On the occasion of 6 June -Remembrance Day of Saka Akal Takht, WSN editor Jagmohan Singh, in an Open Letter to an Unknown Sikh warrior, shares his feelings for those who died unsung.  Originally written in 2008, currently elaborated and edited, this account narrates the tales of heroism of Sikh martyrs and vows to contest the attempts to erase memory.

Dear Bahadur Singh: Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! Unstoppable tears rolled down my cheeks when I heard and read the news about the attack on Darbar Sahib in June 1984.  The same was the case with many who could not go to Punjab during those trying times. I was in faraway Bombay at that time. My only contact with Punjab was through radio and newspapers.

I actively participated in the wave of protests that were held in the city.  I distinctly remember how the leaders of the Sikh community there were engaged in smothering anger of the youth, in full collaboration with the state security agencies and political leaders with whom they had constant contact.  Later on, in life, I learnt that this was the case in most parts of India and the world. Like me, there were many who were seething with anger.  

During the protest demonstration, everyone was full of admiration for all the Sikh fighters who bravely fought till their last breath.  Your bravery was well respected.  Even those who did not openly identify with Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Nihang and Kar Sewa Dals, All India Sikh Students Federation and the Babbar Khalsa, held you and them in awe for taking on the might of the Indian state.

 

“Sikh leaders ensconced in the Golden Temple premises, who escaped unscathed while you were all dying, did not tell us the truth before they passed away. They resorted to lies or handed over the task of replying to the government’s propaganda to intellectuals who had no courage nor diligence nor skill to respond appropriately”

I recollect your courage and extraordinary gallantry. Just two hundred odd people, with basic armoury and ammunition, with very little or no training in warfare, held the second largest armed forces in the world –the Indian armed forces, at bay for more than 100 hours. General Brar boasted that he would finish all of you in two hours. In the end, he had to bite the skin of his teeth and reluctantly acknowledge the bravery of the Sikh fighters.

Most of you died in the fight, which was the last battle of Indira Gandhi, but while doing so, you added an indelible and incredible chapter in the annals of Sikh history and Indo-Sikh relationship.  The battle of Amritsar was not about “flushing out militants or terrorists” as the Indian state would want us to believe, it was a battle to “bring the Sikhs down on their knees” so that the desire to dissent-the characteristic rebellion of the Sikhs and the yearning for freedom is crushed forever.  After the last bullet had been fired, there was a blast on the Sikh Reference Library in violation of all Geneva conventions. You fought in style and vindicated the martial tradition of the Sikhs.

Today, come June and there are a whole twist and turn of events in the Punjab -the para-military conducting flag marches, the police “unearthing sedition conspiracies” and “arrests of militants out to break the peace of Punjab”. The build-up of the fear psychosis is to be seen to be believed. As if, they are still afraid of you!

Very few pictures of fighters like you were shown to the world.  Even your bodies were not given to your heirs for last rites. The photographs and the video were taken and shown by the then only official television channel -Doordarshan is part of the archives (hopefully it is still there) and we should move to ask the government to put it into the public domain.  I doubt whether one can use the Right to Information or any other provision of any other law to do that. India’s propaganda machinery is so well oiled that it is well-nigh impossible to penetrate it.

There are many people who have described the June 1984 events, but the last word is still to be written. The role of United Kingdom, Russia, Israel and others whose opinion, political guidance and logistical support was sought and obtained for preparation and execution of Saka Akal Takht -projected to the world as Operation Bluestar, has still to be unearthed. The unstinting manner in which Diaspora Sikh organisations are pursuing this, I am sure that we will someday get to know the truth though as we have seen in the case of UK, under diplomatic pressure from India, though much else is in public domain but the documentation relating to the British role in Saka Akal Takht so far remains suppressed.

Sikh leaders ensconced in the Golden Temple premises, who escaped unscathed while you were all dying, did not tell us the truth before they passed away.  Almost all of them either resorted to lies or handed over the task of replying to the government’s propaganda, including the official White Paper, to intellectuals who had neither the courage nor the diligence or skills to respond appropriately. They could not match your courage even in their words.  Today, there are some leaders around but they do not have the courage of conviction to speak the truth. Eyewitness accounts are gradually emerging, but more needs to be done.

I have three images embedded in my mind of Saka Akal Takht. One is that of the nearly-demolished Akal Takht Sahib with gaping holes caused by tanks, the other is that of the body of Sant Jarnail Singh (Published by Surya magazine) and the third is that of a Sikh fighter like you, body soaked in blood, published by Time magazine.  While talking about photographs and video recordings, I often wonder whether there exist some satellite pictures taken by a foreign power or by NASA of the conflict. If Google Earth can map remote military in secluded places around the world including India, surely the possibility of the existence of such material cannot be ruled out.

