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Anger, Crescendo of Protests
Rises in India, US
WSN Bureau
 Were
it not so tragic, it would have been ridiculous, even laughable.
* Punjab’s top
cop, the Director General of Police has publicly said there was no
possibility of revival of militancy in the state and the police
perceived no such threat.
* Punjab’s Chief
Minister Prakash Singh Badal and Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh
Badal told crowds of thousands gathered at Chappar Mela in Mandi
Ahmedgarh on September 4 that there is “not even a remote chance of
revival of militancy.”
* Courts in
Punjab continue to extend police remands of some arrested people
simply because police is claiming there were major conspiracies on
to commit terrorist activities in the state.
* An obliging
media in Punjab is so eager to report, based on unnamed sources and
“leaks” from security agencies that X had met Y in Pakistan or such
and such distributed stickers of Sant Bhindranwale.
Why, in the name
of God, has the official establishment in India taken leave of all
its senses, democratic pretenses and the last fig leaf of
protections available to citizens under its Constitution is
something perplexing the Sikh community.
 The crescendo of
protests meanwhile is growing louder by the day, not just in India
but also in the United States. Sant Baljit Singh Daduwal led a
massive protest from Takht Damdama Sahib to Bathinda and police had
to block all highways to stop them, but when Daduwal dug his heels
in, the march was allowed to proceed. On the outskirts of Bathinda,
the Deputy Commissioner sent an ADC to receive a memorandum that
demanded immediate release of Bhai Daljit Singh and others. Sant
Daduwal was joined in by Darshan Singh Jagga Ram Tirath, Ek Noor
Khalsa Fauj’s Baljinder Singh, Guru Granth Sahib Satikar Sabha’s
Sukhwinder Singh, Kulbir Singh Barrapind and many others.
In the United
States, the Sikh Youth of America (SYA) carried out protest marches
in New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston and San Francisco in
front of the Indian consulates and demanded immediate release of the
leaders of Akali Dal (Panch Pardhani). News of protests was received
from several other countries around the globe.
The SYA speakers
said the Indian government was surreptitiously backing the
Noormehlias and the rape-and-murder accused Dera Sirsa sadh Gurmeet
Ram. Just because Bhai Bittu was fighting against such elements and
was aggressively fighting the dera culture eating into the Sikh
innards, he was being targetted by the Brahamanical establishment.
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Bhai Bittu
remanded till Sep 10
Even as the
struggle for the release of Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu continues, a
Ludhiana court extended the police remand by four more days for Bhai
Bittu, Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, Palwinder Singh and Gurdip Singh Raju.
Bhai Harpal Singh Cheema and scores of supporters crowded around the
courts when Bhai Bittu and his associates were produced.
As the
prosecution argued that Bhai Bittu had bene receiving money from
abroad, the defence squelched that line of argumentation by saying
that Bhai Bittu has not received a penny from any dubious source and
he has close relatives, a good 26 of them, living in western
countries who can and do send him money from their savings. Bhai
Bittu is to be produced in court next on September 10.
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In San
Francisco, the SYA activists carried placards that proclaimed
slogans like “Release Bhai Daljit Singh”, Give Justice to Sikhs in
India”,
“Stop Implicating Sikhs in False Cases”, “Free All Innocent Sikh
Detainees” and “Stop Arrests of Sikhs under Fake Sedition Act”.
Passers by were reading the slogans with interest and inquired about
what was happening in a country that claimed itself to be the
biggest democracy.
Some activists
were carrying slogan placards that said “Badal Govt of Punjab is
Stooge of Indian Intelligence Agencies” and “Akalis Are Puppets of
Indian Govt”.
Typical of the
behavior of the employees of the Indian consulate, they locked the
doors and climbed atop the building with movie cameras and started
filming the protests. In the past, such records have been used to
harass those who later visit the consulate for any visa related
work.
Bhai Jaswinder
Singh Jandi addressed the protesters and said it was a matter of
concern that the government was working under the RSS thought
process and was targeting the Sikh youth leadership.
Dr Amarjit Singh
also castigated the Indian authorities and expressed full solidarity
with the arrested leaders. He said the police officers in
Punjab
were peeved because Sikh youth sported T-shirts with the image of
Sant Bhindranwale.
Vice president
of San Jose gurdwara, Bhai Jaswant Singh Hothi, said the government
was deliberately trying to create a situation like the one obtaining
in 1984. He said it was incumbent upon the government of Punjab to
release Bhai Bittu and stem the tide of anger and rage.
 Senior panthic
leader Bhai Bachittar Singh said there was no other country in the
world where youth could be thrown in jails for 25 years without
bringing them to trial. He said the Badals were afraid of the
increasing popularity and image of Bhai Bittu.
American
Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee’s coordinator Pritpal Singh also
demanded release of Bhai Bittu while Stockton Gurdwara’s secretary
Bhai Jaswinder Singh said it was sad that those who made 93 per cent
sacrifices for India are facing genocidal attacks and fighting
against the dera culture meant to finish them through assimilation.
Bhai Gurjant
Singh and Bhai Balwinder Pal Singh Khalsa said in the name of
democracy, there is a brahman dictatorship on in India. He said
India has Demoncracy, not democracy. All the speakers condemned the
attack on the magazine Shahadat.
9
September 2009
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