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NEW DELHI: In what may come as a shocker to the Sikh community and an embarrassment to the Canadian government, which two days ago deported Parminder Singh Saini, after a 15 year peaceful stay in Canada; the Indian authorities have detained him in Tihar prison in Delhi. Till last reports were received, it is not clear under what law he has been sent to prison, though it is being suspected that he has been detained under the preventive legislation, National Security Act. So far he had no access to legal assistance. Voices for Freedom, in a statement to the media has expressed anguish at the speed with which Canadian authorities deported Parminder Singh and shock at the slamming of NSA charges against him by the government of India. Ranjit Singh of VFF has said that, “Apparently, the government of India has no case against the 46 year old, former activist of the All India Sikh Students Federation. We hope that the legal machinery in India is aware of the legal concept of double jeopardy, under which, no person can be punished twice for the same offence and this has been upheld by Indian courts too.” Voices for Freedom has sought his immediate release and a full stop at his vilification. Parminder Singh Saini alongwith others had hijacked an Indian Airlines Srinagar-New Delhi flight on July 5, 1984, barely a month after the attack on Darbar Sahib, Amritsar in June that year. They were arrested by the Pakistani authorities, sentenced to death, which was commuted to life and after serving more than ten years in prison, were released to go “anywhere.” Fearing for his life in India and acutely fearful of harassment and death at the hands of the India authorities, Parminder Singh fled to Canada under an assumed name. While in Canada, he amply demonstrated his intentions to lead a peaceful life by studying for his graduation studies and then pursuing and completing his law studies as well. However, his plea to practice was repeatedly turned down and in view of his persistence with the plea, he was designated ‘dangerous’ and deported. While the conditions for deportation under which Canada sent back Parminder Singh Saini are still not know, it is clear that the move of the government of India to foist preventive detention law of NSA, whereby all of India’s interrogation authorities will be given the liberty to humiliate, harass and investigate him within the four walls of the high security Tihar prison in Delhi. Former President of Dal Khalsa, Satnam Singh Paonta Sahib, himself a hijacker, who like Parminder Singh completed his sentence and who was let off within one day of his arrival in India said, “The principle of non-refoulement is well established in customary international law, prohibiting states from expelling, deporting or extraditing persons to countries where they face torture or ill-treatment. Non-refoulement is a fundamental rule of refugee law and several human rights instruments forbid the return of a person who has reason to fear for his/her life or physical integrity in his/her country of origin. If Canada has made a big mistake, India must immediately release Parminder Singh Harfanmaullah.” Another hijacker, Tejinder Pal Singh, who too was deported from Canada in December 1997 from Surrey told World Sikh News that, “India should refrain from harassing people who have suffered in prison for years and who have live away from family and friends for decades together.” Tejinder Pal Singh, who now leads a miserly life in Punjab said that the government of Canada has committed a major blunder again by deporting Parminder Singh to India. He said that during his stay in Vancouver, he voluteered for Amnesty International, UNICEF and the Surrey Children’s Hospital, oranised blood donations and did humanitarian work, but the Canadian government did not give him an opportunity to start a life afresh. He said, “Parminder Singh led a very peaceful life, educated himself, did not take part in any political activity and was a good citizen, should have been set free.” Tejinder Pal Singh feared that like him, Parminder Singh too would continue to be harassed and humilitated for the rest of his life. Parminder Singh Saini’s deportation has definitely put the human rights lobby thinking about, “What should a person who is afraid from entering the country of his birth for reasons of fear do, if the country where he has landed refuses to grant him citizenship or stay status? What is the meaning of “stateless person status for such a person? In the post 9/11 world, can the UN or any other world agency play any role? After all, Saini proved his mettle of being a peaceful citizen for 15 years and underwent imprisonment for more than 10 years –is there no reform after all that or are countries always in retribution mode?

San Jose, CA: Sikh history is about to be made in North America. In December, throughout the United States, 500,000 nonprofit charities competed on a competition on the popular internet website, Facebook, for the Chase Bank Community Giving contest. The top 100 groups advanced to the second round for a chance at 1 million dollars.Jakara Movement, a Sikh youth organization, was among the top 20 organizations. It has hundreds of volunteers throughout California and has been organizing Sikh conferences, retreats, camps for the youth for the past 10 years. Now they have a unique opportunity for seva for their community. The Jakara Movement has publicly committed that all funds won will go towards the building of a historic Sikh Museum in North America. To make this a reality, the Jakara Movement requires the help of the entire Sikh community. It is not asking for money. Only a simple vote on the popular internet website – Facebook. From January 15 to 22nd, 2010 you can vote for the Sikh museum through Facebook. The Jakara Movement has created a website with instructions on how to make a Facebook account and how to vote. It can be viewed at www.votesikh.com. Gurjit Singh, a volunteer with Jakara states, “In order to make this successful, we need the support of the entire Sikh community, from Bathinda, to Birmingham, to Brisbane, to Brampton, to Bakersfield. Anyone with a Facebook account can vote from anywhere in the world.” For more information visit www.votesikh.com and help the Jakara Movement make the first Sikh Museum in North America a reality. For further info, contact: info@jakara.org I have already voted, currently Jakara is only at the 49th position and if they don't win then they can never build the museum and the women's shelter please I'm asking you with folded hands, create a facebook account or if you have one just log in and vote for them to empower our youth, please!!!!!

It is true that they have forced themselves onto the radio station legally. Dilgeer complained to Ofcom, the arbiter in UK for radio disputes, that Dr. Gurdeep Singh defamed him on the radio without giving his side of the story, Dr. Gurdeep said that Dilgeer's Ph. D is fake and among other things as well e.g. responding to Dilgeer's allegation that he is an RSS agent by providing e-mail addresses which he said Dilgeer created himself as the presenter knew one of the names of the e-mail addresses he called him and that person said he never sent the e-mail. Long story short, Ofcom said either the radio had to apologise or they had to give him time to air his side of the story. A As the presenter refuesd to apologise to a person who distorts sikh history the presenter has given him the opportunity to clear his view tonight but the presenter told his listeners that he won't sit back he would question him in front of all the listeners why he distorted sikh history, is he working ofr money from a third group etc. He will corner Dilgeer tonight, if he is brave enough to accept the challenge of facing off with the presenter.

Jasvir Singh's e-mail is j.a.s.v.i.r.s.i.n.g.h.@k.h.a.l.s.a.c.o.m. there is a . after khalsa

I too had some issues with Jasvir Singh but I contacted him through his e-mail jasvirsingh@#. He cleared up many of the issues which may be confusing at first because we take a one-sided view but he helped me clear up the picture. For example, many people claim he is pro-ghagga because he had an interview on the show once but he told me he is the presenter of public radio which, acoording to ofcom rules and ethics of journalism, any issue must be presented impartially i.e. views from both sides of the story hence he said he didn't bring him because Panjab Radio favoured him and was on his side but he just wanted all the listeners to know his version of the story, at no point did he say he was supporting or opposing because they don't take sides they just present the issues for the public to decide. That is why Harjinder Dilgeer is coming tomorrow on Panjab Radio, even though he called the presenter - Dr. Gurdeep Singh an RSS agent and various other bogus claims by presenting fake e-mails he made by himself showing a list of RSS workers in UK with his name on it. Dilgeer made a complaint to ofcom that the radio was speaking against them without offerring his side of the story. So ofcom ruled in his favour by stating either they apologise to him or give him a chance, the presenter being an amritdhari stated clearly one sikh of a guru never apologises to one who distorts sikh history for material gains and would never apologise so gave an open call tomorrow for him to come and he would openly ask in front of all the listeners why did he distort sikh history e.g. he said Guru Arjan never sat on the hot iron plate, the panja at Panja Sahib is not of Guru Nanak's etc. He is not bringing on thehsow because he likes or supports him. I hope people will shed their one-sided views and stop spreading that Panjab Radio that it is anti-panthic, and even if you don't agree they open the lines pratically every other day and if you still don't agree e-mail them because they answered my e-mails and Dr. Gurdeep Singh is always available for an open discussion on his radio and he continually says that if he has said anything anti-panthic he asks to be told and he would give his explanation, and if people still continue to bad mouth him without hearing his explanation then I think that nothing can be done about that. Sorry for the mistake in the above post, his e-mail is jasvirsingh@# Sorry but I think the post cannot paste the e-mail properly, the e-mail is jasvirsingh at #

