by Baldev Singh

“This year’s annual conference will be held in Dubai from January 23-26. The former Indian Prime Minister, I. K. Gujral will be the chief guest, Tarlochan Singh the Chairman of National Commission for Minorities will inaugurate the conference and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Union Minister for fertilizers will preside over the conference),” reported the Tribune, Chandigarh, January 14, 2004.

During a debate in the Indian Parliament when Gujral was the Prime Minister, he asserted that his mother tongue is Hindi. Sardar Tarlochan Singh, the former personal assistant (PA) to the President of India (late) Giani Zail Singh, should know how Zail Singh humiliated Punjabis by saying, “Hitler and Stalin were great men. I will sweep the floor and clean her shoes if Indira Ji asks me to do so.” And we all know what Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa's Akali Party has done to Punjab and the Punjabis in the last two decades. This prompted me to ponder over the question “Who is a Punjabi?”

A Punjabi is someone whose mother tongue is Punjabi, who speaks it with a sense of pride and teaches it to her or his children. Moreover, this person should be proud of the Punjabi culture, its heritage and seeks to actively promote the interests of Punjab and Punjabis in general. I believe that a great majority of Punjabis don’t know what it means to be one? For most of us being a Punjabi does not mean the same thing as being a Bengali means to the Bengalis or being French means to Frenchmen and women. In Punjab of Pakistan, Punjabi is not taught in schools, and it is not the official language of the state.¹ In the Punjab of India, the actions of Punjabi Hindus need special mention. Nowhere in human history has a group of people disowned their mother tongue. This singular event is unprecedented. Since 1947 Punjabi Hindus have been consistently deriding the culture of their ancestors and making every effort to retard the growth of Punjabi language and culture, and the economy of the state.

The Indian State of Punjab was recognized as a bilingual state with distinct Punjabi and Hindi speaking regions and a language formula known as the Sachar Formula was announced in October 1949 to solve the language problem. According to this formula Punjabi in Gurmukhi script was accepted as the medium of instruction in schools. It made the Punjabi Hindu elite berserk -- all sections of the Hindus opposed the implementation of this formula vehemently. They rejected both the Punjabi language and the Gurmukhi script. The attitude of Punjabi Hindus toward Punjabi language can be better understood by reading the words of Sir Gokul Chand Narang the author of Transformation of Sikhism.²

Protesting the use of Punjabi and the Gurmukhi script, Gokul Chand Narang, a rabid communalist lamented, “This formula was the first victory of the Sikhs after the partition of the country as it gave recognition and prominence to a language and script never officially recognized except a few years before in a part of the Sikh State of Patiala.” It is worth noting that Gokul Chand Narang was born and raised in West Punjab. Moreover, the dedication of his book reads: “This book is with deepest reverence dedicated to the memory of my father Lala Mool Raj Narang who was the first to have inspired me with interest in Sikh scriptures and Sikh history.”

Why did an intelligent and learned man like Narang renounce his mother tongue and heritage?

This is not the first time that Punjabi Hindu elite have disowned their mother tongue. Previously, they did it after the Muslim conquest of Punjab, and Guru Nanak (1469-1539) had exposed this hypocrisy. The khatris had abdicated their duty of protecting the honor of the country and its citizens. Instead, they had adopted the manners and language of their conquerors and worked for them in persecuting their co-religionists. The Guru rebuked the khatris (AGGS, p 663) for their actions.

Commenting on the atrocities committed on the Hindus by bigoted Muslim rulers, Guru Nanak exposed the nexus between these rulers, the khatris and the Brahmins in a biting political satire. It was the bigoted Muslim ruler, who was responsible for the persecution of Hindus, but the khatri officials executed the orders, and the Brahmin priests approved the doings of the khatris: “The man eater is the one who performs namaz (Muslim prayer). Who carves out the flesh for him is the one who wears the sacred thread around his neck (khatri). The Brahmin blows the conch in the khatri’s house to sanctify his doings (AGGS, P 471).”

The well-known journalist Kuldip Nayar and former Indian Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral have been lately beating the drums of Punjabiat (Punjabi heritage). Notwithstanding his loud proclamation of Punjabiat, while responding to members of the Indian parliament, who insisted that he should speak in Hindi, Gujral said, “My mother-tongue is Hindi, so I would love to speak in Hindi. Since these proceedings are seen and heard throughout the country, I wish I may be heard by all through English.”³ It is worth noting that Gujral grew up in Jhelum (in Punjab of Pakistan), so it is doubtful that his mother tongue is Hindi. Was he telling the truth to the members of the Indian parliament?

