Haweyein?

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

dilkaraja, my friend, you have to change your thinking, i am khalistani 100%, but i have no hatred towards the poor people of India, I have no hatred towrdsm Hinduism, or towards, Islam. All of us are the creations of Waaheguru, and this is the message of Gurbani and Sikhi. As a Sikh if you are able to watch people suffering and not do anything then you are not a Sikh, the victims in Gujurat from the earthquake deserved the help of the Sikhs, my friend dilkaraja, we are not fighting the people of India, or Hinduism, this is a fight against tyranny and injustice, just as when the Singhs fought against the Mughals, it was not a fight against Islam, it was a fight against injustice and persecution. The day you see every human being with love and compassion and see that God resides in all of us, that is the day you will be a true Sikh. Our mission is Khalistan, but it will be accomplished when we live as Gurbani taeches us to, and that is with love and compassion for all. The Indian government has tried to and is trying to destroy this Sikh spirit, so we must have Khlalistan, but if people start acting like you, then India has won because that would mean they have destroyed our Sikh spirit of love. We are not terrorists, we are Saint Soldiers, our fight is against tyranny not the poor people of India. This was also said by the great Shaheeds Sukhs and Jinda, i suggest every khalistani and kharkoo singhs read sukha and jinda's "jail letters". Then you will see what real khalistanis are like......................

[GABROO KHALISTAN DAH]

maan quam lai kurbaan, u said jail letters, i've only read one, where can i find more?

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

hey gabroo sorry i didnt reply sooner but i will give you the author and more info but the title is called "jail chittiya" it has a picture of sukha and jinda on the cover, it has thier confessions as to what had happened and it has pictures of them eating barfi after being sentenced to death, it has thier letters to the panth, to their family and friends..etc.. they were true khalistanis whi said that the erason the movement was failing is because singhs were bringing the battle to their own backyards in punjab when the enemies were sitting in delhi...they were so true to their cause that they were offered to receive just a jail term if they denied the crime of killing general vaidiya, and the judge asked them do you want to die for khalistan and they said it would be an honor for them to spill their blood on the scared land of khalistan...the judge was so moved by their steadfastness that he ordered a picture of them to be put in his house......they were so brave and smart they never wore the clothes of common criminals in jail, they wore the clothes of singhs and no jai official or officer was able to make them wear jail clothes...going to be hanged they shouted slogans of khalistan and they were hanged.....really true saint soldiers with deep love for Sikhi, reading the letters will tears to any warm-hearted singh who has a deep love for the panth, after reading this book, the word terrorist that is used by india to refer to these martyrs seems so vulgar that a true sikh cannot take it for it strikes the heart as a deadly blow.................

[GABROO KHALISTAN DAH]

wow maan kaum laye kurbaan, that'll be really apppreciated, i know sukha and jinda did what they did, cause they where mahaan gur-sikhs..........

but i want that book ............ thnx again

[mutterpaneersingh]

hey,

i jus wanted to say that i have been reading the forum for a while, but this is hte first time i have actually logged on to contribute.

This discussion on hawayein is nonesence. Yes it has it's flaws, yet no one sees teh positive side fo the movie being....this is one great step in teh right direction

We can finally tell our story according to us, not others...jus liek the jews...everyone kwnos botu teh halocaust adn how horrific it was b/c they chose to portray thier history....so do we. Anyways, all in all, it was a good film, plus it is quite accurate in displaying terroism within sikhi and the pakis invovlment in kashmir/khalistan. This was all happening. An example of this is the kali kachi wale (not sure if thats the right spelling). They were traking advantage of the situation that left many sikh rightfully distrought....any comments against this, plz post....i think u are then being ignorant...

tahnks again....

and together...a good khalistan would eb one of free dom (for all religions...being everyone is welcome hindus, muslims, christians, etc) where sikhs are finally making up thier own rules and law to abide by and being recognized and being responsible adn powerful enough to put forward a movement

One last thing, even tho i am pro khalistan in my vision of it.....i am against it at teh moment as i feel we dont have a leader of enough education, respect, wealth, and drive to froward a movement of this that has to balance politics with religion....

