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The Indian State
Versus The Sikh nation
Charge Sheet against the Indian
State by the Sikh Nation
 1.
On the
midnight of 14
August 1947, British India was partitioned and Sikhs as a people
underwent the trauma and rigours of one of the biggest transfers of
population in world history from
West Punjab to
East Punjab. Thousands of Sikhs were killed and hundreds of women were
humiliated. Home and hearth were lost and the economy of the
Panjabis was ruined. The Sikhs were made to leave their most
cherished and sacred place, Nankana Sahib -the birthplace of Guru
Nanak. According to one estimate, the Sikhs lost more than forty
percent of their territory and more than six percent of their total
population.
2. On
10th
October 1947, a secret circular by the Punjab Governor, Sir Chandu
Lal Trivedi, declared that Sikhs are a criminal tribe. The circular
addressed to deputy commissioners of
Punjab, labeled the Sikhs a criminal tribe, threat to peace and that the
activities of Sikhs should be kept under watch.
3.
In the month of February, 1948, right-wing Hindu
members of the Jalandhar Municipal Committee officially resolved to
adopt the Hindi language as the medium of instruction in schools of
the district, to taunt the Sikhs and to decimate the importance of
mother tongue Punjabi. In the same year, the Dar Commission
submitted its report against the formation of linguistic states.
4.
On
19th
February, 1949, Sikh leader and president of the Shiromani Akali Dal,
Master Tara Singh was arrested at Narela, under charges similar to
sedition in nature disallowing him to participate in a religious
ceremony.
5.
On
26 January, 1950,
the Constitution of India as framed by the Constituent Assembly was
adopted. As the Constitution failed to be truly federal in
character and did not give special rights to ethnic peoples and
nationalities, the two Sikh members in the Constituent Assembly,
Bhupinder Singh Mann and Hukam Singh declared that, “The Sikhs do
not accept this constitution. The Sikhs reject this constitution.”
6.
The Government of India enters into a pact with the
pseudo-Nirankaris to subvert the separate and distinct entity of the
Sikh religion.
7.
In 1951, in the first census in ‘independent’
India, under
explicit and implicit orders of the state machinery, Hindi was
preferred over Punjabi. The ruling Congress party went to the
extent of issuing an advertisement in newspapers asking non-Sikh
residents of Punjab to return Hindi (in Devnagari script) as their
mother tongue, even though Punjabi had been their mother tongue
since ages.
8.
On 4th January, 1952 Mr. Jawaharlal
Nehru, Prime Minister of India, opposed the formation of Punjabi
Suba. This was in total contrast to the commitment to demarcate
India on a
linguistic basis made by the Congress party in 1929, 1946 and 1947.
9.
On
4th
March, 1953, the Akali-led government of PEPSU province was
dismissed without any ground. Upset over the misuse of Article 356
of the Constitution by the Congress government, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar,
the founding father of the Indian constitution, while speaking in
the Upper house of the Indian parliament, roared, “I wish to set
fire to such a constitution.” This was the first non-Congress
government which was dismissed and President’s rule was imposed.
10.
On
6th
April, 1955, a ban was imposed on the raising of the slogan
“Punjabi Suba Zindabad”. Subsequently, the police under the
command of DIG Ashwani Kumar entered the Darbar Sahib Complex and
raided the offices of the Shiromani Akali Dal to detain Akali
leaders. The Head priest of Akal Takht Sahib was arrested and tear
gas shells were thrown in the perambulation around the Darbar
Sahib. The Head pries of Darbar Sahib and Akal Takht Sahib were
detained.
11.
In 1957, in continuation of the anti-Punjabi
language tirade, a cross-section of Hindu fundamentalists (Jan Sangh)
floated Hindi Raksha Samiti under the leadership of Yag Dutt Sharma
that launched a violent “Save Hindi Struggle” campaign which
comprised of throwing cigarette buts in holy water tanks, tearing of
pages of Sikh religious texts and shearing of hair of Sikhs by
waylaying them. Discrimination was evident as Hindu hooliganism was
not stopped whereas Sikhs were beaten up.
12.
On
15th
March, 1959 peaceful protestors of the Shiromani Akali Dal, on their
way to the Indian parliament to protest the violation of their
rights were detained, harassed, maltreated and arrested.
13.
