The Sikh Diaspora: The Search for Statehood - Vidhia.com

16 THE SIKHS: SEARCH FOR STATEHOOD
prices, central and provincial taxation as well as other financial powers,
a quota for Sikh recruitment into the armies 20 ; (d) India’s gurdwaras to
be managed by an elected body of Sikhs, sacred city status for
Amritsar, broadcast of scriptures from the Golden Temple. To back up
these demands, the Akalis launched their Dharam Yudh Morcha
(righteous struggle) in 1981. During the next three years, numerous
volunteers courted arrest in support of these demands. Apart from minor
concessions on religious demands, the central government gave no
ground to the Akalis. The central government ran an orchestrated
campaign of manipulation, including the induction into Akali politics of
Sant Bhindranwale, a puritan leader of a sect. 21 Indira Gandhi, prime
minister of India, used the Akali movement to recover her Congress
Party’s electoral base, especially among the Hindu belt of north India.
By ordering the armed forces into the Golden Temple, she promoted
herself as a saviour of India, crushing its enemies bent upon the
country’s breakup. 22
Critical event
On 1 June 1984 some 70,000 armed service personnel cut off the Punjab
from the outside world. As tanks rolled into the Golden Temple, the
entire Sikh community rose in protest at this “deliberate humiliation”,
while the rest of the country felt “relief”. Thousands of Sikhs tried to
march to the Golden Temple, a number of Sikh regiments mutinied,
Sikh MPS resigned, honours were returned and a Sikh diplomat
resigned.
The Indian Army’s assault on the Harimandir, the holiest shrine in
Sikh perception, constituted a “sacrilege”, a slur on a nation’s dignity
and integrity, an act of genocide. The Harimandir, literally the House of
God, represents a unique entity. Its buildings were built and dwelt in by
several gurus, its sacred pool washed away a devotee’s sins; at its centre
the Guru Granth was an embodiment of their gurus (Madanjit Kaur
1983). To sit in the inner sancto sanctum, listening to continuous hymn
singing from early dawn to dusk is a magical moment and mystical
experience for the faithful. Through the daily community prayer, Sikhs
seek a pilgrimage to the Harimandir. The Akal Takhat and the
Harimandir represent respectively the temporal and spiritual authority
of the Khalsa, endowed with divine powers. The Akal Takhat, in
traditional Sikh discourse, symbolizes the ideal of political sovereignty
and a traditional account cites Ranjit Singh, the Sikh sovereign bowing
to its authority. The Indian Army’s invasion of the Golden Temple was