[khalsa88]

Why isn't it in Panjabi?

Punjabi language ignored once again

[sher-e-panjab]

theres actually 2 different versions of hawayein that are being distibuted, so u may have seen a different one from rest but i think it to a certain extent does have some truth ie. there WHERE so called khalistanis affiliated with ISI goin round robbing ppl, killing innocent ppl etc as shown in the film.

and it also showed the good khalistanis who were out to kill those who were involved in the delhi riots

[PunjabiPredator]

The film Hawayein, is a venture to depict the waves of brutal hate that swept the streets of Delhi and its neighbourhood following the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, has now been release in several parts of the country. Writer, Director and actor Ammtoje Mann, has crafted ‘Hawayein’ which he says reveals Punjab’s unrest, the 1984 anti-Sikh carnage, its trigger, and its aftermath in multi-dimensional ways.

The film, Mann told a news conference, also shows circumstances that forced some Sikhs to go for the gun, but at the same time it attempts to separate ‘terrorists from victims of injustice’. Although it is worthwhile watching the film for the harrowing scenes of vicious ethnic cleansing after the assassination of Indira Ghandi, the film however contains too many flaws.

The purpose of this article is to dispel any misconceptions you may have regarding the crisis which has gripped Punjab ever since 1947, after watching or hearing about the film Hawayein. "It’s doing a wonderful business overseas", claimed the director who puts the film budget at around Rs 25 crore. However, before you internalise and become influenced by the nature and message of the film, be sure to read this article. It is an attempt to shed light on the reality of Operation Bluestar and the brutality that ensued thereafter, to challenge the historical content of the film, and to fill in some of the gaps, which have been deliberately ignored, without which the story is incomplete.

Punjabi Language Ignored Once Again

From the outset, the state and status of the Sikh in India is publicized. The core of the film is rooted in the portrayal of the bloodshed and tur

moil that had gripped the once tranquil land of Punjab, so why did the producers of the film not write the title of the film in Punjabi? Obviously the Indian Government do not recognise the Punjabi language, and as ever, all writing is in Hindi. A graphic attempt to hack away at the Sikh Punjabi identity.

Sinister Remark About Operation Bluestar

Director, Ammtoje Mann stated that “Operation Bluestar in June 1984 led to the assassination of Mrs Gandhi, but we cannot show the Golden Temple on sets”. However, the manner in which Operation Bluestar is mentioned is scandalous. The ‘hero’ of the film, Sarabjeet Singh asks his father why the Golden Temple was allowed to be converted into a complex of heavy artillery, a place which sanctioned death warrants rather than the singing of devotional hymns. Thus, suggesting that it was the militant Sikhs that were to blame, giving the Indian government no choice but to ‘flush’ them out as they sought sanctuary in the Golden Temple Complex. Nevertheless, such an assertion by the film is totally unfounded. Dr. J. M. Pettigrew, a Scottish anthropologist, who spent much time in Punjab doing independent research on the Punjab problem, writes in "The Sikhs of the Punjab"

"The initial crime (Operation Bluestar) was calibrated and indeed had been planned for a year beforehand. The Darbar Sahib complex, a place of a great beauty, the spiritual and political centre of the Sikh way of life and of the Sikhs, as a whole, their historic home through years of invasion from the West, had its sanctity shattered. The army went into Darbar Sahib not to eliminate a political figure or a political movement but to suppress the culture of a people, to attack their heart, to strike a blow at their spirit and self-confidence".

Evidently, the sole purpose of Operation Bluestar was to destroy the Sikh morale, and force them into submission. So why does the film attempt to blame the Sikhs for Operation Bluestar, and then claim not to be anti-Sikh? Hawayein callously ignores this,

and attempts to shift the blame to Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. If the army really only wanted to flush out those who ‘wrote and sanctioned death warrants’, then why did they choose to invade the holiest shrine on a highly religious day, when pilgrims were arriving from ever nook and corner of the globe? Punjab was littered with government intelligence throughout its anti-Sikh policies in Punjab, are we really lead to believe that the government failed to realise that it was a holy day? Hawayein fails to address this.

