Traveller Slashes Vendors With Kirpan

[BiggChan]

Traveller slashes vendors with kirpan

Jul 7, 2011, 02.23am IST TNN?

HOWRAH: It doesn't pay to mess with passengers, particularly if they are armed, these two vendors of Howrah station learnt much to their own expense on Wednesday morning. Bijan Shaw and Manoj Singh, the two vendors, are now admitted to the Howrah district hospital with serious injuries. Doctors attending to them said that Shaw could have lost his life had Singh not rushed to his rescue. Their attacker, 60-year-old Tarsen Singh from Verka in Amritsar, Punjab, is now cooling his heels behind bars and has been charged with causing grievous hurt with dangerous weapon.

The elderly Sikh was visiting people at Gauripur in Dum Dum. On Tuesday, he had gone to Bandel on some work and was to return home by the Amritsar Express on Wednesday. Tarsen Singh reached Howrah from Bandel around 11am and decided to while away the next three hours at the station. He was waiting near some stalls close to Gates 5 and 6 when Shaw - the helper of Stall No. 11 - decided to have some fun at the old man's expense.

According to sources, Shaw picked up a conversation with the Sardarji and began to quiz him about his strange attire. Tarsen Singh was dressed in traditional clothing and had his kirpan stuck to his cummerbund. Witnesses claimed that Singh was quite genial at first and did his best to answer Shaw's queries. There was a communication gap as the Sikh gentleman spoke chaste Punjabi while Shaw knew only Hindi and Bangla. Trouble erupted after Shaw asked Singh for some khaini (chewing tobacco). The latter told the vendor that his religion doesn't allow him to have tobacco. This seemed to amuse Shaw and he insisted that Singh was lying.

"The vendor then took out some khaini from his pocket and began to prepare it. It is not quite clear what happened after that but the Sikh gentleman suddenly lost his temper, pulled out his kirpan and slashed at Shaw. The blow glanced of the vendor's head and landed on his left arm, nearly severing it. Manoj Singh, another vendor, rushed to Shaw's assistance and took the next blow. By then, policemen rushed to the spot and disarmed Singh. He didn't put up any resistance but followed the policemen to the outpost," a passenger said.

Shaw and Manoj Singh were sent to hospital in a railway ambulance. Once there, they lodged a complaint against Singh. They alleged that Singh had asked for khaini from them and reacted violently after being denied. Shaw said that he had denied khaini to Singh as he didn't know him. For the moment, the Government Railway Police are going on this version as Singh hasn't been able to convince them otherwise. He admitted though that he lost his temper after being 'bugged' by the vendor for quite some time.

"What he did was wrong and a case has been registered against him. His version is not very clear," said Rabindranath Mukherjee, superintendent of railway police, Howrah.

[BiggChan]

http://m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/9130803.cms

[HeatSikhingMissile]

This is lunacy, the vendor did not pose a physical threat to the man OR someone who needed help, Guru Ji gave us Sri Sahib to defend when all other means against physical harm were lost, NOT because someone was being a jack*** and takes tobacco out of their pocket. :angry2:

[proactive]

According to sources, Shaw picked up a conversation with the Sardarji and began to quiz him about his strange attire. Tarsen Singh was dressed in traditional clothing and had his kirpan stuck to his cummerbund. Witnesses claimed that Singh was quite genial at first and did his best to answer Shaw's queries. There was a communication gap as the Sikh gentleman spoke chaste Punjabi while Shaw knew only Hindi and Bangla. Trouble erupted after Shaw asked Singh for some khaini (chewing tobacco). The latter told the vendor that his religion doesn't allow him to have tobacco. This seemed to amuse Shaw and he insisted that Singh was lying.

"The vendor then took out some khaini from his pocket and began to prepare it. It is not quite clear what happened after that but the Sikh gentleman suddenly lost his temper, pulled out his kirpan and slashed at Shaw.

This kind of mischevious behaviour is typical of many Hindus. First he calls a Singh a liar and then starts to prepare tobacco in front of him. No doubt he would have done this is a provocative manner. I remember in the 80s before the movement took off, Hindus on buses and trains would intentionally smoke in front of Sikhs and blow the smoke in the direction of the Sikhs.

Seems like he got taught a good lesson and won't try the same mischief with another Singh.

[Toofana]

This Singh sounds like he's been going about his own business when he's been deliberately targeted for ridicule on account of his Sikhi roop/bana. The eyewitness accounts confirm he was tolerant and answered questions posed to the best of his ability. Regardless the ridicule has continued and clearly something has been said or done which has warranted this action. He doesn't sound like he's gone mad as the report confirms he went with the Police without any problem. If this is the case he deserves the Panth's full support.

[HeatSikhingMissile]

This Singh sounds like he's been going about his own business when he's been deliberately targeted for ridicule on account of his Sikhi roop/bana. The eyewitness accounts confirm he was tolerant and answered questions posed to the best of his ability. Regardless the ridicule has continued and clearly something has been said or done which has warranted this action. He doesn't sound like he's gone mad as the report confirms he went with the Police without any problem. If this is the case he deserves the Panth's full support.

The real question here is, as a Sikh, is it okay to resort to armed violence and taking out the kirpan over verbal insult?

Want to add an edit since my last couple submissions did not get posted, but I asked the question of whether it's okay to take out your Kirpan due to verbal insult, and someone hit the negative button. LOL! Really?? What a joke!

[Toofana]

Unless we were actually witness to what took place, we shouldn't make judgement. All we know is that a perfectly fine and cordial Sikh male after a course of ridicule (and a pre-cursor incident that isn't quite clear) has found it appropriate to use force. My personal view is if the content of the vendors remarks/actions were insulting or dereogatory to Sikh faith, Sikhi roop, Gurbani or any act of beadbi, then his actions were just. Just a shanme that Sikh's are always first to criticise their own without knowing the actual circumstances. Had this been an adherent to the Jewish or Islamic faith, his fellow co-religionists would be rallying around him.

[SarabhaPanjab]

since when have we started believing this Indian press?

[VanHelsingh]

I'm not one for conspiracy theories (well, most of the time anyway) but could this have been a deliberate "operation" to attach negativity to the kirpan, i.e. scare the average man on the street into asking for the kirpan to be banned in public?

[Toofana]

Yes, quite possible although it sounds like he had a kamarkasa on so it may be a sri sahib. Either way, the Indian press loves to denounce Sikh and their articles of faith. Numerous murders, rapes, robberies take place across India on a daily basis yet a story against Sikhs always somehow makes it to the forefront.