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  1. Following on from the thread about Sikh soldiers of the British Army and the discussion that took place there in which some Sikhs seem to have a view about the British Raj as if they are Hindus from Calcutta or Bombay. I've got some things to say about this subject because most of all I think it is a sad indictment of the way that Hindu India has got inside the minds of Sikhs and sub-consciously made the Sikhs identify with, put themselves in the shoes of and ultimately imagine they and the 'Indians' are one of the same. There's alot I could say in this opening message but time is not on my side at the moment so I really can't afford to give it too much time in terms of structure and quality. Please forgive me for that. Let me start off then by talking briefly about the psyche of we, the Sikhs. It must not be forgotten that we Sikhs were empire builders too. At the time of the British Raj we too had an empire and thus we too had that empire mindset. Just as the Sikhs living in Canada for 150 years for example will surely have different traits in terms of character and outlook than a Sikh newly arrived in Italy, our life experience as rulers and empire builders shaped our psyche to be totally different to that of the Hindu masses of India. So we had that right from the onset. Right from the onset we felt no affiliation for the Indians because right from the onset they were as foreign to us as the British were. It’s also worth noting the importance of perception vs reality when it comes to empire. For example, our Sikh rule in places other than Punjab was seen as harsh by those subjects. Indeed, even to this day the Pashtu word for 'Cruel Rule' is sikha shahi (Sikh rule). But you see the thing is, taking over people's countries is now considered very wrong but that’s only because there have, since then, been so many interrelated academic ideas about the natural rights of people to rule themselves and these natural rights have now been accepted as the norm. But we have to remember that in those days empire was accepted as the norm and 'natural'. Experience too played a part in that initial period. For example there is no doubt why the Indians should see the Raj as evil when one considers how places such the Bengal were decimated to abject poverty once it's cloth trade relocated to places like Lancashire in England but a Sikh from the Punjab should not for one minute see himself as that Indian. So, given that we too, like the British, saw ourselves as men of power and empire, it’s probably worth having a slight amount of relief that it was Britain and not France that colonised us. At that time, of course, the Khalsa Kingdom and Punjab had developed unbelievably close ties with France. So much so that French became the Khalsa army's official language of war. This of course is still evident today in the way that some of our most common names, such as Jarnail and Karnail, were taken from French army ranks. Given the plethora of French generals in the Khalsa army and their regular documented correspondence with King Louis in Paris, I have no doubt that France saw Punjab as the key to winning the 'Great Game' with Russia and Britain and we would have seen the Franco-Sikh War rather than the anglo-sikh ones. I say be thankful for that because history and the present have shown us that France left all its colonies in far worse economic shape than the British did. That of course is demonstrated in the way that so many francophone African countries wish join the British Commonwealth even though they were never previously British colonies. The French habitually left dire institutions, structure and economies wherever they went. So, we're up to the point we're Britain ruled the Punjab. I'm not going to go into detail about how Britain went back on its treaty promises and shouldn't have ruled in the first place etc. because that is well documented and this is about what was, not what should have been. Within 2 years of the British in Punjab they started building roads (such as the GT Road), the magnificent railways and educational institutions such as Punjab's first ever University. The biggest cost was of course the railways and all of that was paid for by British investors because all of this was, ultimately a commercial enterprise that the British government had to reluctantly take over from the east India Company when the whole thing got bigger than they could manage. But when it comes to we Sikhs, there is no doubt that some people use the 'Agricultural land' situation as the example of how the British used 'divide and conquer' and 'caste'. There is no doubt whatsoever that the Jatt Sikhs, like myself, were the biggest winners from the British Raj. Heavily favoured, getting vast tracts of land and positions of power etc. it is of course natural to assume this was a divide and conquer tactic. There's nothing new there as even the Mughals, just before the Khalsa Raj did exactly the same thing. For example, the vast majority of the early jatt Sikh settlers in the UK, Canada and California all belonged to the tiny stretch of land in District Jalandhar from Phillaur to Nakodar. This tiny area, where my own family is also from, is called the 'Manjki Tract' and the inhabitants are called the Manjki Jatts. It was in this area that the Dhaliwal Misl that invaded Delhi and raised the Nishan Sahib over the Red Fort were settled. Rather than go to war with them the Mughals sought to placate them by earmarking the Manjki Tract as a Jagir, i.e a tract where the Sikhs would not be bothered by the Mughals and no taxes would be collected etc. So these types of things are nothing new. But I don't think Sikhs should see this whole thing in the way a Hindu should, and there are 2 reasons for this: Firstly, contrary to popular belief among non-jatt Sikhs, the Punjab Land Acts were actually designed to stop the encroachment of urban Hindu moneylenders into rural Punjab. In British India (outside of Punjab) a common problem was beginning to develop, and that problem was that the agriculturalists were getting themselves into debt and the urban Hindu moneylenders were foreclosing the rural farms. This benefited nobody, especially as the country needed farmers producing goods. It was to prevent this from happening in Punjab that the Land Acts were passed, ensuring only Jatt Sikhs could own land. Secondly, the system of Law the British set up in Punjab might give the non-jatt Sikh the impression that it was designed to be against all non-jatts but we need to have a little understanding of history here. Essentially, after the Anglo-Sikh Wars, the British kept the same system we Sikhs had in place during our Khalsa Raj. It’s well documented how the Iranian language Farsi was the language of the Courts in the Sikh Kingdom but essentially there was no Law as such. Sikhs, throughout our empire, used 2 systems of Law, and we can pretty much conclude that one was specifically for the pathan tribal areas into Afghanistan and the other was for all other parts of our empire. The first was called 'wajib-ul-arz' and this means 'Tribal Custom' and the second is 'riwaj -i-am', i.e aam rawaj, and this of course refers to the local customs and laws of the pends. And this is quite interesting really because it shows how we Sikhs were developing a common customs based law in Punjab at the same time the English were developing their Common Law. This was very different to what there was before the Sikhs because the Mughals pretty much had islamic shariat law in place. So, when the British took Punjab they introduced the 'Customary Laws' specifically for the Punjab and they used as their template the exact same system we Sikhs had in place in our empire. This was then given extra legitimacy with the enaction of the Punjab Law Act of 1872. This system which, as I just stated, was a continuation of our Sikh way of governance during our Sikh raj, basically involved having a Sikh Kardar (The Sikh raj introduced the concept of having a 'Kardar' as well as that of 'Sardar' and the Kardar performed judicial duties based on customary traditions which in the pends of Punjab meant Sikh traditions). This was not a bad thing at all as one of the benefits of this system the British embraced, evil non-sikh 'traditions' such as widow burning and female infanticide became against the Law for the first time). The British embraced this system mostly in order to benefit the Sikhs and disenfranchise the Hindus (because it has to be remembered that Sikhs were mostly rural whereas Hindus were mostly urban). The sad side effect of all of it was that the very few Sikhs that were urban were also disenfranchised along with the Hindu targets and thats one of the reasons many Sikhs have misguidingly embraced the urban Hindu position regarding the Raj. In conclusion then, since the British left in 1947, Hindu India officially denies we even exist, massacres us regularly, stops our children from attending classes with kirpans, sarkar steals the land, Punjab has gone from the richest state to number 11 on the list. This Hindu Raj we're under now is the real enemy of the Sikhs of Punjab. So when it comes to the British Raj do NOT look at it from the eyes of a Hindu Indian. You are neither. If your'e an urban Sikh then no doubt you were in a sense disenfranchised too but understand that you were not the actual target of those British policies. The British position was to ensure Sikhism remains seperate from Hinduism and as the Sikhs were rural and the Hindus were urban in Punjab, this policy manifested itself as a rural friendly policy. Understand the bigger picture.
