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  1. For the past few years, i am going to punjab for 4 to 6 weeks and i learnt a lot and experienced both positive and negative of the society. Grew up in city myself but used to spend every summer holidays in our pind. Recently i started visiting my pind very often and started doing sikhi based programs in order to keep villagers away from *peer voodoo* stuff that was rising at alarming rate in this particular pind. So now i think i fairly had first hand experience with our rural sikh folks. Having lived some of my time in city where i did most of my middle schooling, so i am pretty much aware of city folks lifestyle. Two different world ! What i am trying to say is that there is a HUGE difference between rural sikh folks and city sikh folks. There is also HUGE discrimination issue between them. There is no unity between them and to me it seems like they are scared of each other. I rather side with rural folks when it comes to religious stuff but i think this is probably the biggest issue that our kaum ignored or keep ignoring. What do you guys think of this? did you felt the same way?
  2. Punjab, WORLD | July 1, 2013, 7:11 pm Punjab Police Officer Admits Killing 83 in Fake Encounters Inspector Alleges Life Threat from KP GillBy: Sikh24 Editors AMRITSAR SAHIB (July 1, 2013)–An Amritsar Sahib based Punjab Police officer named Surjit “Singh” has admitted to killing over 83 people in police custody. Surjit alleged that during the Sikh Freedom movement in Punjab, the Punjab Police under the guidance of KP Gill had killed many in false encounters. Surjit has alleged that many of those killed in these encounters were actually innocent youth of Punjab who had no links to so-called “militant organisations”. In an interview by Day & Night News, the former officer admitted to having carried out the killings even though he was personally against such heinous crimes. Surjit alleged that he was promised promotions by the Punjab police to carry out such operations however such promises are not being kept today. He has also alleged that his life too is in danger now and he has requested the CBI to carry out a full investigation in this case and also provide him with security. Punjab Police officer Surjit singh (on right) has alleged he was asked by KP Gill to carry out fake encounters. Surjit has been serving the Punjab Police since November 1989. During his tenure there, he was often given a list of names that were to be picked up and eliminated. He alleged that if proper investigations are carried out, many other Punjab Police officers would be found guilty of committing the same crime as him. Human Rights Activist S. Jaswant Singh Khalra had unearthed proof of 25,000 illegal cremations just in Amritsar Sahib area. S. Khalra was later also abducted and eliminated by the Punjab Police under the orders of KP Gill. http://www.sikh24.com/2013/07/punjab-police-officer-admits-killing-83-in-fake-encounters/#.UdIdjDvviSo Sikh24 Editors can be reached at @
  3. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130728/main4.htm Punjab has lowest poverty ratio in rural areas Sarbjit Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 27 Even while Punjab’s GDP is growing at a slow pace compared to certain other big states and its agriculture sector, which is the lifeline of its economy, has been registering sluggish growth for the past few years, the state has got the distinction of having the lowest poverty ratio in its rural areas. As far as the lowest poverty ratio in the urban areas of the big states is concerned, Punjab figures above Haryana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Himachal Pradesh in the list released by the Planning Commission of India recently. Only 23.18 lakh persons (8.26 per cent of the total population) are below the poverty line in the state according to the latest Planning Commission’s figures. In 2004-05, 53.6 lakh persons were below poverty line in the state. Obviously, strong fundamentals in the state’s economy, which is otherwise in a sort of crisis, have helped in lowering the poverty ratio in Punjab. In fact, Punjab has recorded a substantial decline in poverty in a period of seven years from 2004-05 to 2011-12. “On the basis of latest figures released by the Planning Commission, the state’s poverty ratio, which was 22.1 per cent in rural areas in 2004-05 has come down to 7.66 per cent. It has come down to 9.24 per cent from 18.7 per cent in urban areas,” said a senior official of the state Planning Board. The average per capita monthly expenditure in rural areas has been pegged at Rs 2,136.39 in rural areas and Rs 2,743.07 in urban areas by the commission. Barring Kerala, Punjab is at the top among big states as far as the average per capita monthly expenditure in rural areas is concerned. As far as per capital expenditure in urban areas is concerned, it is behind a number of states including Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra. Interestingly, while the number of below poverty line families in the state has come down to about 4.6 lakh (considering each family comprises five members), the state government has been giving wheat and pulses at subsidised rates to 15.4 lakh families under the Atta-Dal scheme for which families having per annum income below Rs 30,000 are included. When the Centre’s food security programme will be launched in the state, about 36 lakh families are expected to be covered under it. The total number of families in the state is in the range of 58 lakh. The state government had recently ordered the addition of at least 1 lakh families to list of Atta-Dal scheme beneficiaries. A senior official said that it was a good sign that the number of below poverty line families had come down. But that would result in fiscal loss to the state government, he said. “Many grants are given by the Centre to the states under poverty alleviation programmes. Punjab will lose a major part of such grants now,” said the official. POVERTY THRESHOLD Under Tendulkar Committee methodology, a person whose daily expenditure exceeds Rs 33.33 in an urban area and Rs 27.20 in a rural area is considered above the poverty line.
  4. I'm looking for more information on their role in the 1980-1990s period. How many people were killed? Did they attack more Hindus than the Sikh militants? I'd like some sources and information. Thanks.