The Christian Science Monitor reported in 1984 that “For five days, the Punjab has been cut off from the rest of the world. All telephone and telex links are cut. No foreigners are permitted entry and on Tuesday, all Indian journalists were expelled. There are no newspapers, no trains, no buses-not even a bullock cart can move.” (Christian Science Monitor, 18 June 1984) If the Indian government, lead by Indria Ghandi were on a noble quest to rid the country of ‘terrorists’, then why expel journalists? Surely such an act would want to be glorified on the international stage, portraying the courage of the government in combating internal threat. Instead, “About twenty million people in an area more than twice the size of Wales had no contact with the outside world for a week.” (The Sunday Times 10/6/84)

Defamation Of Sikh Freedom Fighters

There are two groups of militants in the film: A) The Good Militants (Kanpuria, Sarabjeet etc) who are mere victims of the system, forced to use arms as a result of the heavy handedness of the government in its desire to eradicate the Sikhs of India. On the other hand there are B) The Bad Militants who are rapists, murderers, drunks, lead by Pakistan, who want the creation of a separate Sikh state, Khalistan. In the film, a shocking and unpardonable representation of the Khalistani militants/freedom fighters is made. The manner in which the Khalistani freedom movement is portrayed is deplorable. They are shown as not spear heading any serious mov

ement, a bunch of arsonists, bandits, looters, murderers, plunderers, drunkards and rapists with no popular support, outcasts and rejects of society who have nothing better to do than brandish an AK-47 at innocent by-standers and police officials. The aim is to make you and I believe that Khalistan is a dirty word, only advocated by those who violate lives, property and women. Nevertheless, one of the militants of the Khalistan Liberation Force (a major freedom fighting organisation with mass support during the mid 1980s and early 1990s) represents a typical view of the Khalistan movement as a whole:

“Guru Tegh Bahadur. His story is so beautiful, because he sacrificed his life for the sake of another religion, for Hindus. At that time they were being persecuted by the Mughals. That’s really inspirational to me. That’s why I think Sikhs are in the world, not just for Sikhs alone but anybody who needs a Sikh.

Honestly, deep in my heart I feel like our work in this world has to be much bigger than just for ourselves. Some of my friends say that when Khalistan is established then we’ll be able to kick back and relax! But I say no, the work is just getting started. You have your country but then you need to work on achieving justice in it and then in the rest of the world.

All these wars that are going on today, people are demanding justice at all costs. Bosnia is a clear-cut case. We have to not only be more peaceful in spirit, but we have to be willing to sacrifice our lives. The United Nations doesn’t really have any power because there aren’t enough parents willing to sacrifice their sons. It’s all just a big hoopla. If there is injustice and somebody in Somalia isn’t getting food, the United Nations should be able to take care of it. When Khalistan is established if I have any say I will send 500, 1,000, 5, 000 Sikhs right away. You don’t get peace and justice without sacrifice and our Gurus taught us all about that”

(C.K. Mahmood, Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues with Sikh Mi

litants (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996) p. 42)

If these freedom fighters grounded the struggle for Khalistan upon the teachings of the Guru’s (selfless service and sacrifice for the entire human race), then would these militants readily abandon the basic teachings of the Guru’s which prohibited the use of alchohol and other forms of intoxicants, adultery, dishonesty and on the whole creating a wave of terror and destruction? Hawayein in its portrayal of Khalistan freedom fighters is an attempt to slur their activities and to smear the name of Khalistan in the process. In doing so, the producers of the film believe that the uneducated and gullible viewer will come to view Khalistan as a social and political evil which should be quelled before it is too late. Nevertheless, the above quote exhibits the real essence of Khalistan (peace, love and justice for all mankind), and those that have sacrificed everything to struggle for it.

Legitimate Rights Of The Khalistani Freedom Fighters Not Addressed

A quick glance into the chapters of Indian history reveal some startling information. Prior to Indian independence (in which Sikhs played a dazzling role, giving 90 of the sacrifices), in appreciation of the great patriotic spirit of the Sikhs and in gratitude for the tremendous sacrifices made by them, a special political status within India was agreed to by the Indian National Congress and announced publicly by Jawahar Lal Nehru himself. He said; "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 where in the Sikhs can also experience the glow of freedom."

