Inderpal Singh Hans

Why did Muslims demand and get Pakistan in 1947? Why did Sikhs start demanding a separate Sikh state, Khalistan, some 35 years later? The reasons in both cases were the same viz. distrust, discrimination and non-acceptance as equal partners in the affairs of the State by the majority community although this realization came at different periods of time. The authors of Freedom at Midnight hold that Jinnah, initially, was opposed to the idea of Pakistan but slowly subscribed to it convinced of Hindu hegemony in free India.

The Sikhs when promised a 'glow of freedom' in North India cast their lot with India in unambiguous terms. What caused disillusion in them in a short span of three decades years? The subtle strains of Sikh psyche that resulted in a violent expression deserve a close examination. It is worthwhile to study the make-up of the Sikh mind and the causes that provoked it.

It may sound a paradox, but Sikhs are not separatists and place the highest value on harmonious living. As believers in universal brotherhood, manas ki jaat sabhay eikey pehchanbo (All humanity is one), Sikhs face no compatibility problems when co-existing with others. The doors of the Golden Temple open on all four sides, signifying openness to all faiths. Incidentally, the foundation of the Temple was laid by Mian Mir, a Muslim Saint. The sui generis Sikh Scripture, Guru Granth Sahab, includes hymns and songs of various Hindu, Muslim, Sufi saints and sages which proves the catholicity of this unique scripture. Nobody respects other faiths better than Sikhs. In our daily prayer we seek welfare of all irrespective of our differences: sarbat da bhala.

As testified by our history, Sikhs fought for mankind's freedom of the mind, of expression, and for religion. The supreme sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru, in defense of Hinduism is unparalled considering how Sikhism is opposed to some basic Hindu tenets. Our Gurus taught Sikhs to fight for a principle, to create a better world, with no hatred even for the enemy. Sikhs were instructed to fight evil and not the person. Guru Gobind Singh advised Bhai Kanahya to also dress enemy wounds in the battlefield, when Sikh warriors complained that Bhai Kanahya had offered water to wounded Muslim soldiers. Sikhs have been taught to subscribe to high principles and fight for safeguarding them. Such courage of conviction is dangerous for the unjust adversary.

The ideal of a saint-soldier, a concept reflected in the Sikh concept of miri-piri, is the rarest of combinations. The sixth Guru, Har Gobind donned two swords to signify temporal and spiritual authority. The tenth Master, Guru Gobind Singh, by his own example, further refined the concept of Sant Sipahi, the Saint Soldier. The Sikh is, thus, highly evolved in spirit and defends his spiritual ideals in war as a soldier. Supreme sacrifice for such living is a natural and easy attribute. Sikh Gurus took 239 years(1469-1708) to drill these concepts into the mind of a nation. For example, the kirpan (sword) has a different connotation from talwar (again sword in English), the difference being that a Sikh is enjoined to raise it only in defense of human rights. A kirpan can never be raised as an instrument of repression.

choon kar aj haman heelte dar guzashat
Halal asat burdan ba shamsheer dast

When all modes of redressing a wrong having failed
Raising of sword is pious and just. ~Guru Gobind Singh

Such, briefly speaking, is the Sikh grooming that has been historically recognized.

In his book, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Sikhs Lepil Griphin defines a Sikh:

“… the Sikh is always the same, same in peace, in war, in barracks or in the field, ever genial, good tempered and uncomplaining, a fair horseman, a stubborn infantry soldier, as steady under fire as he is eager for a charge. However, when his self-respect or the honor of his women-folk is at stake, he becomes desperate and will stop at nothing short of murder. He does not pocket an insult... When aroused, he has the fury of ten elephants.”

Muslim historians have also praised the Sikh warrior, although in an abusive language, for his skill in warfare and adherence to strict code of conduct even in war.

Sikhs cherish independence and love freedom- their own as well as that of others. Politically speaking, Punjab under the Sikh Raj retained freedom against the British onslaught till 1849, almost a century longer than rest of India. It was more through scheming than a straight fight that Punjab was annexed with the British Empire. How the young Prince Dalip Singh was tricked into the web of British treachery is a pregnant subject for another poignant story.