  5. WJKK WJKF I wrote this story a while back in a post but no one seemed to reply so I thought id make a topic. A few years back I was at a Gurdwara and there was one of the Sangat telling stories about Punjab, and about the amount of blood shed in Punjab from the times of our Gurus until now. He then told a story, which was from a few years back from Punjab. Im a bit sketchy on all the details as it was a few years back so please forgive me. In a Pind in Punjab, there was a tree which locals said gave a errie feeling when you go past it. They ask a Baba why this is. He explained that they should dig the ground where they tree is. The villages did and they found a bag full of human bones. They asked the Baba about this and he replied that these bones belonged to Sikhs who were fighting Mughals during Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji Maharajas’ time. The Mughals put the bones in a bag and left them. He told the Singhs to take the bones to a nearby village (I forgotten the reason why). The Singhs then preceded to the village, and went through a forest. Whilst walking, they heard a noise behind them and saw a Beautiful tall Singh dressed in white Bana. The Singh asked them if they have the bones of the soliders, to which they replied yes, and the Singh then said that he will take them. The group agreed and went into the opposite direction to the Singh. As soon as they turned around to see him again, he was gone. They went back to the Baba and explained the situation, the Baba said that When God wants to he will do it himself, and exaplined that it was Dhan Dhan Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji Maharaj who they saw and who took the remains of the Sikh soldiers with him. Has anyone heard of this story, or has the full story. Does anyone have any other stories like this? Phul Chuk Maff if I have made any mistakes at all. WJKK WJKF
  6. Ok, as a few people on here know I've been studying law and made myself immune to prosecution. Finding ways to spread this easily to the quom didn't fan out, so I immediately went to tackle the financial issue as I know that is the other thing enslaving us. Chain on your neck and pocket book. Now, http://public.worldfreemansociety.org/index.php/forum/49-banking/111397-a4v-success-process-changes-nu-metod-non-a4v?start=6#120754 That's me making the thread, in the op I list the guy who said it. Might be the easiest way instead of a way called Accept 4 Value which is dealing with gov. revenue agencies but I'll try it with a few tickets I have left lying around. Basic steps: 1. Wrote cheque for 1 dollar 2. In memo wrote payment in full for account ______________ settlement on account ___________ 3. Sent 4. Wait 5. Called in today as it showed up as cashed, balance was 1800 and unpaid for about a year as I was learning. Guy said it now 0, will post written proof into that thread, and here. ----------------------- The law stuff simple breakdown for Canada: s.32 of charter & r v dell 2005 confirm that charter only applies to gov. not private citizens s. 52 & r v big drug mart 1986 confirm that any statute inconsistent with that (i,e applying to you) is of no force and effect. R V JAH a uk case, confirms that the monarch has violated oath and no courts in her name are of any standing (less researched by me atm) Procedure would be to hand crown letter stating the above, and your status i.e Sui juris (fully competent i.e cant be made ward), can add I am your father luke, etc. troll them as they can't respond. Then would be to swear affidavit that they submit to your word, as silence = submission. Then file motion to dismiss. I did this after I got a false case slapped for getting into the face of a local TAVIS (special guns, gang task force for my area) staff sergeant. Needless to say he was surprised when 1. I wasn't scared 2. I won the case 3. Now, since I have funds I'm taking his house through liens. --- Law is based on these 10 maxims too long to link here but ask lawyers they will confirm they are taught this. http://loveforlife.com.au/content/08/01/24/ten-commercial-maxims-jack-harper Now, go be free my brothers and sisters I feel this is part of what guru ji meant when guru ji said learn politics. Please spread this information far and wide and feel free to hit me up by pm or: 266f948c I'll give other communication methods by pm as Idc if I get randoms on bbm because I might be switching to a q10 anyway if I'm going hard on this, and need a keyboard for communication. VJKVJF|| Humble request that you use this money to buy shastar as 'Raj bina neh Dharam chale hain Dharam bina sab dale male hain' 'shastar k adheen hai raaj' - Guru Gobind Singh Ji KHALISTAN ZINDABAD|| Btw, I'm only mona cuz I don't have paggs from india my hair is curly and if I pull, it's past my shoulders. I have every intention of dying after I take amrit as that is the only thing that feels horrible to me to be away from guru ji, especially in my last 'temporal' moments. Please don't argue or ask about that, as this information is VIP can free them singhs in India they may shoot everyone involved after but it'll mean no more fake cases and many other things which NSA shouldn't get to see.
  7. Guru Nanak Dev Ji's visit to Mecca. Despite rejecting the prevalent sub-continental philosophies surrounding him, Guru Nanak Dev undertook extensive travels in visiting the sites of pilgrimage often associated with his neighboring traditions. He visited Rome to view and dissect the Christian faith, he visited many an eminent Hindu site to dispel prevalent superstitions accepted as spirituality whilst he visited Mecca to dispel the myth of a singular supreme faith. It is his visit to Mecca which has become a matter of extensive debate between Islamic and Sikh scholars. The queries raised by the critics are simple yet confounding to the layman. What truly occurred at Mecca. Did Guru Nanak Dev Ji actually visit the said location? Did he adhere to its tenets as prescribed by Islam? Did he conform his belief in the prophet and his revelation? Or is there a more divergent version to the event. One which narrates the truth in it's entirety and forgoes all notions of the Guru claiming Islam to be his faith? Let us see. The Guru always purported himself to be neutral and entirely indifferent to both the doctrines of Islam and Hinduism. He did not give credence to either of the said faiths being rational in their spiritual perspective and/or capable of liberating an adherent. Islamic scholars have often justified their fraudulent views, regarding the Guru's acceptance of Islam, by quoting several untraceable and more often then not extremely biased and heavily fraudulent sources devoid of any historical logic. These sources, and their so called rationality, are subsequently refuted by the Guru's own writings contained within the Sikh canon and events which transpired in his life. The arguments concerning the Guru's acceptance of Islam are laid as follows: 1.) The Guru paid obeisance to Allah at a mosque in his residential region. Despite such an event transpiring its logic, and course, has been heavily perverted by these pseudo-scholars. The Guru did indeed visit the mosque but for a more divergent reason than is claimed by our neo-scholars. His dictum that the existence of both Hindus and Muslims, as per their stratification, was meaningless in the eyes of the creator and as a result there truly was no distinctive entity defined as Hinduism or even Islam. If he truly had been a Muslim than such a statement would have been apostasy and he himself would have decried and eschewed any notion of citing it. When his ultimatum reached the ears of the regional Islamic authorities they immediately descended on him. In order to make him prove his claim, and potentially see and accept the supremacy of Islam, he was challenged to attend the ritualistic Islamic prayer at the local mosque if he truly abided by his own paragon. The Guru accepted this challenge and traversed to the said mosque. On entering and performing ablution he patiently stood still whilst the prayer was reiterated around him. After the conclusion the authorities approached him and chastised him for his conduct. Why did he not bow and kneel as they had done? They queried from him. The Guru answered with an extensive conundrum, citing the fact that no one truly had their heart in the prayer and as such he was confused as to what to do. Thus he decided to remain standing. When he was heavily criticized due to his blasphemy he provided an extensive insight into the minds of the authorities themselves. They had been concerned with the commercialization and upkeep of their respective horses he delved. This revelation finally exposed the hypocrisy of the ritualistic prayers and their performers. This very event proves the Guru's rejection of Islamic tenets. As per Islam only God (Allah) and his prophet, Muhammad, are allowed insight into the minds of men ('Al-Ghaib'). Thus the Guru's rejection, avoidance of performing a ritualistic prayer and divine insight proves him to be a non-muslim. 