In 1960, the biggest Morcha for Punjabi Suba was
launched. 57,000 Sikhs courted arrest. Master Tara Singh was
arrested. In the same year, on June 12, a silent march was taken in
Delhi protesting the arrest of Master Tara Singh. For the
first time, the
Delhi administration ordered that any Sikh entering
Delhi or walking
the streets of the city should be given a thrashing. Harbans Singh
Frontier who led the first Jatha was mercilessly beaten up when he
came out of the Gurdwara Sisganj Sahib.
14.
In the sixties, the Indian state patronised and
assisted the left movement in
Punjab to destroy Sikh culture, Sikh traditions, Sikh religion and
Sikh ethos. On
22 May, 1960, 11
Sikhs of Tarna Dal were gunned down at Paonta Sahib, Himachal
Pradesh by Mahant Gurdial Singh's henchmen who was entrenched in the
Gurdwara with logistical support from police and the district
administration.
15.
The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 was passed,
which dealt a death-blow to the territorial and water rights of the
people of
Punjab. Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Panjab Reorganisation Act
placed the irrigation and hydel-power projects of the Panjab
geographically in Himachal Pradesh. These provisions also gave
exclusive overall control of these projects to the Central
government. It was in total contravention of Article 246 of the
Indian constitution and universally accepted riparian principles.
16.
In 1967, the Congress conspired to topple the first
Akali-led government by engineering defection and thereafter
withdrawing its support, and imposing President’s rule.
17.
In 1970, Sikhs settled in the Terai region of Uttar
Pradesh were forcibly evicted from there under one pretext or the
other. In recent times, the Sikh-majority district of Udham Singh
Nagar was also forcibly attached to the newly carved state of
Uttaranchal Pradesh against the express wish of Sikh residents in
that area.
18.
In 1971, in a move to scuttle the importance of
martial races in the Indian armed forces, the defence ministry under
Jagjivan Ram, took a policy decision, to recruit army personnel on
the basis of population rather than merit. The percentage of Sikh
participation in the Indian Armed Forces was gradually reduced to a
meagre 2 percent. Promotions to high-ranking Sikh officers were
scuttled on pretext or the other. The government compelled Sikh
officers, both in the Defence and Civil services to renounce their
Sikh identity (i.e. Kesh and Kirpan) if they desired promotions and
possible retention in their services. This illegal and racial
discrimination continues.
19.
In 1972, 12 Sikhs were killed by the
Punjab police in
Gurdwara Sadabart, near Ropar.
20.
In 1973, the Shiromani Akali Dal adopted the
Anandpur Sahib Resolution but the Indian state and media launched a
vicious campaign against it, dubbing it as anti-national.
21.
Upon the imposition of emergency in 1975, thousands
of volunteers of the Shiromani Akali Dal opposing the emergency
imposed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi were incarcerated.
22.
On
April 13, 1978,
thirteen Sikhs were killed in cold-blood by the pseudo-Nirankaris in
the heart of Amritsar who had been given permission to voice
anti-Sikh sermons in the holy city of Amritsar by the Punjab
government. In the same year, 4 Nihang Sikhs were killed at Pundri,
Haryana, by police of the Akali Dal supported Haryana Government
under the chief ministership of Chaudhary Devi Lal. In the same
year Sikh protestors were fired at in
Kanpur
and Delhi leading to death of some activists.
23.
As the
Punjab and Sind Bank was understood to be the banks of Sikhs and
Punjabis, when the bank reached the zenith of its glory, in 1980,
the bank was nationalized and brought under the direct control of
the government of
India.
24.
On
14th
January 1980, copies of Guru Granth Sahib were burnt at Chando Kalan
in Haryana.
25.
On
4th
January, 1980 Baba Gurbachan (neo-Nirankari) and 64 associates
accused in the case of the murder of 13 Sikhs on April 13, 1978 were
acquitted by the Sessions Judge of Karnal, Mr. Gupta. It is an open
secret that all attempts were made by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
and others to influence the judiciary for their acquittal.
26.
On
1st May
1982, the Dal Khalsa, which was struggling for Sikh rights was
banned by the Indian Government. Sometime later, the All India Sikh
Students Federation, which was one of the oldest Sikh youth
organizations working amongst Sikh students for propagation of Sikh
religion was also banned by government of India.
27.