The Congress Party, in its annual session at Lahore in 1929, passed a resolution that on achieving independence, no Constitution would be framed unless it was acceptable to Sikhs. Mohandas Gandhi declared: "I ask you (Sikhs) to accept my word and the Resolution of the entire 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." (Young India, 19 March 1931). When pressed further, Gandhi said that Sikhs would be justified in drawing their swords out of the scabbards as Satguru Gobind Singh Ji had asked them to, if the Congress would waver from its commitment. Therefore, the demands of the Khalistani militants are as legitimate as the claims of a woman to her newborn baby. When all the Indian leaders promised the Sikhs a separate homeland before independence, then why does the film try and make those who want Khalistan as a group of immoral and repulsive characters? When in fact, the real immoral and repulsive characters are those like Gandhi and Nehru who promised and assured Sikhs that they would experience the glow of freedom in their own state, but then discarded such promises. J.N. Sahni, a veteran editor of the national daily, Hindustan Times, says "The letting down of ...the Sikhs was not an act of carelessness on the part of the Congress leaders nor even a blunder, but an act of gross unpardonable betrayal." On what basis therefore, can Hawayein make such dreadful and unacceptable images of Khalistani freedom fighters? Why does the film, mention not even in passing that prior to 1947, Sikhs were promised a separate state?

Diverting The Blame For The Punjab Crisis

The film suggests that the militant Sikhs were the initial perpetrators of violence in Punjab, but the Guardian sheds some truthful light:

"Ever since the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980, New Delhi has kept alive a crisis in Punjab … to achieve three questionable objectives : to oust the Akali-led coalition state government of 1977-80, to prevent a legitimate constitutional settlement of Punjab’s territorial, river waters and other political and economic disputes with the Centre and, finally, to forge a psychological wedge between Hindus and Sikhs. The Congress Party’s obsession with power, its dwindling standards of political behaviour and its aversion to losing elect

ions, is what led it to become the midwife of extremism in Punjab."

Hindu Massacre?

In the film, Khalistani freedom fighters are shown killing innocent Hindus in Mandirs and buses as a tactic to achieve Khalistan. Perhaps on this occasion, the makers of the film cannot be blamed for suggesting that Khalistani freedom fighters killed innocent Hindus. According to a report published by Human Rights Watch, the militants continued their attacks on Hindu civilians and “non-co-operative” Sikhs, robbed banks and armouries, assassinated “political opponents,” and unleashed a reign of general terror and mayhem. (Human Rights Watch, “India: Arms and Abuses in Indian Punjab and Kashmir” in Human Rights Watch Arms Project, Vol. 6, No. 10, September 1994 cited in T. Gunawardena, British Sikhs and the Punjab)

However, if one delves into Cynthia Keppley Mahmood’s book, ‘Fighting for faith and Nation’, it becomes vividly clear that the majority of the Khalistani freedom fighters never advocated the mass killings of innocent people. An extract from a Khalistani freedom fighter, which speaks volumes for the manner in which the majority of the militants carried out the movement. Charanjit Singh, a Khalistani freedom fighter states in an interview with Ms. Mahmood that:

“MY PARENTS WERE very much hurt by the attack on the Golden Temple. My father commented that he had four sons and that even if one of them should get sacrificed for them get sacrificed for the nation he would be proud that his family had contributed something. He said clearly that nobody guilty of any crime should be spared. But he also felt that at no cost should any innocent be killed” ( Mahmood, Faith and Nation p. 167)

During Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale’s leadership, only those who were known instigators of atrocities against innocent people were brought to justice. On a number of occasions Sant Bhindranwale helped Hindu families, and even sent a band of his men to rescue a Hindu girl who had been seized by a gang of

Hindu youths. In any case, where is the evidence that Hindu’s were massacred in Mandirs and on buses by Khalistani freedom fighters? Are we really supposed to believe that the freedom fighters who advocated the creation of Khalistan would be prepared to take the lives of innocent people? These freedom fighters envisioned in Khalistan a state wherein justice, peace and love for all mankind would prevail, would these militants kill innocent people? Kashmiri and Mcandrew’s book ‘Soft Target’ sheds some astonishing information.