2.) The Guru included the Bani of several eminent Islamic saints on his canon. As per history the Guru included the Bani of four "muslim" saints in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Despite the label of "muslim" these individuals did not adhere to fundamental Islamic notions (parallel to the Guru and his subsequent successors). Despite using Arabian terminology Sheik Farid gave great credence to the dictums of re-incarnation, a recognition of humanity and the recognition of the metaphysical concept of avatar-hood. Bhagat Sadhna preached the notion of universality and belief in a God who was above any Abrahamic or Hinduistic constraints. Bhagat Bikhan as a sufi purported the concept of a creator beyond any responsibility and one who was not bound via fundamental constraints. Bhai Mardanna, the Guru's perpetual companion and for the sake of a debate referred to as a saint, himself accepted Guru Nanak's rejection of Islamic doctrines and believed in the Guru's contrary-to-Islam doctrine. Thus these individuals cannot be truly considered as muslims as they discarded all notions of ethnic, national and religious labels. 3.) The Guru visited Mecca. This is the crucial crux of the matter at hand and as such will be here forth dissected. Mecca despite being an autonomous nerve-center of Islam has remained a matter of controversy since it's inception as a pillar of Islamic centrality. Its indigenous occupants, as per neutral sources, were forced to conform to Islamic ideals, accepted the ethos or were subsequently killed in the following conflicts which arose from the prophet Muhammad's teachings. Historians, including eminent Islamic personalities themselves, had cast doubt on the veracity of Mecca's uniqueness and whether it warrants acceptance in the already paradoxical notions laid down by the Koran. The revolutionary poet easily showcases the rational perspective of Mecca and its pilgrimage observances: 'I search for the way, but not the way to the Ka'ba and the temple. For I see in the former a troop of idolaters and in the latter a band of self-worshippers.' -Rumi. Rumi's statement is only a cognitive piece of the ever greater self-doubting Islamic engine. Despite purporting extreme monotheism, muslims still continue unabashed in their pilgrimage to Mecca which more often than not is seen as being contrary to Islam's monotheistic doctrine and essentially an acceptance of idolatry. Despite visiting Mecca there is no record of Guru Nanak Dev adhering to the following procedure whose fulfillment is a fundamental obligation of every devout Mohammadean: 1.) The First Five Days. The pilgrim arrives at a location a specific distance away from the sight of veneration. He consecrates himself and abstains from sexual inter-course and damaging any life. Other then the notion of sexual inter-course the Guru would have rejected the doctrine of damaging any life. There are numerous examples in his writings which emphasize on the hypocrisy of promoting oneself as a preserver of life, whereas rejecting the fact that as per the divine being's wish when one walks when crushes life underneath one's own feet! When one breathes one destroys life in the air, whatever one does one ends up causing destruction of life. As such damaging any life deliberately (excluding micro-organisms) can be considered as being anathema to religion, but that too depending on the context of the situation. The pilgrim after performing hygienic ablutions commences an idolatrous procedure which involves the kissing of the black stone. Again, despite idolatry being taboo in Islam this very practice contradicts its fundamental dictums. The Guru was dead-set against idolatry, and there is no record of him performing such a paradoxical and unethical practice. 'Had I not seen the Prophet kiss you, I would not kiss you myself.' -Caliph' Umar addressing the Black Stone. 2.) The Sixth to Tenth Day. Now begins what many individuals label as a bizzare series of actions (whose rational explanations lie in pre-Islamic pagan practices). The pilgrim leaves the enclosure where the black stone is retained and commences a climb up Mount As' Safa. He then sprints from Mount As' Safa to the pinnacle of the neighboring Al-Marwah seven times repeating various incantations and prayers. In the evening he returns to Mecca, and repeats the actions of the previous five days. On the seventh day he listens to particular orations at Mecca and on the subsequent eighth day commences a journey towards Mina. In Mina he performs the ritualistic Islamic practices and on the ninth day traverses to Mount Arafat where he performs 'Wuquf' or the right of standing. The pilgrim after listening to an oration on repentance than races to Muzdalifah where he joins into the sunset prayers. The tenth day is a day of sacrifice and celebration in the Islamic prism. Early in the morning the pilgrim leaves Muzdalifah and reaches the three pillars in Mina. Here he stones each pillar collectively in commemoration of Abraham's stoning of the Devil. He then sacrifices a goat to commemorate the success of his entire journey. A fundamental energy, provided by belief, is needed for the observance of such a ritualistic journey. Despite Guru Nanak Dev Ji reaching Mecca he did not adhere to any of the procedural steps required for the success of one's undertaking. He instead went to the central mosque and commenced a debate with the Islamic clergy after performing a miraculous action. Even the saints whose teachings were incorporated into the Sikh ethos rejected the pilgrimage to Mecca. Voluminous sources provide evidence of how the Gurus, the saints and other eminent personalities rejected the notion of the Meccan pilgrimage as being nothing more than a blot on secular monotheism and spirituality. Let us now examine the Meccan pilgrimage in it's entirety. Is it truly a Mohammadean attribute or is there a more subtle truth residing underneath the surface? Whereas an orthodox muslim would cry blasphemy at any mention of an exegesis of Mecca, a researcher will not deter from his course. Rumi and Caliph Umar were not the only Islamic personalities to doubt or subtly diverge from the authenticity of Mecca. They were followed by numerous individuals, among them being Al-Ma'rai. How could an unflinching and extremist monotheist like Muhammad give credence to a practice so paradoxical to the very ethos he claimed to be delivering from God?! The answer lies in his interactions with the pre-Islamic residents of Arabia. From adolescent he was influenced by an amalgamated myriad of Zorostrian, Pagan, Jewish and Christian formulas which he combined to revive what he called the true faith. It was a decisive catalyst of a multi-fabricated ideology which he passed of as being original. A majority of the Jewish populace played to the prophet's senses when they discarded Moses and Jesus and accepted him as the messenger of God in their stead. Thus the original Mecca was identified as Jerusalem by Muhammad. Yet when the Jews awakened to the deceit being executed right under their very noses, they immediately expelled Muhammad and his entourage. Conveniently at the onset of this expulsion the prophet received a divine commandment from God to revamp the original ethos and adopt Mecca as the new pilgrimage region. This divine version however is refuted by the prophet's intelligence, he was aware that by capturing Mecca he could re-write it's history and associations to formulate a new practice with roots in an ancient rite. In A.H. 6 the Muslims tried penetrating Mecca but were refused entry by the residents. In A.H. 7 they finally succeeded in their design, and it was then that the prophet performed the Meccan pilgrimage. 