unfortunately like many other people in this discussion Mr. Bijla you do not chose your words as carefully as you should. you say that I am asking Sikhs to suffer more. How can you make that interpretation when all i want is you to understand the problems of india and in that light make a proper judgement of what is really going on and what has really happened in the past. Indians take pride in their Sikh brothers and as much as you want t disprove it. You will not be able to. the only thing you have in your favor is a couple of things that the Indian govt. did that are injustices to the Sikhs. I agree that they are/ have been wrong and something must be done about it. But your way is not the right way. the slightest bit of knowledge about the indian political system would make you understand that the people are not always responsible for the govts. acts... You might elect one person as the ruler who seems to have good intentions but later in find out that they are not the people you thought them to be....and on top of everything...the Sikhs voted too... IN THE END I WOULD LIKE TI SAY THAT BIJLA BHAI...please dont be angry. I wish you would see the tru side to things and realize that I am a friend and not foe. I have no intentions to harm you or any one. I feel that we are a group of people with misunderstanding...and should do something about it.... We fought for freedom and yes you (hindus or Indians) did benefit from our sacrifices. We started opposing the British in 1839 and fought two major wars with them but no Hindu came forward. Bhai Maharaj Singh, Baba Raam Singh, Sikh regiments, Singh Sabha, Gadar Party, Gurdwara Reform Movement are all examples of our continuation of fight but it is surprising that ancestors of Indians who go as far as calling Sikhs "brothers" are nowhere to be found fighting alongside Sikhs. When Sikhs introduced a bill to reform Gurdwara managements, pass Anand Marriage Act and open a Sikh university, the same Indians were strongly opposing Sikhs. We fought and fought and you got freedom but what did we get? Names like "Menace to society" and "long-haired hindus". We fought for your freedom but not once did hindus fight for us. So where is the so-called "brotherhood"? Only imaginary I presume. You should realize that most likely Akbar and Aurangzeb were also much proud of hindus which is why hindus enjoyed high ranking jobs in the government but why aren't history books glorifying mughal empire taught in Indian education system? I believe love of Hindus for Sikhs today is not any different than Auragzeb's love for Hindus back in 1675. Not "quite possible". It happened and hindus enjoyed the glow of freedom at the cost of Sikhs' blood. What Sikhs suffer today is not similar to everyday problems of making money and earning food. Government comprises of few individuals but elected by majority of the Indians. Hindus (majority of them) fully approved the attack and took active part in serving the military and then dishonoring our women in the Indian capital so spare me the sweet talk. Can any hindu praise Mughal invaders and show his pride in the mughal empire? No. Because he knows their women were enslaved and then sold in the flesh market of Arab countries. Their decedents still live in parts of Balochistan. Similarly, Sikhs cannot be proud of India. The wounds will not heal and fire will continue to burn until India burns in it. This is neither here nor there. A Muslim probably had hindu friends during Mughal empire but does it mean hindus had freedom? I don't think so. Similar message of Gandhi "British: Leave India" in 1942 would probably have saddened the Britishers too. Sikhs have suffered too much at the hands of Hindus and if you think we are all one then perhaps you can convince your people and government to hand over the control of India to the Sikhs. Shouldn't the government have reserved certain percentage of seats in the parliament for Sikhs and grant them political voice and hindu community have supported Sikhs during Punjabi Sooba, 1978 and 1984 if they considered us their brothers? I think so but such never happened. It is all empty talk. If you could give me clear cut proof, it would be great. Neither is the freedom granted in the Constitution nor is it practiced anywhere. Anything other than pro-hindu word is considered a threat to unity of India which is a day dream talk because let's face it many states don't want to be part of it. If India knew what freedom of speech was it wouldn't get offended. After all, two "long-haired hindus" killed a hindu so why is India offended? And what is wrong with glorifying Sikhs whom Hindus consider their brothers and are proud of? While you may feel the pain of sufferings Sikhs had to endure but doesn't give you the right to tell Sikhs to stay in India and suffer even more. If you consider yourself our brother then you should support us and ensure that your brothers do enjoy freedom and protection in their separate homeland. Sikhs living in Khalistan would still be your brothers, no? Or only Indian supporters "Sikhs" are your brothers?

I thank you for at least being accepting towards the post. I replied to an earlier post saying that I am not a politician who could change things tomorrow. But I feel that if we all talk, we can come to a consensus on the problems and try to resolve them peacefully. India is nothing without its states. Without Punjab and its Sikh people India would lose its arm. Without the other religious groups (including muslims) india would lose its identity. I agree that things do not look great right now. There are always problems but thats why this is an issue. and if we fail to recognize what can be achieved through tolerance and reforming ideas, then we cant solve the problem. The demand for Khalistan seems to be unnecessary when the entire India belongs to you. I hope you see the logic my brother...together we can form the most glorious nation in the world....but divided we might not be able to....