Giani Zail Singh and Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale an Overview Much has been written about Giani Zail Singh’s role in bringing Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale on the centre-stage of Sikh politics. Consequently, people have come to believe that Bhindarwale was propped up by Giani Zail Singh to beat the Akalis in the politics of one-upmanship. Political analysts aver that Bhindrawale proved a Frankstein for the Congress for whose benefit he was allegedly brought to the fore by the Giani. His emergence on the map of Punjab, his flight with Akalis, his taking part in SGPC elections, his open support to Congress in Parliament and State elections in 1980, his free movement with gun carrying followers in the whole of India, his safe escape from Chando Kalan in Haryana in 1981, his release after interrogation on the charges of murder of Lala Jagat Narain, the founder of Hind Samachar group of newspapers, his entry in Golden Temple Complex and many other such events are interpreted as political maneuverings of Giani Zail Singh. Above all, some quarters charge the Giani of having intimated Sant Bhindrawale the Government plan to send army into the holy precincts. Both Giani Zail Singh and Sant Bhindrawale are no more who can give answers to charges made out against them. Mark Tully and Satish Jacob in their book, ‘Amritsar : Mrs. Gandhi’s Last Battle’, mention all the above charges. I wrote to Mark Tully asking him to prove any of the above facts. In reply, he sent me a photograph of Giani Zail Singh with Bhindrawale sitting side by side. I wrote to him that this was taken in a memorial congregation held in Delhi soon after the assassination of Jathedar Santokh Singh in 1981, which was attended by both. I am taking liberty to lay-bare some hard facts so that this myth about Zail Singh – Bhindrawale can be examined without any malice. Bhindranwale belonged to a seminary tracing its origin from the times of Guru Gobind Singh. Since long, their followers engaged in instruction of Sikh missionaries since the time of Baba Deep Singh, the legendary martyr who fell fighting in the defence of holy Harmindar Sahib. Sant Jarnail Singh succeeded Sant Karar Singh, a dynamic Sikh preacher who had led one of the factions of this seminary popularly called Damdami Taksal. Sant Jarnail Singh was quite young when he succeeded Sant Kartar Singh. He had both zeal and enthusiasm along with dedication to prove equal to the task. He soon became popular among the Sikhs as a competent exponent of the Sikh scriptures. He was always on the move having his headquarter at Mehta Chowk in District Amritsar. The vehicle in which he travelled was usually full of students of the Taksal. I attended many congregations addressed by Sant Ji at Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Patiala. A tall handsome person having great fluency in Punjabi soon proved a hit with devotees. From the very beginning he carried a revolver on his person alongwith a small Kirpan and an arrow in his hand. This peculiarity endeared him to the youth. As the head of a historical missionary order with youthful dynamism, Sant Jarnail Singh, soon become popular with the Sikh multitude. In huge congregations that gathered to listen to him, he used to preach austere living, simple marriages, abstinence from all types of intoxicants and strict observance of the Code of Conduct of the Khalsa. It was a matter of coincidence that at the time he appeared on the scene, the Akali Party came back into power in 1977 with Sarkar Prakash Singh Badal as Chief Minister. Akalis were in coalition with Jana Sangh and Janata Dal. Even Shri Romesh Chander, Editor of Hind Samachar was an MLA supporting the Government. Sant Jarnail Singh did not like this opportunistic alliance. He was dead against all those elements who had opposed Punjabi with Gurmukhi script and the formation of Punjabi Suba. He maintained no contact with the Akali leadership as a whole. Only Gurcharan Singh Tohra, the then President of the SGPC had established his contacts with him and was aware of the developments in the Taksal. It was on 6th April, 1978 that the formation of a new party called Dal Khalsa was announced in a meeting held in the Aroma Hotel at Chandigarh. It is necessary to recall here that Dal Khalsa was the name of the voluntary fighting force that led the Khalsa to become a sovereign power in the Punjab by the end of the eighteenth century. This development was the brain child of a Punjab University employee who put forth the idea of Khalistan. Incidentally, when this press meet was being held, Giani Zail Singh was also present in the same Hotel to attend some other function. It is alleged that he paid the bill for this press conference of Dal Khalsa. Harsimran Singh, who headed this new outfit, was then working with Professor Vishwa Nath Tewari, who at that time was the head of Bhai Vir Singh Chair of the Punjab University. Prof. Tewari was staunch Congressman and this fact lent a new dimension to this development. Anyway, Dal Khalsa emerged as an independent group of young educated Sikhs. It is, perhaps, a coincidence that the only a week after Dal Khalsa was launched, a tragic event shook the entire State. On 19th April, 1978, the Sant Nirankari Mandal (an aberrant sect of the Sikhs) organized a big Samagam in an open ground at Amritsar. Sikh Groups had since long been condemning the Nirankaris for their wrongful use of Sikh terminology and some unsavoury remarks in their religious book ‘Avtar Bani’. Baba Gurbachan Singh was the head of the sect. Akhand Kirtani Jatha followers of Bhai Randhir Singh, a devout Sikh group opposed the holding of the Nirankari meet at Amritsar. While this congregation of the Nirankaris was in progress, a few Akhand Kirtani Jatha members led by one Fauja Singh marched to the place after they made known their intention in a congregation in Manji Sahib Dewan hall within the Golden Temple Complex. The Nirankaris on their part seemed to have been well prepared to face any eventuality. They attacked these unarmed peaceful demonstrators as soon as they reached near their Pandal. Eighteen persons were killed. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was present in the Manji Sahib congregation when Akhand Kirtani Jatha had decided to send a Jatha against the Nirankaris. After the tragedy, he appeared at the centre-stage and with his typical style; put the Akali-Janata Coalition government on the defensive for allowing this Samagam in the holy city. Prakash Singh Badal was at that time in Bombay. As soon as he learnt about this, he rushed back. He allowed safe exit to Baba Gurbachan Singh from the Punjab territory, which was highly resented by the Sikhs. Sant Bhindranwale described the Nirankaris as Narkdharis and took a vow to avenge the killings. (Baba Gurbachan Singh was later shot dead in his own house in Delhi in April 1981, and Bhai Ranjit Singh who was subsequently appointed as Jathedar of Akal Takht by the SGPC was named as the main accused). Meanwhile, Bhai Amrik Singh a close of aide of Bhindranwale and son of Sant Kartar Singh, the former head of Damdami Taksal, was elected as President of All India Sikh Students Federation. These three happenings, founding of Dal Khalsa, killing of the devout Sikhs at Amritsar and election of Amrik Singh as head of AISSF, paved the way for Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to emerge in a new role. Any student of history can make his/her own assessment of the rise of Bhindranwale. But I hold the opinion that it was an accident of history. Bhindranwale toured all over the Punjab and went on accusing the Punjab Government for having soft corner for the Nirankaris. He wanted the arrest of Baba Gurbachan Singh as the main accused for brutal killings of innocent devout Sikhs who were supposed to be marching towards the Nirankari Samagam to protest against its being held at Amritsar. The Punjab Government at that time did not take any step to satisfy or pacify the injured feelings of the Sikhs. This provided a golden opportunity to Bhindranwale for entry into Sikh political arena. He openly started propagating that there are forces within the Central as well as State Government that are out to harm the Sikhs. There was a bye-election of Baba Bakala seat of the SGPC in 1978 and the Akalis put up Jathedar Jiwan Singh Umra Nangal who was a Minister in the Government. Bhindranwale, immediately announced the candidature of Bhai Amrik Singh. This became a scene of Bhindranwale Vs. the Akalis. The Congress which was then out of power got a chance to enthuse their workers and decided to support Bhindranwale’s candidate. But the emergency stigma was so severe that they could not muster any support. Moreover, the combined pressure of Punjab Ministers and SGPC managed victory for Jathedar Jiwan Singh Umra-Nangal, a maverick of Akali politics. During the General Election of SGPC in 1979, Congress party decided to embarrass the Akali – Janata Government by entering into the election arena by proxy knowing fully well that even a powerful and crafty person like Sardar Partap Singh Kairon had failed in this game. Sanjay Gandhi was advised by his advisors, especially by his friend Vishwajit Singh to take advantage of Bhindrawales rift with Akalis in order to destabilize the Akali government. A meeting was called and services of S. Gurbir Singh, son the late Justice Gurnam Singh, were commissioned. Vishwajit and Gurbir Singh (Baku) were provided monetary support and they remained active. They had meetings with Bhai Amrik Singh and promised him full support. Bhindranwale was keen to oppose the Akalis and he put up a number of candidates. Sanjay Gandhi gave instructions to all Congress leaders especially Giani Zail Singh, S. Darbara Singh and Dr. Gurdial Singh Dhillon to help the Bhindranwale group. Despite all this, Akalis won the elections hands down and only six candidates put up by Bhindrawale could be elected to the SGPC. Emergency was lifted in 1979 and Parliamentary elections were called in the month of December. R. L. Bhatia, the Congress candidate from Amritsar got support of Bhindranwale Group, as they were opposed to the Akali Party. As I understand, bitterness between Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and the Akalis was a major cause of the Bhindranwale Group opposing Akalis at that time. The Akalis were supporting another group of Damdami Taksal headed by Giani Mohan Singh. The Congress won the Parliamentary elections and Indira Gandhi returned as Prime Minister, in January 1980. Giani Zail Singh joined the Central Cabinet as Home Minister. He always supported the policy of conciliation. He managed and helped Ch. Bhajan Lal, Janta Dal, Chief Minister, Haryana, to join the Congress Party. In Punjab, he advocated some partnership agreement between the Akalis and the Congress, but he did not meet with success there. The Punjab Ministry was dismissed and in the fresh elections Congress Party won with a big margin. Darbara Singh, a President of the Punjab Congress in yesteryears, was installed as Chief Minister of the State. He was deadly opposed to the Giani. He did not believe in the Giani brand of politics of conciliation. In April 1980, Baba Gurbachan Singh, Nirankari Chief was shot dead at his home in Delhi. At once, the press linked Bhindranwale’s name with his murder. On the basis of investigation reports supplied by the State and Central agencies, Giani Zail Singh informed the Parliament that Bhindranwale was not involved in the murder of the Nirankari Chief. This was treated as Giani’s soft peddling towards Bhindranwale. I need not give details of all events of the years 1980 & 1981 and Bhindranwale’s ascendance to the political horizon of the Punjab. From a religious preacher he became a social crusader and a political ideologue. Media gave Sant Jarnaiil Singh special attention. He was frequently interviewed by the press correspondents and photographers. Killing of Lala Jagat Narian, on September 9, 1981, was a turning point in Punjab crisis. Sant Bhindranwale’s name was linked with his murder. His arrest from his headquarters became an extra-ordinary event. People gathered there in large numbers to show their indulgence and eleven people were killed by the police firing at Chowk Mehta. After some time he had to be released by Punjab Police for lack of evidence. The Giani had no role to play in his whole affair. Earlier when the Punjab Police went to arrest him at Chando Kalan (Haryana), he escaped. Even then some people accused Giani Zail Singh of having leaked the information regarding the raid. Rumours which became afloat. Blamed Giani Zail Singh for making a hero of Sant Jarnail Singh, ignoring the fact that Punjab Police under directions of the Government carried out the operation. In the process, the Sant won sympathizers and admirers in Services and Police. Jathedar Santokh Singh was shot dead on 21st December, 1981. He was a great friend of Bhindranwale and was close to Indira Gandhi. Bhindranwale came to Delhi to attend the Bhog ceremony of Jathedar Santokh Singh, which took place in G.K. 1 at his residence. Giani Zail Singh attended the function to mourn the death of the Delhi Sikh leader. I accompanied him. Sant Bhindranwale was sitting in front row. The Giani was also seated there. Not a word was exchanged between them. Soon after the Bhog the Giani left. Photographs of them both sitting together were published in the newspapers. On the way back, the Giani told me that he had seen Bhindranwale for the first time. I particularly asked him “everyone believes that you have promoted him in politics and how come you did not see him earlier?” He told me that it was all a canard spread by Darbara Singh in order to malign him in the eyes of the Congress High Command. He said, in 1978 there could have been a chance meeting when both were invited to a function at Baba Bakala. At that time, Giani Zail Singh left after his speech and Bhindranwale had not reached in time. But he said on his own that he sincerely desired Bhindranwale to confine himself to religious and social spheres. He admitted that the Sant had a large following among Sikhs and his influence and energy could be utilized for the good of the State. He felt sad at the assassination of Jathedar Santokh Singh and described it as a big set-back because the latter could influence Sant Jarnail Singh. He failed to name any other person who could be entrusted with this task. He was sure, Darbara Singh could spoil the political atmosphere and Punjab would suffer a lot. Sant Bhindranwale stayed in Delhi for some time and later went to Bombay. A horde of his followers were with him. A question is often asked why was he allowed to move freely. Giani Zail Singh would say that there was no case against him and also no ban on his movements. All the guns his followers carried were licensed and if there was any violation of law, the State Governments had full authority to take action. Giani Zail Singh became President of India on 26th July, 1982. He was strictly advised by Indira Gandhi to keep himself aloof from the Punjab and the Sikh affairs. What happened after that period is well known. Giani Zail Singh had no role to play at any point of time. He was kept in the dark by all official agencies. He mentioned this fact to every leader from Punjab who came to see him. In fact he was a victim of a vilification campaign let loose against him by his detractors and political opponents. They convinced the media that Bhindranwale was his creation. The Sikhs at large were most unhappy that with a Sikh at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Army destroyed the Akal Takhat. It is a pity that both the Giani and Bhindranwale were maligned with ulterior motives. I am not analyzing the role of Bhindranwale during the curcial period of 1983-1984 and the circumstances, which led to the sad attack on the Golden Temple by the Indian Army and the ultimate end of Sant Bhindranwale. By Tarlochan Singh MP