'In the tenth year A.H. Muhammad made his pilgrimage to Mecca, the old shrine of his forefathers, and every detail of superstitious observance which he fulfilled has become the norm in Islam. As Wellhausen says the result is that "we now have stations of cavalry journey without the history of the Passion." Pagan practices are explained away by inventing Moslem legends attributed to Bible characters, and the whole is an incomprehensible jumble of fictious lore."' -S. Zwemer. There is historic evidence that pre-Islamic Arabia was rife with idolatry. The Nomadic tribals were ardent worshippers of various deities encapsulated by various idols or just a singular and simplistic stone. Clement of Alexandria, ca. 190, recorded this particular fetish which was extensively rife in the pre-Islamic world. Mecca and it's inner precincts, the 'Kaaba', are not Islamic creations but were birthed in antiquity. Even the Persians allude to the cubical structure containing a black stone which was observed as being an emblem of Saturn. In the vicinity of Mecca are several other idols which have gained a superficial Muslim character by allegedly being associated with various biblical personalities. The black stone which is extensively revered by the Islamic galaxy is a meteorite and composed of iridium. It is highly doubtful whether it is truly the same stone which was gifted by Gabriel to Ishmael to construct the 'Kaaba.' The original stone was carried of as booty by the Qarmatians in the fourth century, and restored by them after a long period of time. It is highly doubtful whether they honestly retrieved and returned the original stone. Historians and archaeologists are of the mind that the stone was originally a component of a parent idol, Hubal. Wellhausen summarizes Hubal to be the original Allah, as the Meccans are known to have exclaimed 'Hurrah for Hubal' on defeating the prophet near Medina. The circumambulation of the sanctuary was another prevalent rite adopted from Pagan practices by the prophet. The seven circumbulations reflect the faith expressed by a devotee to his particular diety, these also involved the caressing and kissing of the said idol. The extensive emphasis on the evening prayers at Muzdalifah and Mina were introduced by the prophet to rebut his solar associations. The moon gifted to Guru Nanak at Mecca, which is attested to be an Islamic symbol, has it's roots in tribal theology which attested to the divinity of heavenly bodies. The excessive race between As Safa and Al-Marwa signify the muslim connection with pre-Islamic deities. Pagan devotees ran between both regions to kiss the idols of Isaf and Naila to acquire fortune. The practice of rejecting the devil via stoning is another paganistic belief. Originally it was done to acquire fortune as the seasons bypassed. One can easily summarize the pilgrimage to Mecca as being nothing more than a revamped, and rejuvenated pagan tradition given an Islamic coloring to veil it's paradoxical nature. Guru Nanak who extensively decried and criticized the hypocrisy of religions and their lies would not have attended a region of such infamy and deceit. Even Islamic extremists are stumped when asked to provide proof of the Guru ever having giving any semblance of credibility or even recognition to Mecca. His visit to the site does not classify him as an Islamist alone. His earlier ideology and concept rebut any false pretense that he was a Muslim and as such an ardent member of his creed. Yet the fundamental query, how did the Guru penetrate Mecca, still remains.The question is found in the annals of Islamic history itself. From circa 700 A.D. to 1803 A.D. Mecca was under the jurisdiction of the Ottomans. Subsequently the administration of the said region was granted to the Caliphs. It was only in the early 1900's, when the Wahabbi ideology became prevalent that it was restricted to non-muslims. Thus Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1469-1539 A.D.) easily entered the city without any constraints. 'People come from far corners of the land to throw pebbles (at Satan) and to kiss the (black stone). How strange are the things they say! Is all mankind becoming blind to the truth? O fools! Awake. The rites ye hold sacred are but a cheat contrived by men of old who lusted after wealth; and gained their lust. and died in baseness- their law is dust!' -Al-Ma'ari. http://tisarpanth.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/the-meccan-chronicle.html
  8. We always hear about the role of the Budha Dal in it's capacity as a parallel component of Akal Takhat and Shahidan misl, but whatever happened to the Tarna Dal during the Anglo-Sikh wars???? What actions did it undertake along with it's parallel budha dal contemporaries in order to prevent British encroachment of Punjab, and what did it do in the aftermath??? What of it's sub-battalions, what were their roles during this conjuncture????? Has their been a decisive re-writing of history under our very noses concerning Akali Singhs and their history?????
  9. Dear Sikh Sangat, The Sikh Alliance is a non-profit organization, located in Modesto, California. In order to make people more aware of our projects and cases, we have realized the importance of social media pages. Therefore, we kindly ask you to like our Facebook and Twitter Pages and ask your friends to do the same. More information about the organization can be found on our social media pages. Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SikhAlliance Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/SikhAlliance Thank you!
  10. If Punjab gets its independence, will it be a full democratic state ? Freedom of vote, an elected head of state selected via the people, does not matter on background of the person voted into power Freedom of speech, freedom to express your views even if it offends the masses (common sense) Freedom to practise any belief system (common sense) Freedom to eat and drink e.g. eating meat and alcohol I’ve added common sense in brackets e.g. murdering human beings, stealing, etc etc, people get my point . Will be interesting, what people view is on this.
  11. I'm thinking they must have discussed issues that are currently arising between Sikhs in uk and india due to the mass protests last year regard bhai rajoana. so could it be that David cameron has conspired and assured badal and terrorist indian congress party that the voice of the Briitsh Sikhs will not be heard if death sentences were carried out against Sikh political prisoners? all in the name of keeping the status quo, economic ties against decent civilised norms of natural human justice, fairness and other human rights. Why hasnt he nor his ministers (william hague foreign secretary and home secretary therasa may) not spoken out against the anti-justice and anti-democratic steps and credentials of Indian government?
  12. If as I see here: A quote from Kute Di Pooch Singh Gill: "The combined impact of these initiatives was that, by January 1989, the terrorists had been pushed into a thin strip along the Pakistan border, with over 70 per cent of their strikes restricted to just three of the twelve districts in Punjab – Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Ferozepur." Then it is not too far to assume that 70%+ of all deaths were also in those three districts. With a current day population touching about 7 million it is not too far to assume about half that 20-30 years ago. 3-400k dead; Being from the Doab, my mom for example can tell me about stuff that happened, she doesn't talk about it a lot, but it seems that no-one directly from my nuclear family was killed. I am wondering how different it is for those three districts, as in if I assume that over 1/3rd of the male youth for example (below 30-35? above 12??) were killed is thaat about accurate. The reason is, I'm trying to see how much of India's strategy is literally butchering everyone and if there's any order to it. They talk about 4 point plans, and in the end they did kill many of the mukhis of the jathe but how much of that is luck. Seeing this man's interview (former BSF officer) it points to just a butchering, but then why is it only Punjab's insurgency that was 'quelled'. Is it due to us cutting down the jungles, so therefore not having cover of those like in the NE (possibility). Or what? I understand I can be 90% sure, but would rather have more voices to hear and yea.. Pretty much that's it.
