Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony, DSGMC president Manjit Singh said the memorial would remind the generations about the injustice done to the Sikh community. Yes, we must always remember our history, particularly the bitter one, so that we must not commit the same mistakes and suffer again. But this remembrance must not appear to be parochial and sectarian.
Prior to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and elsewhere, the violent followers of Sikh priest Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had killed hundreds of innocent men and women in Punjab. Those killed included innocent migrant labourers, unsuspecting bus and train passengers, moderate political leaders, journalists, and those government and police officers who refused to follow Bhindranwale's diktats. After their killing sprees, Bhindranwale's men used to run away to the precincts of the Golden Temple, secure in the belief that any police action at the Golden Temple would be branded as an act of sacrilege by the Sikh community. These AK-7 wielding men sowed the seeds of mutual hatred among large sections of Hindus and Sikhs. To the Hindus, Bhindranwale was a symbol of the Sikh separatist movement.
The following excerpts from an article written by Arun Shourie* in the November 30 1984 issue of India Today, throw some light on the Hindu-Sikh divide created by the bullets of Bhindranwale's men. This issue carried detailed reports on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination and subsequent anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and elsewhere:
"...To the country Bhindranwale was a usurper. To some he is a martyr who died for 'The Cause'. To the country Mrs Gandhi's assassination is a diabolic, cowardly murder — a frail lady has been felled by bullets. To a lunatic fringe she has not been 'assassinated' at all, she has been 'executed'.
"...For two years innocent citizens are gunned down one by one. The Hindus cower and curse. Lunatics among the Sikhs exult: 'We will send these dhoti-walas packing. Ultimately the army is brought in. It overwhelms Bhindranwale and his men. The Sikhs cower and curse. Lunatics among the Hindus exult: 'We have taught the Sikhs a lesson'. Mrs Gandhi is killed. Lunatics among the Sikhs exult: 'We have avenged'. In the next three days one thousand are killed. Lunatics among the Hindus exult: 'We have avenged'...
Some people blame Indira Gandhi for the Punjab mess. Shourie also in his article had held Mrs Gandhi responsible for the 'progressive enfeeblement of the state'. But any sensible person would also question the enfeeblement of the top Akali leadership before Bhindranwale. Why the Akali Dal leadership allowed the Golden Temple to be turned into the sanctuary of Bhindranwale's killer squad? Those days few Akali leaders could gather courage to oppose Bhindranwale. But his men riddled them or their near and dear ones with bullets.
Why not a memorial for the innocents killed in Punjab: During 1983–1985 after every major terrorist strike in Punjab, it was BJP's routine to call a bandh in Delhi, which would often paralyze life in the Capital. But, surprisingly, it never occurred to the BJP and Akali Dal leaders to build a memorial in Punjab for those innocent people who were killed simply because they belonged to another religion or refused to follow Bhindranwale's diktats. Those killed at the hands of Bhindranwale's men were as innocent as the Sikhs killed in the riots after Mrs Gandhi's assassination. But perhaps these martyrs carry no political value for the BJP and Akali Dal in the forthcoming States and Lok Sabha elections.
If we move little forward in history, then we come to the loss of hundreds of our fellow Indians in the 1992 Ram Mandir–Babri Masjid clashes and the 2002 Gujarat communal riots. Isn't it surprising that these massacres occurred despite the lessons left for us by the Punjab killings and Delhi's 1984 retaliation, and Mrs Gandhi's alleged Punjab mess-up? Can we blame anyone for these? Or, did Lord Ram want us to teach some lessons by making us indulge in these clashes in his name?
I end with a poser to our learned leaders present at the 1984 Memorial foundation laying ceremony on June 13: Don't we need to remind coming generations about those killed in the 1992 and 2002 communal flare-ups for no fault of theirs? Are there any plans to construct memorials for them?
*Arun Shourie is an economist, journalist and politician. He was a minister in the NDA Government (1999-2004) under Prime Minister AB Vajpayee.
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