Turn to Sikhism to blend in Ludhiana, December 15 Bridging the cultural divide, a large number of migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have not only made the city their permanent home but some have also converted to the Sikh faith, embracing its tenets wholeheartedly. Gainda Lal, who changed his name to Avtar Singh at the Singh Sabha gurdwara in Jwaddi eight years ago, said life has become “much smoother” after his conversion. “I decided to become a ‘Gursikh’ after I started going to the Prabhu Sadan Kender of the Singh Sabha gurdwara. It was a pleasure for me to keep ‘kesh’, ‘kanghi’, ‘kara’, ‘kirpan’ and ‘kachera; like every other ‘Gursikh’”, he added. Originally a native of Agra, Avtar, who is now a scrap dealer in Punjabi Bagh, Ludhiana, goes to the gurdwara daily and also recites ‘Gurbani’ without fail. His belief in Sikhism has enabled him to overcome a major obstacle - language “I can fully understand Punjabi and, through my constant efforts, I’m able to partially speak and read it now,” said Avtar. Similarly, Narottam Singh and Ganesh Singh from Ferozabad in Uttar Pradesh have also given up their old names, Mahesh and Ganesh, as they are happy with their new identities. The migrants have contributed in the commercial ventures undertaken in the city over the past three decades as is evident from the number of them working in small as well as big industries in Ludhiana. Thus it would be wrong to dissociate them from the social, cultural and religious fabric of the city, the duo opined. Doing ‘sewa’ at a gurdwara and attending all the religious congregations like Punjabi Sikhs has become part of their routine. However, these migrants have not forced their family members to follow in their footsteps. Shamsher Singh, a worker at a factory at Focal Point, says religion is a matter of personal choice. “We still prefer our children get married within our ‘biradari’ in Bihar as we don’t want to lose all ties with our native land. However, after they get married the children are free to decided whether they want to a gurdwara or a temple,” Shamsher added.

Bhai Vir Singh (December 5, 1872 - June 10, 1957) is known as a ‘Maker of Punjabi Literature' and hence ‘The Sixth River of Punjab‘. He was a poet, novelist, editor, exegete, historian and a journalist. He was the leading figure in the Singh Sabha, the dynamic Sikh renaissance movement in early 20th century Punjab. The following is the talk given in 1960 by Dr. Balbir Singh (Bhai Vir Singh's younger brother) on the 3rd death anniversary of his brother. It is being reproduced here to commemorate his 137th birth anniversary celebrations, which are scheduled for December 5, 2009. Today, we commemorate the death anniversary of one who never believed in death. He believed in life eternal, in the immortality of man and he conveyed this message of hope through prose, poetry, music, history, philosophy, drama, conversation and commentaries. He not only gave these contributions but also influenced many writers that have written in Punjabi. This fact has been noticed far and wide. The other day I read an article that appeared a while back in the Times Herald in Virginia, U.S.A. and lately has been reproduced in some local papers in India. The editor there, taking notice of Bhai Sahib and his works, remarks, "It can easily be understood how this man has influenced every writer, poet and scholar of his age. He has a delicate and flower-like touch, yet beneath the greatness is a consciousness of immortality that does not fail to communicate itself to the reader." Now about those writers that have influenced others, there is a remark by a critic named ‘Lander.' Talking about Shakespeare he said, "A rib of Shakespeare would have made one Milton, the same portion of Milton made all the poets born ever since." In as much as Punjabi literature is concerned, and the Punjabi poets and writers are concerned, these remarks can aptly fit Bhai Sahib. He was born somewhere about 1872 and lived for about 84 years. His literary career lasted a good 66 years. During that period, he wrote and edited something like twelve hundred tracts (booklets) of the Khalsa Press Society, fifty books and left a good deal of unpublished work to be published as posthumous volumes. Out of which I have personally published so far six volumes during these last five years. His books that made a mark were: Rana Surat Singh 1905 Raja Lakhdata Singh 1910 Lehran de Haar Baba Naudh Singh 1907-1921 Neeti Shashtra 1916 Matak Hulare Bijilian de Haar 1927 Qualgi Dhar Chamatkar 1925 Suraj Prakash 1926-1933 Satwant Kaur 1928 Guru Nanak Chamatkar Preet Veena 1957 (the year he passed away). [Also, Sundari, Bijay Singh, and a string of other poetry and essay anthologies] To understand Bhai Sahib, I give you a quotation from the Yajur Ved: ‘O god, give me wealth, give me cows, give me land, children, wives, property all these things.' But one rishi who was a great poet and saint, turned it into his own prayer - "O god, in me let there be music, poetry, fame, knowledge." The exact words are: swarsh chamey - give me music sloksh chamey - give me poetry shavarsh chamey - give me fame, glory so that people may appreciate my worth and honor me sharuthish chamey - give me knowledge Now, that was a great improvement on people asking, "Give me wealth, give me cows and give me children." But Bhai Sahib made a further departure in his own version of the prayer. He pleads: "O God, Give me swar, (music) and give me slok (poetry), but take away fame and take away knowledge!" That is the spirit of Bhai Sahib and that spirit pervades all his works. He wrote a beautiful poem on violets. The gist is, if I may put it in English: "I am like a violet who remains concealed in his foliage. I wish to remain concealed and die unlamented. Alas! It is my perfume that betrays my existence." The lines in Punjabi are very famous and they are now sung in every home. They begin this way: Meri chhipei rahey gulzar, Main neevaan ungiyaa Koyee lage na nazar tapaar, Main parbat lukiyaa Main liyaa arsho rang jo shonkh na vann da Haan, dhuro garibi mang, main aayaa jagat te. Then he goes on, the last lines being - Meri bhinni eh khusboye kiven te chhipdee Meri chhipei rehan di chaah te chhip tur jaan dee: Haan, puri hundi naah, main tarley le rehaan. He says: my art, my conversations are like a perfume. I cannot conceal it. I have concealed my color. I have concealed my structure. But this fragrance, this perfume is all pervasive. It travels far and wide and brings in recognition. This recognition interferes with my work of self-realization and self-expression. The idea that I want to remain concealed is not a matter of mood. It is not an expression of constraint. It is a shunning of society and fame. This was a constitutional part of Bhai Sahib's self. The Punjab University, though belatedly, recognized the merit of his work. They adopted a resolution to confer upon him the Doctor's degree. I think it was D.O.L. (Doctor of Literature). It was perhaps to be conferred in the first convocation when Trivedi and Patel and some others were invited for that purpose. Bhai Sahib would not go. He said, "I don't want it." Of course, he was very polite in saying so but he would not accept it. The result was that the University Syndicate passed a resolution to send the Registrar to his home with the degrees and honors and all that. Sardar Bhopal Singh, the Registrar of East Punjab University, came to our house with that diploma or whatever you call it and that big gown that you wear - the red one - it is still lying in our house as a piece of decoration. Sardar Bhopal Singh made a short speech and concluded his remarks by saying: "Please permit us to add that in honouring you, it is not so much an honour to your person as a recognition of the fact that in honouring men such as you, the Punjab University is honouring men and women of letters who deserve as much honour as statesmen, politicians and others of the world." That was his Doctor's degree. I was not there. This ceremony took place in Amritsar. I was at Dehra-Dun. Bhai Sahib immediately wrote to me a small poem of four lines beginning with - Dada piyoo san ved doctor Shafaa jinhaa de chumdee pair Our father was a medical man, Dr. Charan Singh. Our grandfather, ‘Dada ji', was a famous hakeem (traditional doctor) of olden times. Bhai Sahib wrote they have made me a doctor. But I am not a doctor. My father was a doctor; my grandfather was a hakeem. And they were so good that they had the art of healing. Wherever they would go, they would heal and cure: Paani garo vidiyaan sande man budh vasey jinhaa de kher, Assee anari rahe umar bhar ... However, I never learnt this medicine or practiced the art of healing. I remained anaari ... Na pandit na bane hakim, Doctor da je hudam chalaa aan lagaa ta lagsee gair - I feel so odd that at this age I have to carry this appendix of Doctor. His satire was - Doctor da je hudam chalaa aan lagaa ta lagsee gair ... This is to illustrate the man was cultivating only swar (music) and slok (poetry) while shunning shruv (fame) that was showered upon him. I say to you that he threw overboard these goods and the heavy load of learning. He was quite learned and was a great Persian and Sanskrit scholar. He knew grammar very well but he never thought that these things would help in the emancipation of his soul; or in giving that taste of freedom or bringing about the union of the individual soul with the cosmic soul to which he was aspiring. About knowledge - his remarks were, that, whatever our learning is, ultimately it is - Sir kachkaul banna hath leetha ... ‘kachkaul' is a beggar's bowl, the bhikshapatra, that I made my head the beggar's bowl. After giving up this side of knowledge and refusing to chase fame, he was cultivating only two things in his life: music and poetry. Music to him was not a mere piece of recitation on a musical instrument or a piece of melody sung by a person. No! Music to him was a living personality, which gains an independent existence, independent of the singer or the musical instrument. That was his personal experience about music. Once I was asked by the editor of the ‘Everyman's Library' to give a sample of Bhai Vir Singh's poetry in English. For his benefit, I translated this piece of poetry that was published in the Empire edition of poetry in London. The translation: There arose a melody From the throat tuned and fine A shake Of folded thrills near me It moved Like a cloud of grey On the point to shine Through its touch It made me shiver I quivered As one endowed with wine For a moment I swam in fragrant air Tossed to and fro To the edge of space and time Then left melting With the song in void Like a flake of snow On the ocean's chime These two things, poetry and music, become warp and woof of his life and wove a very good pattern on the whole. And that pattern is his dreamland - the land of his visions, which becomes real for him, in which he lives; which he portrays, which he interprets and to which he directs the attention of other people so that they may get their guidance from that. About dreams, an author has remarked that dream abides, it is the only thing that abides. And then, another famous poet writes: "Yet after break and still or stone are gone and flesh and blood are dust, the dream lives on." Now Bhai Sahib's poem: Supne vich tussi mile asannu, asaa dha galvakri payee Niraa nor tussi hath na aaye saadi kambdi rahee kalayee Dha Charna te sees nivayaa sadey mathe choh na payee Tussi ocche assi nivey sa sadee pesh na gaeeya kayee. Phir larh farney noo uth daurhe par larh O bijlee-lehraa, Ood-da janda par oh apni choh saanu gayaa layee; Mitti chamak payee eh moyee te tussi looyaa vich lishkey Bijlee koond gayee tharaandi, hun chakachundh hai chayee I met You in dreamland I rushed and embraced You. All brilliant, All bright, My hands Failed to grasp such light. I was left With my trembling, vain wrists. Passionate desire once failed, I try again Race to pay obeisance, My head bent At the feet of the Divine. But even a wisp Eludes my forehead. You stood so high I, so very low, My appeal, My attempts All Go unfulfilled. And Then I try again. I get up, Run to grasp Just One end of Your robe. But woe, Lightening rippled through it. It flew Fluttered past And rewarded me With the slightest, softest touch...... [Translation from Punjabi by Sanmeet Kaur] This is one of his best pieces in which both music and poetry are woven together. I was saying earlier that he wove the reality of dreams with music. What I want to convey by this is that his idea was that it is the experience of dreams that give content to the living moments. It is different from a similar idea found in English literature. A well-known poet writes about giving appointments to others to meet him in dreams. There is a poem by that heading - "Meet me in dreamland, And make my dreams come true." The idea that dreams are true only in dreamland, though Man wants the dreams to be extended. But for Bhai Sahib, it is the experience of dreams that gives content to the living moments of life. After having experienced something in his dreams, he says: "Kamdi rahee kalayee" in relation to the spiritual experience of life. It arises out of that vision which he wove through the cultivation of his intense poetry and music. Today, we celebrate the death anniversary of Bhai Sahib Bhai Vir Singh. As I said in the beginning, he never believed in death. He is still here although we can't see him. He wrote a poem before his death describing the same thing. Kithe ho? Kole ho Koonde nahin? Koonde ho par kanni sad sunendi nahin Kithe ho? Kole ho, Disde nahin? Disde ho par soorat nen vasendi nahin. Kithe ho? Kole ho, Milde nahin? Milde ho par tan noo deh lapetdi nahin. Kithe ho, mere shone sayee. Kole ho, mere pyaare saayee. Hao kole par taraf Milan di sambediyaa sambeldi nahin. Where are You? You are beside me Why can't I hear You then? I do hear you yet my ears are deaf to Your call. Where are You? You are beside me Why can't I see you then? I so see you but my eyes cannot grasp your form. Where are you? You are beside me Why can't I meet you then? We do meet yet I cannot wrap Your body around mine. Where are you, my Beautiful Beloved? You are beside me, my Loving Lord. Yes, You are, yet I pine for our reunion, As I contain my passion, it drowns me.