In June 1985, Indian Intelligence Agents blew Air India's Plane in the skies, off the coast of Ireland and blamed it on the Sikhs. This truth and harsh reality is revealed in the book Soft Target, which has been banned in India for obvious reasons. "Soft target" is an espionage term used to describe a country, institution or group of people that is easy to penetrate and manipulate for subversive purposes.. For several years, India has been engaged in a devious and ruthless operation to manipulate and destabilize the Sikh population. The operation has been orchestrated by India's intelligence service and has left the Sikh community estranged from Canadian society.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) eventually woke up just after the tragic Air-India bombing that left 329 people, mostly Canadians, dead in June 1985. It chased the culprits right to the Indian embassy and consulates.

If the Indian Government could sink as low as killing its own people just so the blame could be pointed at the ‘terrorist’ Sikhs, then as the film shows, would it really be a big deal if these government officials tied turbans and killed a few Hindus, just so Sikh militants could be blamed? The fact of the matter is that these Khalistani militants never advocated or even perpetrated these acts of blunder. Zuhair Kashmiri and Brian McAndrew, in Soft Target, write that the Indian government had created a top-secret organization called the Third Agency to unlawfully neutralize th

e Sikh separatist movement in Punjab. Julio Ribero and Kanwar Pal Gill, were the men charged with exterminating Sikh militants in Punjab. Ribero writes in his autobiography, Bullet for Bullet, that special operations teams were sent in to neutralize Sikhs by any means necessary. These teams would even dress themselves as Sikh freedom fighters and target innocent civilians to demolish the public support enjoyed by Sikh separatists. The main goal of these agents is to discredit the Independence Movement and create confusion among the general public.

Exacerbating The Role Of Pakistan

The film suggests that the Khalistan freedom movement was being spearheaded by Pakistan, who shrewdly wanted Kashmir for themselves off the back of Khalistan. However, the Sikh freedom fighters were not controlled by Pakistan nor its Inter Service Intelligence (ISI). The whole of the Sikh nation made the decision at Sri Akal Takht Sahib where a resolution was passed in 1986 to declare Khalistan a goal for Sikhs across the globe. Although the Sikh Republic of Khalistan was declared independent in 1986, due to the state terrorism from India Govt, the people of Punjab and Sikh's in India have suffered greatly and been suppressed into silence. Those brave enough to speak of Khalistan in Punjab or India are treated as a criminals or terrorists. Even if a stray cat or dog dies in India, the Indian government are always more than willing to blame it on Pakistan.

Who Are The Real Terrorists?

For the Indian government, as reflected in Hawayein, the word terrorist is left vague and broad, so that any type of protest against humiliation, indignities and torture can be labelled as such. The Sikhs who want Khalistan in Hawayein are portrayed as the worst type of terrorists, trained by Pakistan with the sole purpose of disintegrating the unity of India. However, students from the Gurdaspur Zaffarwal College had this to say in an independent investigation by the ‘Citizens for Democracy, India’s foremost Civil Rights Organisati

on in an article ‘Oppression in Punjab, 1982-1984’ that:

“Police are terrorising the people. All those who are supposed to protect us, like the Border Security Force, Punjab Police, Central Reserve Police Force, military and Central Government forces are the real terrorists and extremists, because terrorists are those who have crossed all limits of law and humanity. Now the government and its agencies have crossed all those limits. It is not Pakistan which is training terrorists, it is these agencies of the government who are doing all that.”

