Sikho ek purra stdy karo te samjo ki 1984 ki gal c jo sant jarnail singh bhindranwale g ne kato deram yuhad murcha surro kitta unfulfilled Promises and Sikhs in New India Prior to independence, Indian leaders had made numerous promises to the Sikhs such as setting up a state in the north part of the country where Sikhs would enjoy freedom. Three major promises were made to the Sikh nation, which were systematically broken. 1) First promise was that Congress will not pass any resolution that did not please the Sikhs. ...in future, the Congress shall accept no constitution which does not meet with the satisfaction of the Sikhs (The Lahore session of the Congress Party. December 31, 1929 cited in Sikh Politics, K.L. Tuteja, Pg. 168) I ask you to accept my word and the Resolution of the Congress that it will not betray a single individual much less a community. If it ever thinks of doing so, it would only hasten to its own doom. I pray you to unbosom yourself of all doubts and apprehensions. Let God be the witness of the bond that binds me and the Congress with you (the Sikhs). I venture to suggest that the non-violence creed of the congress is the surest guarantee of good faith, and our Sikh friends have no reason to fear that it would betray them. For the moment it does so, the congress would not only thereby seal its own doom but that of the country too. (M. K. Gandhi, Communal Unity, pg. 165-167) The congress assures Sikhs that no solution in any future constitution will be acceptable to the congress that does not give them full satisfaction. (Indian constitution documents, Vol. 11, By A. C. Banerjee) After 1947, this promise was not kept. On October 10, 1947 Sikhs were branded as “lawless people”, called upon to forget about their distinct appearance and submit themselves under Hindu laws. “The Sikhs are a lawless people and a menace to the law abiding Hindus ... The [Government] should take strict measures against them. (Pandit Nehru, Indian Prime Minister) Furthermore, Article 25 was added in the constitution specifically stating that Sikhism was a sect of Hinduism. No Sikh approved the constitution but regardless it was adopted by the Indian government. 2) Second promise was made to setup a state in the north where Sikhs would have the right to self-determination. The main purpose of creating linguistic states is that the culture, language and script of minority of the linguistic area shall be protected. (Resolution passed by Congress in Calcultta, 1937) Redistribution of provincial boundaries is essential and inevitable. I stand for same autonomous unit as well. If Sikh desire to function as such a unit, I should like them to have a same autonomous in the province so that they may have a sense of freedom. (Jawaharlal Nehru, 1945) ...the brave Sikhs of Punjab are entitled to special considerations. I see nothing wrong in an area set up in the North of India wherein, the Sikhs can also experience the glow of freedom. (Jawahar Lal Nehru, Lahore Bulletin, January 9, 1930) Indian leaders not only backed out on this promise but regarded this demand as a threat to the unity of the country. The congress found itself in a dilemma, to concede to Akali demand would mean abandoning a position to which it was firmly committed and letting down its Hindu supporters in the Punjabi Suba. The merits were no consideration, as the policy of the Congress, as enunciated in 1949 by Jawahar Lal, Vallabh Bhai and Patta Bhai Sitaramayyia had been not to concede reorganization of North India whatever the merit of such a proposal might be. (My Truth, Indira Gandhi, 117) I can afford civil war in the country but not Punjabi State. (Jawaharlal Nehru) We are aware that Sikhs have suffered greatly before and after 1947 but we have come to the conclusion that granting them any special rights such as an autonomous area is not reasonable. (Sikh Politics of 20th Century, Ajmer Singh, Pg. 144) Creating a Punjabi linguistic state meant prospering of the Sikh nation which no Indian leader let alone a Hindu approved of. 3) The third promise was made to provide security and safeguarding minorities. Adequate safeguards would be provided for monitories ---- it was a declaration, a pledge and an understanding before the world, a contract with millions of Indians, and therefore, in the nature of an oath, which we must keep. (Framing of Indian Constitution, B. Shiva Rao, Pg 181) In the divided Indian Punjab, special constitutional measures are imperative to meet the aspirations and rights of the Sikhs. (Legislative Assembly, 1947) This promise was forgotten just like the above two. Instead, statements were released to make India a Hindu country where minorities will have to either live as second class citizens or merge themselves in the Hindu majority. According to Mahaveer Tyagi: “We do not believe in kicking the minority groups out of the country. Instead, our desire is to change their religion and convert them all to Hinduism.” (Sikhs in History, Sangat Singh, Pg. 249) I do not like the word “minority” (Aeengar) When Pakistan was created at the time of partition it became crystal clear that there remained only one community (Hindus) in India. (Vallabh Bhai Patel) When the British left, no promise was kept by the Indian leaders. The Sikhs felt that since they had made more sacrifices for independence than other communities and had suffered a great deal during partition, the Congress would consider their demands sincerely and grant them special rights as promised by the Indian leaders. But, the Congress acted the opposite, ignored all the promises and turned against the Sikhs……Sikhs were insulted by the media and opposed by the Hindu community. Hindus started discriminating against Sikhs and abandoned Punjabi. (Tale of Blue Turban, Giani Laal Singh, 100) The so-called democracy only existed in papers and was never put into practice. The Sikh nation felt agitated, uncomfortable and trapped in the chains of new slavery. This further solidified their doubts when they started to face discrimination at the hands of the government and Hindu public. From 72% to 96% high government jobs were occupied by the Hindu majority in Punjab. The army enlistment became dependent upon population instead of merit. This decreased Sikh enlistment from 40% to 1.2%. The situation of Sikhs in Punjab is very well described by Dr. Harjinder Singh Dilgeer: Hindus had started to make insulting jokes on Sikhs, discriminate against them in every profession and attack innocent Sikhs on numerous occasions. Especially in the cities of Punjab, it had become extremely difficult for Sikhs to live a peaceful life. (Punjabi Suba Morcha, Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, Pg. 6) Violence of Hindus had increased significantly in Punjab so much so that they attacked Sikh procession held in the memory of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Stones and home made acid bombs were thrown at the procession causing injury to several Sikhs. Seeing all of this, the police took no action and let the perpetrators run free. This further enraged the Sikh community. The Indian government had also reorganized the states on languages basis in the south. Kerala, Tamil and other states had been created on language basis but nothing was done in the north. Sikhs felt betrayed and raised their demand for setting up a Punjabi State in which Punjabi language would serve as the primary language of the state and Sikhs would have an autonomous area. This demand led to the struggle for Punjabi State.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 17:56:15 +0000
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