A funeral procession of a Sikh man greeted us when we entered the main street of Sultanpuri in Delhi. Life became a simile. Sultanpuri was death personified. The sound of saying the word Sultanpuri was like a wail of death. With a heavy heart and anger seething inside me, riding the pillion of a social activist’s scooter, with camera in hand, I dared to set foot on an alien territory to overcome my own pain and shame for not having visited the place, all these twenty-five years. As I glanced around, the faces that I saw –men and women, there was something wrong with them. They did not look in the eye when they talked. To me every one looked like Gupta, Nathu and Islam. To me, they were ‘others’ and not ‘my own’. The looked as they were on the prowl waiting to pounce. Walking on the main road and the bylanes of the various blocks of Sultanpuri, I tip-toed for I felt that I was walking over blood-splattered and burnt dead bodies of Sikhs. The 22 square yard houses of Sultanpuri –which was in 1984 an overgrown suburb far from the upcoming clean and green environs of the growing metropolis but now is part of the city and home to families with no less than 7 to 10 members. The squalour and filth of the area makes one wonder whether one is in Delhi which is to host the Commonwealth Games next year. The endless stream of young boys idling on the roadside, out-of-school girls, womenfolk busy chatting and the elderly playing cards, discussing nothing, children listening to loud speakers blaring latest Hindi songs or watching the latest movies on Cable TV welcome you the town of Sultanpuri. Many of the boys are skinny and frail, unlike their brethren elsewhere who are traditionally strong, vigorous and hard-working. Those working in make-shift foundries right outside their houses suffer from tuberculosis, women and children are undernourished and malnourished. Some elderly men were selling toffees and biscuits, to kill time rather than to earn, for they are so fatigued and ill, they cannot do physical work anymore. In the whole bunch of people, you could see women and girls with Dupattas over their heads, but had to ask the male population to know whether they were Sikhs and why the turban and hair was conspicuous by their absence. When I switched on the video camera, a man who had worked in Kuwait and Iran, sensing my question said, “Main Sikh haan, Waqt de maare hohe haan, nahi te saanu vi kesh te pagri rakhan da bahut dil karda hai te shauk vi hai” I felt a little pleased. Another young man when asked about his appearance, said, “Ab aap aa gaye ho, main kes jaroor rakhoonga. Mujhe kaam chahiye.” The Gurdwara on the road still bore marks of what it witnessed two decades back. Nihal Singh the octogenarian Granthi, who with his son, at the full risk to his life, saved three Saroops of Guru Granth Sahib on 1st November 1984, when police-led mobs attacked the Gurdwara in Sultanpuri, when asked to recall the times nonchalantly said, “Ki Yaad kariye, police aayi si, phir lok aaye sann, jaan-pehchaan vale lok, ik haneri aayi te sadhe kunbe de kahi lokan ni aapne lappet vich lai gayi. Assi log maare gaye sann A block vich”. Nihal Singh, who lives in the Gurdwara complex reminisces that he had been warned by someone from amongst the ‘others’, but he was not afraid. He narrated how migrating from Sindh in Pakistan in 1948, wandering in Mumbai, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Alwar, they had finally settled in Prem Nagar in Delhi, from where they were evicted and resettled in Sultanpuri in 1977. The old Granthi, who is now overlooking the Gurdwara being rebuilt by Australia-based Sikhs Helping Sikhs, fondly tells me that his wife and he had taken Amrit after partition, along with hundreds of Sikhs at an Amrit Parchar ceremony organized by Master Tara Singh at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, when the Gurdwara was merely a tinsheet roof. Do the Akalis now have Amrit Parchar? –he asked me. I had no answer. He proudly narrated that his maternal uncle had taught him Gurmukhi in Sindh and that his four sons were proficient in performing Kirtan, playing the harmonium and tabla, even though they are not professional Kirtaniyas. Are you Sikligar Sikhs? Haanji, he said with great pride. Those living in Sultanpuri were allotted houses (if you can call a house of 22 square yards to be a home) by the Indira Gandhi government, after their eviction from Prem Nagar in 1977. In this one room, one kitchen and one bathroom house, with toilets at a distance of 200 yards or more as public toilets, live more than 7-10 members of the family. Just outside the house, at the door is the small coal-based foundry which is their main source of living. They work outside their homes in perpetual fear that the pollution-control bodies of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will not impose penalty, harass and arrest them. A sense of disgust and helplessness enveloped inside me as I walked through the lanes glancing at the living conditions and peeping inside their very small habitat, which were no more than Cattle Class. When I reached Block A of Sultanpuri, I stood still. I silently paid homage to the Sikhs killed and burnt alive. Nihal Singh told me that 80 of them were killed. Another activist said the number was around 50. To me, numbers did not matter. In my mind and heart I was attempting to relive the scenario, of that one Sikh –Sohan Singh who was burnt alive with a Saroop of Guru Granth Sahib in his lap. He had pleaded that the Guru be spared, but the “others” had other plans. They did not spare him, nor the Guru. I tried to unravel the ghastly scene, how the proud Sikligar overlord leader –Basant Singh, who had managed to build a Gurdwara there, was brutally attacked and killed with vengeance which had remained wallowed up for a long time amongst the “others”. In some houses, for want of kerosene, they were tied to their beddings and set afire. Somehow, two or three male Sikhs escaped from the worse than Russian ghettoes dwelling built by the Indian government to honour the housing rights of the marginalized sections of society. The Gurdwara now is in a ramshackle tent house under the care of a Nihang and his wife, but Block A of Sultanpuri does not have a single Sikh resident. The widows and their families have been shifted to Tilak Vihar. When I stepped on the lane on which the Sikhs were killed, I was benumbed beyond words. I pondered as to what took me twenty-five years to reach this place. Those Sikhs living nearby and the wife of the Nihang, overlooking the Gurdwara wonder, “Why no one comes here?” Can someone tell? Sultanpuri, today mocks at the Sikh nation. Sultanpuri is only one of the many deras, where these beloved traditional weapon makers, the Sikligar Sikhs –the protectors of Sikh honour and dignity, were made sitting ducks in an organized and orchestrated genocidal plan to wipe out the poorest of the poor. Their lives have been shattered. Today, their children shorn their hair, forgetting the age-old message passed onto them from generation to generation –Kesh nahi katane hai, chahe jaan chali jaaye. The bonds with tradition amongst the Sikligar Sikhs is so strong that they withstood the onslaught of the Mughals and the British, they have buttressed the proselytisation campaigns of the Christians and the RSS in many parts of the country, but November 1984 shattered their lives and traditions. While the women with Dupattas shed silent tears recalling the events, I forced myself not to cry. Their helplessness was evident in what one lady president of the Gurdwara said, “hamare bacchon ko kissi tarah kesh rakhana sikha do, hamko bahut sharam aati hai.” They say so because though the shadow of fear of November 1984 is no more, atleast on the surface, it has become an easy excuse for the young ones, who go out of their settlement in search of work. At some level, inspite of the bravado of some middle-aged Sikhs, the fear lurks. Like it or not, the local MLA –Jai Kishen and the Member of Parliament –Ms Krishna Tirath, representing this constituency is from the Congress party, the same party which led the anti-Sikh pogrom from the front. It is the same party which forced hapless widows to retract evidence so that Gupta, Nathu and Islam could go scot free. It is the party of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but it is also the party of Sajjan Kumar who was the Member Parliament representing Sultanpuri in November 1984. He may have made it this year too. Like other Sikhs, in many parts of the country, particularly in Delhi and Punjab, the Sikligar Sikhs too look upto them for support and succour in the absence of Sikh organizations too busy with politicking and dogmatic issues. The journey of life of the Sikligar Sikhs continues doggedly despite November 1984. The deathly silence of twenty-five years needs to be broken. Can we, even after twenty-five years? a a

