Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale - Sikh Missionary Society (UK)

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create bitterness and hatred between Sikhs and Hindus'. As noted earlier, prominent intellectualsand the news media went along with the official line of thinking.Sant Bhindranwale emphasized the uniqueness of the Sikh faith being founded upon itsset of beliefs and practices, not upon hatred of any religion. He advised 237 everyone to be true intheir own faith. The Sant did not consider Hindus to be 'close' to the Sikhs in their beliefs andpractices. However, emphasizing the catholicity of the Sikh faith, he pointed out that Siri GuruGranth Sahib includes verses composed by some Hindu saints. Addressing the Hindus, hesaid 238 :'Who was Jaidev? Wasn't he a Hindu from amongst you? He was a Brahmin. Jaidev issitting here in Guru Granth Sahib. If a son of a Sikh has made obeisance here he hasdone so at the feet of Jaidev, the Brahmin.'Sant Bhindranwale did note that even though Sikhs had defended the Hindus' right to freeworship, Hindus were ungrateful. He said 239 :'The one who got the Fifth King 240 tortured on the hot plate was from among them; theone who administered poison to the Sixth King 241 was from among them; the oneresponsible for the martyrdom of the Sahibzadas 242 was from among them. For the sakeof all of them, for the sake of their janeoo and tilak 243 the Ninth King 244 gave his headand now these people have had books published claiming that Guru Tegh BahaadarSahib Ji gave his head for some personal feuds and he did no service to the Hindus.What can we expect from the nation, the people, into whom such ingratitude has creptin.'Nayar, informs us that 245 : 'Bhindranwale asked Longowal to give a call to the Sikhmasses to purchase motorcycles and revolvers to kill Hindus in Punjab.' This accusation wasbased upon a public statement by Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, President of the ShromaniAkali Dal. Sant Bhindranwale took Longowal to task 246 for attributing to him something that hecould never even dream of, namely, killing members of a certain community. During one of hisspeeches attended by many Hindus, he said 247 :'You have learnt from the newspapers, and from propaganda by ignorant people, thatBhindranwala is an extremist; that he is a dangerous man, a communalist; that he kills237 Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Speech on April 13, 1984.238 Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Speech in early 1982 in Karnal.239 Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Speech on July 4, 1983.240 Siri Guru Arjan Sahib.241 Siri Guru Hargobind Sahib.242 Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib's two younger sons, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh.243 The sacred thread and the saffron mark that devout Hindus wear.244 Siri Guru Tegh Bahaadar Sahib.245 Kuldip Nayar and Khushwant Singh, Tragedy of Punjab, Vision Books, New Delhi, 1984, page 79.246 Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Speech on April 19, 1984.247 Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Speech in early 1982 in Karnal.45
Hindus. There are many Hindus sitting here. You should carefully note how many Iinjure and how many I kill before leaving. You will be with me. Keep listeningattentively. Having listened, do think over who are the communalists; whether they arethe turban-wearers or your newspaper owners, the Mahasha Press.'Addressing this issue in some detail, he said 248 :'I have no enmity with the Hindus as such. If I were their enemy, why would I rescuethe daughter of a Hindu from Jalalabad. ... Kailash Chander owns a retail shop here.His shop was burnt down. The Retail Merchants Union asked him: "NameBhindranwale." He did not do so. The Hindu along with two Sikhs, the three of them,came to see me in my room. He came and started to cry. I asked him: "What is thematter? Why are you crying?" He said: "My shop has been burnt down." ... I gave himthe five hundred rupees. In Kapurthala, a copy of the Ramayana was burnt. The leadersof that place know about this. The Jatha spent 5,000 rupees in litigation over that. Onthe 4th (April 1983), two Hindus were martyred in connection with the 'rasta roko'agitation. Shromani Akali Dal and the Shromani Committee paid (their families) 10,000rupees each and the Jatha gave another 5,000 to each family. If I was an enemy of allthe Hindus, where is the need for me to pay all this money?'He did not at any time preach initiation of conflict or confrontation although he did adviseresistance to oppression and to wanton killing of innocent people. In response to Indira Gandhi'saccusation, he declared 249 :'She says that Bhindranwala destroys temples, that he does not like temples and wishesto destroy them, that he kills Hindus. Responsible persons who are associated with theJatha go there and build temples. You can figure out yourselves whether I am in favorof destroying temples or of keeping them. Our Father 250 sacrificed his entire family forthe sake of (Hindu) temples and she gives help to people who destroy gurdwaras; to thefollowers of human gurus and of hypocrites. On top of it she blames Sikhs that theymake trouble.'Emphasizing the need to stay peaceful and to avoid confrontation as far as possible, SantBhindranwale said 251 :'The Government is trying very hard to start Hindu-Sikh riots. Avoid this as along asyou can. However, if the Hindus also get into the Government's boat and start todishonor the daughters and sisters of the Sikhs and to take off the Sikhs' turbans, then,in order to save our turban, we shall take what steps the Khalsa, following the pathshown by Guru Gobind Singh Ji, has always taken in the past. We might have to adopt248 Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Speech on September 20, 1983.249 Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Speech on October 16, 1983.250 Siri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib.251 Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Speech on May 18, 1983.46
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Page 3 and 4: leaders of the ruling Congress Part
Page 5 and 6: understanding that God created the
Page 7 and 8: Sikh identity with a 'homeland' and
Page 9 and 10: . Denial of a Separate Sikh Identit
Page 11 and 12: d. Opposition to Sikhs and Sikh Ins
Page 13 and 14: leads to a conflict of loyalties in
Page 15 and 16: short lease of life.' He went on to
Page 17 and 18: y an agricultural 'cost' commission
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Page 23 and 24: Sant Bhindranwale's phenomenal succ
Page 25 and 26: He also said 120 :'Who is an extrem
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Page 29 and 30: On 9th September 1981, Lala Jagat N
Page 31 and 32: had a history of faithfully torturi
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Page 37 and 38: whereas she had held out for sixtee
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Page 43 and 44: Fauja Singh, hate them even more.'
Page 45: Noting this propaganda, Sant Bhindr
Page 49 and 50: proof', goes on to state 257 : 'Eve
Page 51 and 52: 'If you know that persons from Paki
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Page 55 and 56: It is quite possible that the Congr
Page 57 and 58: At the start of the agitation in Au
Page 59 and 60: "This bird is alone; there are many
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Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale - Sikh Missionary Society (UK)

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