  2. Khalsa Aid writes an open letter to the Indian High Commission ( London) concerning the on going Panjab crisis. http://www.sikhnews.net/article/119/khalsa-aid-open-letter-to-indian-high-commission-regarding-human-rights-situation-in-punjab
  3. http://www.sikh24.com/2015/10/20/humanitarian-and-political-activist-bagicha-singh-exposes-govt-role-in-faking-arrests/
  4. Waheguru ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji Ki Fateh, I created a petition for White House to assist Sikhs in Punjab/India for peaceful protests during the recent sad events taking place in India. Please help assist gaining 100,000 signatures for White House to proceed further with this petition. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/contact-republic-india-prime-minister-narendra-modi-assist-minority-group-sikh-citizens-across-india
  5. As per the India religious census data of 2011, released by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner on Tuesday, the total population of India back in 2011 was 1.21 billion people. Currently in 2015 the population of India is estimated to be just under 1.3 billion people. In 2011, the Hindu population was 966.3 million (79.8 per cent); Muslim 172.2 million (14.2 per cent); Christian 27.8 million (2.3 per cent); Sikh 20.8 million (1.7 per cent); Buddhist 8.4 million (0.7 per cent); Jain 4.5 million (0.4 per cent), Other religions & persuasions (ORP) 7.9 million (0.7 per cent), religion not stated 2.9 million (0.2 per cent). The proportion of Muslim population to total population has increased by 6% by 2011 from 2001, the census data said. The proportion of Hindu population to total population in 2011 has marginally declined by 1% between 2001 to 2011. Falling most of all the Sikh population proportion declined by over 10% in the period between 2001 to 2011. There was no significant change in the proportion of Christians in India between 2001 to 2011. As per the 2001 census, India's total population was 1.029 billion of which the Hindu population comprised 827.5 million (80.45 per cent) and Muslims were 138 million (13.4 per cent). Christians in 2001 stood at 24 million (2.3%) of the total population and with Sikhs being 19.2 million (1.9%) back in 2001. The growth rate of population in the decade 2001-2011 was 17.7 per cent. The growth rate of population of the different religious communities between 2001-2011 was as: Hindus: 16.8 per cent; Muslim: 24.6 per cent; Christian: 15.5 per cent; Sikh: 8.4 per cent; The distribution is total population by six major religious communities namely, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain besides 'Other Religions and Persuasions' and 'Religion not stated'. Is it now about time that we focus on the basics of where our Panth stands in relation to social indices and the problems of female infanticide, drugs, biraderi apartheid, cancer, illiteracy, alcohol and poverty affecting us. With the Sikh population projected to decline to below 50% of the Punjab as a result of state-sponsored Balmiki and Dera Ballan apartheid mandirs re-classifying current day Sikhs into tomorrow's Hindutva slave votebank is it not about time that we focus everything upon uplifting the Panth rather than focussing on the same tired old sloganeering that has not achieved anything meaningful against the apparatus of a terrorist state which is backed and supported by the USA, Russia, China, UK, France, Canada, Australia, Japan, Italy etc. Hindu's in 1984 numbered around 600million whilst Sikhs numbered around 15million back then. Hindu's in India now number over one billion people and Sikhs in India are just over 20 million as a result of the systematic exlusion of sehajdhari non-Punjabi Sikhs from the Sikh Panth's population figures following on from the 1950 Maryada definition of a Sikh that was welcomed deliriously by Nehru, Congress(Indira) and Hindutva forces. Because at a stroke exluding tens of millions of Ravidassia's, Kabirpanthi's, Satnami's, Sindhi's, Balmiki's, Banjara's, Hindu Punjabi's (who had all previously been accepted as Sikhs on account of attending Gurdwara's and respecting Gurbani) prevented, from our opponent's point of view, a Sikh population in excess of 100 million back in 1984 (that Indira Gandhi would never even have dared to provoke) let alone how many Sikhs there could have been today in 2015. We can still get to the stage one day if instead of sending sincere Gursikhs to voluntarily rot out their lives in jail when our opponents get their goons to do Beadbi, we instead make sure to distribute 100 Gutke in non-Punjabi languages to disseminate the truth of Sikhi further and wider among the poor of India, Asia and Africa primarily. It's about time we look for reasons to welcome and include people within the Sikh Panth rather than looking for every possible reason to exclude people from being included as fellow members of the Sikh Panth. If our opponents succeed (due to our lack of action and urgency in tackling the issues that affect us by concentrating on the wrong priorities) in reducing the Sikh percentage of the Punjab population to below 50% by 2021, then it is almost inevitable that the following assault on the Sikh population will be to re-classify all sehajdhari Punjabi Sikhs as falsely being non-Sikhs. So that the opponents of Sikhi can permanently define Sikhs as a permanent demographic minority even within Punjab and as always they will use our own frontmen to inflict this damage on our Panth.
  6. I made some observations several times on this forum and facebook regarding the Islamization of our Punjab and some possible consequences. As we all know, unregulated migrant flow to Punjab of UP Muslims and especially Bangladeshi Muslims has had an immense effect on our demographics. Besides that Gujjars have migrated to Punjab in massive numbers, and being from areas such as Jammu and Kashmir they're close to militants. This is evident from the fact that I had mentioned some years ago regarding recorvery of a huge cash of illegal weapons in a Gujjar Dera in Jalandhar area. These Gujjar deras have become dens for terrorists, just see the following excerpt from the news regarding the Gurdaspur terror attack which re-affirms my view: These Gujjars have bhought a lot of land and well settled with houses and mosques in their Deras. The first incidents started happening a few years back when these Muslim immigrants tried to demolish a Gurdwara in Ludhiana. The once virtually empty mosque of Ludhiana is filled with lacs of sul-lay on friday evenings. The rising amount of acid attacks on cows in Malerkotla to provoke the Hindus. Incidents of communal violence have become much more common in recent years if one keeps a close eye on news coming from Punjab, and its mostly always Hindu-Muslim or Sikh-Muslim (barring the dera incidents). The Muslim ex police officers who are also part of the WAQF board have an active role in re-establishing mosques and regaining the land belonging to these mosques (some 480 mosques have been renovated and are active now). Izhar Alam and Mohd Mustapha are spearheading this movement and have even introduced Sharia Panchayats in our beloved Punjab. They have been actively converting poor Sikh children and other Sikhs as shown in the AISSF complaint to Akal Takht Jathedar some time back. We need to wake up before things get worse.
  7. They say attackers crossed in from Pakistan, now they're attacking a police station, so far 8 dead this may or may not include 1 attacker dead. Police have stated its too early to cross off a "pro khalistani" possibility. Of course there are multiple former Khalistanis residing in Pakistan, but I doubt any of them have any hand in this. Or even Sikhs in general. Although it is good the Punjab sarkar and police are suffering a bit, been a bad week for them.