“In 1974 when I was an Inspector-General in the Border Security Force I received a call from the Prime Minister’s Office that Mrs Indira Gandhi wanted to see me urgently that evening. “I was on an inspection visit to some border posts in Kashmir near Gulmarg. I was stunned at this SOS from the PMO. A chopper flew me from Gulmarg to Srinagar from where I took a regular flight of the Indian Airlines to New Delhi. “I could not guess the reason for the summons. There was not much happening in either the Border Security Force or Jammu and Kashmir. Anyway, I reached Delhi and went to call on the Prime Minister at the appointed time. “After a formal exchange of greetings, I mustered some courage to ask the Prime Minister: ’Madam, you asked for me. Is there anything specific?’ “No, nothing much. The only reason I have called you here is to tell you that the Education Minister recently pointed out to me that you have been recruiting too many Sikh hockey players,’ said Mrs Gandhi. “I kept quiet though I was very upset. I returned to the guest house and signed my letter of resignation from the presidentship of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and sent it immediately to the then President of the Indian Olympic Association, Raja Bhalendra Singh. All my friends in sports in general and hockey in particular advised me against this step. But I was determined. I had so much faith and trust in my hockey players, most of whom were Sikhs. I could not have left them down. “The contribution of Sikhs to Indian hockey has always been immense and I salute them.” This is a part of the speech Mr Ashwani Kumar, who was once the doyen of Indian hockey, made at a function held in the union capital in April, 2006, to felicitate the top 10 Sikh hockey Olympians of India. The second part of his speech was how he and other members of his family fought violent protestors and arsonists during the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi in 1984. He then eulogized the contribution of great Sikh hockey players like Sahib Singh, Sarup Singh, Udham Singh, Harmik Singh and Ajitpal Singh to Indian hockey. He complimented Sikh hockey players for their devotion, commitment, sincerity and hard work. I do not think there could have been a more appropriate tribute to Sikhs who remained a part of every gold medal winning Indian Olympic hockey team since the country entered the competition in 1928. It is not only Indian hockey but also international hockey which owes a lot to the Sikhs. Many Asian, African and North American countries emerged on the world hockey scene, thanks to the efforts and hard work of certain enthusiastic and energetic Sikh hockey players, administrators and sponsors. In 1992 during the Barcelona Olympic Games, I met the then President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), Etienne Glichitch, and presented him a copy of my book,” Indian Hockey 1991 – Road to Barcelona”. He asked me about the wellbeing of some of former Indian players, especially Sikh players with whom he had played in Olympics and other international matches. He remembered Prithipal Singh, Dharam Singh, Gurdev Singh, and a few others. He recalled some of his memorable moments with some Sikh Olympians. He was saddened when told about the murder of Prithipal Singh in 1983. “He was a great player,” was all Etienne could say. Without going into history, it may be pertinent to mention here that wherever Sikhs went, both as a part of the British Empire or otherwise, they carried with them their game and hockey sticks. Interestingly, the British brought hockey to India, especially in military cantonments. That is how Sansarpur, the nursery of Indian hockey, earned its name and fame. Let me quote the example of a family which has been associated with the game in three continents – Asia, Africa and America. Hardev Kular, who retired from the police as Chief Prosecuting Inspector, represented Kenya in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games. His son, Harvinder, donned Kenyan colours in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. It all started in 1920 when Hardev’s father migrated to Kenya. “I was born and brought up in Kenya. Though my elder brother, Hardial, came to India for studies, I went to England. Then I joined the Kenyan police. In 1962, I accompanied Kenya’s national team on its first official visit to Pakistan. Two years later, we came to India to play hockey. “There used to be an overwhelming response to Test matches between India and Kenya because the strength of our team used to be either Punjabi or Goan boys. In Bombay we were leading India 2-1 in front of a jam-packed stadium before a controversial goal was awarded against us,” laments Hardev. Hardev Kular’s younger brother, Jagjit, played in the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games, while his elder brother, Hardial Singh, not only remained the Chairman of the Kenyan Hockey Union for many years but also headed the African Hockey Federation. He also remained the Vice-President of the International Hockey Federation. When India organised the first Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad a couple of years ago, Hardev accompanied the Kenyan contingent. At present Hardev is also the Chairman of the Kenyan Olympians Association, which was previously headed by Kepcho Keino, the Olympic gold medalist. No other family in the world has perhaps contributed as much to hockey as much as the Kular family has done. Hardial remained a coach as well as an administrator of hockey in Africa for three decades. After the death of Hardial in 1998, Hardev Singh became the Chairman of the Kenyan Hockey Union and retired last year. Jagjit Singh Kular, who later moved to Canada, is still connected with the promotion of field hockey there. This one example illustrates the point I am making. And if Kenya is no more a force to reckon with in international hockey, it is just because Punjabi expatriates have moved with lock, stock and barrel to either Canada or the United Kingdom. The same is the case of Tanzania and Uganda which went to the Olympics or FIH tournaments mainly on the basis of the strength of Sikh players. If England or Canada made a mark in world hockey in the last few decades, Sikh players must be given their due. Back home in Asia, Malaysia, which continues to be among the top six teams in the continent, has always prided it in including versatile Sikh hockey players. Some other Asian nations, including Singapore and Hong Kong, were able to enter world-level tournaments, including the Olympic Games, because of Sikh hockey players. The contribution of Sikhs to hockey never remained restricted to players. Many national teams in Asia, Australia, Africa, North America and even Europe had the benefit of being trained by Sikh coaches. Prominent among them were Balkrishan Singh, Baldev Singh, Ajitpal Singh, Gian Singh and Kartar Singh. Principal Gursewak Singh, Gurdev Singh Brar, Tarlok Singh Bhullar and Avtar Singh “Tarri” are some of the international and Olympic hockey umpires the Sikh community has produced. If Hardial Singh rose to be the Vice-President of the FIH, Raj Kumar Singh headed the Indonesian Hockey Federation. I met him by chance in 1986 in Brussels at the headquarters of the FIH. Even today, the Kenyan Hockey Union is headed by a Sikh, Mr Resham Singh Bains. In Hong Kong, Honorary Secretary of the national hockey association is Mr Sarinder Singh Dhillon. In India, Raja Bhalendra Singh was perhaps the first Sikh to head the Indian Hockey Federation. Mr KPS Gill was the next. In between Principal Gursewak Singh remained Honorary Secretary of the Federation. That's Why

A hoarding in Sri Anandpur Sahib <P dir=ltr align=justify>CHANDIGARH: At a time when Punjab Police in an Akali regime has been harassing Sikhs for putting up posters or photographs of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, people in many parts of the state are snubbing the move and responding by putting up huge hoardings of the Sant thus sending out a message that repressive tactics will lead to nowhere. In a detailed report in a regional English daily on Monday, mention was made of hoardings that not only featured Sant Bhindranwale but, in fact, included him alongside the tall Sikh heroes of the struggle against colonial rule. Bhindranwale is seen as a widely accepted Sikh hero of contemporary times who refused to bind himself or work within the parameters of political functioning set up by the Indian brahamanical powers and questioned the skewed ways in which law and justice delivery mechanisms responded to aspirations of minorities. Clearly, this was an aspect that appealed to the masses which have now taken to putting up his hoardings in various Punjab towns. Pictures of Sant Bhindranwale sell like hot cakes in Punjab <P dir=ltr align=justify>In recent past, police has tried to embroil certain Sikh leaders under the garb of allegations that they distributed t-shirts or posters with the Sant’s photograph, even though no one is ready to come on record to say that the Sant’s photograph is something illegal. The SGPC has, in fact, installed a portrait of Sant Bhindranwale in the Sikh Museum in Amritsar, the Sant’s memory is honored at a function held every June at the Akal Takht and the SGPC officials participate in the function where Ardas is led by the Jathedar of the Akal Takht. Photographs of the Sant often adorn many a poster for gatherings, meetings, kirtan darbars etc. However, recently a tendency has been noticed that some police officials have been making these an excuse to harass Sikh youth. Reports of stopping cars and other vehicles and booking people for sporting a photograph of the Sant have been received from many parts of Punjab. The reaction from the Sikh sangat and ordinary masses in the form of huge hoardings of the Sant seem to be an apt response to such police tactics. Sant Bhindranwale On Hoardings Now: Punjab Responds To Police’s Tactics The newspaper in Chandigarh said the “villagers consider Bhindranwale as a martyr who had laid his life while fighting for the Sikh community.” One villager, Gurbax Singh, resident of Ranbirpura village, to whom the reporter spoke to, said there was “nothing wrong in the hoarding as Bhindranwale was also a great warrior, who sacrificed his life for the honour and prestige of Sri Harmandar Sahib and Sri Akal Takht Sahib.” Photographs of the Sant and his posters have remained in demand for many years now, irrespective of the fact that these pictures often make Sikh youth more vulnerable to being booked in false cases by the police.