There we have it, another blunder in Hawayein exposed, Pakistan was not training ‘terrorist’ Sikhs to obtain an independent state, the government were training its police and army on how to torture innocent Sikhs. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch continually condemn the Indian police and Army for its genocide of the Sikhs, yet to be fair, they are only carrying out orders. If they had tortured Sikhs, they had the green light from the Central Government. India is the only country which did not sign the new UN Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. The Indian rulers who say they believe in democracy, secularism, freedom of worship and human rights have themselves enacted black laws and have let loose unabashed State terrorism which has been unleashed specially on the Sikhs- because they are Sikhs. So how are we supposed to loath the militants who want Khalistan, a separate state when they live in a country that does not believe they have a right to live because they wear a turban?

“…violence makes Sikhs fear for their future in India” (New York Times, Nov. 11, 1984).

Why does Hawayein fail to illustrate this? Instead adopting to view the Khalistan movement as an evil plot to bring about the destruction of India. An old man, also being interviewed Ms. Mahmood stated that:

“I knew about all the militant actions, as I was trusted by everybody. I witnessed the entire struggle…So eventually it b

ecame clear that I was on a hit list, that I would be killed by police. That’s why I left India. But I am just passing time here. Somebody asked me, ‘Are you happy, now that you are out of India?’ I said ‘What happiness is there here? How can I be happy when our houses are being looted, our women raped, our people destroyed? Until we have our own nation, we can’t know the meaning of happiness.’ I am an old man now and I don’t know whether I will live to see the establishment of Khalistan. But it will happen, of that I am sure. If not in my lifetime, then later. Our determination knows no bounds of space or time.” (Mahmood, Faith and Nation p. 166)

The double standards that the government adopt is also too readily visible. The word ‘extremist’/’militant’ has been continually and arbitrarily used by the Indian press/media/politicians to describe the hundreds of people in Punjab who have fallen foul of the Indian army and police. In Hawayein, those Sikhs who want Khalistan are depicted as terrorists. However:

“During the Curfew in June (Operation Blusestar) according to Advocate Bhagowalia, the Hindus were allowed to go out but not the Sikhs, and in the encounters it is always the Sikh youth who is always killed, because he is a smuggler or a terrorist- obviously there is no Hindu smuggler in Punjab these days, nor one Hindu who believes in violence” (Oppression in Punjab, Citizens for Democracy Report, 1982-84)

The essence of the quote above is that there is one rule if you utter Ram Ram Satheh Hay, and another if you utter Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh. Thus, another justification for the Khalistani freedom fighters to demand a separate state where they can be governed by laws that do not operate according to what religion you follow. While India boasts of killing all Sikh "terrorists" how many Hindu's have been punished, NONE! Just recently the Indian courts declared Sajan Kumar, a Hindu politician who organized and led the mobs in November 1984, innocent while there wer

e hundreds of witnesses who pointed him out.

Seek The Truth!

In the end, what we should never forget before, during and after watching the film Hawayein is that it was sanctioned and censored by the Indian Government being lead by the BJP (Bharatya Janata Party) who believe that “India was and is a Hindu nation”, to quote their official website. This BJP is an openly fascist regime, who have made their intention towards the Sikh faith and its people perfectly clear, its fragmentation as a distinct identity, and to then dissolve it into the Hindu faith. The question therefore beckons, why would they release a film on the international stage that would show the merciless killings of Sikhs in November 1984? Because they could then kill two birds with one stone.

1) Operation Bluestar was carried out by the Congress Party, although they too represent the Hindu majority, by showing the blunder of Operation Bluestar, it blackens Congress as a legitimate political force, thus ensuring that people would think twice about electing them again. Paving the way for prolonged BJP rule in India.

Senior local leaders of the BJP and members of the Party’s election campaign committee agreed to make the anti-Sikh riots into an election issue in the whole of Delhi. The headline of the Times of India read as follows: NEW DELHI: The Delhi Unit of the BJP is all set to launch a major poll offensive on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. (Times of India, 21 August 1999). Evidently, the BJP have been successful in making the 1984 riots a major plank in Delhi and in countries such as the UK, but for the sole purpose of election, not justice. The police officials, politicians, army officials and mobs that that led the attack on the Sikhs in November are yet to be brought to pay for their actions. The intelligence unit, Research Analysis Wing (RAW), and police squadrons that led special teams to eradicate Sikhs are yet to find themselves before a court.

