First, a disclosure. I am a Sikh, though not a practising one. I cut my long hair and discarded my turban in my late 20s, much to the disappointment and sorrow of my parents.
Becoming a “cut surd”, as the lingo goes, is a big deal for a Sikh. My mother refused to speak to me for a long time, and my father, though also not a practising Sikh, had retained his turban and long hair and was just as upset.
Now, let me turn to the main content of this article and its provocation.
While recently in London, I received a picture from a friend who had gone to the largest gurudwara in Southall, the Sri Guru Singh Sabha.
The image showed, at the entrance of the gurudwara, a large picture of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. And on the other side, a portrait of Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru, and the compiler of the Sikh scripture, the Adi Granth, which later became the Guru Granth Sahib.
Photos of Guru Arjan Dev (L) and Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (R) at the Southall gurdwara. Photo: Twitter/@realSukhiChahal. June 1, 2020.
Bhindranwale, the school dropout who had brought such misery and monumental suffering to the Sikh community, was sharing space with one of the most revered and learned Sikh gurus at the largest gurudwara in the UK! The very idea outraged me and I expressed my feelings in a Facebook post. I am glad to say that every single friend, including all Sikhs, agreed with me.
I was even more outraged when I learned that the Bhindranwale picture had defiled the gurdwara for the past two years or so. Why haven’t Sikhs in the UK protested and boycotted that gurudwara? And why did the gurudwara management allow the picture to be put up in the first place? Shame on them.
As immigrants, most Sikhs in the UK have prospered by dint of hard work and enterprise. I am sure they are grateful to their hosts, the British government, for having given them the opportunities denied to them in their home country. By praising Bhindranwale, they are abusing their hosts, since that same gurudwara was inaugurated by King Charles (when he was Prince Charles).
Only a tiny fringe of the Sikh community admires Bhindranwale. The vast majority of Sikhs detest what he stood for.
The ongoing polarisation between Hindus and minorities (primarily Muslims) in India is rightly being condemned. However, Bhindranwale and his goons were at the forefront of a far more pernicious polarisation four decades ago, between Hindus and Sikhs. Buses in Punjab would be stopped, the Hindu passengers separated from the rest, lined up and shot in cold blood.
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That was his way of trying to scare Hindus into leaving the state so that there would be fewer of them in Punjab, a diabolically divisive plot.
Bhindranwale was actually a creation of the Congress party, more specifically of the Punjab chief minister Giani Zail Singh (who later became the president of the country). He convinced Indira Gandhi that by propping up Bhindranwale, the Akalis could be divided to benefit the Congress. The ploy succeeded, but the puppet turned into a Frankenstein’s monster.
Events then moved inexorably to Bhindranwale holing up in the Golden Temple, Sikhdom’s holiest shrine. There, with the assistance of General Shabeg Singh, who had trained the Mukti Bahini and was a master of guerrilla warfare, the Temple was converted into a formidable fortress, defended by hundreds of heavily-armed and fanatical militants, ready to fight to the death.
An arrogant army leadership told the prime minister that “Operation Bluestar” would be over in no time, with little loss of life.
It was a huge miscalculation. Bluestar lasted almost a whole day and night, killing hundreds of soldiers and militants, and tragically, even more innocent pilgrims caught in the crossfire. (Bluestar coincided with the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev, when thousands of pilgrims were at the shrine.) Till now, the true number of casualties of the army’s botched operation is anybody’s guess. Definitely in the hundreds, perhaps even in the thousands.
Indira Gandhi probably knew in her heart that Bluestar had signed her death warrant. The aftermath of her assassination further fuelled Khalistan, as several thousand Sikhs were butchered, mainly in the capital, while the army looked on, the police were complicit and Rajiv Gandhi rationalised the pogrom with the inexcusable words, “When a big tree falls, the earth is bound to shake.”
Also Read: How Sabotage By Indira Gandhi’s Advisors Paved the Way for Operation Blue Star
A delighted Pakistan, eager to avenge Bangladesh, did their utmost to further the Khalistan cause. Except for Partition, the decade of the Khalistan movement was probably the most trying time since independence for the Sikh community. A community that had been completely trusted and praised was now looked at by most Indians with suspicion, as possible Khalistanis. Some 30,000 Sikhs – terrorists, members of security forces and innocents – died before Sikhs returned to the mainstream.
It took two decades to try and erase the horrors of Bhindranwale, Bluestar, the pogrom against the Sikhs and the Khalistan stain. Fortunately, the bonds that closely tied Sikhs to the country and to Hindus prevailed. That, and the famed resilience of the Sikhs. The defining moment came when Manmohan Singh, a turbaned and devout Sikh, became prime minister. The nightmare was finally behind the community.
However, among a tiny fringe of the community, especially those living abroad in the UK and Canada, the “martyrdom” of Bhindranwale still foolishly resonates. The vast number of Sikhs in these countries are diligent citizens and want to get on with their lives.
But perhaps this minuscule number of Sikhs living abroad feel guilty about having left their homeland and hence want to show how “Sikh” they are. But they must remember that Bhindranwale ushered in one of the darkest chapters in the history of Sikhism. Don’t glorify him. He belongs to the dustbin of history.
Footnote: For a fuller understanding of the issue, I recommend the following books: Turmoil in Punjab by Ramesh Inder Singh, Blood for Blood by Terry Milewski, and The Khalistan Conspiracy by G.B.S. Sidhu.
Rahul Singh has been editor of Reader’s Digest, Indian Express, Sunday Observer and Khaleej Times. He is at present a freelance columnist and writer.