Later that year when the Queen of England visited India, she expressed her desire to pay homage at Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) and the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial. But Gujral tried his best to persuade her to cancel the visit.⁴ Jallianwalla Bagh Memorial was built in honor of all Punjabis who were massacred by Genral Dyer on the day of Baisakhi, April 13, 1919 (379 were killed and over two thousand wounded). Golden Temple is a prominent Sikh gurdwara and most of the victims of Jallianwala Bagh massacre were Sikhs.⁵ Perhaps, Golden Temple and Jallianwalla Bagh are not part of Gujral’s Punjabiat as he is a staunch Arya Smajist! How could an Arya Smajist tolerate that a British monarch should pay homage at the Golden Temple and the Jallianwala Bagh?

Kuldip Nayar does not hide his feelings about Punjab and Punjabi. He stunned the audience at the Chief Khalsa Diwan’s Annual Meeting held in November 2002 by proposing that “Punjabi Suba (state)” should be disbanded and merged with Haryana and Himachal Pardesh.⁶ However, he did not make any adverse comments when very recently three Hindi Sates -- Uttar Pardesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pardesh were partitioned to create three new states whereas “Punjabi Suba” was created in 1966 from a bilingual Hindi/Punjabi state of erstwhile Punjab. Neither Nayar nor any other Punjabi Hindu has ever suggested that Haryana and Himachal Pardesh should be merged since both are Hindi speaking states. Nayar is a well known Indian journalist, but he never wrote a word against Punjabi Hindus who renounced their mother tongue and culture.

Recently, pretending to be a friend of Sikhs, he asked a rhetorical question: “Nanavati Commission should have investigated, when the Indian Constitution says Sikhs are Hindus then why were they [Sikhs] targeted as a community after Indira Gandhi’s assassination?”⁷ What an absurd and insulting statement? An honest man would say why any Indian citizen should have been targeted and brutally killed? And why Sikhs, who have made it clear since 1950, that they should not be classified as Hindus in the Indian Constitution? It is abundantly clear that Kuldip Nayar’s peace and friendship overtures to Pakistan and his credentials as a human rights activist are as bogus as his Punjabiat.

A shorter version of this article was posted on the Sikh-Diaspora Yahoo e-group by a member of that discussion group. It seems that this brief article, which points out the attitude of Punjabis toward Punjabi language and culture, really upset Jagpal Tiwana who is a member of that Yahoo e-group. He ridiculed the article, and went out of his way to attack Dr. Sangat Singh. Tiwana wrote:

“If we go by the definition and reasoning of Dr. Baldev Singh, not many Punjabis are left behind in this world. Punjabi Hindus are not Punjabis because what they have done to Punjabi is unprecedented in the history of mankind. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and the Akalis are not Punjabis because they did nothing to promote Punjabi in the last two decades. Tarlochan Singh is not Punjabi because he worked with Giani Zail Singh. So anybody, Sikh or Hindu who worked with Giani Zail Singh is not a Punjabi.

Kuldip Nayar and all the Sikhs and Hindus who think Punjabi Suba was a mistake because it has narrowed the development of Punjab, are not Punjabis. Partap Singh Kairon and all Congress Sikhs who opposed the creation of Punjabi Suba were not Punjabis. Kuldip Nayar and other Hindus who condemned the pogrom and deposed before the Nanvati Commission in favor of Sikhs are not honest. Their Punjabiat is phony.

Guru Nanak Dev University in recognition of Kuldip Nayar’s contribution appointed him member of the Senate, Punjabi University appointed him member of the Senate and Syndicate, and only a week back conferred fellowship on him. His contribution was also recognized by SGPC with a special award. Either these institutions did not have access to the material, which Sangat Singh and Baldev Singh found or they were also promoting anti-Punjabiat. Punjabi is not the official language in West Punjab. So all Muslims in Western Punjab are not Punjabis. And Sangat Singh’s book is one of the sources for Dr. Baldev Singh’ article.”

Allow me to respond to Tiwana’s criticism and his attempt to manipulate the issue for reasons better known to him. Had Tiwana not gone out of his way to attack Dr. Sangat Singh, I would not have bothered to comment on his letter posted on January 17, 2004. In my missive I have cited four references and only one is from Sangat Singh’s The Sikhs in History. Perhaps my writing touched a raw nerve in Tiwana, or he found it difficult to face the truth. Some time ago Amandeep Singh Grewal became the target of these people when he exposed the criminal and degenerate elements within Sikh society during a discussion on the Sikh-Diaspora Yahoo e-group. I wish Mr. Tiwana had read my missive carefully before commenting on it.