  8. New single & video launch, 31 July: The Ska Vengers’ ‘Frank Brazil’: remembering Udham Singh Ska band pays tribute to Punjabi folk hero hanged at Pentonville in 1940 New Delhi-based Ska Vengers’ new single, ‘Frank Brazil’, is out on 31 July, bringing infectious rhythm to the itchiest feet near you. Never one to shy away from controversy, the band has marked the 75th anniversary of the death of freedom fighter Udham Singh (aka Frank Brazil) with this release, its first launch worldwide. Ska Vengers’ smooth, polished style and complete mastery of its craft make syncopated rhythms look easy, and its assured, adept handling of Frank Brazil’s story demonstrates an equal maturity of mind. This one’s for dancers and thinkers alike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OAfMtVRW6Y (sample) Ska Vengers are an eight-piece ska band from New Delhi, India. They’re kicking up a rumpus over there and they’re about to do the same here. Have a listen: they’ve honed their sound into the sassiest, tightest, funniest, liveliest, punkiest rocksteady jazzy dubby ska you’ll have heard in years. They’re not amateurs, either. Ska Vengers’ first album, released in 2012, was mixed by music producer Miti Adhikari, who has also worked with Foo Fighters, Radiohead and Coldplay. The same year, the band staged the largest rock concert ever held in an Indian prison, donating $5000 worth of music and sound equipment to Tihar jail in an event that was reported worldwide. Ska Vengers made international news again last year with a song and video they released to coincide with the Indian general election, ‘Modi, a Message to You’, and are now working on their second album, expected this September. About ‘Frank Brazil’: The animated video, created by Kunal Sen and Tisha Deb Pillai, follows the 21 years of Singh’s life after the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre on 13 April, 1919, leading up to the assassination of Michael O’Dwyer, and his execution in Pentonville Prison shortly after. ‘Frank Brazil’ is The Ska Vengers’ version of a murder ballad: a traditional form of poetry where the lyrics form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath. In a tribute to the genre, the chorus is adapted from a Bessie Smith song called ‘Send me to the ‘lectric chair’; Smith is regarded as one of the best blues singers of the 1920s. The band’s line-up includes Begum X (vocals), Delhi Sultanate (vocals), Stefan ‘Flexi’ Kaye (organ/percussion), Chaitanya Bhalla (guitar), Tony Bass (bass), The Late Nikhil Vasudevan (drums) with support from Shirish Malhotra (tenor saxophone) and Kishore Sodha on trumpet. Ska Vengers’ vocalist Delhi Sultanate learnt of Udham Singh while studying at University in London in 2005 and through the Asian Dub Foundation song, ‘Assassin’ (1998), which is about Mohammed Singh Azad, a name that Udham Singh used in court and to sign his prison diaries. “I’ve wanted to make a song about Udham Singh ever since I learnt of him and have been researching him over the years. The idea came up again at a jam session earlier this year,” says Taru Dalmia, who performs as Delhi Sultanate. “Part of what drove me to write the song is that upon first learning of Singh I could not believe that I had never heard of him. Also, his story throws up a series of questions. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. The song is our attempt to pay tribute to one of our national heroes,” he adds. Begum X, aka Samara C, says the band was inspired by Singh’s last words. “The lyrics of our murder ballad are from the point of view of Shaheed Udham Singh and are inspired by his words as transcribed in his court hearing. When he was asked why he killed Michael O’Dwyer, he said, “He was the real culprit. He wanted to crush the spirit of my people…For full 21 years, I have been trying to wreak vengeance…I am not scared of death. I am dying for my country…It was my duty. What a greater honour could be bestowed on me than death for the sake of my motherland?” ‘Frank Brazil’ is animators Kunal Sen and Tisha Deb Pillai’s second video for The Ska Vengers, after ‘A message to you, Modi’. “We wanted to depict the character in a contemporary, stylised and dynamic manner, taking a different route from the conventional “text book" representations of India's freedom struggle,” says Sen of their idea of the video. LINKS https://twitter.com/theskavengers https://www.facebook.com/skavengers Web: http://theskavengers.com/ CONTACT For information, photos and interviews please call Louise Cuzner, Soundbar Entertainment, on 07895 133581 or email soundbar@gmx.com
  9. Guest

    Returning Home*

    how many of us would be will to leave everything behind (UK, USA, Canada, Europe wale) i.e. family, friends, careers etc., and return home to take care of things? our kaum needs waking up, our mother needs our help, and we all know that isnt going to happen by means of protest or by relying on the corrupt governments of our countries. Justice needs to be dealt to a few. People like badal et al need their suitcases packing. India needs reminding of the Akali fauj.
  10. Migrant Problem in Punjab Dr Gurmit Singh Internal migration to Punjab from rest of India, particularly of weaker sections of society is rising at an alarming rate. The reason for the same is not difficult to trace. Punjab is considered to be economically prosperous state. Punjab is mainly an agricultural state. Its economy is mainly dependent on agriculture. It requires a large number of migrant labour during the sowing and harvesting seasons. This is an old phenomenon, which has been prevalent in Punjab since the time of the first census conducted by the British Rule after annexation of Punjab. After independence in 1947, this internal migration is being encouraged by the majority community i.e. Hindus to balance the Sikh population in Punjab, which is the only Sikh majority State in India which claimed a sovereign status when the British rulers were leaving India. An effort in that direction had started in 1947 itself when the Constitution of India was being framed after the British had left India. Inspite of opposition from the Sikh members of the Constituent Assembly Article 25 was passed by the Constituent Assembly and incorporated in the Constitution of India. The Sikh members had objected to Explanation II of Art 25, which treated them as Hindus. This explanation reads as under:- Article 25 Explanation II In Sub-clause (b) of clause (2) The reference to Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jain or Budhist religion and the reference to Hindu religious institutions shall be construed accordingly. Sikhs have been continuously protesting against above provision in the Constitution, even the Home Minister of India in a statement in Parliament had promised to amend the above provision after consulting experts and even the Constitutional Review Commission had recommended so. In all the censuses conducted after independence from the British rule in violation of Article 25, Explanation II of the Constitution, there are separate columns for recording the population of Sikhs, Budhists, Jains and others. The figures in census are manipulated to suit the interests of the majority community. The fact is that population of Sikhs is gradually declining. As against the national average of 15.9 percent of the Child Population of Sikhs in the age group 0-6 years is 12.8 per cent. Explanation added in the census report states:- Low fertility among the. Sikh population can be gauged by the fact that in twenty one states and union territories have child population proportion below 12 per cent among Sikhs of these nine states have less than ten percent child population. The actual reason of the low fertility among the Sikh population is the policy of the government, Recently Muslims of Uttar Pardesh constituted a committee of scientists to find reasons for the decline of fertility amongst the Muslims. The report of the committee was startling. It revealed that the reason for declining fertility rate amongst the Muslims was the policy of the government to populrise the Polio Drops. In Punjab too Polio Drops Camps are frequently organized and it is reducing the fertility of the Sikh population. The next question that needs serious consideration is how to make up this decline. One important method is conversion of migrations to Sikhism but the Sikh institutions like S.G.P.C. and Sikh missionaries have failed to rise to the occasion. The other way as suggested by the Registrar General cum census Commissioner India during the British rule in the first census Report is, that migrant population should be culturally converted as a first preliminary step, so that as a next step, religious conversion becomes possible. For this the village population can playa major role, because the migrants who settle in villages are first culturally converted and then absorbed as locals. Further, Punjab Assembly should pass a legislation to regulate the internal migration which should provide that no one will he enrolled as a voter who does not own property in the State of Punjab and has not permanently resided in the State continuously for period of ten years before the cut of date fixed in the Act. Article 19(d) of the constitution of India which guarantees the right to move freely through out the territory of India, in Article 19 (5) clearly provides that Nothing in Sub-clause (d) (e) of the said clause shall prevent the State from making any law imposing reasonable restrictions on the exercise of any of the rights conferred by the said sub- clauses either in the interests of the general public or for the protection of the interests of Schedule Tribe. It is worth mentioning here that Article 19 (d) only guarantees the freedom of movement and not the freedom of residence although it is being misquoted as freedom of residence on the basis of ruling of the Supreme Court in the case of State of U.P. Versus Kaushalya reported in A.I.R. 1964 S.C. 416 in some books. The freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India is covered by Article 19 (e), which guarantees right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India. But as mentioned earlier clause (5) of Article 19 allows the States to make law imposing reasonable restrictions in the interest of the general public. It may further be pointed out that many of migrants are involved in criminal activity in Punjab. Therefore imposing of such restrictions will be in the interest of general public. Moreover, there is reservation for schedule caste upto 50 per cent, and as most of the migrants are, schedule caste it denies opportunity to local residents to avail the privilege. I remember an incident. There was a school in my neighbourhood next to my residence some years back. One day, a few peons of that school came to me together. They said that they had been challenged for stealing tubewell material from the field in Uttar Pardesh, but they were released on bail by court, but they had jumped bail and migrated to Mohali, but now the court had issued non-bailable warrants against them. What should they do? I advised them to surrender and apply for fresh bail. There are many such cases. The proposed act can provide that no one would be allowed to stay in an area without the permission of the Deputy Commissioner who should check the antecedents of every migrant. Such a restriction exists in some areas and has been held to be a reasonable restriction by the Assam High Court in A.I.R. 1953 Assam 61 in the case of border areas adjoining Nepal. The problem of internal migration in Punjab is becoming acute day by day and must be regulated forthwith; otherwise it may become too late to handle. Punjab is the land of the Sikh Gurus and the change of its complexion must be stopped. In this context I am reminded of an incident. Usually in the evening I have a round of Sector 17 Chandigarh. One day I saw a girl being beaten by another girl elder to her. The younger girl was crying and seeking help. I intervened and asked the younger one why the elder girl was beating her. She told me that she was brought from Uttar Pardesh by someone whom she does not recognize. She has to beg and earn at least Rs 50 everyday. In case she is unable to do so, she does not get food at night and is beaten up by elderly girls. Such cases are common in Punjab. Outside migrants are brought to Punjab and employed to act as vendors on pavements with the connivance of the government. The employer collects the sale proceeds from the vendor everyday in the evening. Some others are employed as rickshaw pullers and are accommodated in Rain Baseras (dwelling houses) run by the government as social welfare schemes and others are accommodated in Jhugis (huts) on government land by making encroachments. Later on, when the land on which they have encroached is acquired, they get alternative, built-up, residential accommodation on nominal installments. When government encourages such violations, God save Punjab! Already in Ludhiana there are three elected migrant Municipal Commissioners. The days is not far off when these migrants will rule Punjab. Originally Published on Sikh Institute from dailysikhupdate
  11. http://dailysikhupdates.com/bjp-wants-chandigarh-transferred-punjab-supports-accord/ Hmm dont know what to make of this...cautiously excited?