Hoardings having photographs of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Udham Singh and Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha, along with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in Operation Blue Star, have come up in Patiala. One such hoarding has been put up on the Sangrur road by residents of Ranbirpura (Korajiwala) village, about 7 km from Patiala. The villagers consider Bhindranwale as a martyr who had laid his life while fighting for the Sikh community. “There is nothing wrong in the hoarding as Bhindranwale was also a great warrior, who sacrificed his life for the honour and prestige of Sri Harmandar Sahib and Sri Akal Takht Sahib,” said Gurbax Singh, resident of Ranbirpura village. It is also learnt that many such hoardings have come up in different parts of the state. While senior Congress leaders expressed ignorance over the matter, Shiv Sena (Hindustan) has expressed strong reservations for equating the martyrs of freedom struggle with Bhindranwale and has shot off a letter to the Prime Minister in this regard. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) working president Mohinder Singh Kaypee refused to comment on the issue. However, Shiv Sena (Hindustan) has launched an offensive against the state government of trying to encourage the pro-Khalistani elements in the state by allowing such hoardings to come up. “Earlier, a portrait of Bhindranwale was installed in the museum at the Golden Temple. Buses and cars, carrying posters and stickers of Bhindranwale, are already plying in almost every district of the state. And now these hoardings equating Bhindranwale with heroes of freedom struggle have come up. This is nothing but an indication to the fact that efforts are on to revive terrorism in Punjab by misguiding the youth,” said president of Shiv Sena (Hindustan) Pawan Kumar Gupta. A hoarding displays photographs of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Udham Singh and Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha along with Sikh ideologue Jarnail Singh Bhinderanwale on the Sangrur road, 7 km away from Patiala. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar

‘Do We Want Our Troops To Get Stuck Like The Americans In Afghanistan?’ HARINDER BAWEJA ASKS KPS GILL, THE AUTHOR OF PUNJAB’S VICTORY OVER INSURGENTS, WHAT THE APPROACH TO THE NAXALS SHOULD BE HE WILL always be referred to as the man who brought peace to Punjab; as the security strategist who wiped out terrorism in the border state a few years after it had claimed the life of Indira Gandhi, the country’s serving prime minister. Few thought they would see a solution to the escalating Punjab insurgency till Gill pulled it off. After spending close to 25 years — and earning his spurs — in the insurgency-ridden state of Assam, he was brought to Punjab in 1984. Gill got down to the task of dealing with the khadkus (terrorists) soon after Operation Blue Star, an ill-advised armoured attack on the Golden Temple — the most revered Sikh shrine — that only added to the ranks of the AK-47 brigade. The full-blown insurgency in Punjab was changing the face of Indian politics and it was at this crucial juncture in the mid-80s that Gill was brought in as the Inspector General of Police in charge of operations. Just four years later, in 1988, he was made the troubled state’s top cop. The tall, often impatient sardar led from the front, motivating a force that was not just scared but one that found the militants’ fight for Sikh identity seductive. Under Gill, the same force took the battle straight into the terrorists’ camp; the terrorists soon returned to the safe environs of the Golden Temple for a second battle. But this time, Gill authored the plan with then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. In what was recognised later as a turning point, Gill brought about the open surrender of the terrorists in full view of the media. Arms and the man Gill receiving weapons from a surrendered militant in Punjab Photo: INDIA TODAYGill succeeded in turning Punjab around, but not without dubious sobriquets of killer cop coming his way. He became a national hero, but Gill’s methods remain mired in controversy. This well-read, erudite man who was happy to make time for interviews in the evenings and who often quoted from different books was, you knew, the same man who had, in the daytime, taught his men how to dress up fake encounters as daring, close-shave battles. Stories about this counterinsurgency expert are legendary and his success in Punjab has been the main reason why this man has been personally invited by chief ministers Narendra Modi and Raman Singh to their trouble-torn capitals. In 2006, Gill, 71 years old by then, went to Chhattisgarh to advise the state government on how to combat the threat from the Naxals. It is a subject he has long paid thought to. None of his proposals were heeded by chief minister Raman Singh, but Gill is forthright in admitting that unlike in Punjab — where his emphasis was on operations — in Chhattisgarh, the strategy has to be multifaceted and the tribal, the principal stakeholder. And yes, this Padma Shri awardee and man of letters also recommends a must-read for Home Minister P Chidambaram: Green Mansions, WH Hudson’s 1904 novel of a man trying to come to terms with an indigenous civilisation. You are known as the man who sorted out Punjab. What, in your view, is the best way to tackle Naxalism? Is a security-centric response — where the State actually ends up battling its own people — the only solution? You cannot reduce it to such simple terms, that ‘you are battling your own people’. The Naxalite ideologues feel that they have an alternative political model for the country. That they will help the oppressed and the dispossessed find a voice. Unfortunately, the truth is entirely different. The Naxalites are one of the biggest extortion mafias in the country, probably bigger than Dawood. Dawood was set up, I think, by certain political groups and then they found him uncomfortable. And when he tried to develop an independent existence of his own, he was allowed to go away. But despite all that, he maintains his network in India. Politics itself is an extortion network – more so now, in the name of development and industrialisation; land acquisitions and SEZs. When you have political leaders saying that development should be part of the response mechanism, ask them what they mean by development in Chhattisgarh. How does a good road affect a man who has no transport whatsoever? Of what use is the road for a tribal with two bare feet? I remember having a debate with one of the officers in Chhattisgarh and I said, if I, as a youngster, find a job at the end of a bad road, I wouldn’t mind a bad road. We are in a great, vicious circle of violence because today development is corruption-driven. So how is the government going to face what is called the challenge of the Naxalite? Ask political leaders what they mean by development in Chhattisgarh. How does a good road affect a man who has no transport?So the dispossessed tribal finds the Naxal attractive? Not attractive, but the tribal believes their propaganda. Who are the sufferers in this? The tribals. Who are the people who are being killed? Most people who are killed there are being killed by Naxalites as well as by those trying to defend the tribals from the Naxalites. Both ways, it’s the tribal who suffers. The Naxals have no ideology. Where is the ideology? The forests where the tribals dwell have the maximum resources, but are the tribals the stakeholders of these resources? Do the Naxals consider them stakeholders? No, Naxals are extortionists who take protection money even from the beedi mafia for the extraction of tendu leaves. And the beedi mafia is not even in Chhattisgarh, but in neighbouring states. If you say the Naxals have zero ideology, why does the common tribal trust the Naxal more than the State? Is it because the State is absent? If there is any support for the tribal, it is out of sheer fright. You have the apologists, the so-called intellectuals talking about State violence. They justify Naxalite violence because the Naxals get arrested. It’s the typical chicken and egg story. Which comes first? Yes, the Constitution allows freedom of speech and all of that, but under the same Constitution, there is also a whole framework of laws and these laws are being tested. But let’s return to the tribal in Chhattisgarh. Tribals don’t live only in four states. We have a large tribal population in the Northeast, in Arunachal Pradesh but why Naxal violence in Chhattisgarh and not in the other places? You cannot say that the state is more efficient there and less efficient here. Take the mineral-rich Bastar area, for instance. It’s a huge area. I have travelled through the whole of Chhattisgarh by night and for Bastar, I used to be told to change my route and take another route. What was the State response there? In that whole Bastar area, the total number of policemen (after their number was increased) was less than 3,000. They were not equipped to fight the Naxals. Nor are the paramilitary forces equipped to fight them because if you want to confront the Naxals, you have to have a multi-pronged approach. There has to be a law and order quotient and a development quotient. But it’s important that development is specific to the needs of the area. How can the bureaucrats sit in Delhi and decide what the development model for the Chhattisgarh tribal will be? The Planning Commission is not geared to target a certain community or a certain area. It takes an overall view. I remember we had this situation in Punjab when we found out that 125 villages alone accounted for 75 percent of the terrorists. I said address the villages, why can’t you address the villages? The Planning Commission said it can’t. Any response to the challenge needs to consider local factors. No point in Chidambaram the home minister trying to be a field marshalThat’s interesting. Seventy-five percent terrorists from 125 villages and Delhi said they couldn’t even look into it? I said, target these villages. They said we can’t do it. Why can’t we tailor the tools to make them area-specific? It’s not just about flying in commandos and battalions. What about the communities? In Chhattisgarh, it is about the Baniya-tribal relationship. It is as exploitative as was the Jat Sikh-Baniya relationship in Punjab. You need protection laws. A recent law took away the rights of the tribals. Now, restoring the rights of the tribals is taking long time. Why is it taking such a long time? Why can’t you restore the rights? The Fifth Schedule is very clear on the rights… It exists merely on paper. You are making a forceful argument, then, that Operation Green Hunt devised by the Home Ministry is a bad idea? First of all, the nomenclature is wrong. There is no hunt. I’m sorry; it should not be referred to as a hunt. Who are you hunting? The human beings living there? That’s why people start talking about human rights violations. It’s a vicious cycle. Whether it’s the Naxalite response or the State response, both are equally stupid. And it’s only the tribal who is suffering and he is suffering very badly. The responses have been absolutely ridiculous. I remember Mr LK Advani once made a statement that they will give rubber shoes — slipper-type things to the tribals — so that their feet are covered when they climb a tree for forest produce. They know how to live in the forest, but that is not the life they want to continue living. They want to change their lives, through education, through permanent settlements. Property ownership is very very important, but the State can’t seem to find ways to give tribals property ownership in this huge forest. An honest response is critical. I know what the police officer in charge of Bastar was doing. He was taking Rs 35,000 per man to transfer them outInstead, you have Operation Green Hunt. Can you elaborate why you think its ridiculous? You see, there are different responses to Naxalism. One of them is the Andhra response. The Andhra response has been a mix of development and law and order. Although their development model is not what it should be, the law and order response has been very good and has continued for a number of years. They built up a force and did not have troops parachuted in. The Andhra DGP used to visit us in Punjab to understand what we were doing – our tactics and strategy. In contrast, Chhattisgarh has no response whatsoever. I was there for one year as an advisor and after three or four days, Chief Minister Raman Singh told me to relax and enjoy my stay. I wanted to strengthen the police station. The first responder is always the police station. Now, if the first respondent is weak and doesn’t have the manpower or the equipment, how is he going to respond? I remember calling for a meeting in Chhattisgarh — not in the HQ but in the interiors — and many officers came in civvies and in unmarked vehicles. They were trying to pass off as civilians. This is not a response that is going to raise the confidence of the people. Policemen can only die in such a situation. On the other hand, the Naxal keeps changing his tactics. Similarly, take Jharkhand, where you have a governor whose foremost achievement is corruption. I have always maintained that corruption and operations against organisations of this nature cannot go together. An honest response is critical. I know what the police officer in charge of Bastar was doing. He was taking Rs 35,000 per man to transfer them out of Bastar. This was in the knowledge of everyone. And do you know who transfers constables? The state secretariat does. The chief minister would say he was taking the advice of the sub-inspectors on how to tackle the Naxalites. I am sorry, but the state and its leadership do not have the required mental calibre or an intellectual grasp of the ground situation. Everyone is telling lies from the ground level up. It is for the commander responsible to assess the situation on a daily basis. Delhi cannot tailor a response while sitting thousands of miles away The paper submitted by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has now become the bible. Try and change anything and you’ll be told, oh, this is the paper of the CCS. But you need a modulated response everyday. Where did we go wrong yesterday? What should we do? What should we change? Are you going to fly to Delhi daily? I know the central police forces. They are very hide-bound. The Naxals have a worldview at odds with reality. You can’t perpetuate it by killing tribals. Don’t make them your cannon fodderYou think Op Green Hunt should be stalled? This is not the way to do operations. You were there during Black Thunder. These fellows — MK Narayanan and Ved Marwah — claim they conducted the operation. Did they even know what was going on? When I called Rajiv Gandhi, he called it the Gill Plan. Operation Black Thunder was named 20 days after it happened. Operation Green Hunt is going to be a big failure. Who is the State hunting? And once an operation fails, it is a very difficult task to repeat it. This is what the American forces are facing in Afghanistan. We need to consider: do we want to be in a similar situation? It’s been very interesting listening to you today because I was based in Punjab as a reporter and you spoke a very different language then. Your reputation was that of a killer cop. Why the shift in your own thinking on Chhattisgarh as opposed to the way you handled Punjab? I doubled the strength of the Punjab Police and trained the men to fight because the local force has to lead the fight. The BSF, CRPF and Army were there but only as adjuncts. Delhi has a large number of theorists. I don’t know who is advising Home Minister P Chidambaram, but he is clearly not on the right track. He should read Green Mansions by WH Hudson to understand Chhattisgarh. You haven’t answered my question. Why is the man accused of severe human rights violations speaking a totally different language today – one of non-violence? Punjab and Chhattisgarh are very different. Punjab was a developed society even then. In Chhattisgarh, we are talking about a society that is in the process of development. You know, Punjab has been a settled state for many many years and even during the insurgency, was the second most industrialised state. But even people living in a developed state will object to State violence and protest against it. You see, the question is about change and violence. You want to change the society, but you want to change it through violence. And for that you want a dictatorship — or, going back to Marx and Engels, the dictatorship of the proletariat, or whatever — but Chhattisgarh is not an industrial society. It is a preagricultural society; how are you going to bring it up? Of course, in this, you will make mistakes, but these mistakes have to be honest mistakes. When development is corruption-driven, it will not reach the people you want it to. And it is imperative to have a political consensus on development and terrorism. Today, there is a lot of politics. If something happens in a Congress-ruled state, the response is different from one being ruled by the BJP and so on. In fact, we are creating a fertile field for Naxalite propaganda even in urban areas because of youth unemployment. What do the tribals in Chhattisgarh want? They want education, they want good drinking water, two square meals a day and protection from diseases like malaria and proper ownership rights. They don’t want Operation Green Hunt. Governments should not be falling into intellectual traps devised by the Naxals. The government should be spending time devising a proper development model for the tribals. Till then, the Naxals will be in a position to expand their areas of influence and operation. If there was any compelling ideology, the Naxals wouldn’t have to use violence to convince their subjects that they are right. So what should the State be doing? Does the government in Chhattisgarh want to fight the Naxal? Actually, I wouldn’t use the term fight. If they want to respond to the challenge then they need to ponder the local factors. No point in Chidambaram the home minister trying to be a field marshal. The response has to be in the shape of a small commando war. Who fought the war in Punjab? The sub-inspector, the inspector, the havaldar. I only provided the conditions for this. You were talking of Punjab being a developed society as opposed to Chhattisgarh, which is a pre-agrarian society. Why did your law and order approach succeed there and why will it not succeed in Chhattisgarh? The peace dividend in developed Punjab was strong but Chhattisgarh has neither the skills nor the finances. The Punjabi animal is different from Chhattisgarh’s adivasi. Now, a response like the NREGA would not succeed in Punjab, because nobody will work for a 100 rupees a day or whatever. And unfortunately, development today seems to mean building a lot of bridges, roads and stuff like that. Employment generation among younger people is just not there and our education programmes do not envisage employment generation. What is a matriculate? A fellow who has spent 10 years in school. What is he fit for? To become a clerk. Whereas there is a shortage of plumbers, good carpenters, masons, people of that nature. For that, our education system has nothing. Why did Chief Minister Raman Singh ask you to relax after a few days, having invited you to be his advisor? Violence doesn’t touch Raipur. It touches the tribals and the security forces. I think the state government lacked the political will. Would you say that at the heart of Kashmir’s insurgency lies the deep-seated alienation of the Kashmiri from the Indian State? That 20 years of ‘occupation’ have not worked? In Kashmir, you have to respond with maximum force. You are back to the Punjab line. Why can’t the Kashmiri be addressed like the Chhattisgarh tribal? You take China and you take India. You take Tibet and you take Kashmir. Obama refused to meet Dalai Lama and got a Nobel Peace Prize. You see the hypocrisy of the two situations. All these years, the propaganda machine of the US and Great Britain was oriented in the favour of the Kashmiri separatist. Now you see how the US wants Pakistan to respond to the Taliban. Heavy artillery bombardment and UAVs. They simply bombard a place and kill 60, 70, 80 people and no one in the media is raising a question. But you don’t think Kashmir’s answer may lie in greater autonomy? I don’t know whether you will publish this or not. Jaswant Singh held a meeting recently where I was present and so were others like [former IB chief] AK Doval. [Chief Information Commissioner] Wajahat Habibullah came and addressed us and told us that while the Jammu situation is a law and order problem, Kashmir is a political problem and has to be addressed politically. The next day we had someone else — I forget his name, he was a Hindu — who said that the Srinagar situation is a law and order situation and the Jammu situation is a political one. So when you have such extreme thoughts, how do you find a solution? Let me put it differently. Jawaharlal Nehru did promise a plebiscite. Why does the Kashmiri grievance merit the use of force? The Kashmiri grievance is that because we are Muslims, we should join Pakistan. No civilised society can accept this demand. The latest is the Organisation of the Islamic Conference asking for a commissioner for Kashmir affairs. If you turn religion into politics, well, it’s a wrong way of looking at democracy. Why can’t New Delhi look at greater autonomy for Kashmir just as you want the tribal to be the ultimate stakeholder in Chhattisgarh? In Kashmir, India should do what China has done. Settle non-Kashmiris in Kashmir. In Chhattisgarh, the tribal has to become a stakeholder in a big way. Even now, don’t think the Naxalite has got hold of his mind. The tribal is totally scared. They have some armed cadres, but that is not how you create a revolution. Last question. Do you think the government should have a dialogue with the Naxals? Dialogue can be done if the Naxalites are sincere about it. The Naxals, unfortunately, are not sincere. They have a worldview which is at odds with reality. They want the whole world to accept that worldview. You can’t perpetuate that worldview by killing tribals. Don’t make them your cannon fodder.

