1984 Sikh Rally For Freedom And Justice

[VanHelsingh]

When the day comes that people (non-Sikhs) begin questioning why we use images of Sant Ji as a figurehead for our struggle for freedom (because they've been fed the false propaganda that he was a "militant"), we need to come out "fighting" and clearly inform those concerned that he WAS NOT a militant (a negative term which has been widely used in western society in recent years) but someone who believed in people being able to defend themselves if under attack from a tyrannical government.

Believe me when I say some mischief makers (or some genuinely unaware people) will immediately try to make the link between Sant Ji and Islamic hardliners just because they look kind of similar, and we must not allow this immensely mistaken belief to gather steam. Get in there quick and early, and in particular our more verbally adept brothers and sisters need to bring their skills to this kind of situation in order to dispel any myths amongst not only non-Sikhs but also Sikhs, that there is no shame in being proud of a person who believed in rising up and fighting for the truth.

If they don't understand then say this: You feted Nelson Mandela for bringing peace to South Africa and ending apartheid (well he did contribute to its end). You invited him to your palaces and your parliaments and hailed him as a revolutionary who defended his people. But you forget there was a time when he too held a machine gun in his hand and fought the oppressor, and he too was called a terrorist. So why is our Sant labelled a militant but Nelson Mandela is celebrated the world over? You can't have it both ways.

[Balait_da_Sher]

VIDEOS FROM THE SQUARE

KEEP UPLOADING!!

http://www.youtube.c...u/2/s1WUgsWu7BQ

6:02 on this video , you can see the placards I spent hours making The boards were heavy and i had no time to attach the sticks. So we held them high throughout the rally. Money well spent I think, I kept telling the other guy to make sure that when we pass non-sikhs the placards are facing them. I basically held them out toward the road for 5 mins near the langar and many people driving or on the buses on the main road had a good chance to read the placard.

[Paneer Monster]

some amazing pics here

[Paneer Monster]

6:02 on this video , you can see the placards I spent hours making The boards were heavy and i had no time to attach the sticks. So we held them high throughout the rally. Money well spent I think, I kept telling the other guy to make sure that when we pass non-sikhs the placards are facing them. I basically held them out toward the road for 5 mins near the langar and many people driving or on the buses on the main road had a good chance to read the placard.

so we were right behind you (no homo)...

i also noticed in hyde park, you (or your protest buddy) couldnt decide which side of the board should be facing foward :laugh2:

its all gravy tho.,.. good work.

[Balait_da_Sher]

Yeh, I was the one in orange dastar (not in that pic you posted above), rest of my friends were wearing black paghs with orange parna on their shoulders or something orange. You are right, I made the placards a bit technical, which meant that they had to be held in a certain way to be read correctly. From the back , the reading should be "Left to Right" but from the front it should have been "Right to Left". The guys kept getting it mixed up when were were changing sides. So when we wanted the Red font on the front they would choose the wrong placard.

It was funny though. Also I could have just one board and keep spinning it and the it would deliver the full message whilst attracting attention because of change in font colours.

That pic isnt us, because we had been holding the placards for a while, these guys man and his daughter offered to hold them for us. But at some point you may have been behind us because I came back after 20 mins and had the boards again.

[G5SikhMedia]

Gurfateh Ji!

Brilliant speech by Bhai Sukhbir Singh from the 84 Remembrance March & Freedom Rally '11 in Trafalgar Sq