  12. Ferozepur: Two minors were allegedly gang-raped in two separate incidents near Abohar in subdivision of Fazilka District, police said on Monday. A 16-year-old school girl was allegedly gang-raped by three youths identified as - Sagar, Mangu and Bansi - at Maujgarh village. They videographed the incident and uploaded it online, police said. The accused threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed the incident to anyone. However, she disclosed it to her parents after the video was uploaded on the web, they said. The accused were later arrested by the police and booked under various sections of IPC besides section 3 and 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence ACT (POCSO), they said. Meanwhile, in another incident, an eighth grade girl was allegedly raped by two minors identified as - Gurpreet Singh (18) and Sher Singh (16) - at Toot village, police said. According to the complaint registered by the victim's parents, both the offenders allegedly abducted the victim from the market on their bike and raped her in the field on Saturday, police said. The girl was admitted to the local hospital and a case has been registered against the absconding accused, they said. Source:http://zeenews.india.com/news/punjab/two-minors-gang-raped-in-separate-incidents-in-punjab_1543852.html
  13. A Tale of Changing Faiths: Amritsar, Punjab: Majha region of North Punjab (India) is a traditional Sikh-Akali belt. It has the history of protecting Sikhism and Harimandir Sahib from the onslaughts of the invading traders. Sikhs under Baba Gurbakash Singh, Baba Deep Singh and Baba Naudh Singh are known to have laid down their lives along with their fellow Sikhs showing heroic deeds against the invaders on Sri Harmandir Sahib. Every driver bows and stops at the Samadhi of Baba Naudh Singh on Amritsar-Tarantarn road. Bowing my head too, I pointed to S. Balwant Singh (name changed): Me: ‘This is the most revered place in my heart only next to Sri Harmandir Sahib since the Sikhs laid down their lives fighting to protect Sri Harmandir Sahib”. Balwant: “Should have been certainly so”; his half-hearted answer perplexed me. Me: I remarked, “You appear to be thinking otherwise!” Balwant: “No, No not so as you think, but it is not the same now” His reply was equally surprising. Me: “Why so?” Balwant: “The places of sacrifices of the martyred Sikhs have now been converted into money-spinners by Babas…. Seven Dera like gurdwaras have come up within these six-seven kilometres within a span of three-four years.” He said what he has been watching daily since all these Deras are very close to his Home. Me: “How come this sudden build up?” I was feeling quite hurt. Balwant: “Seeing one another benefitting, they sprang up. The most earnings are in Tahla Sahib. The most respected is the Dera Gillwali where even the most influential family of Punjab makes monthly visits, and people approach for getting their problems from administration solved.” His reply led me to further enquiry: Me: “Where is that Dera?” He explained: Balwant: “while coming from Sri Amritsar, you saw the widened double highway ending. The highway has been widened up to the place only where the VIPs have to come each month and not beyond.” Me: I was quite intrigued by this. “Is the political influence being used for such like things?”. Balwant: “Political influence ensures dominance of the ruling over the ruled.” Me:“But that is no Raj-Dharma. Where is the democracy?” He just laughed at my reply. Balwant: “Do you know how dominance is maintained?” questioned the advocate sitting close by. Me: “How” Balwant: “Using religion, using police, using drugs to decimate.” Me: “I do not think it could be so.” Balwant: “It is so. I am fighting cases against the police officials who have been carrying orders of their bosses to file false cases against certain individuals. Even a CBI inquiry is ordered against one SHO.” The advocate said. ‘Even the senior officers posted in this area are of Punjab cadre. Central cadre officers are not being posted as they tried to arrest the trend of fast flow of drugs in the area. They had to be posted at the behest of the local political leaders who maintain this free flow. Most of the youth are now in the grip of drugs.” Me: “Protecting crime? Leaders are supposed to get justice for the people and not to subdue them. Why do the people select them” I was rather vociferous. Balwant: “Yes! They protect crime and suppress opposition. Keep the people ignorant and help Deras to develop their influence.” He was clear in his answer. “How come they protect and suppress opposition?” I wanted to know. Balwant: “In this area drugs and local brand of liquor is a lucrative business. It is all flourishing under the patronage of local political leaders. You would have seen a story on Aaj Tak recently where large scale liquor distillation was going under the nose and knowledge of the local MLA. The SHO was helpless since he was refrained from taking any action against these criminals. As was said earlier, those who oppose these leaders are found behind the bars even on false cases. Even it is in the knowledge of the High Court that these false cases are being filed often. Most dastardly cases are of peddling drugs which are generally leveled against the most serious opponent and specially the political opponents. People are put behind bars and no one is allowed to help them. This is the same area where maximum eliminations in fake encounters took place during the militancy days. People have started taking injustice as their fate.” It was quite shocking. To clarify further, I questioned: Me:“What is the effect of the Deras?” Balwant: “Deras lure the ignorant and fill the coffer. Instead of teaching Sikhism, they propagate personality cult, showing Dera heads as supreme. They also propagate Hindu ritualism like breaking coco-nuts and tying red thread (molly). Frankly, they have damaged the Sikhism beyond redemption.” Me: ‘Beyond redemption! What do you mean?’” Balwant: Pointing to his servant he said: “This boy has become Chrisitian recently. Do you know why when his father is Nihang?” Me: “Christian? How is it?” I enquired. I wanted to know from the person direct. I called the boy, named Nima (name changed) and questioned, Me: “Are you a convert to Christianity?” Nima: “Yes!” He reluctantly said. However he came out slowly since he had been listening to us intently and knew the base of the discussion.” “Not me alone. Most of the poor and the unemployed youth are becoming Christians. Most of the youth got their hair cut already and have become apostate. Public in general have curtailed going to Gurdwaras and even deras now as they know their truth. They find new Churches as the better places to go. All aound these deras we have new churches: Varpal, Nikka Chabba, Balachak; all these villages are having new churches within these 6-7 kilometres. A large Number of Churches sprung up recently in the entire border belt of Tarantaran and Gurdaspur areas and people are converting to Christianity en masse.” Me: “You said your father is a Nihang, a devout Sikh. Why did you convert to Christianity?” Nima: “Why? We are not inhuman as they treat us. They give us no favour. They give no jobs to us but still want us to obey them like slaves. Why should we. They want the youth be drugged and destroyed. They have no human life considerations. The pastors treat us very humanly and sympathetically. They treat us equal and as important as anyone else. They help us in need. You will soon seen most of the downtrodden converting en masse if these leaders and dera people go on treating us like this.” I was shocked at the anger the boy had against the higher castes, deras and the ruling combine. More shocking was the trend of conversions. I could not sleep well in the night and was woken up by the blaring of the speakers at about 3 AM from 3-4 deras cum gurdwaras. Amidst them I could listen to the sound “Ameen” from pastor of the church nearby and thought of Giani Gurdit Singh, Gurmukh Singh and Jawahar Singh of the Singh Sabha Movement at the conversion of four Sikh Youth. The number now has become so large now without any of Gurdit Singh’s standing up now! As I was being shown those seven Dera type gurdwaras, finding heaps of Coconuts around, I felt that it certainly needs a “Sikh Sudhar movement” or “Sikhi Bachao Lehar’ to save the new generation from going astray.