Facts to date: 1 Talwinder Singh Parmar is widely considered by Canadian and other objective investigators as the mastermind behind the 1985 Air India bombing. 2 Despite these allegations, Parmar was given a special visa by India and quietly returned to India, while Canadian authorities were actively investigating the mass crime. 3 Shortly thereafter, the Indian government announced that Parmar was killed by the Indian police in "an encounter". 4 The Canadian government asked for an autopsy report. The Indians refused, citing that it was an "internal matter". To date, they have provided no proof. 5 The new book (describe hereinunder) gives further evidence that Parmar was working hand-in-glove with Indian operatives. 6 Parmar was not the only Indian operative functioning thus in North America. General Bhuller, who suddenly surfaced in North America alongwith Parmar shortly after June 1984, founded the World Sikh Organization ("WSO"), made repeated incendiary and sensational statements against India ... but made sure the WSO did nothing meaningful. He was later "withdrawn" to India and the government authorities publicly acknowledged that he was an Indian operative. 7 General Bhuller was then sent to do similar "work" amongst the Tamils in South India and Sri Lanka. Not long thereafter, the Tamils avenged the government meddling by assassinating Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. EXTRACTS FROM THE NEW BOOK Shocking revelations are made in a new book to be released next week, authored by former Canadian intelligence officer Michel Juneau-Katsuya and Montreal investigative journalist Fabrice de Pierrebourg. Juneau-Katsuya spent more than two decades with the RCMP Security Service and Canadian Security Intelligence Service. De Pierrebourg specializes in security and intelligence issues and authored the 2008 bestseller Montrealistan ... Over 371 pages, the pair expose an astonishing parade of spy-vs.-spy and espionage stories, from Russian post-Cold War escapades to allegations of India's suspected involvement in the 1985 Air India disaster ... Talwinder Singh Parmar who is widely named as the mastermind of the 1985 Air India bombing, may actually have been an agent provocateur dispatched by the Indian secret service to work undercover inside Canada's "Little Punjab" community, the book alleges. "This hypothesis comes from one of our sources," write the authors. The source claims CSIS intercepted a conversation in which Davinder Ahluwalia, then India's consul in Toronto, asked a contact in the Sikh community to arrange a meeting with the late Parmar. "Ahluwalia's office was bugged, and the alleged conversation took place several months before the bombing. So, a highly-placed diplomat tried to arrange a meeting with a man considered to be Terrorist Number One. This same Ahluwalia had also been repeatedly approached by the Central Intelligence Agency ... because they wanted him to become their mole in Iran." ... Many countries "send agents to Canada to report on the behaviour of their emigrant community. Some instruct agents to occasionally silence dissident voices. There have been assassinations." Juneau-Katsuya elaborated in an interview last Friday. "There were very, very strong suspicions that in the Iranian community and the Sikh community and even in the Tamil community, (that) there have been assassinations that took place. (They) were investigated as crimes, but we know that they took place" for political reasons. 　 [Courtesy: The Ottawa Citizen]

Its written by : Indira Prahst Instructor of Race and Ethnic Relations Department of Sociology Langara College, Vancouver

BHINDRANWALE REMAINS ICON OF RESISTANCE AS SIKHS ATTEMPT TO FIND EXPRESSION AND CHART FUTURE COURSE Newspapers and academic institutions are carving out space to mark the 25th anniversary of Operation Blue Star and the Sikh genocide following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. A key historical figure was Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who some Sikhs consider to be a martyr and who, in the words of A.R. Darshi, “resuscitated the dead spirit of the Khalsa with his blood.” But for others, he has also been the subject of controversy. However, in this article, I wish to draw attention to a resurgence of Bhindranwale icons which I have observed in Canada and on my recent trip to Punjab. Upon closer examination, this phenomenon resembles an enigma in its diverse meanings and functions. In Canada, the iconization of Bhindranwale makes itself especially visible at Vaisakhi parades on floats and on t-shirts. However, here in B.C., some Sikhs have expressed frustration with the lack of freedom to openly express their views about Bhindranwale as their martyr with the media often portraying this iconization of him as promoting terrorism and advocating for Khalistan. Some youth have resisted this derogatory typecasting by wearing t-shirts that read “not a terrorist” to debunk what they believe are myths about him. In speaking with several youth across Canada, the iconization of Bhindranwale functions to raise awareness of human rights issues of minorities in India, as an educational tool and as a vehicle to open more meaningful dialogue about 1984. Also, not all people that iconize Bhindranwale are Khalistani and for those who are, it remains taboo in Canada and India for them to express their views openly, despite it being legal. This was especially apparent while I was in Punjab and what surprised me were the amount of images of Bhindranwale throughout Punjab: on building facades, buses, rickshaws and t-shirts. To get a deeper understanding of this through a sociological lens, I spoke with a range of people such as academics, former Khalistani militants, leaders, educated and uneducated youth in cities and villagers across Punjab. From the responses, it became clear that Bhindranwale icons functioned as form of resistance in myriad ways. I will discuss three of them. The first function, according to some Sikhs in Punjab, was to raise awareness about Sikh history and to show those in power that they know what happened in 1984. Having pins or stickers with Bhindranwale’s image are reminders of this chapter of history which 16-year-old youth and some youth with a Masters degree in history felt was being systematically omitted in their classes. Some also did not see themselves represented in what they felt was too much of a Hindu-centric and Western-centric curriculum and, so, these images are “an indirect way of protest,” they said. Secondly, the iconization of Bhindranwale functioned as a silent form of protest against the status quo. “We cannot openly protest, so we use stickers,” according to some of the youth in Punjab. In a small village outside of Amritsar, I connected with several youth who spoke about Bhindranwale’s legacy. While some said they are not free to speak about Khalistan in public, others shared their views with me. They said: “The desire (for Khalistan) is deep in the hearts of people. It’s like a drug addict needing a fix and we are willing to fight for this.” Feeling stifled to publically express their views, some youth carved out their own social space to listen to music and “revolutionary” tapes. Other Sikhs that I met spoke about iconization trends in Canada and the UK and said that the Sikhs abroad are speaking out on their behalf. Many feel they are not free to openly protest or speak about Khalistan without getting crushed by police (despite it being legal in India). In the words of a very educated Sikh woman: “We don’t have freedom, we feel congested. We will raise our voice against Hindustan, I will not say India.” In this context, the images of Bhindranwale can be viewed as a façade and behind it, tension and resistance is mounting. This sentiment was echoed by a former Khalistani militant who spent several years in prison (whose identity will be kept anonymous) and who I met in a small village. However, despite his frustration, he did not believe that Khalistan was the solution. He said: “When we were fighting against the government for the people, we had the people with us. But now we are thinking, ‘what did we do?’ Those people today are not for the Sikh religion - nobody is Khalistani.” However, the posters and stickers of Bhindranwale represent hope. He said: “People who put the stickers behind the cars believe Bhindranwale was a true man. He always fought for the people and was not after money.” But an unsavoury encounter with police contributed to his disenchantment. He feels all this is being directed at Sikhs to weaken them. He said: “Punjab police beat me up with a stick. [Names of the police officers he mentioned have to be kept anonymous]. They opened a pack of drugs and told me to start snorting it.” When he refused, he was beaten up. He noted: “They were Amritdhari Sikhs. I wonder what they must have done during the time of the movement if they can do this today.” While some Punjabi Sikhs are content, others are not and there is a spirit of resistance that is being fuelled by complex social ills which is fertile ground for breeding social movements advocating for change. Therefore, it is not surprising to see icons of Bhindranwale being used as a form of resistance. Sociology Professor Birinder Pal Singh from the University of Punjab pointed out to me in Patiala: “Martyrs don’t die. They go into hibernation and are brought out with movements.” However, Aman Kaur, who holds a Masters in history and who is well connected to youth, pointed out: “While Bhindranwale is an ideal [role model], youth will not try to do the same as him because they know what they have to face - the Indian government.” Back in B.C., in addition to the use of icons, Sikhs are resorting to the pen as a mode of resistance while others, like Shalinder Gill from Vancouver, who lost family members in the post-1984 period, openly speaks about it. Gill said: “1984 is keeping the flame burning and the fuel is there, but militants or Khalistanis won’t have to ignite the fuel. It will be instigated by the Indian government.” The third function of Bhindranwale iconization is connected with the present and future course of history for Sikhs. According to Daljit Singh Bittu, a high-profile former president of the Sikh Students Federation who I met in Patiala: “The future course of action is shown by Bhindranwale taking a stand [against the state]. [Now it is time to reflect on] who are our enemies, who are our friends, what were our weaknesses and how are we to proceed forward and what is nationhood. It is time to go back to our roots and to follow our ideals and the standards were set by Bhindranwale. Sikhs respect him and see him as their icon even after 25 years in and outside of India. There must be a strong reason for that. “ While some people may view the iconization of Bhindranwale as a form of commercial benefit, or as frivolous, it has key functions which are nicely captured in this quote by German philosopher Immanuel Kant: “The eternal power that deprives man of the freedom to communicate his thoughts publically deprives him at the same time of his freedom to think.” Behind the icon of Bhindranwale are shared and hidden thoughts about the current political and religious status of Sikhs and other minority groups. Without this private social space where perspectives and discontents are shared, which other academics also point out as well, such “discourses of resistance” could never exist. Unless the climate of fear to express dissenting views evaporates, this form of resistance will remain underground like a “quiet revolution” with tension only building. Only time will reveal its outlet.

New Delhi, India: Well known Sikh writer, commentator and activist Patwant Singh passed away Saturday morning. He was 84. Educated in Delhi, Patwant Singh, who made headlines with path-breaking Design magazine before turning his focus to issues that the Sikh community was grappling with, authored a definitive biography of Bhagat Puran Singh and several books about Sikhs. The cremation will be at 6 pm in Delhi on Saturday, Aug 8, at the Lodhi Road crematorium. Patwant Singh was a much respected commentator on Sino-Indian War of 1962 and the Second Kashmir War in 1965. Since 1984, Patwant Singh delved deep into Sikh issues, editing and contributing the opening essay of Punjab: The Fatal Miscalculation, which was published in 1985. The Golden Temple, published in 1989, aimed to be the definitive volume on the Harimandir Sahib and show how central this "fountainhead of inspiration" has been to Sikhs since its construction. Garland Around My Neck, the story of Bhagat Puran Singh, the barefoot soldier of remarkable humanitarian concerns was presented by Patwant Singh as a colossus that he was in real life. Patwant Singh also wrote extensively for newspapers and magazines. Many in the US last remember him for his lecture on July 22, 2006 at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York in conjunction with, I See No Stranger: Early Sikh Art and Devotion, an exhibition jointly sponsored by the Sikh Foundation and the Sikh Art and Film Foundation. His book The Sikhs, published in London by John Murray and in India by Harper Collins in March 1999 and in the US by Alfred Knopf and Canada by Random House in 2000, remains a best seller. Doubleday published the paperback edition in the US, as did Rupa in India. His articles appeared in The New York Times, Canada's Globe and Mail, the UK's Independent and elsewhere. www.worldsikhnews.com

Sat Sri Akal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!