HOW EUROPE IS INDEBTED TO THE SIKHS ? - Global Sikh Studies

Acknowledgement
It occurred to me in April 1998 that the tercentenary celebrations of
the formation of the Order of Khalsa should be held across Europe. It
would be a great honor to witness such a momentous occassion during
my life.
The first century of the Khalsa passed under the Mugals as it struggled
to establish the Khalsa Raj in northern India after defeating the Mugals
and stopping and pushing invaders like Ahmed Shah Abdali to the
other side of the Kheber Pass. Later, Maharaja Ranjit Singh managed
to establish the Sikh kingdom from the river Satluj to the Indus.
The second century was passed under the British, as the Punjab was
annexed by them through false means after the Anglo-Sikh Wars, and
Sikhs struggled to regain their lost sovereignity.
It was my opinion that the best celebration would be to remember
martyrs of the 20th century. Now the question arose: Who were these
martyrs?
Surely, they are the Gaddari Babas (revolutionary) of Canada and
America (1914) who left for India and started a military struggel to
liberate India and were killed and hanged by the British. Then, there
are the Sikh Soldiers of the First World War, who died for the freedom
of others.
The Sikhs of Jallianwala Bagh Amritsar (1919), Sikhs who gave their
lives for the liberation of their Gurudwara's in the Punjab (1921),
Sikhs of Babbar Akali Movement 1921-22, Sikhs like Bhagat Singh
(1931), Uddam Singh (1941) who shot dead the former Governor of
Punjab at London (who was responsible for the Jallianwala
Masscrace), Sikhs of Quit India Movement (1942), Sikhs of Free
Indian Army, Sikh Soldiers of the Second World War in Europe,
Africa and the Far East.
How can we forget Sikhs who died during the carnage that followed
British retreat from India in 1947 followed by those who died and
suffered in the Punjabi Province agitation of 1952, India’s war with
China (1962) and Pakistan (1965 and 1971), thousands who suffered
for protesting declaration of Emergency by Mrs Indira Gandhi (1975),
and during the agitations for more autonomy to all States in the Indian
republic (1982). And since 1984, quarter of a millon Sikhs have been
killed by the Indian police for the freedom of the Sikh Nation.