  14. Before sikhism punjab did not have any freedom for over 1500 years an was under foreign rule Punjab was conquered by the huns greeks mauryans aka biharis then by arabs then turks then afghans and persians terrorized the punjab It was till 1799 that punjab finally came under native rule Was it cause punjab had no martial culture an most of punjabs castes were not martial aka did not belong to warrior castes Cause when sikhism came then all of a sudden punjab became a place feared by forieners If punjab had sikhism born a thousand years earlier is it safe to say that punjab would of bin independent an a military powerhouse that would of gone to stop invaders an then conquere them in their own land conquering the afghans persians an turks Would the sikh empire or punjab bin as strong as the mongol empire Today their are 20 million mongals and they are not very martial any more But when they were martial they conquered china russia japan central asia the afghans the persians the arabs an eastern europeans They conquered huge At the peak of mongal empire the world population 300 million with 100 million being under mongals an mongal population was estimated to be at 1 million Mongals took 100 ppl for each mongal their was out their Martial culture does have a huge role to play considering your average mongal isn't that big an probably smaller then your average chinese an yet they terrorised china russia an list goes on
  15. Every peoples in the world have affinity to the place of their origins. For example look at Jews and Israel. We, the punjabi peoples, come from Punjab--our holy land. Our ancestral homeland. The core of our culture and traditions. There are around 120 million Punjabi peoples in the world, majority residing in Punjab and diaspora spread across the world, specially in Canada, United States, and British. Out of 120 million Punjabi peoples, there are around 80 million Punjabi peoples who are Muslims. Around 30 million of Punjabis are Sikhs..and rest are other categories. As sad it is, I must agree that I have arrived to the conclusion that the survival of Punjabi peoples, Punjabi values, and Punjabi culture will be due to Muslim Punjabis, and not Sikh Punjabis. Muslim Punjabis are part of wider Islamic peoples, who adhere to their religion, culture, traditions, and civilization like no other people out there. We all know it and have seen it..and must learn something here. Islamic people have made their civilization a truly global civilization expanding everywhere. No other peoples have achieved in less 1500 years what Islamic peoples have achieved. And THIS is precisely the reason that the main cause of survival of Punjabi peoples would be Muslim Punjabis. Muslim Punjabis have a state of their own (Pakistan ch Punjabis sub ton dominant ne). In undivided Punjab in Pakistan, population of Punjabi peoples is near 70 million+...and their fertility rate is 3 kids per woman--means they are expanding! While in india sadly, fertility rate of Punjabi peoples is less than required for replacement levels. With less than 2.1 fertility rate, indian punjabi peoples are declining compared to over-all population. There seems to be a well-thoughout agenda behind this (Very good video to watch on this topic from basics of Sikhi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckraEt68eo0 ) The reason why Muslim punjabis will expand as a people is similar to why Islamic people as a whole have been able to expand..and the reason is their women! I'll be honest: I have lived in Canada, U.S and (visited) U.K for some time. I have seen everything. A lot of life experience.. Muslim Punjabi girls, on average, were way more cultured than our kuriyans. Muslim Punjabi girls would generally stay away from drinking, love-affairs, and other vices. Compared with Punjabi Sikh girls, Muslim girls will proudly live by their culture and be confident and excel in all fields. Muslim Punjabi girls vigiriously protect their sexual engagement and virginity. While Punjabi Sikh girls...well, the less said the better. I have seen countless Muslim Punjabi girls who'd wear Hijab and have very attractive personality. These girls go on to produce offsprings generally from Muslim Punjabi males. In this way, Punjabi culture, peoples, and traditions not only survive but thrive!! The fact remains that the Punjabi people will increase in population and spread...and the credit goes to Muslim Punjbis, and not Sikh Punjabis who are destroying our most precious gift--Sikhi and Punjabi roots.
  16. Waheguru Ji ka khalsa waheguru Ji ki fateh. I am visiting punjab at the moment. I will list the following issues: Youth are quite messed up (sleep around etc) and have multiple Partners. There is a big drug problem along with prostitution. Lack of effective parchaar. People here have a different mentality maybe because they need money for everything (healthcare, education etc. Resulting in becoming corrupt. Life does not have much value here. Animals like dogs are wandering the streets sifting through waste. There is no waste collection and people just dump the rubbish. too many beggars. You need to know someone here to do shopping, travel etc. I find it difficult for future generations for wanting to come here. Will punjab improve or continue to sink? Do we blame the government?
  17. Waheguru Ji ka khalsa waheguru Ji ki fateh. I am visiting punjab at the moment. I will list the following issues: Youth are quite messed up (sleep around etc) and have multiple Partners. There is a big drug problem along with prostitution. Lack of effective parchaar. People here have a different mentality maybe because they need money for everything (healthcare, education etc. Resulting in becoming corrupt. Life does not have much value here. Animals like dogs are wandering the streets sifting through waste. There is no waste collection and people just dump the rubbish. too many beggars. You need to know someone here to do shopping, travel etc. I find it difficult for future generations for wanting to come here. Will punjab improve or continue to sink? Do we blame the government?
  18. Recently a member brought to my attention a thread on this forum which aims to denote the factual integrity of Saraghari as a myth. The essential crux, of this denotation, is that the British and Sikhs always re-wrote their losses in order to exhibit a sense of victory and self-proclaimed glory. In short, the initiator of the myths and facts analysis believes that the battle has been considerably hyped at the expense of his poor, yet silent suffering race. I could not resist going back to the history books again, and have written a rebuttal (if you may) to our doubting friend. I have used several significant military sources, all with proven credibility, and other verified texts in constructing the below article. If, however, some members feel I might have overstepped the mark then please inform me. 'Strength down to half but good news! Each one of us has now two rifles.' -Dispatch from the battle at Saraghari, 1897 A.D. (1) Leonidas and his 300 Spartans established a new and unique military doctrine at Thermopylae. Named after the locus of their last stand, the Thermopylean conflict is a sporadic occurrence in military pragmatism. Fundamentally it pits a much superior offence against an inferior defense (although anomalies exist). Leonidas and his 300 men themselves faced a much superior force of 100-150,000 Persians during their last stand. (2) Their main aim was to detract or delay the foe until a much poignant rival force could be collated from mainland Greece. In this they succeeded, although by forfeiting their own lives. A step-by-step surgical analysis of their strategy inaugurates the following: -The defense will often be an archetypal last stand. Its constituents will be foolhardy in the defense of their aims, but not to the extent of heedlessness. -The offence will be forced to blunt it's initial thrust, or establish a new stratagem, as the defense will occupy a much better strategically placed locus. At Thermopylae Leonidas placed his men in a narrow passage. The Persians were forced to re-vamp their initial tactic and faced a Spartan picket bristling to the teeth. -The offence will be forced to utilize a tidal technique, although this is not necessary. A well ensconced, and established defense, cannot be attacked with a straight-forward march and confront technique. Often attrition will have to be adopted as a principle Modus operandi, and the defense will be assaulted by different companies in a repetitive fashion. -The foremost aim of the defense is to either buy time for reinforcements or a collation of forces on an unprecedented scale. If it succeeds in this, despite forfeiting itself, it has succeeded in it's designs and desires. -Technological, geographical, intelligence and disciplinary ingenuity all play a pivotal role in a Thermopylean conflict. If possessed by the defense, then a plausible modicum of success is ensured although to what extent is determined by it's own subsequent conduct in the engagement itself. These doctrines were well established in the mind of Lt. Col John Haughton, of the 36th Sikhs, as he marched towards fort Lockhart in the Samana ranges of the Hindu Khush. An avid veteran of Afghani warfare his mission was clear. To neutralize any plausible ally of Czarist Russia, in the North-West Frontier, via utilizing several companies of his battalion efficiently and fluidly. His forward base was to be at Fort Lockhart, neighbored by it's