  13. To begin: Why do I post stuff like this: Most are scared not of 'death' but of a 'charge' for which they do 'time' knowing 'law I know with god's will I can always beat the charge; the only alternative is to kill me, which is w.e To start The facts: 1. System exists with our consent. 2. The system is based on a lie. 3. A lie always has some truth in it 4. A lie cannot ever win against the truth 5. A truth is a more efficient and stronger version of a lie (read on this is an edit in ref. to a point about system can't fight itself and a point later on at end of situation section). Preamble: The real rulers and elites are those with IMF, world bank, etc. the ones who control money. Countries using a fiat currency are by definition bankrupt, as their currency is not backed by anything. This is why they freely give away their wares, and have people signing up as wards of a corporation (non-living entity). A corporation does not have to be commercial in nature. Therefore, aiming at the government is not the long target but is the main one to do. With Raaj you can control your financial system. There is not a government conspiracy, any conspiracy is at a much-much higher level. (no conspiracy, bankers know how money works i.e just a signature but just keep it hidden from public, and restrict banks from exhanging promisorry notes for 'dollars' as an example) TL;DR Government doesn't rule, and while taking down alone is an effort; using even peaceful but offensive methods (prosecution, liens, etc.) numbers much higher than most terrorist cells are not required (3-4 per town/district targeting highest people). However, just like insurgencies mass support is required and the more the merrier. The knowledge must be spread, or you turn into high-value easy to take-down targets yourselves. Section 1: The Government: 1. If we analyze the government we see that the shield of ignorance cast over our eyes, is on their eyes as well. I would doubt if cm's knew about the real nature of law, or even the Indian constitution as India being a very connected, and young country has not had time to build a political class that is socially separated from the people the same way as Canada for example. The rural nature of the country could also account for this. (i.e governmental workers are much more known and connected to poplace than other places) (apne are with them). TL;DR they are not smarter than you. 2. The untouchability the higher-ups feel will put them in legal trouble, as they may they do not need to reply to legal notices. 3. They are incompetent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle 4. While they are corrupt and incompetent, they are not knowingly working against themselves. I.e will not purposely promote duffars if they can help it. 5. They are already selfish people, with corrupt interests and 'There is no honor among thieves'. Easy to make them fight against each other. See 6 6. The system, (government) is designed like any corporation, with limited liability in mind. However, you are ALWAYS personally liable for any crimes you commit. See 7 for why this is important. 7. It is the default course of action, to discard a worker who is too expensive in up-keep (i.e scandals, too much cases against, liens, etc.) 8. Previous cases etc. have not worked because the system is designed to handle small amounts of dis-content. 9. Channels to vent dis-content and dis-arm it exist in all places no exceptions (all countries). (I.e regulatory bodies, de facto statutory courts, etc.) 10. These are only to mis-lead, and mis-direct people in order to dissuade them from acknowledging and realizing their own range (i.e can target top to bottom, anyone, anytime, everywhere). (Shastar Vidhiya: Understand Range) 11. System is designed to function regardless of leader-ship changes, and power is spread throughout to mitigate disaster’s such Indira/Rajiv killings. Strategy: An armed populace (both knowledge, and physical) who is able to overwhelm the walls of the system is the best course of action. This group must be ever open, and expanding in order to prevent a complete clamp/stamp down of it. A traditional structure of intelligent leaders, and dumbed down recruits will not work as each must be able to to conquer alone. (sava lakh seh ek). Cannot discount value of moral victories, and structures must be in place in order to train new people who join as it is much harder to teach a person gyan than it is to load rockets, and bullets. The system has worked by being rigid and un-moving, a principle that has earned it respect and fear in the eyes of people; it is not designed to be able to counter a threat which is directly a more refined version of itself i.e using focused over-whelming force, to destroy leaders while sparing followers who are not immediate threat. They themselves after slowly having their turtle break away, will submit and come to you giving you rule. At thatpoint, it is up to the Sikh to make correct decision based on gurmat. An example of this is, Baba Baghel Singh and Delhi. Situation: The MO of government has changed from being overwhelmingly based on violence, as it runs contrary to the myths and assumptions this society is based on. Also, a west vs. easy dichotomy is there with India acting alone but wanting/needing to stay on west's side and vice-versa. They play off each other, India acting a bit nicer, west a bit meaner to give a world-wide view of 'democracy'. I hope my points have come across, I'm tired and I understand what my next correct actions have to be (hopefully). Past that, I hope you understand you have to start in your own neighborhood, in order to gain skills, experience, and people. Realize everything is connected, and that an ounce of freedom in Canada is worth a pound elsewhere. --- The system is the same everywhere, same structure same EVERYTHING. Everything, is connected so breaking it here, breaks it elsewhere. However, we don't have to free the world to free the Khalsa (or The Punjab) as we are people of unlimited liability free in their actions and therefore able to have focus, and vision. The system, is more like a hammer able only to strike out at random, and the actions people within that structure are able to take are limited by: 1. their own morals vs. situation 2. their posts 3. public support, etc. We don't need the support of the public, or any of that as Truth always wins vs. lies. -- When I said before that system is not designed to win against a better version of itself, I meant that a lie always has some truth in it, but can never stand up to the whole thing. VJKVJF Can't find original white paper anymore read it a few months ago: http://apdforum.com/en_GB/article/rmiap/articles/online/features/2012/04/05/india-terror-strategy edit - this may be http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/jcs/article/view/4293/4888 what I read not sure now, but yea just google counter-insurgency doctrine to see how they will deal with this stuff. Paper details here: kept at bottom to improve readability of my own points: which uses a four point strategy for counter-insurgency: 1. Suspend demo gov. start president rule Reason: Respect/Fear from stable centre rule, as well as the obvious things (deploy force, etc.) because of internal processes see 11. 2. Flood area with security forces Reason: Forces severely under-budgeted, under-equipped, and under-trained. Do nothing more than resort to thuggery, and eventually something happens. Also, fun-times for commanders and show of force to rest of public for respect/fear in order to win support for continued budget increases. Third point, to limit AO of insurgents see point 3 3. Target Militant Leaders but spare followers Reason: Causes dis-array, and lowers morale as often the most knowledgeable ones are the leaders, and due to point 2 as well as infrastructure of country avg. people are not at full potential. (true with any army, including lok sabha) 4. Force elections, return to 'normalcy' Reason: Show of power, that I can do this and that. To exhaust people mentally, not full analysis. It's their own bs pretty much, can look at it in many ways: army, and police want new kind of females to do mass rapes of, they want 'democracy', keep out of eye of western public, w.e w.e They act without reason, they are still human, and due to being sheltered and focused on tyranny the saying that criminals have low iq applies. What is definition of insurgency: Let us define it as actions taken to change and/or topple the current infrastructure and government. Therefore, a peaceful action such as prosecuting police officers with a certain mind-state is in fact insurgency. edit- Spelling edit2- Dam, word messed up my formatting fixed now hopefully but not orig way I meant it to read. :C
