This article presents history of Sikh seperatism with vapid arguments. The beginning of the article disintegrates Hindus & Sikhs by mentioning "several sikh gurus sacrificed their lives for hindus" and in the near end she describes "Sikh was the militant, and protective arm of hindus". The founder of Sikhism never thought of seperatism, infact he was stunned by the meek attitude of hindus towards Moghul cruelty. Thats the reason why he wanted to build a strong & brave men to protect Hindus. Unfortunately, Sikhs became the victims of british's 'divide & rule' game & resulted in seperatist movements. It is also unfortunate to attack Golden temple, but several hindu leaders during that time strongly condemned Indira Gandhi's act. Sikhs must remember that they are noneth but sons of Hindu family & also remember that their forefathers sacrifices are for the country & hindus not for their personal gains. Stop preaching seperatism & dont rake up buried issues. Dr. Ramakrishna, UK.
That indeed was a day of shame when true India had to bow her head. It was only the previous evening that Mrs. Gandhi had come to Bhubaneswar and I had organised a seminar for students on behalf of our Rotary Club. The attendance was good but not good enough. The moment I came to know about the mayhem that was going on in parts of the country, the first thing I did was to telephone one of our veteran members Sardar Santok Singh. I was informed that he was safe and there was no need for concern. True India is not lumpen elements drawn from the gutter and given some power by their gutter leaders. Hindus and Sikhs have lived in this country as a family and don't have to quarrel. Every Hindu and every Sikh has to show the power-mongers their place. All said and done, it was wrong for the community to have allowed Bindranwale and his armed secessionists to use the sacred Golden Temple as their HQ. It is time to learn from the past.
Till this day ..I did not know that Sikhs and Hindu's were different..maybe its because of the fact that I was too young to realise the impact that 84 riots have had on sikhs. Kudos to the sikh community for still maintaining their sense of pride and mingling with the mainstream. Sikhs have been a major factor in India's growth especially in the rural areas. there is no place in India where u cannot find a pagdi and a "papaji ka dhaba" ..
Their sense of humour is best described by the sole originator of sardar jokes " Khushwant singh". their sense of finance can be judged by looking at our prime minister & his advisor montek singh ahluwalia. their sense of duty to community can be evaluated by visiting any Gurdwara.
I still cannot make out how can somebody do what is described here. i suppose the same logic applies to the other riots that have marred the country since independence.
It is time that we found a solution to all these troubles and heal the wounds of the injured and provide a new ray of hope to the next generation and form an India that is united, free & independent.
I am totally against what happened following Indira Gandhi's Murder.But I do not understand the fact that why siksh have to be so upset about Indian Army entering temple. ? If terrorists are in Temple, Mosque, Church etc are we suppose to pray them ? worship them ? wait them to declare their khalistan ? Indian government did mess up situation before when it could have controlled it. But when operation bluestar took place, it was only option that we had. I wish people of any community do not want to see another parition. One more thing. Sikhs who were butchered by pakistan in 1947 looked towards them during 1980's as their saviours ?
The anguish of the Sikhs that the Golden Temple was made a battle ground is perfectly understandable. But why did the Sikh militants choose to hole up in there along with a heavy stockpile of weapons? Were they not the first ones to commit sacrilege, to convert the holy site into a potential battleground? They thought they could do anything they wanted with the Golden Temple. The author also says, "It was against this background that some political elements raised their hopes of Khalistan or Sikhistan", meaning after the Golden Temple incident.It is wrong. Demand for Khalistan had been strong for quite a long period before that, feeding terrorism by Sikh militants. I agree that the contribution of Sikhs to India has been substantial & that they have suffered during partition and later during the Sikh militancy days. But Punjabi refugees were given good incentives after the partition. Punjabi community as a whole is better off than most other Indian communities. Punjab as a state has not been neglected. It's time all Sikhs identified themselves as Indians. They want to reduce the central control yet want more central resources. One more Kashmir?
For a long time, innocent people were being murdered in Punjab. By and large the Sikh community kept quiet. In fact to this day, Bindrawale is treated as a hero in many Sikh festivals - his photogrpahs are freely sold.
Operation Bluestar was needed, because no government can tolerate its innocent citizens being murdered. Germans paid for following Hitler and not opposing hime. Unfortunately Sikhs paid for following Bhindrawale etc.
All the propaganda that Indira Gandhi, built Bhindrawale is untrue. For if Bhindrawale was a creation of Indira Gandhi, why are his photogrpahs still being sold in all these Sikh festivals.
People who want to live in a secular world have to speak up, when innocent people are being dragged out of a bus and being shot. Rgds Roy Meddock
I hate anyone who talks about atrocities against minorities. Actually it is the system at fault which allows a powerful few to manipulate the emotions of the massess. People who talk the minority card should look at the atrocities committed in Bihar. Whom can the poor Biharies turn to? Will asking for a separate homeland solve their problems? Homeland based on what? During the anti-Hindi riots in Tamil Nadu, 10s of activists, including students were gunned down. If for each such incident if secession was the solution, then India would have been turned into a graveyard by now.
This is a real sad article. I am a rediff user ever since it was born. I have never seen a more despiseful article.
There are no doubts in terms of why Bluestar happened. It was the mistake of Sikh community to take arms from Pakistanis and use them on its own community and Hindus. Greedy disgraceful people of Sikh community got bribed by Pakistani agencies to raise arms and not against any atrocities.
The author surely is not from Punjab. Ask a person who cared to live in that turnmoil in Punjab how it was.
Sikhs who had supported terrorists were opportunists and robbers. In my family many are Sikhs and many are Hindus. My own Sikh brother-in-law was killed by his own cousion for extorting money in name of supporting terrorists, let alone Hindus. My Hindu uncle was killed by terrorists and he was one of the most devoted visitors to Gurudwaras.
Bluestar and Black Thunder had to happen. Gurudwaras can be built again but can you bring back a dead person? In most Gurudwaras, Hindus and Sikhs do kar seva together. What is the author talking about?
Punjab is one of he most richest states. It is the real jewel of India. The author has no right to disgrace us Punjabis.