sibling Fort Gulistan in the present day North-Western Frontier. Initial intelligence briefings indicated that local Islamic leaders had been whipping up a pandemonium in the regional Afghani Afridi and Orakzai tribesmen. Haughton ordered his officers to be on their guard whilst simultaneously dispatching a small task-force towards Saraghari. The latter was a military outpost, constructed for helicographic contact between Lockhart and Gulistan. Despite their immediate vicinity, both forts were separated by rugged and mountainous terrain and were not immune to elemental disruption. The helicograph became a pivotal tool for keeping both in contact, a fact which did not escape Afghani watchers. On September 3rd, 1897 A.D., 5,000 Orakazai horsemen attacked Gulistan. The 130 Sikhs, occupying the fort, under Maj. C.H. Desvoeux and Lt. A.K. Blair offered exceptional resistance forcing the Orakazais to retreat. (3) Five days later a more substantial force of tribesmen returned. Two days later they were forced to retreat via Haughton himself, who arrived with 150 Sikhs from Lockhart. (4) Realizing that Saraghari might be a potential target, Haughton reinforced the communications outpost until at full strength it possessed one NCO and 20 OR's (other ranks). The ingenuity of the tribesmen was to however obfuscate him soon, and thrust him into dire straits. On 12th September, the 19 year oldhelicograph operator, Gurmukh Singh, reported a mass movement towards the outpost, to his superior Havildar Ishar Singh. Both men ascended to a higher platform and attempted to analyze the situation. The Havildar finally gauged that it was potent sign of war. Waves upon waves of Afridi and Orakzai tribesmen were marching towards Saraghari. Calmly ordering Gurmukh Singh to inform Haughton and request reinforcements, Ishar Singh prepared to be besieged. Haughton's reply has not been properly established. Two conflicting versions have been put into play. The initial states that he sent a reliving force towards Ishar Singh but it encountered marauding tribesmen, whereas another states that his resources were stretched. The former seems more likely. Under the aegis of Gul Badshah, the tribesmen were striving to conquer Gulistan. (5) The latter would have been a mass improbability if Saraghari had been reinforced by Lockhart. Thus it seems Haughton's substantiated refusal was justified not by a lack of manpower, but by a stringent blockading of his passage towards Ishar Singh. Ultimately, whatever the vindication Ishar Singh found himself solely confronting a murderous horde of blood thirsty tribesmen. Whilst Havildar Singh called a Chinese Parliament* and attempted to form a course of action, Gurmukh Singh repeatedly cast up to date minutes to Haughton. At 9.00 am he signaled the arrival of Afridis and Orakzais. Subsequently battle was joined. The 20 men under Ishar Singh refused to surrender to the foe. The ancestors of the latter had indulged in religious bigotry, and rapine on their sacrosanct land of Punjab. Their own ancestors had refused to give or take any quarter from them, and they too wanted to emulate this valorous tradition. By the time the first shot had been fired, all 21 men inside the post had determined to die defending their mission. The location of Saraghari prevented Gul Badshah from employing the tried and tested tactic of foolhardy charges. He was forced to adopt attrition as a means of achieving his goal. Organizing his men in batches of 150-180 companies (6) he dispatched them towards the communications post. The Havildar meanwhile had been witnessing these proceedings and gauged the inferiority of the tribal artillery. Armed with the newest Martini-Henry rifle, effective up to 600 yards, the 21 besieged waited until the tribal waves were in range and then fired. (7) Their murderous volley repeatedly dwindled the attackers until finally, before midday, Gul Badshah himself came to the fore. An astute negotiator, Badshah brought his entire skill set to the fore. He argued with Ishar Singh that resistance was futile and the deaths of his 20 men would achieve nothing. If all 21 emerged from the fort then he would let them leave unharmed, whilst Haughton would vindicate them due to the numerical foe they faced. Both Singh, and he, were leaders of men and thus knew the intricacies of the battlefield and leadership. The aphorism live to fight another day would serve them both well. Singh, with an emphasized candor, rebutted his offer word for word and a resigned Badshah summarily left. The battle then recommenced. Haughton meanwhile was attempting to gauge the numerical superiority of Badshah. Along with his men, veterans of earlier Afghan campaigns, he identified 14 religious ensigns. Bringing his past experience to the fore, he summarily concluded that Ishar Singh faced 10-12,000 tribal's out of which only less than 200 were able to engage the Sikhs at any given time. (8) The unequal locus of Saraghari was too narrow for an en-massed assault, and too open for a lightening skirmish. Ishar Singh, so far, had utilized the battlefield well but would he be able to hold out until a much superior relief arrived? The fate of Gulistan, and neighboring British protectorates, was no longer in his (Haughton's) hands. Only time would tell if a single NCO, and his 21 men, proved successful or not. Gurmukh Singh continually kept on relaying up-to-date briefings to Lockhart. By now more than 3-4 hours had elapsed since first contact and the 21 Sikhs had eaten no food or drunk water. They had fought off two assaults and suffered two casualties. Still, they continued to operate like clockwork fixedly targeting the offenders and either forcing them to retreat or killing them. Their own numbers were also beginning to dwindle. Bhagwan Singh was the first to be killed thus reducing the strength of the defenders to 20. Ammunition was also beginning to run out. Gurmukh Singh signaled to Haughton, asking for more ammunition, the Lt. Col attempted to disperse the masses swirling on the Lockhart-Saraghari rout with no success. He signaled back his inability. (9) By now Badshah himself was in desperate straits. Saraghari's location made his favored stratagem of a massed charge obsolete. The defenders were not willing to surrender, and his remaining numbers were becoming swiftly disgruntled as more time elapsed since the initial engagement. Despite breaching two pickets, the communication post still stood defiantly. Discipline was lacking among his men, who preferred the commands of different leaders simultaneously, and moral was low. Then, he spied a chance at victory. Sending his non-fighters to the scrub bordering the outpost, he had them set it on fire thus blinding the defenders (who, by now, it is believed had only less then eight men). He then sent two men to make a breach on the defender's wild side. Haughton, and his men, watched with increasing trepidation as the blinded defenders attempted to put out what they perceived as being an internal fire. This allowed several tribesmen to make a breach and enter the outpost. (10) With misery the Lt. Col watched as Ishar Singh took a last minute decision to continue fighting. Via Gurmukh Singh's relays, Haughton learnt of the Havildar's final decision. Ishar Singh ordered his men to fall back to the outpost's inner layer, whilst taking a bayonet and jumping into the mass of the bloodthirsty foe himself. In fierce hand-to-hand fighting he was wounded several times before finally being killed. His action, and sacrifice, allowed Gurmukh Singh enough time to relay to Haughton that the stampede which the defender's now faced itself was constrained by the outpost's size. Ultimately the inner layer itself was breached. The remaining Sikhs fought back with intense gusto until their last breath in an emulation of their Havildar. The 19 year old Gurmukh Singh, then himself jumped into the fray. According to Haughton, he signaled a request to enjoin the fray. The Lt. Col granted him his last desire with a heavy heart. (11) Saraghari had finally fallen. It is not known what subsequent course Badshah took next. His men, it seems, were mutinous and wanted to rest. His initial incentive had been to seize Gulistan but he had failed in this respect. Paramount discipline, and an efficient chain of command, was also lacking among his men. They preferred the commands of several different tribal chieftains at a time. Thus he was forced to give in and wait. By the next day however he found himself besieged. A potent relief force had been collated and attacked the resting tribesmen on the night of the 13th. Clockwork discipline again played a part, and Badshah was routed. Thus ended the Afghani attempt at conquering Gulistan. Havildar Ishar Singh, and his men, had succeeded in their mission. An Analysis. Despite more than a century elapsing since the battle of Saraghari, it is still being passionately debated in academic and military circles. The below points are often raised whenever the battle is studied: 1.) Did the Afghans gain a Phyrric victory? 2.) What was their ultimate goal? 3.) Is it possible for 21 men to face an onslaught by 10,000 men? 4.) What allowed Ishar Singh to hold out for the better part of a day? 5.) How accurate is Haughton's initial assessment of 10-12,000 attackers? 