Hi...Thanks for following up...I didnt check this post for a day or two and was wondering if someone would have replied. I would again like to start by expressin my respect for the Sikhs. You are a glorious group and your culture has always been appreciated and loved by the likes of me (and other Indians). I hope I dont offend you by saying this...but I'm guessing that you live in Canada or the United States. I wonder how much experience you've had in india (again ...please dont take any offense...I am just making a small point). I was born here in the United States and then at the age of 7 went to India with my parents. we lived in Delhi for 15 years and i came back to the US 2 years ago for an education. the 15 years I spent in India have been quite educating in many senses. I have seen the condition of India through personal experiences and you must realize that it is a country that is dealing with many problems. To name a few: Political instability and corruption at the bureaucratic and political level, education, The Kasmir issue and animosity with Pakistan. On top of these there are states in South India that have issues with the govt. I understand that the things you say about the attitude of the govt. towards Sikhs and Punjab might seem biased and unfair. But if you put yourself in anybody's shoes in India you will see that everybody is dissatisfied and disillusioned. at the moment there is a political battle on giving backward classes and SC/ST's resrerations in educational insitutes and in other private sectors. Again...PLEASE DO NOT THINK THAT THIS IS AN EXCUSE FOR ANY OF THE ATROCITIES THAT THE SIKHS HAVE FACED. My only point is that if you are targeting Hindus as the people who are doing this to the Sikh community for any benefit then you are wrong. It is the govt. that needs to be reformed. I forget if I made this point earlier ...but you must understand that there is a distinction between political happenings and the real emotions and feelings of the people of ANY nation. You mentioned Hitler in your post, we all acknowledge his evil deeds...but it would be wrong to say that all Germans were like him or are like him. Today Germany is a country that is developed and openly apologizes for the deeds of one person who commited such horrible deeds. The situation is similar in India. I see that you are an intelligent person and know a fair bit about what has happened with the Sikhs. I agree that there should be a talk between the disillusioned and the "others" to solve this problem. AS far as I have known everybody says that Amritsar is the Sikh Holy City. I never even knew that this was one of the points of contention. nevertheless, if it is the case I would say that this should be brought up in a formal way asap. I am no politician but I assure you that NOONE would oppose your cause in this way...but again....if you would know what happened in the city of Ayodhya in the early 1990'2 between Hindus and Muslims over babri masjid and the Ram Janma Bhoomi you would see that even Hindus face the same problem. At least what we should praise the lord for is the fact that there is no conflict at the basal level about whether or not Amritsar is a Sikh Holy land or not. I am not Sikh, but am proud to be a Rajput and have a sense of pride to share culture with the Sikhs. We both have glorious histories in terms of our own people and should be happy that we share culture under the broader umbrella of Indian. We rajputs have our qualms with e govt. But what can we do...I feel that if tomorrow we rise as a group and start asking for Rajputana in Rajasthan and ask everybody else to leave it would not be plausible. The only thing that we can do is peacefully try to resolve the matter by reforming the govt. In this day and age it is not in any body's interest to pick up a gun and start fighting. In war no body is victorious and on behalf of all people who believe in humanity, I urge you to understand my point of view. For the umpteenth time i will say that I am not defending the govt. i am just saying that people in India really really cherish the Sikhs. If Sant Jarnail Singh Bhinderanwalay, wanted nothing but equality and respect then I would agree with you that he was anoble man and was largely mis understood by the masses of India because of the way the govt. portrayed him. Today our prime Minister is Manmohan Singh ji and we all have the most respect for him. He is an extremely well educated and well spoken person who is even loved by opposition parties in politics. WE ARE ALL BEING IGNORED....BUT THE PATH OF RETRIBUTION IS NOT RIGHT...WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER AND MAKE SURE THAT NO INJUSTICE IS TOLERATED. I am with you in your cause but the cause of Khalistan seems to be a dividing policy that forms boundaries between friends and could become a permanent source of animosity. India, in itself is a country that is trying to acheive what no other country in the world has been able to do succesfully...and that is to become a multicultural secular and tolerant state where everybody lives harmoniously. just like the sikhs the rajputs fought too...they fought for the british and against the Nazi's too... States in India are all being divided among smaller groups. We can not go on forever with bad feelings for others... I dont know what else to say to you at the moment but am glad that you responded...You will see that if you set the anger aside there are many options for all of us which could be acheived easily and with peaceful, friendly feelings in mind.

that just about sums the indian government up Hello Everyone... I joined this group out of curiosity and am hopeful that my communications with you will enlighten me and further enhance my respect for Sikhism. I am nevertheless, not sikh. I am a hindu Rajput. I have been curious about the whole affair of Khalistan and believe that there might be a solution. I hope all the people who are members of this community would be willing to indulge in logical and tolerant dialogue. To begin with I agree with many of the points you put forward. at the same time I think that certain interpretations are wrong. I would like to first say that all of you should realize how much pride Indians take in our Sikh brothers. you have fought for our independence from British Rule and nationally recognized heroes like Ranjit Singh and Bhagat Singh. While it is quite possibly true that the Sikhs faced a lot of prejudice and had a tough time after Independence, we must realize that in post Independent India almost everybody faced problems. It should also be noted that the govt. comprises of a few individuals who are unfortunately corrupt. That does not mean that the things that Individuals say while holding politically relevant positions actually represent the thoughts of the people. You would be grossly mistaken to assume such a thing. I am from Delhi and have lived among Sikhs and have many sikh friends now that I am in the United States. I recently visited a Gurudwara in Seattle and read a sticker that said " India: Free Khalistan. Allow right of self determination." I was a little saddened by the message there as I beleived that we were all one. I might sound like a preacher trying to propagate peace while hiding the shameful events that happened in india. Assuming this would be untrue. I have always felt that there are many things in the past have been wrong. the incidents of 1984 were wrong. My father had a very good sikh friend who was murdered in Delhi. My father was in the United States back then and was horrified by the incident. Public sentiment and feelings cannot be gauged by the doings of corrupt governments and greedy, selfish politicians. I think the fact that India is offended by the fact that there is a group of people in Canada that are glorifying Indira Gandhi's assasins is not right. But that doesnt mean that there is no freedom of speech in India. As far as Indira gandhi was concerned, you must speak to non-sikhs and find out that Indira Gandhi deserved her fate because of her doings. I dont know what you will say to my retort. But I beleive that this is a good place to start a dialogue. I await your comments. Waheguru Jee Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Jee Kee Fateh!! Rajat