Our religion is being tortured. Our nation is being destroyed. Our blood has washed India's ground, which we gave freedom to. Sikhs are not free. We are being oppressed by the corrupt system of India. Our nation, is the only nation without a home. Every nation has their own place in the world, their own country. We too should have a home. We need a home. Khalistan, yet we are still enslaved.
In 1947, when the partition occurred and Pakistan was made, Sikhs were promised their rights by the Indian Government. The Musilmans had Pakistan, the Hindus had India (a.k.a. HINDUstan, claimed by the Hindus) but the Sikhs were left with nothing. Jawaharlal Nerhu, the Prime Minister of Hindustan at that time, gave vows to the Sikhs that their religion would be respected and Sikhs will live with Hindus as brothers and sisters. "Hundreds of thousands of {Sikh} people were killed and over 700,000 Sikhs migrated from Western Punjab, in Pakistan, to Eastern Punjab, in India."
"The right to life and liberty of the people in Punjab had been under violation for a long time even before the Parliament amended the Constitution empowering the State to suspend it." How true. Way back in the day when Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi was alive, he told us, "You (Sikhs) take my word that if ever the Congress or I betray you, you will be justified to draw the sword as taught by Guru Gobind Singh." Yet, Mahatma Gandhi himself signed papers for the British Government who were occupying India at that time to kill the Sikhs who raised their voices against the injustices happening to them. Look at the irony here. Around the globe, Gandhi is taken as a figure of peace, nonviolence and freedom!
In the early 1950s, the Indian Government decided to reorganize the states on a linguistic basis. Even though Punjab's mother tongue would be Punjabi, they claimed it as Hindi, the Hindu language. The Punjab Congress Committee, which were mostly Hindu, led a campaign persuading a lot of villagers to deny their mother tongue of Punjabi and put it as Hindi.
One of the most horrifying attacks against the Sikhs was only 23 years ago. The Indian Army, under the strict orders of Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister and daughter of Jawaharlal Nerhu, demolished our holy Akal Takht Sahib, our seat of temporal authority. Our beautiful and greatly respected Harmandir Sahib or Golden Temple was burnt and bombed. Our historical library containing so many rich items and scriptures was burnt and the artifacts destroyed. The sarovar, or the Pool of Nectar surrounding the Golden Temple flooded with blood and dead, bleeding bodies. Our Holy Ground, upon which our Guru Ji's had walked and where Baba Deep Singh Ji gave up his life turned into a battlefield. Official records of people murdered in June 1984 go up to the high thousands. We still do not have justice.
So many other Gurdwaras had been demolished in this terrifying fashion. Oh yes, and let's not forget that when Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh, Beant Singh and with the help of Kehr Singh, the Hindus set out to kill, rape, murder, electrify, drown, strangle, beat, burn, hang and butcher any Sikh in site. Sikhs were being shot at point blank range. So many and too many Sikhs were killed in the November 1984 pogroms. Where has our justice gone?
Do not think that it was only the Congress involved, the police, the army, everybody was out to exterminate us. Full freedom and authority was given to Armed Forces to harass and humiliate Sikhs. Sikhs were tortured and butchered by the Indian Paramilitary forces.
Assailants even attacked journalists trying to capture and record the horrific crimes. One Hindu gang pounced on ABC-TV crew filming in the streets, stealing cameras and their equipment. The police merely watched from the sidelines. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International were not allowed in Punjab and any reporter who tried to get through was taken under police custody. On November 12, 1984, the Punjab state government banned any periodicals, newspapers, and even leaflets reporting information or pictures of the massacres happening to the Sikhs. It was absolute censorship of press and India is still dubbed the name of "world's largest democracy".
We need to do now what the great, mahan Sikhs did before us. Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa, who was given the title as the great Sikh of the 20th century, had said before he was martyred, "May I die for the Panth and sanctity of holy institutions." "The Indian Government is now determined to dishonor the humiliate the Sikhs but this is a dream that will never materialize."
We have to push ourselves to the limit and fight that corrupt Indian system. We have to fight against that system that kills minorities and claims everyone a Hindu.
The injustice still carries on today. Sikh men from the ages of 11 to 35 are being arrested for being the Sikhs they are. Sikh men and women from 1984 are still sitting in jails, their hair gone white and their relatives thinking they are dead. THIS is our freedom? THIS is our justice?
As Sikhs, we have fought through tough times throughout our rich history. We have made thousands, even millions, of sacrifices since the jothi joth (martyrdom day) of Guru Arjun Dev Ji Maharaj, our 5 th Guru ji until today. We have had so many freedom fighters that fight for our freedom, and we still do. We need to rise with our voices, our Kirpans, our words and our spirit. We will lay down our lives for our beliefs, our religion, our freedom and the Khalsa Panth. We will continue to fight back until the veil of oppression is lifted.
Today, some of the Sikh Youth is seen flying the Indian flag, with false sense of patriotism, and pride. Let us not forget what this flag means to hundreds of thousands of Sikhs oppressed under its murderous regimes. It was under THIS banner, that the Indian Government killed over a hundred thousand Sikhs in the last twenty-three years. It was under THIS banner that the Sikhs were murdered all over India. It was under THIS banner that our holy Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj was burned, ripped and urinated on page by page. Let us never forget that it was under THIS banner that attacked our Harmandir Sahib and destroyed our Akal Takht. If it pleases you to see your mothers and sisters dishonored and our nation destroyed, then fly the flag of Hindustan proudly.
Those of you, who have love for Sikhi, fly the flag of our Holy Guru Ji's and the Khalsa Panth. All Singhs unite under the holy Nishan Sahib. All the Singhs and Singhnian unite under Khalistan, the land of the pure. The land of the freedom fighters. The land of the Khalsa Panth. Just remember what the great Sant Baba Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindrawale said, "Even though my body be cut to pieces, I will continue to fight injustice."
Long Live Khalistan!
(The above essay was written by Punit Kaur Khalsa, a high school student from California)