6.) How many casualties were incurred by the tribesmen on the 12th and the 14th? A.1.) Did the Afghans gain a Phyrric victory? A Phyrric victory is a victory gained at such a cost that any subsequent actions/courses are rendered obsolete by the reduction in the victor's forces. The Afghani incentive was to conquer Gulistan. They did not succeed thus a Phyrric victory is out of the question as they cannot be deemed as being the victors at Saraghari. A.2.) What was their ultimate goal? Gulistan, but what they intended to do subsequently is a mystery. Most historians promulgate that after Gulistan, Lockhart would have been the second target. Again, this might or might not be related to the factual truth. The swiftness with which Gul Badshah lead his men indicates that either he wanted to pursue a Fabian strategy, i.e. collate resources and men until they outnumbered Lockhart and thus force Haughton into submission; or launch a massed strike against it as well. A.3.) Is it possible for 21 men to face an onslaught by 10,000 men? Military history does not propose 'what happened' but 'what could, should or would have happened.' If we surgically analyze Saraghari we will see several different elements supporting the Sikhs. 1.) They were well entrenched and experienced soldiers. 2.) They could easily counter any decisive assault due to their location which would have been narrow for 200 men or more. 3.) They occupied higher terrain, thus they were well placed to witness any raid forming and counter it. 4.) They possessed a superior range in firearms. Their Henry Martini rifle reached up to 600 yards, thus giving them a longer reach. 5.) One has to remember that Haughton estimated there to be 10-12,000 attackers based on the banners and tactics of the tribesmen. How many actually attacked the outpost at a single time (the tidal wave theory) has not been established. Contemporaneous Afghani sources state 150-180, although these would probably have dwindled as the attackers reached the terrain on which Saraghari was situated. One also has to remember that the classic Charge-Trench ideologue did not exist at Saraghari. This was not Beersheba where horsemen charged trenches. Saraghari was a well fortified structure thus blunting the Afghani offensive. A.4.) What allowed Ishar Singh to hold out for the better part of a day? An able NCO, Singh was already a prior veteran of Afghanistan. Subsequently he was also well versed in military strategy and adaptive, essential traits which assist all military leaders. He utilized the high vantage of Saraghari, the instruments at his disposal and the training of his men. High Vantage- This would have considerably reduced the number of foes approaching, slowed their ascent and also given him time for a counter-offensive. Instruments at his disposal- The Martini-Henry rifle possessed an accurate range of 600 yards (548.64 m). Ishar Singh is said to have ordered 'fire'when the tribesmen passed the 300 yard (274.32 m) mark. Although the tribesmen possessed their own arsenal, this was not as advanced as the Sikh rifles. Combined with the clockwork precision of his men, the superior Martini would have played a cardinal role in Singh's strategy which was to delay the foe. Training of men- Via Gurmukh Singh's briefings, it has been theorized that Ishar Singh utilized a clockwork plan of action. This called for equal teams of soldiers firing upon the charging foe. Given his own prominence in the affair he would have divided his 20 men team (Gurmukh Singh was signalling) into either 4 lots of five or 5 lots of 4. The former would have seen three teams firing from their own respective positions in the outpost. One team would then have been replaced by another fresher team, while it reloaded and reinforced another. The fourth relieving team would have also reinforced another simultaneously, thus ensuring a rapidity in the assaulting fire. Via the 5 lots of 4 a similar pattern would have emerged although it's effectiveness is debatable. A.5.) How accurate is Haughton's initial assessment of 10-12,000 attackers? Valor aside, the British military was not as obdurate as is cast. It rapidly adapted to the foe's tactics and learnt lessons from near defeats and victories on the battlefield. The First and Second Anglo-Afghan Wars (ranging from 1839-1880 A.D.) had taught it several new principles of Afghani warfare. Haughton himself, a Lt. Col, would have engaged in the Second Anglo-Afghan war and thus observed the proceedings. Afghani tribes, and even military leaders, preferred an en-mass cavalry charge against strategic locations. The psychological effect of seeing a mass body of horsemen, bearing down upon them, would have petrified many opposing forces into surrender. Afghani cavalry tactics often called for 150 men or more (12) to line up in equal lines and charge the foe. Not only did this provide momentum but also immediate relief if required. Whilst confronting such a horde the British would often dismount and then engage. The massed attacks on the 3rd of September, and afterwards, corroborate Haughton's estimates. On the aforementioned date it was estimated that at least 5,000 tribesmen, or upwards, attacked Lockhart. Whilst engaging forts, Badshah would have been well aware of the need of continuous momentum, and rejuvenated men. Cast as crude, his strategy, if looked at from a new light makes profound sense. He would have utilized the tidal theory. 10,000 men divided into 150 companies would have given him 66-67 attacking formations. Their large number would have allowed for continuous momentum, replacement of men and also simultaneous action if they would have been confronted by a joint task force from both Gulistan and Lockhart. He would have reinforced his initial 5,000 with double that number to be on the safe side. A.6.) How many casualties were incurred by the tribesmen on the 12th and the 14th? Upon capturing the field, the relieving force accounted 450 bodies. The latter were the tribesmen who had been killed on the 12th,13th and 14th. Gul Badshah would initially state that Ishar Singh and his men killed 150 of his tribesmen although he would soon change the number to 180. (13) British estimates varied. Given that the attacker often forfeits more men then the defender (14), it can safely be said that at least 30-40% of the casualties would plausibly have been inflicted by Singh and his men. The British estimated there to be at least twice as many wounded tribesmen. The latter never ventured to release the official number of their dead and wounded given their ironic defeat. Upon learning of their gallantry, the British government gloriously applauded the actions of the 21 deceased at Saraghari. Entranced by their valor Queen Victoria awarded each of the Sikhs the Indian order of Merit (the sub-continent's then highest military honor) and allotted a pension and land grant for their next of kin. Presently the battle has been reduced to military textbooks, but it's legend still abounds. These 21 men engraved an unique niche in historicity along with Leonidas and the countless others who engaged in a Thermopylean battle. In death they serve as an inspiration beacon, forever proclaiming 'duty onto death!' The deceased: Havildar Ishar Singh (regimental number 165). Naik Lal Singh (332). Lance Naik Chanda Singh (546). Sepoy Sundar Singh (1321). Sepoy Ram Singh (287). Sepoy Uttar Singh (492). Sepoy Sahib Singh (182). Sepoy Hira Singh (359). Sepoy Daya Singh (687). Sepoy Jivan Singh (760). Sepoy Bhola Singh (791). Sepoy Narayan Singh (834). Sepoy Gurmukh Singh (814). Sepoy Jivan Singh (871). Sepoy Gurmukh Singh (1733). Sepoy Ram Singh (163). Sepoy Bhagwan Singh (1257). Sepoy Bhagwan Singh (1265). Sepoy Buta Singh (1556). Sepoy Jivan Singh (1651). Sepoy Nand Singh (1221). Sources and footnotes: *Chinese Parliament- A military congregation where rank is not customary or obligatory. Any decision manifested is entirely democratic. 1.) Accessed from http://magellanclubforkids.com/2012/09/20/against-all-odds/ 2.) Cassin S.J; (1977) The Greek and Persian Wars 500-323 B.C. Osprey publishers, pg. 11. It is customary to acknowledge that whereas modern scholars give this figure, contemporaneous scholars estimated at least a million Persian soldiers to be present. 3.) Sidhu S.D, Virdi A; The Battle of Saraghari, The Last Stand of the 36th Sikh Regiment. Gyan Khand Media, India, pg. 3. 4.) ibid, pg. 3. 5.) ibid, pg. 4. 6.) Badsey S; (2008) Doctrine and Reform in the British Cavalry, 1880-1918, Barnes and Nobles, UK, pg. 150. Additionally see 3,000 years of Warfare for a profound exegesis of Attrition. 7.) Accessed from http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/History/First150/238-Defending-Saragarhi.html 8.) Accessed from http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/military-history/12117-battle-saragarhi-21-sikhs-versus-10-000-pathans.html 9.) Accessed from http://khalsa-raaj.blogspot.co.nz/2011/09/battle-of-saraghari.html 10.) Accessed from http://swordarm.in/?page_id=21 11.) Accessed from http://magellanclubforkids.com/2012/09/20/against-all-odds/ 12.) Badsey S; (2008) Doctrine and Reform in the British Cavalry, 1880-1918, Barnes and Nobles, UK, pg. 150. 13.) Maj. Gen. Jaswant Singh Letter to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II Institute of Sikh Studies (1999). 14.) Singh; A (2010) The Last Sunset, Roli Publishing a division of Lotus Books. See sub-section titled First-Anglo Sikh War. http://tisarpanth.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/21.html?view=magazine The question and answer component was done with the aid of a military historian. If you possess any questions on it then please post them below, and I will forward them to him. Thank you.