I have yet to come across a vivid description of the tale of unknown combatants like you, though some interesting facts have trickled down the years from eyewitness accounts and some empirical research.  Significantly and not known to many people, there were two young Hindu men, namely Bhai Hardev Singh (Bholi Pandit) and Bhai Dula Singh amongst your ranks who fought the Indian army. Their parents are proud of their sons. There were many who were less than 25 years of age, with their beards sprouting out, but who had “mastered” the art of defence under training from Bhai Subeg Singh –a former decorated soldier of the Indian army.  

“Reliving the times that you spent during that sweltering June summer of 1984, facing bullets and cannon fire, I cannot hold back myself but say, “I wish I too was there.””

Not to be left behind, the Budha Dal -that is the elderly too were there. Baba Thara Singh was 60 years old and was a close confidante of Sant Jarnail Singh.  Bhai Jangir Singh, the elder brother of Sant Jarnail Singh was 64 years old. As you know, both were towering personalities and lived up to the commitment made to the Guru.

It should make Sikh women proud that amongst the valiant warriors were two young women, Upkar Kaur and Paramjit Kaur, who too attained martyrdom during this first Indo-Sikh battle.

Members of the SGPC are known for their cowardice and insincerity to the cause of propagation of Sikh ideals.  It is a tribute to Bhai Sujan Singh who was an SGPC member from Sarbala constituency that he lived true to the oath of protecting and preserving the holiest of the holy shrines of the Sikh faith.

Nearly two decades back, during the course of a political conference, I met a middle-aged Jaswant Singh at Fatehgarh Sahib.  Introducing himself, he told me that like me, he too had lived in Bombay.  He further said that when Damdami Taksal chief, Sant Jarnail Singh had visited Bombay, his family had “gifted” their ten-year-old son to the Jatha of Damdami Taksal.  That Surjit Singh was 18 years old when he attained martyrdom fighting in the precincts of Darbar Sahib. Whenever I have asked Jaswant Singh about this, he has never regretted his decision. I find it difficult to fathom, “how does one gift a son?” Perhaps, the answer lies in Sikh history books replete with the saga of mothers ‘gifting’ their sons to fight to uphold Sikh identity and spirit.

It would not be fair to compartmentalise or compare martyrdom of one with the other.  The tale of each one of you is a legend still to be fully told. During the last decade, some Punjabi magazines have chronicled stories of young martyrs and they deserve compliments for doing so.  

While I salute you for your deed and role, I am conscious of the life led by your family members.  While some have had recognition from the Sikh nation, there are many whose contribution has been left by the wayside, not deliberately but because of negligence and an inconsiderate sense of history.  

Like every year, this year too, a small segment of the Sikh nation would recount and retell the tales of your heroism –in Punjab and elsewhere. To every Sikh, a martyr is a hero beyond doubt. The established leaders of the community have done everything possible to assassinate memory –from empty promises of putting up a memorial to white-washing all tell-tale signs of the massacre from Harmandar Sahib. The Akali political leaders, members of the SGPC, the SGPC bureaucracy and the religious leadership are guilty of this crime, carried out under covert directions of the Indian state. Today, however, the Saka Akal Takht memorial, built after sustained pressure from revolutionary Sikh political parties, stands tall, next to the Akal Takht is another centre of worship and when full build a modern day museum of the remarkable contribution of all martyrs like you.

Many continue to assault Sikh memory, succeed they will not. No book on the life of Indira Gandhi can be complete without reference to June 1984 and Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. No history book of our times can be considered comprehensive without mention of the events of June 1984 and what went before that and what happened after.

Whatever Indian columnists and leaders may say about a closure to the events of 1984,  there cannot be an easy one. We may forgive but forget we cannot. We may get justice but forget we cannot. We may get our own country for which the fighters, insurgents and lay Sikhs like you fought for, even then forget we cannot. No Sikh leader may not yet have the Twitter or Facebook reach of Prime Minister Modi, but collectively social media ensures that our memory of pain, anger, angst, yearning for justice remains eternally alive.

The Indian establishment lives in the illusion that it can crush all aspirations of Sikhs and subdue them by their version of contemporary history. This too, they cannot. The commendable role of growing numbers of Sikh political representatives in countries like Canada, US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, who through their parliamentary interventions keep these sacred memories alive and make the Sikh case part of their parliamentary records makes India highly uncomfortable. Surely, India cannot get that removed or erased, can it?

Reliving the times that you spent during that sweltering June summer of 1984, facing bullets and cannon fire, I cannot hold back myself but say, “I wish I too was there.”

May you enjoy the privilege and gracious honour of “being with the Guru”.