  14. BHAAR - Unthinkable burden - Toronto Screening A story of a blackcat A real life story through the eyes of a young Sikh male depicting the dark chapter of state-sanctioned violence in Punjab. This story takes you through the life experiences of Punjabi's who were subjected to torture at the hands of the Indian police. Description Trailer: Showtimes: Albion Cinemas Saturday March 23 - 1:30pm Sunday March 24 - 11:30am, 1:30pmTickets $10 Please contact daas for further info
  15. Guest

    Women's safety in Punjab

    Hi all, I am going to be visiting the Punjab with my family, but after all the recent horrific news that I have been reading I am constantly worried about the safety of my dearest female family members - I intend to accompany them throughtout the trip. Am I being paranoid? Please advise, serious responses would be greatly appreciated. WJKK WJKF
  16. This trend if not stopped will get worse and worse, seriously what alternatives are there, whos's to blame? Alarming rise in HIV among drug addicts Against the national average of 10% among injectable drug users, the count stands much high at 40% in Amritsar and 27% in Tarn Taran Perneet Singh Tribune News Service (Above) the locked gate of the de-addiction centre at Kairon village in Tarn Taran district and (Below) drug wrappers and injections lie strewn at a deserted building next to the Civil Hospital. Photos: Vishal Kumar Tarn Taran, January 7 The rampant drug addiction among youths in Punjab is putting them at the risk of bigger danger — HIV infection. The HIV prevalence among injectable drug users (IDUs) is 27 per cent in Tarn Taran and 40 per cent in Amritsar, much above the national average of 10 per cent. The Opiod Substitution Therapy (OST) Centre here has over 1,000 registered male patients, of whom 180 have been regularly visiting the centre to avail the treatment. Amritsar too has an OST Centre with 420 men listed with it; 90 have been visiting regularly for treatment. Confirming the figures, the centre’s nodal officer, Dr Rana Ranbir Singh, said most alarming was the fact that HIV prevalence had far exceeded the national average in these border areas. OST centres are an initiative of the National Aids Control Organisation, which provides free medicines for the treatment of IDUs. Sources said one of the main reasons behind the increasing number of IDUs was that addicts find injecting drugs cost-effective. By injecting drugs, primarily heroin, into their veins, they get a high with a small quantity of the drug. On the other hand, addicts end up wasting a part of the heroin if they sniff it, said sources. Apart from heroin, the border belt youth are getting hooked on to smack and pharmaceutical drugs like morphine. The addicts mostly are in the 20-40 age group, but they cut across different sections of the society. Another cause for concern was the easy availability of drugs, which was corroborated by various individuals. An addict from Sakhyawali village said he never faced any problem in getting his daily dose. He said most of those dealing in the drug trade themselves were addicts. A physician from Guru Ka Khu village said drug peddlers and addicts could easily be spotted on the streets carrying out their deals in a secretive manner. “Some people even run the drug racket from their houses,” he said. Among the areas where drug addiction is on the rise in Tarn Taran are Patti, Khemkaran, Valtoha and Khalra, besides villages like Kazikot, Valipur, Bugga, Palsora, Fatehchak and Muradpur. De-addiction facilities ill-equipped Though drug addiction is rising in the border belt, de-addiction facilities seem to be unmatchable. A couple of months back, only the district headquarters had de-addiction and OST centres in its civil hospital. The de-addiction centre in Patti got functional two months ago, but it is yet to start proper medication of addicts. A de-addiction centre located at Kairon village near Patti has been lying shut for the past sometime while the infrastructure inside it is rotting. The authorities have neither shifted its furniture to a hospital nor put the building to an alternative use. This, despite the fact that addicts from Patti had been visiting Tarn Taran for treatment in the past. Dr Rana, also the in-charge of the Patti centre, said the town will soon have its own OST centre and Tarn Taran will become the first district in the country to have two OST centres. Worst-hit areas in Tarn Taran Patti, Khemkaran, Valtoha and Khalra and villages like Kazikot, Valipur, Bugga, Palsora, Fatehchak and Muradpur. Addicts using deserted buildings Drug addicts have been exploiting the premises of government hospitals and de-addiction centres to have their daily dose of drugs. The Tribune team spotted the leftovers of paper used to sniff drugs at a deserted building of the Panchayati Raj Department located on the premises of the Tarn Taran Civil Hospital, besides a room inside the de-addiction centre building in Patti. Superintendent of Police (detective) Harvinder Singh said he would be issuing orders to all station house officers to keep an eye on deserted buildings in the district.
  17. I wanted to bring this to the sangats attention about a great facebook page showing the old historical gurdwaras in pakistan that are in very bad shape and need renovation. They are working to preserve these gurdwaras. Hope people will check out the beautiful pictures and support them Waheguru. Save the Historical Gurdwaras
  18. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3PirryUhHs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_npmSFzQJns http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s6zhSW6rBw
  19. Punjab shame piles on: Gang-raped and dumped, nurse critical TNN | Jan 21, 2013, 03.40 AM IST BATHINDA: Even before the memories of Patiala gang rape and suicide case fade, another abduction and gang-rape of a 26-year-old nurse, who was in Chandigarh to attend a job interview, shocked Punjab on Sunday. In an observation in the Patiala gang rape and suicide case, the Punjab and Haryana high court last month had made scathing criticism of the state of affairs in Punjab, saying there is need to combat the 'rape culture' in the state. However, the 'rape culture' seems to be continuing in the state. In the latest case, the nurse from Landeke village in Moga district was thrown out by the rapists from a car on Bathinda-Dabawali road on Sunday evening, two days after her abduction. The girl, who had completed her nursing course from Mata Sahib Kaur College in Gidderbaha in 2007, is battling for life at Bathinda civil hospital now. According to a statement given to Bathinda's Rama Mandi police station SHO Paramjeet Singh, the girl, who had been looking for a job, was informed by one of her friends that there was a vacancy at a Sector 34 hospital in Chandigarh. She took a bus to Chandigarh on Friday morning and got down at Sector 43 bus terminal when an unknown person came to her asking for an address. Before she could utter a word, the girl was dragged into a car in which another woman and a man were seated. They gagged her and the trio injected her with some drug after which she fell unconscious. When she woke up, she saw four men in a room and one of them was filming her in the nude. When she screamed, he injected her with another dose of some drug. The girl alleged that she was gang-raped by the men. On Sunday morning, she was dragged into a car in a semi-conscious condition by the gang. Later, the girl was thrown out of the vehicle around 5.30pm on Sunday near Rama Mandi area on Bathinda-Dabawali road. A car driver, Rohitas Kumar of Kular village in Abohar district, spotted the girl in a serious condition and admitted her to the civil hospital in Bathinda. The police have registered a case and a hunt is on for the culprits, said Gurmeet Singh Kingra, DSP, Bathinda. Doctor Poonam Dhillon of the civil hospital has conducted a medical examination of the girl and confirmed that the girl was gang-raped. On December 26, a minor girl had ended her life in Patiala after the cops failed to take action against those who violated her. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Punjab-shame-piles-on-Gang-raped-and-dumped-nurse-critical/
  20. India is a sexually repressed place, that will change with time; in the mean-while this famous saying: Gun Control is hitting where you aim or The morality behind gun control is john doe being tied to a fence post vs john doe explaining how his attackers got those holes in them. Not too long of a post, crime is reduced where there is concealed carry. US people would know that, anyone going against weapons is a wussy and frankly not a sikh. That's really the only solution while other things work themselves out, or we work them out. Otherwise, you're saying that because you don't 'like' or are 'scared' of weapons for your 'feeling of safety' 100,000's of people should be rape, killed, and etc.