During the Asian games in 1982, Sikhs were banned
from entering
Delhi. With full tacit approval of the state authorities,
Sikhs were badly humiliated at various places in Haryana. Their
shops were looted and property destroyed.
28.
On
4th
April, 1983, 26 Sikhs were killed by the police, at Kupp, near
Malerkotla, during the "Rasta Roke" agitation of the Akali Dal.
29. In 1983, the State Reserve Police and the Central
Reserve Police were directed by the government to attack Gurdwaras
on the slightest pretext. During the year, Gurdwara Sahib
Sisganj, Delhi, Gurdwara Imli Sahib, Indore, Gurdwara Sahib, Churu,
Rajasthan, Gurdwara Sahib Chandokalan, Haryana and Gurdwara Sahib,
Chowk Mehta, Amritsar were attacked.
30. February 15-20, 1984, the Hindus of Haryana
under the guidance of the Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and senior
police officials, attacked innocent Sikhs in the cities of Panipat,
Rohtak, Kaithal Karnal, Ambala, Jind and other parts of Haryana
province and killed 20 Sikhs, burnt six Sikh shrines and looted more
than 200 Sikh houses and shops. The hair and beards of many Sikhs
were shaved off by the Hindus in the presence of heavy contingents
of police and Central Reserve Police.
31.
In June 1984, on the orders of the Prime Minister
of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Darbar Sahib and 37 other Gurdwaras
were attacked by all sections of the Indian Armed forces and other
security agencies, killing thousands of Sikhs, desecrating the holy
premises, vandalizing heritage records and artifacts. They not only
killed the fighting forces but also innocent Sikh men, women and
children.
32.
During the attack on Darbar Sahib, the Sikh
Reference Library was vandalized by the Indian Armed Forces and the
looted material has not been returned to this day.
33.
After the attack on Darbar Sahib, an internal
circular of the Indian Army entitled, Baat Cheet exhorted members of
the Indian Armed Forces to earmark baptized Sikhs, all of whom were
labeled as dangerous people who were supposed to be having direct
links with ‘terrorists’.
34.
In November, 1984, Sikhs were attacked in 87 towns
and cities in 'secular'
India. According to
estimates by human rights organizations atleast 10,000 Sikhs were
virtually butchered or burnt alive. Officially, 3,700 Sikhs were
killed in a matter of 48 hours. More than 200,000 Sikhs rendered
homeless and without work. More than 358 Gurdwaras were desecrated
and destroyed. Justifying this official pogrom against the Sikhs
against the Sikhs, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi shamelessly
proclaimed, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.”
35.
On
25 July 1985, the
Rajiv-Longowal accord was reached which contained unattainable and
unachievable proposals. The Accord was attained under deceit and
pressure on Sant Longowal. Still, for the record, no part of the
accord has been implemented.
36.
Since 1986, Amnesty International, Human Rights
Watch and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been
debarred from officially entering
Punjab for documenting human rights violations. This ban still continues.
37.
In 1987, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities
(Prevention) Act, 1987 was passed. This act violated all norms
of criminal jurisprudence. Every safeguard guaranteed by the
Constitution, all international standards of human rights laid-down
by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were violated by this Act,
even though
India is a signatory to both these declarations. The Sikhs suffered
the consequences of TADA. Thousands of Sikh youth were detained,
tortured, and killed both in Panjab and in other Indian states.
38.
On
12th May
1987, the Akali government in Punjab was dismissed by misusing
Article 356 of the Indian constitution.
39.
On 14-15 September, 1988, Sikh students of the
Engineering
College at Bidar in Karnataka were subjected to a brutal racial
attack in which many students were killed and a large number of them
were injured.
40.
In 1988, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi introduced the
59th amendment to the constitution of
India, rescinding
the right to life of the people of Punjab and enabling more
discriminatory laws against Punjab.
41.
On
13th
January, 1988, Sikhs were injured and killed in Jammu & Kashmir
during the procession to observe the birthday celebrations of Guru
Gobind Singh.
42.
On
6th
January, 1989, without substantial evidence, Kehar Singh was hanged.
The advocates and judges colloquium objected to this judicial
murder, but it was still carried out.
43.
A written circular was sent by the Director General
of Police, Mr. K. P. S. Gill to all Senior Superintendents of Police
in Punjab
dated 30 August, 1989, giving details of rewards to them for the
apprehension and liquidation of wanted “terrorists/extremists”.