  19. The Badal family are beginning to count their days. The new generations are somewhat educated so the political powers in punjab will shift. Where is this power shift going to go ? What changes will the future bring? And realistically how will it effect the average "sikh"
  20. "Last night, I went to a showing of Punjab 1984. Writing when you’re emotional has its place, but I chose to step away from my immediate feelings after walking out of the theatre last night and reflect on how I actually felt after I was able to separate myself from that experience somewhat. I stepped into that theatre not entirely knowing what to expect, but not expecting something like Sadda Haq (which I thought was really well done). And then the movie started and I was taken aback by the realness of the images before me, by the humanness of the families being portrayed and by the storyline that was developing. It drew feeling out of you. Just to get you up to speed, Shivjit Singh (Diljit) is a kharku singh who is moved to join the Khalistan freedom movement after his father is killed in the 1984 attack on Darbar Sahib—his death justified by Punjab police with a baseless allegation that he was a terrorist—and he himself is tortured in police interrogation. Experiencing firsthand the brutality of the Punjab Police and injustice within India’s judicial system, he takes up armed resistance against the state. Were I to have walked out of the theatre before the end of the first half, I would have had trouble writing a coherent review encouraging you to watch it because I was truly moved by the humanness of the story that was being depicted. But then comes the second half. For those who have seen it already and those who are going to see it, you may have different reactions to this portion. The second half of the film is largely dedicated to portraying the film’s perception of the actions of Sikh Freedom Fighters. Emphasis on the word ‘perception’. The first major depiction is of Shivjit Singh placing explosives on a bus full of innocent people, which his “higher-ups” demanded of him. The next was imagery of kharkus (freedom fighters) lining up innocent Hindus, even those who were Khalistani sympathizers, and shooting them with as much discrimination as the Punjab police. After that came the killing of a rehatvaan (spiritually disciplined) kharku singh by corrupted “kharku singhs”. Suddenly I was no longer teary-eyed and emotional over the film, but aware that I needed to analyze the content with a sobered sense of detachment. You can question what the purpose in these portrayals was. Perhaps, in the filmmaker’s eyes, it was to reflect the human reality of those placed on all spectrums of the Punjab struggle. Perhaps it was to appease those in Punjab who have an interest in preventing outright sympathy with the Khalistan movement. Perhaps it was the film’s attempt to make everyone happy. The practical implication, however, was that most Khalistani freedom fighters are self-interested, manipulative and corrupted. The implication of this portrayal of the Khalistan movement was that if you are not the type of person to critically analyze the media that you are viewing, or do not have a solid base of knowledge on 1984 and the freedom movement to begin with, or were simply drawn into the emotional roller coaster that the film was attempting to take you on, you would leave with the perception that the struggle for Khalistan was obsolete because the only kharku who can remain true to his cause is a fictionalized, idealized character played by Diljit. The practical implication, however, was that most Khalistani freedom fighters are self-interested, manipulative and corrupted. This is where it should start concerning you that one of the main characters who you can sympathize with and believe in throughout is a famous, well-known celebrity. Celebrities are different than real people, right? Only someone so plainly exceptional could have come out of the movement so morally unscathed, right? Where Sadda Haq acted as a well-written argument for the relevance of the Punjab freedom movement, Punjab 1984 was an emotional trip that attempted to humanize a political struggle while forgetting (perhaps conveniently) to build a factual base for the emotional content that was being showered upon the audience. For someone walking into that theatre with limited background knowledge to see the main portrayal of a freedom fighting group as being succumbed to corruption and openly opposing Sikh values, a judgment is going to be made about the overall sincerity of the Khalistan movement. If this film was packaged as a reflection of the Khalistan movement, the producers should have spoken to actual freedom fighters and those central to the Khalistan movement before attempting to create a script. Creating judgments from the sidelines about a movement with deep complexities was plainly irresponsible on the production team’s part. By no means am I saying that every individual involved in the Khalistan movement was a reflection of Sikh values. That is the humanness of any freedom struggle. Humans don’t come pre-labelled as good or bad—it is a spectrum. But for this film to portray the steadfast and morally true kharkus as the rare minority was backwards and harmful. It is not a reflection of the ideological roots of the Khalistan movement and serves to undermine the validity of that struggle. The factual reality is that most of the moral issues and killings of innocents portrayed in the movie was done by the government and its undercover operatives—not freedom fighters. This film did little justice to the ideology of the Khalistan movement. No doubt, it left you feeling emotional and charged up, but I question whether the emotional build-up was actually a good thing. Without proper context established for 1984 and without proper explanation for the purpose of Khalistan—other than what you can infer through emotion—the audience is left with dangerous gaps. Yes, it’s important to feel and to experience through emotion, but hasn’t our community been doing that for long enough? What we are missing is dialogue and critical analysis. To charge up an audience and leave them ultimately feeling disillusioned to everyone in this film but an idealized celebrity figure is wrong in my opinion. I would not encourage someone with no background information about the Khalistan movement to watch this film and accept it as even a remotely accurate portrayal of Khalistani freedom fighters or the ideology of the Khalistan movement. I think the primary benefit in viewing this film, however, is for the purpose of analysis and critical discussion. If you watch the film, take out the time to really analyze the content that’s being presented to you. It’s easy to see through the lens of emotion and lose sight of the problematic content being represented, especially from a film that was widely advertised in Gurdwaras worldwide." http://www.sikh24.com/2014/06/exclusive-punjab-1984-movie-review/#.U7BYafldVps
  21. HI everyone, As a sikh i think it is important that the sikhs have a homeland we can call our own since our Gurus sacrificed and faught so much for our freedom, rights and our land, Punjab, which we have now lost to India and Pakistan. We all need a nation and sikhs, for a proud and militant race with a noble history still do not have one yet. Currently the only option on the table is the Idea of a Khalistan which upon closer inspection seems like a hastily put together Idea in desperation to get a sort of a consolation prize. In my opinion it holds no value and I wanted to know what other intellectual Sikhs thought about it as currently it seems as though the driving force behind the notion of Khalistan is very disorganised and poorly thought out. Please share with me your thoughts, do you think Khalistan is an acheivable or realistic goal? Here are my reasons for critisizing the notion of Khalistan: Punjab is the Sikh homeland and it is here where our religion was born. Sikhism grew to popularity in Punjab in the 16th century in opposition to the Mughal rulers policy for the entire population to submit to Islam. Historically Sikhs resisted forced conversion and faught to defend other religios groups from persecution and submission to Islam also and eventually overthrew the mughal rulers. Punjab was then ruled under sikhs as a secular nation and under the principles of sikh teachings where all faiths and creeds were treated equally and in turn was revered by muslims, hindu's and sikhs alike. So why would sikhs now demand a small portion of Punjab as a country for only Sikhs? This would surely contradict the guru granth sahib which preaches co-existence and tolerence for other religions. When I think of a Sikh nation, I think of the pride of sikhism. An impressive reflection of Sikh values such as tolerence and freedom which would breed a vibrant, clean, non-currupt, multinational/cultural democratic country consisting of beautiful buildings and beautiful statues. I hardly think a sikh-only country demanded by narrow minded individuals will be able to acheive this since there will not be a diverse enough population to draw from in order to progress economic, social and urban development. Sikhs have a legitimate claim to the Whole of the Punjab. The fact that a minority of Punjabi's are sikhs does not mean we cannot claim the whole of Indian Punjab. A sikh country does not mean Sikh-only country, the fact there are many Hindu and Muslim punjabis in India does not mean that they will object to a sikh state if it was secular. I beleive Khalistan will be rejected by the non sikhs but an Independant Punjab has more validity and will be accepted by sikhs and non sikhs alike and therefore increasing the prospect of the state being created. Punjab IS the Sikh homeland PERIOD. An independant Punjab, The Republic of Punjab, will be the Sikh nation which in line with Sikhism will be democratic and secular for all Punjabi, and non punjabi, peoples. I wanted to bring these things to light and start a discussion with real sikh intellectuals rather than with the ignorant people who are mindlessly calling for a Khalistan. I started a Facebook page to make people more aware of these issues if you'd like to support it please like or share it, link is as follows: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Republic-of-Punjab/642347095799974 thank you, I'll look forward to hearing your responses!
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