  21. Yesterday a brother posted a video made by an Indian "Does being a Sikh make me a Khalistani? I think not?" Its the same old RSS, Indian terrorist propaganda revamped to make the video look good. Below the video the description section was familiar to me. Brother Bijla Singh Ji had already answered the questions raised in it more than once on his website. Many members will remember how I alerted some of them on this forum to "khalistani myths" which was just a restatement of deliberately misinterpreted facts by the Bajrang Dal. The uploader of the above said video also claims that Bhai Jaspal Singh was shouting out casteist and anti-India slogans before his death. He has provided the below video. I cannot hear what Bhai Saab is saying can anyone please clarify, after watching the video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPrvOUdJjyk
  22. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/recognize-sikh-genocide-30000-killed-india-during-november-1984-yes-it-genocide/Py4DhDGg?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl 25,000 SIGNATURES REQUIRED PLEASE SEND TO ALL CONTACTS, LETS MEET THE QUOTA FOR ONCE
  23. Well done analysis of the beginnings of the Sikh/Punjabi struggle under the Indian state. Taken From: http://sikhwithit.bl...discontent.html Seeds of Discontent Originally published in "Dedicated to the Sikh Struggle" Despite attempts to do so, the events before and after the 1984 Sikh genocide cannot be examined in isolation of their broader political context. Broken promises, the demand for greater Sikh sovereignty, covert intelligence operations, the state of emergency, and human rights abuses must all be accounted for in order to create an accurate reconstruction of the time period. The seeds of discontent in the Punjab region were sown decades before the explosion of violence in Punjab, in the streets of Delhi and other cities across India in the 1980s. The calls for communal sovereignty and provincial autonomy did not arise spontaneously. They were the manifestation of discontent with a post-independence reality unreflective of its roots. The imposition of emergency rule in the 1970s inflamed tensions and the crackdown in Punjab would lead to the creation of an untenable political circumstance. Broken Promises: The roots of discontent amongst the Sikh community, although plentiful and diverse, can be to a large extent traced back to pre-1947 commitments made by the Congress party. Two main points of displeasure amongst the Sikh community following India’s independence were that the Congress party had abandoned its pre-independence commitment to the reorganization of states based on linguistic homogeneity with regards to Punjab and the broader concept of provincial autonomy. The following excerpt helps to provide context into the position of the Congress party leadership with regards to provincial autonomy and linguistic homogeneity: “On 10 August 1928, the Nehru committee submitted its report on the future of the Constitution of India. Apart from reiterating the principles of provincial autonomy and reorganization of the states on the basis of linguistic homogeneity, the report also confirmed the reservation of seats in the Legislative Assemblies in the Provinces as well as at the Centre for Muslims of India in proportion to their population in the provinces. However, the report denied similar reservation to other religious minorities and went on to state categorically that there should be no reservation of seats for any community in the Punjab and Bengal. Following the publication of the Nehru report, Sikh leaders expressed anxiety over their future in India under a nationalist government which provided no statutory protection for them as a minority. To allay their fears the Congress Party organized its annual session of 1929 at Lahore and passed a resolution saying that on achieving independence no Constitution would be framed unless it was acceptable to Sikhs.” (Kumar: 120). The Congress report of 1928 is a pivotal document as it formed the basis of what the future state of India’s framework would consist of. It provided a blueprint from which those involved in the independence discussions could base their decisions with regards to accession and secession. As the Congress party moved further and further away from this declaration with regards to Punjab, the angst amongst India’s Sikh community would continue to grow. This is not to say that every Sikh in every corner of India was enraged, no community is so homogenous that it acts and thinks in perfect unison. However, the protests, political movements, and resistance prevalent amongst the Sikhs of Punjab in the decades following independence are telling. The population was not asking for the Central government to kneel, rather that the Congress party uphold its commitments. The excerpt discussed above is not unique in nature and Congress leaders would on multiple occasions re-affirm the party’s commitment to guaranteeing that no constitution would be passed if unacceptable to the Sikhs of India. In response to a question from Madhusudan Singh on what guarantees Gandhi could give with regards to the resolution passed by his party at Lahore in 1929, he responded “I ask you to accept my word and the resolution of the Congress that it will not betray a single individual much less a community. Let God be the witness of the bond that binds me and the Congress with you” (Kumar: 122). As he was further pressed on this issue “Gandhi said that the Sikhs would be justified in drawing their swords out of the scabbards as Guru Gobind Singh had asked them to, if it would recoil from its commitments” (Kumar:122). In 1950, when the Constitution Act of India was enacted (devoid of special protection for the Sikhs), representatives from the Akali Dal party declared in the constituent assembly “the Sikhs do not accept this Constitution: the Sikhs reject this Constitution Act” (Singh: 245). Yet, in direct opposition to their previous commitments, the Congress party would indeed pass a constitution not accepted by the Sikhs. Broken commitments such as the ones discussed above would help form the foundation of the Punjabi Suba movement, which rose to prominence post-1947. The Sikh community and its leadership would advocate for the greater autonomy and freedom that the Congress party had promised to it. The creation of a state of Punjab based on linguistic homogeny and the control of waterways (which were of particular importance given the agrarian nature of Punjab) were of particularly heated contestation. Rise of the Punjabi Suba movement Historically the Sikh community has viewed the Punjab region as its homeland due to its status as the birthplace of Sikhism and the fact that it is home to a majority of the Sikh community and many of the faith’s most revered sites; as such one cannot simply separate the reorganization of Punjab and Sikh discontent into two mutually exclusive entities. The Akali Dal and its leader Master Tara Singh would continue to advocate for a Punjabi speaking state (Lal: 55). The composition of this state would have been in line with the commitment to linguistic reorganization as per the Congress’ pre-independence doctrine. However, this commitment to linguistic reorganization was abandoned shortly after Indian independence upon the recommendations of the Linguistics Provinces Commission. In the eyes of the commission: “It (i.e. the formation of linguistic states) would unmistakingly retard the process of consolidation of our gains, dislocate our administrative economic and financial structure, let loose, while we are still in a formative states, forces of disruption and disintegration and seriously interfere with the progressive solution of our political and economic difficulties.” (Kumar: 177). In essence, the promise of linguistic reorganization in the case of Punjab had become a source of inconvenience for the Congress party and their new partitioned India. In the words of Nehru as he spoke to Master Tara Singh in 1954 who reminded him of the Congress’ commitments to the Sikhs, “the circumstances have now changed”. (Singh: 245) As the Akali Dal continued their campaign for a Punjabi speaking state, Hindu organizations had begun advocating that the community formally disown the Punjabi language in favour of Hindi (Kumar: 177). This act of collusion would further inflame the political unrest caused by the Congress’ unwillingness to abide by its 1928 resolution. As constitutional autonomy continued to elude the Sikh community, Sardar Kapur Singh would have this to say on September 5th, 1966 as he stood up to vote against the bill for the reorganization of the state of Punjab: “Madam Chairman, I have gone through this draft Bill most carefully and I have heard the Honourable Home Minister with the diligence and respect which his speeches and utterances always deserve. Madam Chairman, as it is, I have no option but to oppose this Bill. Like the curate’s egg, though it might be good in parts, it is a rotten egg. It might be edible, but only as a measure of courtesy, as it is devoid of nutritional qualities and since its putrefaction is far gone, it is really unfit for human consumption” (Singh: 239). The bill for the reorganization of the state of the Punjab would fail the test for the Akali Dal party as well. On July 20th 1966 Resolution 2 of the Working Committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal was passed: “SIKHS RESOLVE AND PROCLAIM their determination to resist, through all legitimate means, all such attempts to devalue and liquidate the Sikh people in a free India, and consequently, DEMAND that the following steps should be taken forthwith