After losing Punjab to the English, the Sikhs gradually joined the struggle for India's freedom and soon came into the vanguard. They suffered maximum casualties in terms of hangings, exiles, imprisonments, confiscation of property and other forms of persecution. The saga of Sikh sacrifice was recognized by Indian leaders and promises were made to them which were soon forgotten once India gained independence in 1947. Instead Sikhs were “rewarded” with a Govternment of India circular to its Deputy Commissioners that branded Sikhs as criminals. Sirdar Kapur Singh I.C.S. refers to the circular in his book Sachi Sakhi.

Unfortunately, the Indian National Congress did not follow a democratic mode of governance and started ruling the country. Instead of precipitating the euphoria, that accompanied Indian independence, into creating harmony among its diverse citizens, the leaders in authority set a very different tone. Displaying utter ignorance of social psychology, Indian leaders failed miserably. India has paid a heavy price for the lapse.

For Sikhs it marked the beginning of another struggle this time to demand their democratic rights denied them by the Government, mostly led by the Congress party. While linguistic reorganization of other Indian states was willingly conceded elsewhere, the Sikh demand for a Punjabi Suba entailed a drawn-out struggle that included morchas, police excesses, the loss of life and imprisonment. When at long last the Reorganization of the State was effected, it was done in a way that created more problems. Controversial issues were hatched that have simmered for decades and jeopardized peace in Punjab.

The capital city has always gone to the parent state but Chandigarh was converted into Union Territory instead of making it the capital of Punjab. This monkey-trick became an unnecessary bone of contention. In the case of Punjab’s river waters, the Government of India simply refused to apply its own Riparian Laws. Even the highly truncated State of Punjab had areas left to be decided by future Tribunals. These inflicted wounds were left to suppurate. The Sikhs have a reason to feel that they are denied their constitutional rights in India.

As the linguistic reorganization of the State became evident, many Hindus, under the influence of their right wing organizations, denied Punjabi as their mother tongue in the census of the country. The Sikhs felt cheated. These organizations made their intentions clear that India belonged only to the majority community notwithstanding the sacrifices made by minority communities for its independence. The demolition of Babri Masjid and burning of a Christian missionary, Graham Staines along with his two children has only exposed the tip of the iceberg. These actions have harmed the secular fabric of the nation. It needs to be stated, however, that all Hindus are not sectarian and that some attempts have been made in the recent times to reinstate minority communities in high, merited positions.

Both the right wing organizations and the Congress have covertly and overtly supported some Sikh offshoot sects that worship a living guru, which is against the Sikh belief in Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Word Guru. These motivated actions resulted in some major clashes. Fishing in troubled waters, infiltrations were attempted into the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (S.G.P.C), a major Sikh organizations and the Sikh agenda was hijacked. Allegedly, the Dal Khalsa first enunciated the demand for Khalistan in 1975 from the Congress Bhavan in Chandigarh. The Governments at the Center heavily discriminated against the Sikhs in promotions to civil, army and political positions despite the massive Sikh contribution to convert food-deficit India into a surplus food-producing nation and their major contribution to defend the country during the wars with Pakistan and China.

The declaration of Emergency brought Sikhs into a head-on collision with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. June 1975 to December 1976 can be called the darkest period of democratic India. New draconian laws were promulgated, and the freedom of speech and expression gagged in every possible way. The leaders of opposition parties, including a veteran of the freedom struggle, Jai Parkash Narayan, were jailed and subjected to inhuman treatment. Only the Akali Dal launched a regular morcha against the blatant suppression of democratic rights of Indian citizens. Thousands of its workers courted arrest. The atmosphere of fear tricked Indira Gandhi into believing in her supremacy and she declared general elections in 1977. However, Indians showed their quiet reaction to Gandhi’s heavy-handedness and her Congress party suffered defeat in the elections.

