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Sikh Research and Education Center
655 Old River woods
Lane,
Chesterfield,
MO 63017
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Most
Shameful and Humiliating Treatment meted out to Sikhs in India under Jwahar
Lal Nehru's Regime immediately after Partition
Dr. Sangat Singh has adequately given the description of the happenings
during the present Hindu Raj in India.
Muslims were the majority community in whole of the pre-partition period.
Division of Punjab between western Punjab and eastern Punjab, dividing
the two parts taking River Ravi as the dividing line, was made possible,
when Sikhs of East Punjab put their weight with the Hindus, and thus formed
the majority in this area, as compared to the Muslim population. It was
thus Sikhs enabled to bring the vast area of East Punjab, Hariana and Himachal
Pradesh areas between Lahore and Delhi to the Indian side. Had the
Sikhs not asked for the division of Punjab, the boundary line between India
and Pakistan would have been Delhi. The Sikh could ask for their
own separate state between Lahore and Ambala. But the Sikhs decided
to put their lot blindly with Hindu India. After partition of the country,
it was decided at the instance of agitation in Andhra Pardesh in southern
India, to reorganize the states on linguistic basis. After division of
the Punjab, the Sikhs of West Punjab migrated to India and mostly settled
in the Punjabi speaking areas of the Indian Punjab. Sikhs on the analogy
of other states in India, asked for reorganization of then East Punjab
on linguistic basis, with Punjabi as the official language.
Both the Hindus of the State and the Federal authorities resisted
the claim of Sikhs for reorganization on linguistic basis, as the Sikh
religion and culture will prosper and also Sikhs will have the slight edge
toward their majority. It was then year 1955, when a ban was
imposed during February, 1955, by the Government on raising of the
slogan in favour of the Punjabu Speaking State in Amritsar area; and Akali
Dal of Sikhs adopted a resolution on April 24, 1955 for the withdrawal
of the ban. The Government did withdraw the ban, consequently the
agitation for its removsal was started on May 20, 1955.
The agitation reached its climax in the beginning of July, when
Sikhs began to send 100 volunteers daily for raising the ban and being
arrested. The authorities cordoned off the Golden Temple area, and they
too cancelled arms licences of the SGPC for protection of historic jewellery
in the Golden Temple. The police entered the precincts of the Temple on
July 4, closed Guru ka Langar (Sacred Free Kitvchen of the Temple) by taking
away utensils, etc., raided Guru Ram Das Sarai and arrrested head priests
of Akal Takhat and Golden Temple. The police also raided the offices of
Akali Dal, next to Guru Ram Das Sarai, and exploded tear gas sheels to
disperse the volunteers gathered in the Temple. Some of shells fell into
the Sacred Tanks. The troops were put on a flag march at first throughout
the streets of Amritsar and then within the precincts of the Golden Temple
to cause fear and awe in the people.
Prime Minister Nehru on May 28, 1955 stated that the Sikh action
was "vulgar, highly improper, unwanted, nonsensical obnoxious, and
born of parochialism." The troops prevented holding of the assemblage at
Manji Sahib, and took positions in front of the SGPC office in the Temple.
Nehru was the descendent of Ganga Dhar Kaul (Gangu Brahmin), in the employee
of Gurus Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh Ji, who caused arrest of Two
Younger Sahibzada, Baba Zorawar Singh Ji and Baba Fateh Singh Ji, with
aged Mata Gujri Ji. Gangu after martrdom of Sahibzadas went back to Kashmir.
It was later Emperor Farakh Sayyar awarded Gangu's son with Jagir (area
irrigated by a canal); hence the family adopted the surname Nehru instead
of Kaul.
Nehru at the time was on visit to Great Britain, after extensive tour
of Soviet Union, was tauntingly asked by western journalists about his
preaching of "Panchsheel" all over a trivial issue. Cut to the quick, Nehru
told the Chief Minister of Punjab to stop the arrests. The agitation on
the ban on raising of the slogans was thus ended.
