Is Demand For Separate Sikh State Khalistan, Regaining Ground?

Prof Dr Colonel (Retired) K Prabhakar Rao

The Khalistan movement for a separate Sikh nation gained momentum during the nineteen eighties that finally culminated in the military operation by Government of India owing to the unabated terrorist activities and gravity of situation. The Khalistan movement was spearheaded by Sant( religious holy leader) Jarnil Singh Bhinderwale aided by some hard core disgruntled retired Indian army officers such as retired Major General Shabeg Singh. The Golden temple complex at Amritsar was invaded by Indian Army on 05 June 1984 (1). Many terrorists and Bhinderwale along with Shabeg Singh were killed in military action. Sikhs have considered this army action as a great insult to them. Certain Sikh regiments and recruits mutineed. But they were over powered by other army troops before they could do any damage. As a consequence, Mrs. Indira Gandhi Prime Minister of India was assassinated by her Sikh body guards on 31 October1984 in her official residence that led to riots in and around New Delhi in which thousands of innocent Sikhs were killed brutally by the violent crowds allegedly abetted by the ruling political party leaders, thugs and goons (2). General Vaidya the Chief of Army staff was also assassinated after his retirement in June on 25 August 1986 by Sikh terrorists for his active part in ordering the assault on Sikh shrine by the troops of Indian army.

Although many years have passed, the culprits responsible for riots in Delhi have not been apprehended in spite of many enquiries. Some of the alleged culprits have died natural death during these years. Sikhs are very sore on this account. Thus, Sikh sentiments have been hurt after the Army operation (Blue Star) on Golden temple Complex, the holiest shrine for the Sikhs, owing to the Delhi riots and utter inability of the Government of India in bringing the culprits to book. Nevertheless, the State of Punjab is again on the path of progress and peace prevails.

Sikh religion is misunderstood by many as a religion that lives by steel and Sword. But this is not true. Sikh scriptures shun all violence and preach peace and universal brotherhood. These men are ignorant of circumstances under which the Sikhs were compelled to hold the sword. This is the only religion that has fought tooth and nail to save the followers of other faiths such as Hindus against the tyranny and religious persecution by the Mughal Emperors who were mostly religious bigots and persecutors of Hindus and Sikhs and even Shia . Although Sikhism is only 500 years old, it has been very closely associated with Indian political history. Even Guru Nanak was arrested by Baber. Two of their distinguished Gurus were put to death by the Mughals. Guru Arjun Dev was put to death by Emperor Jehangir on 30 May 1606 after falsely implicating the guru with the revolt of Prince Khusro against the imperial throne. Guru Teg Bahadur was put to death by the religious bigot, Emperor Aurangzeb on false charges on 11 November 1675 at Delhi.. The last mortal Guru, Guru Gobind Singh had to fight tooth and nail all his life for upholding the faith. He lost his two sons Sahibzada ( Son of the distinguished leader) Ajit Singh and Juhar Singh in his fight against Mughal oppression on 07 December 1705 at Chamkaur. His other two younger sons Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singhwere captured and bricked alive by Wazirkhan the governor of Sirhind on 13 December 1705. Banda Singh Bahadur who carried on the Sikh revolt against Mughals was brutally tortured and put to death by Farukh Siyar, the Mughal emperror along with his 600 followers. In every century; the Sikhs have gone through great turmoil and personnel losses while Sikhs fought tooth and nail to protect Hindus from tyranny of Muslim rulers and invaders. Even at the time of partition of 1947 in India, Sikhs suffered very greatly and again during 1984 in Delhi riots.

The Khalistan movement that brought a bad name to the Sikh community, in it’s hey days posed threat to world peace as Pakistan tried to fish in troubled waters. It saw the movement as an opportunity to bifurcate India as retaliation against the birth of Bangladesh in 1971 war. However, the evil designs did not succeed and majority of Sikhs were loyal to India and disowned demand for Khalistan. Yet, some of the hard core Khalistan separatists escaped from India and took asylum in foreign lands. An organization titled Council of Khalistan operates from Washington with Dr Gurmit Singh Aulakh as the President. Another prominent member of the movement of Khalistan is Dr Paramjit Singh Ajtawat (3). Some of the Sikhs in India observe Martyr days for the assassins of Mrs. Indira Gandhi and General Vaidya, former Army Chief who was assassinated by Sikh youth in 1986 (4). However, their numbers are small, but it is a source for generation of bad blood among communities.