My definition of a Punjabi is applicable to any linguistic nationality. What is Tiwana’s definition of a Punjabi? Nowhere did I state that people of Western Punjab, Punjabi Hindus, Dhindsa, Akalis, Tarlochan Singh, Kuldip Nayar or any Hindu or Sikh who worked for Giani Zail Singh, Partap Singh Kairon and all Congress Sikhs or Hindus who opposed the creation of a Punjabi Suba are not Punjabis? I urge Mr. Tiwana to read my views carefully.

I exposed the fraud committed by the International Punjabi Society, the so-called champions of Punjabiat. Moreover, I emphasized that most Punjabis don’t know what it means to be one? Would Mr. Tiwana point out any linguistic nationality, which has renounced its mother tongue, does not teach it in schools, and where parents don’t teach it to their children? Does Mr. Tiwana deny that Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s Akali party or Tarlochan Singh’s boss Giani Zail Singh were not responsible for the deaths in Punjab over the last two decades. Why should this truth upset him?

I would like him to read Politics of Genocide by Inderjit Singh Jaijee and Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab. Tiwana’s favorite historian Khushwant Singh toured Punjab with K. P. S. Gill and later, at a press conference, vigorously defended the extra-judicial killings of Sikhs by saying “police had no option but to take law into their own hands.” However, after reading Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab, Khushwant Singh’s dormant conscience suddenly woke up and he whispered, “These stories are spine-chilling, Punjab police has to do some explaining.”

Does Mr. Tiwana deny that Kuldip Nayar did not make the statements I mentioned? Can Mr. Tiwana point out any time when Kuldip Nayar criticized Punjabi Hindus for renouncing their mother tongue? Can Mr. Tiwana prove that I. K. Gujral did not assert in his speech, in the Indian parliament, that his mother tongue is Hindi?

Let Mr. Nayar and Mr. Gujral respond to my views. I wonder why people like Nayar and Gujral need someone like Tiwana to defend them? What does Kuldip Nayar’s appointment to the Senate of GNDU or the conferring of fellowship on him by the Punjabi University have to do with my views about him. Many non-deserving people have been appointed as vice-chancellors at these universities. Honoring Kuldip Nayar by SGPC does not mean much. The SGPC, headed by (late) Gurcharan Singh Tohra, is reminiscent of the days when Arur Singh Sarbrah and the head "priests" of Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) conferred a robe of honor on General Dyer who massacred unarmed Punjabis, mostly Sikhs, at Jallianwala Bagh on the day of Baisakhi, April 13, 1919.

What is wrong with Sangat Singh’s book? I have cited Sangat Singh’s work as a reference to the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh. Does Mr. Tiwana think that the Jallainwala Bagh massacre did not take place? Did Sangat Singh make it up?

Sangat Singh has pointed out the possibility of the family link between Jawahar Lal Nehru and Raj Kaul, the son of Gangu (Gangadhar Kaul), who served Guru Gobind Singh and later betrayed his mother and two younger sons by handing them to the Mughal authorities. Raj Kaul was granted land (jagir) on a canal (nehr) at Andha Mughal by Farrukhsiyar. Raj Kaul adopted Nehru as the family name from nehr.⁸ No Hindu historian has challenged Sangat Singh on this point except people like Tiwana.⁹

REFERENCES

¹ The Tribune, Feb. 3, 2004: At the International Punjabi Conference held in Lahore, the Chief Minsiter of Punjab Mr. Prevez Elahi announced that Punjabi would be introduced as a subject at the primary level and debates in the Punjab Assembly could be conducted in Punjabi.

² Narang, G. C. Transformation of Sikism, 5th ed. 1960, p 201.

³ Spokesman, May 1997, p 13-14.

⁴ Spokesman, November 1997, p 20-21.

⁵ Singh, S. The Sikhs in History, 4th ed., 2001, p 159

⁶ Spokesman, November 2002, p 23-24.

⁷ Ajit, November 5, 2003.

⁸ Singh, S. The Sikhs in History, 4th ed., 2001, p 62, 74, 94.

⁹ Singh, S. A Rejoinder, The Sikh Review, 2001, 49 (10) p 87.; Sandhu, P. S. Ambiguous Historians, 2003, 51 (3), p 72.


Copyright©2004 Baldev Singh. About the author