The report of SRC (State Reorganization Commission) was then published,
recommending merger of the Punjabi speaking Area, former Punjab States
(PEPSU), Hariana area and Hilly areas (Himachal Pradesh). This came as
a rude shock to the Sikhs - Master Tara Singh stated that it was annihilation
of Sikhs.
The Congress session was scheduled to be held at Amritsar in
December 1955. The Sikhs of all shades and Hindus of all shades, protagonists
of Greater Punjab started making their respective preparations to come
out in processions for making show of their strengths.
The Sikhs procession took 5 hours to pass; consisted ogf more than
200,000 persons. The foreign correspondents praised the procession - "On
they came, for five hous. Few who watched them could doubt their genuine
fears of being swaloowed up in the vice like embrace of rabid Hinduism."
The Hindu procession hardly 50,000 was - "nasty and Nazi, no less orderly
than the Sikh show but with a military resembling pictures of Hitler Jugend."
Tara Singh's address on the occasion was extrmely patetic. Precisely
he said, "We must rise and attract the attention of the people of the world
to our noble principls or die as traitors to our Gurus ---- I an
bound hand and foot and some of my Punjabi Hindu brothers insist upon keeping
us in our present bondage. They do not want to give us the advantage
of the freedo, what they have gained. They do not trust us,
and I do not know how to gain their confidence. A most complicated
and dangerous situation is facing us, but we are not realizing it....
I cry for Hindu Sikh unity and some Punjabi Hindu spokesmen reply unity
could be attained by me only if we submit. I cry for equality, brotherhood
and unity, and they offer me slavery and death."
There were held talks by Nehru wth the Sikh leaders, and a REGIONAL
FORMULA was evolved, in that in Punjabi speaking areas Punjabi would be
the official language, and in others Hindi.
This decision infuriated the Punjabi Hindu ruling class, who started
an agitation against the Government for the retentention of Hindi language
in Punjabi speaking areas. The tactful NEHRU replaced Chief Minister
Bhim Sen Sachar by his confirmed tout, Partap Singh Kairon.
Nehru thought that Kairon, a Sikh in appearance would be able to suppress
Sikhs more effectively.
SAVE HINDI AGITATION IN PUNJABI SPEAKING AREA IN HINDU RAJ IN 1957.
Partap Singh Kairon, who became Chief Minister of Punjab showed his
total disconcern at voilence of militant Hindu Swamis, would neither stop
them in lawless activities, nor arrest them. The real character of
Hindus, since their liberation after their centuries of slavery,
was clearly discernible from the quantum of sacrilege of the Sikh
sacred places. They began throwing of cigarette boxes in the
sacred Tanka at Amritsar and other places, began tearing pages from small
books (Gutkas) and discarding the leaves in Bazars, shearing of Keshas
(Hair) of sleeping Sikhs, and desecration of the Sikh sacred places of
worship, as a part of their agitation against the Government. The
movement in real sense was ANTI SIKH FAITH, not anti Government.
This story is merely a small one chapter of our 56 years slavery of
Hindus, which itself is most humiliating and shameful - rarely heard of
such beastly treatment extended by the beasts, who hardly deserved to be
free people. WAHEGURU JI LISTENS TO OUR PRAYERS, THEIR END
GOD WILLING IS FAST APPROACHING NEAR. IT IS SAID THAT DURING THE
NEXT FIVE YEARS, THE POLITICAL MAP OF THE GLOBE WILL BE QUITE DIFFERENT
FROM NOW. SURELY WILL BE THE END OF THESE BEASTS REGIME. ON
THE VERY INCEPTION OF THEIR INDEPENCE, THEY SOWED THE SEEDS OF THEIR DEATH
IN ANNEXING KASHMIR.
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Copyright (©)2003 by Dalip Singh and Amarpreet Singh Munde.
All Rights Reserved.
