|
Open letter to S. Parkash Singh Badal
Respected Bad-al jeo
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki
Fateh!
It is tradition in Punjab that when one
is communicating to an octogenarian person, then one should not
express too much hanger and hatred. I am constrained to say that I
am not able to do so. One can accuse you for many things that you
have done against the interests of Punjab and that of the Sikhs, but
the subject of my present letter makes me very angry and I am pretty
certain that it should instill anger and indignation amongst readers
as well. If a reader chooses to hate you because of this you have to
blame no one but your self.
Many years ago I had the previlege to
work with leading feminist and peoples’ rights activist Madhu
Kishwar. No issue of any Indian news magazine has so poignantly
portrayed the events of November 1984 as did Manushi magazine,
edited by Madhu Kishwar. In one of the meetings, she asked me,
“Jagmohan are you satisfied with the response of the citizens to the
ghastly tragedy?” I said , “I am not sure, but it is satisfying
that Sikhs themselves have come forward in a big way. She further
asked me, “Are the Sikhs helping merely because the victims are
Sikhs? I said, “Not really”. Sikhs are seekers of justice and a very
pious people.
23 years down the line, I think I
painfully say that I was wrong. As a people, as a nation we have
failed; but for singular example of the likes of Harvinder Singh
Phoolka, there is nothing much to say.
Your role and that of your party members
is as shameful as that of Narsimha Rao and Rajiv Gandhi. I have a
strong feeling that you may not have even pondered over this issue.
HKL Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish
Tytler were three Congress party icons who symbolized the face of
the Indian state’s official ‘blood for blood’ (Khoon ka badla
khoon) campaign against the Sikhs. These three blood-thirsty
Draculas should have either faced the gallows or be behind bars. The
shameful honour to protect them goes to your good self and your
party.
Avtar Sing Hit, Prahlad Singh Chandoke
and Atma Singh Lubhana are three Delhi-based leaders of your party
whom you have elevated to high political positions. This trio
engineered the back tracking of statements of witnesses against the
three Congress killers. In each case, money changed hands. How much?
Perhaps you know. Helpless widows were blackmailed against
deposition. From a pauper, Atma Singh Lubana became a rich man. As
much as he cheated the Sikhs, he grossly abused the trust reposed in
him by his tribe, the Lubanas, who bore the brunt of the attacks in
Trilokpuri, Mangolpuri and Sultanpuri. All three of them have
progressed to become Sikh religious leaders, upon elections as Badal
Dal candidates for the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.
You are a Zamindar, a landlord. As a
feudal chieftain, it may be difficult for you to have a keen sense
of justice, but revenge should have come naturally to you. I do not
know whether it is possible, but I desire to have an audience with
you to discuss this entire episode. Why did you do this? Was this
consciously done or did you condone these acts of your leaders or
did you derive any political benefit out of it?
Alas! Even if you get to read this
letter I do not expect much. If burning tyres around necks, and loss
of home and earth of thousands could not deter you from
back-stabbing the Sikhs, then it would be foolhardy for me to expect
that my innocuous letter will have an impact.
The situation is so scary that I cannot
even petition the Akal Takht as you have ensured that the wails and
cries of justice are drowned in the reservoir of pecuniary gain,
politicking and personal rivalry.
At the altar of injustice, facing
crucifixion, Jesus Christ is known to have said, “Forgive them, for
they do not know what they are doing.” I am repeating the same for
you.
God bless you.
Sincerely
Jagmohan Singh
[Jagmohan Singh is a social, religious, health and
political activist based in Ludhiana. He may be contacted at
jsbigideas@gmail.com]
31
October,
2007
|
Read Also