Certain sections of Sikh opine that their problems have not been solved by all peaceful means by the Indian Govt during the last many years and therefore seeking a solution by use of might or use of sword is very much in order as per Zafarnama of Guru Gobind Singh. ( Zafanama is the epistle of victory sent by guru Gobind Singh to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after bitter struggles in which he admonished the emperor for his cruel and un Islamic acts. He preached in the document that when all options for a solution are exhausted, Sikhs have to resort to use of sword to redress their grievances). Demand for Khalistan, an independent Sikh State and support for this movement is probably based on this concept. These are the aspects that contribute to the disturbance of peace in certain regions of the world. In present world scenario, no nation can exist independently without any interaction with others. Global stability is based on peace between various neighbors. Pakistan and India always live with daggers drawn and with swords at each others throat and clawing each other all the time and this has been the situation ever since these nations have been formed. The clever policy of divide and rule by the Englishmen has resulted in permanent instability in Indian Sub Continent and creation of Bangladesh has further added to the existing vows of the region. The demand for Khalistan in the region of Punjab would be of great welcome to Pakistan and it would always keep the fire alive by giving all underground help to these activists in future too. These are the live problems generated by Sikhs some of whom claim to be of separate identity to form an independent nation.

Religion and politics that go hand in hand invariably breed troubles to the society. When religion is practiced without indulging in politics, the administration by the Govt usually has no clash. But unfortunately, in world to day, this concept appears to be a mirage. For political leaders, religion is a powerful tool to sway the masses in their favor. Majority of the people particularly in third world countries are poorly educated and can be easily influenced by the religious sentiments. The scriptures and real truths in them are not easily understood by the masses. Lack of education is a big stumbling block in front of them to study and understand the scriptures of their religions. This has resulted in the rise of priestly classes in the societies that have iron grip over the masses. In most of the cases, the priestly class serves the interests of the ruling class in all the nations. The religious sentiments are exploited by the political leaders for their nefarious ends and this has resulted in various agitations for separate nation hood, State hood, reservations, identity and benefits. India is a fine and befitting example. Most of the princes in India took part in the first war of independence in 1857 against the East India Company. This war is known as Sepoy (Soldier) Mutiny in the words of the Englishmen. Muslims and Hindus fought with shoulder to shoulder against the forces of Englishmen. Sikh rulers of Punjab however remained away and abetted the Englishmen and derived benefits subsequently. Sikh masses took part in freedom movement of India led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Known as Mahatma meaning great soul and father of nation) during 20 th century. However, Muslims opted for Pakistan and ensured that they divided India at all costs. All quotes of brotherhood, saintliness and grand shoulder rubbing by Gandhi with slogans “Hindu Muslim Bhai- Bhai” ( Bhai means brother) vanished into thin air at one stroke of religious sentiments and slogans that Islam was in danger and Islamic Republic Pakistan became a naked reality. M K Gandhi was also assassinated by Nathuram Vinayak Godse of Hindu Maha Sabha (An organization of nationalists) as a result of partition and heart burning. He shot Gandhi dead incold blood with a 0.32 caliber semi auto pistol at Birla Mandir in Delhi on 30 Th January 1948 while he was proceeding to a prayer meeting. The bitterness was clearly evident when Nathuram in his statement at his trial said that although he had respects for Gandhi for all the sacrifices he made during the struggle for independence, he had no right to vivisect the country and thus he lost the right for a natural death and deserved to be shot dead (5).He refused to appeal for mercy and also appealed that no one should appeal for mercy on behalf of him. This proves that politics and religion always go hand in glove in present age. Sikhs are no exception to this and rise of Khalistan movement for a separate nation to be carved out of India is the sole outcome of the phenomenon. Although the demand for Khalistan is under hibernation, it is very unlikely that the demand would be totally given up by the separatists. The fact that these elements are able to propagate their philosophy of separation from India in foreign lands such as USA, Canada, UK and other European nations where they have been allowed to stay and given asylum is an indication of things to come in future. There are many international terrorist groups claiming allegiance to Khalistan movement out of which Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) is prominent. This was founded by Sukhwinder Singh Babbar and Talwinder Singh Parmar of Canada and they formed the first unit in 1981. They have active units in Canada, Germany, USA, UK, France, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and Pakistan. However, Talwinder Singh formed his own breakaway group in 1992 owing to differences titled Babbar Khalsa International (Parmar Group); Currently, Wadhwa Singh heads this group. Pakistan plays a great role in their activities. In one of the major acts of terrorism, the terrorists of Babbar Khalsa International blew up in mid air the Air India flight 182 Kanishka in 2000 near Irish coast killing all the crew and passengers (The trial is still going on in Canada). Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripdaman Singh were arrested by Canadian police for this activity. BKI is actively carrying on the activities across the Jammu and Kashmir border and many of these activists have been arrested from time to time by the Indian security forces. Efforts by India to extradicate the offenders from these nations have met no success due to legal implications and prevalent laws in these nations. Although former Director General of Police KPS Gill has been credited for elimination of militancy in Punjab, the danger lurks around the corner.