If the BJP realise that carnage did occur and that they have

now decided to make it an international issue, then why have they done nothing to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice? How far one can go just to win elections? From a political point of view it will be a big set back for the Congress as the BJP will gain significant mileage out of this. Nevertheless, the BJP is in fact more dangerous then Congress if voted in power as an absolute majority, simply because they do not acknowledge the right to a minority existence.

2) While they blacken Congress, they are then allowed to stem the desire for Khailistan (because it will give Sikhs greater autonomy) and condemn Khalistani freedom fighters as bloodthirsty animals. After watching the film, the unaware and oblivious viewer would for future reference come to view the word Khalistan as a dirty word, because it conjures images of rapists and looters. Consequently, ensuring that Sikhs remain under the Hindu BJP’s political heel.

That’s the political genius of the corrupt Indian machinery, as they condemn both Sikh militants and Congress, while they smell of roses because they released a ‘hard-hitting’ film!

Should we forget how the Sikh reference library was burned in a Nazi like manner three days after the attack?

Should we forget those Hindus that came running into the streets and gave ladoo (sweets) and whisky to the soldiers burning Amritsar? Should we forget the "tilaks" (sacred Hindu marks) that were put on tanks as they mutated the city of Nectar into the flames of Hell?

Should we forget the operations Woodrose or Blackthunder that were a follow-up to Bluestar? Should we forget how an entire generation of Sikh boys were literally exterminated village by village?

No we should not, but the government and the makers of Hawayein obviously want us to, because none of these feature in the film. Undoubtedly, not every aspect of the conflict can be covered from every angle, but if the director, Ammtoje Mann has embarked upon a venture of retelling the story of Punja

b, then to omit and exclude this is to rob the viewer of the truth. What the government thinks you the viewer are, is a soft target, prove them wrong and challenge the notions you hear about the freedom fighters by doing your own research. Although the gruesome systematic oppression of the Sikh community has aroused international attention, in this film, India as a nation must prevail, not the truth.

The tragic irony of this film, as indeed the Punjab crisis as a whole is the manner in which the government is trying to destroy the movement for Khalistan by any means possible, when it was this very Indian government that created it. Until Operation Bluestar, not even Sant Bhindranwale actively mentioned Khalistan, instead stating that “We want to stay in India, but only if you treat us as your brothers.” However, the destruction to our holiest shrine in June 1984 showed Sikhs across the globe that they have no future in India:

“The cataclysmic (dreadful) events of 1984…were to drastically change the course of the Khalistan movement which had been, until then, considered by most Sikhs as unworthy of serious attention. The events that occurred in the Punjab in 1984 were single-handedly responsible for creating a deep sense of insecurity among the Sikh community, and these fears, in turn, were effectively harnessed by Khalistani activists into mass support for the separatist movement. Thus the expansion and popularity of the movement during the mid-1980s may be directly attributed to actions taken by the Indian government.” (Therese Sue Gunawardena, The Diasporisation of Ethnonationalism:British Sikhs and the Punjab, Ethnic Studies Report Vol. XVIII No. 1, January 2000)

The film is ultimately “an attempt to cloud history, twist the facts, underplay the atrocities against Sikhs and remain politically correct” and that “part of the blame lies with the Sikh community for not having used the powerful medium of film and television to tell our side of the story in a fair, objective and unfiltered way”

. (G.C. Singh, A Wake Up Call To Sikh Talent www.sike .com June 10 2003)

http://www.sikhvision.com/articles/article...main.asp?id=994

[Guest SaintSoldier]

All the facts in the movie were wrong. The movie just dished out what the Indian media has been feeding the world since the early 80's. Apart from the Delhi Riots scene itself, the movie was a waste of film.

Maachis was a much better movies, very emotional...

[Mehtab Singh]

Maachis was a much better movies, very emotional...

OH MAN !!!!!

Maachis was what got me into Sikhi (see u cant always blame bollywood )

anyone has video cassette of Maachis? I don't have a DVD player yet so video cassette will do :lol:

I need it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!