44.
In 1990. Prime Minister V.P. Singh introduced the
65th amendment to the constitution, to prolong Presidential Rule in
Panjab. This was repeated in 1991 by Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar
when he initiated the 75th Constitutional Amendment.
45.
In 1991, the
Bombay police
issued a circular to collect details of Sikh residents to cause them
harassment and humiliation.
46.
Elections scheduled to be held in June 1991 were
aborted only 24 hours prior to polling time by the then President
Mr. R. Venketaraman on advice from Prime Minster-designate Mr. P. V.
Narasimha Rao. This illegal order was implemented by Chief Election
Commissioner, Mr. T.N. Seshan.
47.
On
28 July, 1991, a
circular was issued in the Terai region asking Sikh residents to
prove their innocence. Police intimidation and restrictions on
purchase of property became the norm in this Sikh-majority area of
the State of Uttar Pradesh.
48.
In 1991, Brigadier Sinha of the Indian Army
publicly declared that the only way to subvert the culture of the
Sikhs was to rape and humiliate Sikh women.
49.
On
15 March, 1992, a
written discriminatory order was issued by the state government of
Rajasthan for registration of land owned by Sikhs.
50.
On
3 April,
1992, former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and chairman
of the Punjab Human Rights Organisation, Justice Ajit Singh Bains
was arrested under the anti-people legislation, TADA. Inspite of
massive protests by human rights activists, lawyers and political
activists, the
Punjab and Haryana High Court did not intervene.
51.
On 8-9 June, 1992, five innocent villagers from
village Behla, district Amritsar were used as a human shield by the
security agencies comprising of the Punjab police and the Central
Reserve Police Force in an operation against Sikh insurgents. All
were killed and later dubbed as militants.
52.
On 9 October, 1992, Bhai Harjinder Singh Jinda and
Bhai Sukhdev Singh were sent to the gallows under the provisions of
the TADA act, which was later on held null and void by the Supreme
Court of India. It is significant to mention that as many as 400
petitions challenging the validity of T.A.D.A. were pending
judgment for more than 8 years in the apex court. The decision
though was taken after hanging Jinda and Sukha.
53.
On 1 January, 1993, the former Jathedar of Akal
Takht Sahib, Bhai Gurdev Singh Kaonke, who had been kidnapped by the
police a few days ago, was tortured and extrajudically killed by the
Ludhiana police.
54.
In 1993, 11 Sikh young pilgrims on way by bus to
Hazur Saheb, Nanded from Pilibhit were removed from the bus and shot
dead in cold blood in front of all other passengers by the police,
alleging that they were all “terrorists”.
55.
On 8-9 November, 1994, six Sikh undertrial detenues
under TADA, in the Pilibhit prison in the state of Uttar Pradesh
were brutally beaten to death by the 42 members of the prison staff
with support from the infamous Provincial Armed Constabulary of
Uttar Pradesh. 22 other Sikh detenues were seriously injured.
56.
On
6
September, 1995, human rights activist, Jaswant Singh Khalra, who
had unearthed gross human rights abuses in the district of Amritsar
about individuals who had disappeared involuntarily was tortured and
killed extrajudicially.
57.
Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi, Human Resources Minister
earmarked 100 crores for the celeberation of 300 years of Khalsa
Panth. Most of the money was apportioned to RSS supported
organizations for penetrating into Sikh institutions to undermine
the separate identity of the Sikhs and diluting Sikh ideology with
the motive of evolving pan-Hinduism which propagates the Sikhs to be
a sect of Hinduism.
58.
On 20 March 2000, coinciding with the visit of US
President, Bill Clinton, 35 young Sikhs were killed in
Chittisingpura, Kashmir by state vigilantes. This has been proved
without doubt but the state has not taken any action so far.
59.
In June 2005, sedition cases were registered
against the leadership of the Dal Khalsa and Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)
when they participated in a function to observe the anniversary of
the attack on Darbar Sahib.
60.
In the year 2007, while the blasphemous activities
of Sirsa dera chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim have been allowed to
continue, in complete violation of legal provisions, sedition
charges have been foisted against Sikh leaders. Earlier such false
and baseless allegations were foisted against Dal Khalsa leaders.
(This charegsheet was prepared as a
result of a seminar organised by the Dal Khalsa.
22 August, 2007
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