It is also a fact that many Sikh soldiers of Indian army mutinied and deserted their regiments with arms after the Operation Blue star by Indian Army in 1984 in which the Golden complex was invaded to flush out Khalistan terrorists. However, their number was limited. But the incident remains a bitter fact of life and a potential danger although all efforts are made to downplay the incidents by the Government (6) and they are generally happy that all is very fine. Fortunately, majority of Sikhs including armed forces personnel are sane and love India to the core and feel they are integral part of Indian society.

Some of the hard core Sikh scholars disclaim the popular notion that Sikhism is the combination of Hinduism and Islam. They claim that Sikh religion is entirely new religion and are very touchy about it. They do not like to be identified with Hinduism in any way. Yet, Sikhs are unable to free themselves from their Hindu moorings from which they have come. However on religious front, Sikhism propagates universal brotherhood and peace like any other religion. It is opined by most of the scholars including Sikh scholars that the turmoil in the world particularly in Asia and Middle East countries is due to the rise of religious fundamentalism. Religious intolerance has become the root cause for the violent activities in these areas. The ongoing violent activities by Islamic terrorists can be attributed to the religious intolerance and fundamentalism. This is equally applicable to Khalistan separatists who as fundamentalists are demanding a separate nation that is against the concept of universal brotherhood preached by the Gurus.

Although demand for Khalistan is under hibernation as stated earlier, recently efforts are going on to strongly revive it and attention has been focused on the issue. Recently a conference was held at a Gurudwara in England at Birmingham by Council of Khalistan that sought to revive the movement. The secessionists from the movements for Kashmir, Nagaland, Assam have joined hands with Khalistan activists to press for independent States. British Members of Parliament Nazir Ahmed (House of Lords) and Khalid Mahmud (House of Commons) spoke in support of these movements. Messages were read from National Socialist council of Nagaland (NSCN) general secretary Muviah. India was dubbed as a failed State that was forcibly occupying the lands of the struggling people by the might of its military forces. India was receiving information on these pro Khalistan activities in Pakistan and England and there was no response from the Government (7). Thus it is noted that Khalistan movement has not died. The hard core elements staying abroad are active and trying rekindle the spirit of achieving a separate nation for Sikhs. Efforts of Indian Government to extradicate the militants from foreign countries have not met success and the problem is kept alive by the hard core elements. India has to guard against this activity.

Bibliography

1. Operation Blue Star, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/operation_bluestar

2. Delhi riots of 1984, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Anti_Sikh_riots

3. Khalistan terrorists in foreign countries, www.satp.org/satposyfp/countries/india/states/Punjab/terrorist_outfits/BKI

4. General Vaidya’s assassination, Jain Commission report. http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:eWVOzVTx7I8J:www.india-today.com

/jain/vol3/chap8.html+Assassination+of+General+Vaidya+by+Sikh+youth&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=in

5. Gopal Godse, Why I assassinated Mahatma Gandhi? And the events, accused, the epilogue (Statement of Nathuram Vinayak Godse), Published by Surya Bharathi Prakashan, 2596 Nai Sarak, Delhi, India, 110006, Edition 1993

6.All about Sikhs, Your gateway to Sikhism, Mutiny by Sikh soldiers and Sikh Regiment in Indian army after attack on Golden Temple in 1984 http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:9EfqmlSHTTsJ:www.allaboutsikhs.com

/sikh-history/the-sikh-regiment.html+Mutiny+by+sikhs+in+Indian+army+during+Operation+Blue+star&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=21&gl=in

7.Seema Mustafa, Bid to revive Khalistan at UK meet, Deccan chronicle, Hyderabad, AP, India, Date May 11, 2007, PP 2

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Prof Dr Colonel ( Retired) K Prabhakar Rao

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1. Sikhism and world peace, March 23, 2007, 15:45

2. World Religions and religious tolerance, October 18, 2006, 0800

3. Religion and world peace, October 10, 2006, 0200

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