by the rulers of India to assure and enable the Sikhs to live as respectable and equal citizens of the Union of India, namely, FIRST the Sikh areas deliberately and intentionally cut off and not included in the new Punjab to be set up namely, the area of Gurdaspur District including Dalhousie, Ambala District including Chandigarh, Pinjore, Kalka, and Ambala Saddar, the entire Una Tehsil of Hoshiarpur District, the areas of Nalagarh, called Desh, the Tehsil of Sirsa, the sub-Tehsils of Tohana and Guhla, and Rattia Block, of contiguous portion of the Ganganagar District of Rajasthan must now be immediately included in the new proposed Punjab so as to bring all contiguous Sikh areas into an administrative unit, to be the Sikh Homeland, within the Union of India. And SECOND, such a new Punjab should be granted an autonomous constitutional status on the analogy of the status of Jammu and Kashmir as was envisaged in the Constitution Act of India in the year 1950” (Singh:1948). The resolution does not call for unique wide ranging powers, rather it points to the “autonomous constitutional status” of Jammu and Kashmir as encapsulated in the Constitution Act of India. As this set-up was achievable to the north of Punjab, why could it not be feasible for Punjab itself? The powers requested would have been relatively analogous to that which already existed for other states in India. The resolution was focused on creating a place for Sikhs in India, who had decades prior chose accession over secession. Additionally, this Sikh homeland was to be an administrative unit within the “Union of India”. The focus here was to create an autonomous Sikh land of freedom in the north of India, a notion Nehru had decades prior accepted. In July 1946 Nehru would be quoted as saying “The brave Sikhs of the Punjab are entitled to special consideration. I see nothing wrong in an area and a set-up in the North wherein the Sikhs can also experience the glow of freedom” (Singh: 242). Yet, when the time had come for these commitments to be put into action, they had been forgotten; as resistance to this autonomous state was evident even before Resolution 2 of the Akali Dal working committee and the 1966 statements of Sardar Kapur Singh. Jawaharlal Nehru would go so far as to “tell a correspondent of the Times of London that he would not concede a Punjabi speaking state even if he had to face a civil war” (Kumar: 182). This statement was made following the release of Master Tara Singh who had been jailed preemptively following his vow to fast until death in demand of a Punjabi Suba (state). In 1960, “newspapers were prohibited from publishing news regarding the Sikh agitation. Raising slogans for a Punjabi Suba were made illegal” (Kumar: 182). The repression of discontent and freedom of speech in response to the Punjabi Suba movement would become a reoccurring theme in the Central governments dealings with the Sikh community. As opposed to reaffirming their pre-independence assurances, the Indian government would instead meet peaceful assembly with repression, calls for justice with an iron fist, and freedom movements with oppression. An interesting line for the descendents of a movement whose chief figure head (Mahatma Gandhi) would be defined in the Indian history books by his approach of non violent protests, calls for universal justice, and slogans for a free and independent India. State of Emergency: When Indira Gandhi instituted a State of Emergency, all corners of the nation were covered by the cloud of undemocratic rule. This State of Emergency was born not out of a deep concern for the nation, but out of personal survival: “ The declaration of the state of emergency by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on the night of June 25-26, 1975, to save herself from the aftereffects of Allahabad High Court Judgement unseating her for corrupt practices, as laid down by herself, shook the very foundations of the democratic spirit underlying the Constitution. Armed with the draconian powers including rigorous press censorship, it ushered an era of arbitrariness and arrogance for personal survival and family aggrandizement, with new upstart Sanjay Gandhi and his goons creating terror and wreaking havoc with the system” (Singh 2: 311). The Shiromani Akali Dal would be the only party to take up the cause of opposing Gandhi and her emergency rule. Figures from Amnesty International state that 140,000 people would be detained during emergency, 60,000 of them Sikh. Emergency may not have been declared against the Sikhs, but the resistance to it had a strong Sikh component (Singh 2: 311). As Sikh resistance to Emergency rule grew, in the words of Sangat Singh “Indira got into her head that it were only the Sikhs who constituted a threat to her imperious and dynastic rule, and decided to inflict blows from which they will take long, if at all, to recover” (Singh 2: 312). In 1976, using section 78 of the Punjab Reorganization act Indira Gandhi would allocate the hydel power and waters of the Punjab rivers to Rajhastan, Haryana, Delhi, and Punjab. The Gandhi government would now “award over 75 percent of waters to neighboring non-riparian states and create in them vested interest to the detriment of legal rights in Punjab” (Singh 2: 312). This diversion of water would have devastating effects on the Sikh peasantry, a segment of the population who formed the Akali Dal’s mainstay. Sikhs would also be targeted in the military ranks, as the Defence Ministry would for the first time issue recruitment quotas based on population. The institution of this move would curtail the intake to and composition of Sikh soldiers in the Indian army to just two percent, in line with their proportion of the Indian population as a whole. (Singh 2: 312). The treatment of Sikhs during the 1982 Asian games provides a piercing example of the degree to which Sikhs had been targeted during the emergency period. Haryana’s Chief Minister had instructed the police to cut off all Akali’s entering the state. The following is the account of prominent Indian journalist and author Kuldeep Nayar: “Since the police had no way to differentiated a Sikh who is a terrorist and one who is not, every Sikh travelling to Delhi was searched. Trains were stopped at wayside stations at midnight in cold December and the Sikh passengers were made to get down to appear before a police official on the platform. Buses were detained to get Sikh passengers down and at some places the rustic policemen said ‘All Sikhs should come down’. People travelling in cars were no exception. Many senior retired military officers were stopped and among them were Air Chief Minister Marshal Arjun Singh and Lt. General Jagjit Singh Arora; their disclosure of identity did no matter; luggage in every car was thoroughly searched. Maj. General Shabeg Singh, who later joined hands with Bhindranwale, had gone on record as saying that after the humiliation meted him in Haryana, he decided to join Bhindranwale. Even Swaran Singh (a cabinet colleague of J.L.Nehru who had served India well for many tenures as its Foreign Minister) was stopped and searched despite telling the police who he was. Congress(I) Sikh MPs were no spared and Amarjit Kaur Congress MP, was in tear when she narrated in the Central Hall of Parliament how she and her husband were treated by the Haryana police…. The Sikhs felt humiliated because the Hindus crossing into Delhi from Haryana were not touched, even for the sake of form. The government expressed no regrets and no statement came from any ruling party members that what had happened was reprehensible. Very few Hindus spoke against his. Newspapers also did not report any incident lest it should add to communal tension. The Sikhs felt the government was now against them as a community” (Kumar: 260). The relationship between the Sikh community and India’s governmental bodies had degraded considerably by the 1982 Asian games incident, and yet the worst backlash against the Sikh community was yet to come. As mentioned at the onset of this piece, the events before and after the 1984 Sikh genocide cannot be examined in isolation of their broader political context. The examples and chronology of events above are testaments to this. The untenable situation of the 1980s was not an overnight development. Rather, it had built up over decades and decades, slowly reaching the human rights atrocities of 1984. As the streets of Delhi were filled with burning Sikh corpses and dismembered youth, historical context disappeared from the political discourse. Sikhs were terrorists and a threat to India, no shades of grey existed. The decades of peaceful demonstration and political movements were forgotten, for there was no place for these trivial memories. The here and now was all that mattered, an enemy had been constructed and how its existence was constructed was not up for debate. As we delve into the atrocities of 1984, it is pivotal that we realize that this genocide was the apex of a devilish journey seeped with mistruth, mistrust, and misinformation. Sources Gill, Tarlochan S. (1989). History of the Sikhs. Toronto: Asia Publications. Grover, Verinder; ed. (1995). Master Tara Singh. Delhi: Deep & Deep publications. Kapur, Rajiv A. (1987). Sikh Separatism: The Politics of Faith. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House. Kumar, Ram Narayan; Sieberer, Georg. (1991) The Sikh Struggle. Delhi: Chanakya Publications. Lal, Mohan. (1984). Disintegration of Punjab. Chandigarh: Sameer Prakashan. Singh, Kapur. (1979). Sachi Sakhi. Singh (2), Sangat. (1995). The Sikhs in History. New York: Sangat Singh.
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