The opposition parties joined to form the first non-Congress coalition Government at the center but could not hold intact for long. The Congress again won elections in 1980 with a thumping majority. A showdown with the Sikhs for their role in Emergency was now the main agenda of the Indira Gandhi Government. A regular campaign of vilification, both at home and abroad, was launched against the Sikhs, who could not match the official propaganda blitz. Intelligence agencies were used to discredit and divide the community. Zuhair Kashmeri and Brian McAndrew, in their book Soft Target refer to the machinations of the Indian government. They allege that the Indian consulate in Toronto generated evidence against the Sikhs. The authors have raised startling questions in the bombing of Air India Flight 182. They also believe that the CSIS seriously differed with RCMP in aiming too low by blaming only a few Sikhs. The truth, however, was deeper.

If the Governments resort to such designs and the might of the State is directed against a section of its own people, the national loss is colossal. The attack on Golden Temple and demolition of Akal Takhat stand out in human history as a full-fledged military action against the most sacred shrine, the sanctum sanctorum of a people, Sikhs, by their own Government, carefully choosing a day when the Sikh world had congregated to the place to commemorate the martyrdom of the fifth Guru, Arjan Dev. The magnitude of force, tanks and heavy artillery, and the timing of the action defy logic and wisdom, and reflect an irresistible urge for vendetta. The Sikhs retaliated unflinchingly.

What Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale said to a foreign correspondent succinctly sums up the Sikh philosophy of recourse to weapons. As the army was laying siege, he stated,

“We never go to anybody's home to attack. But if somebody comes to attack us, we do not sit back like eunuchs.”

Thousands of innocent pilgrims, including women and children, were killed, tortured and imprisoned. The destruction of the Sikh Reference Library and other historical memorabilia is a loss that can neither be measured nor made good. A microscopic community with its sensibilities alive can alone realize the damage done to it.

Catastrophe propagates. Indira Gandhi was assassinated in October 1984 as she was the main architect of Operation Blue Star. Her death resulted in anti-Sikh riots mostly in Congress ruled States. West Bengal, with communist leadership at the helm and Jyoti Basu as its Chief Minister, remained relatively calm. Elsewhere, Sikhs suffered the worst carnage in free India. The President of the Republic, a Sikh, was helpless, and the Home Minister was indifferent and unconcerned. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, son of Indira Gandhi, justified these killings saying, "There are bound to be tremors when a big tree falls”. Did he not know that, for Sikhs, Harmandar Sahib and Akal Takhat are also “big enough trees”.

The Sikhs felt like strangers in their own motherland, whose honor they had protected with blood since the very inception of their faith. Unrequited sacrifice caused anguish, and the community seriously started thinking of a homeland. What ensued is a painful story of police excesses, extra-judicial killings in fake encounters, hordes of Sikh youth imprisoned in Indian jails without trial, and the perpetrators of anti-Sikh riots still unpunished.

In this brief background, truth is not far to seek. A simple axiom has to be understood. Sikhs are ever willing to serve a legitimate cause. They, however, do not brook injustice and arrogance. Such an asset cannot be lost to misconceived ego. Separatism is often not a matter of choice but a matter of compulsion. The Indian scenario, in this regard, is far from encouraging. Trouble is brewing in eastern States, southern States and in Jammu and Kashmir in the north. Thousands of Christians have been killed in Nagaland since 1947, thousands of Sikhs in Punjab since 1984, and thousands of Muslims in Kashmir since 1988. The reason everywhere is the same: distrust and discrimination of the minorities by the majority community.

Fear of each other is the godmother of all conflicts. We have to remedy these psychological aberrations in the mind itself and build mutual trust. The gun has no jurisdiction over the mind. Healthy dissent has to be accepted as harbinger of fresh ideas. To foster a spirit of belongingness, equality and justice must rule the roost. It is the Sikh philosophy that can bring, not only India, but also the whole world together. As the Sikh dictum states:

eik pita eikas ke ham barak
We are all children of the same god.

Let us recognize the truth and allow it to prevail.


Copyright©2005 Inderpal Singh Hans. About the author