Surrey, BC (KP) – An Akhand Path Sahib was organized at Gurdwara Dashmesh Darbar this past week in memory of those killed during the 1992 Air India blasts. This was one of the first ever Kanishka bombing memorials held at the Gurdwara Sahib to remember those who became victims of the tragedy. Despite the best intentions of the organizers, the function could not conclude without controversy.
According to the Gurdwara Sahib President, Sudagar Singh Sandhu, the idea of holding an Akhand Path Sahib came from the newly elected executive committee of the Gurdwara. The Sikh Nation has always been against injustice and the death of all those killed during the Air India mishap was mourned by all members of the British Columbia Sikh Community.
Although the efforts of the Gurdwara Committee were entirely sincere, pandemonium was created in the media after the event to give the BC Sikh community negative publicity. Rattan Singh Kalsi, father of Indira Kalsi who was killed during the Kanishka plot, took strong notice of Jathedar Bhai Talwinder Singh Parmar’s picture that was on display at the Gurdwara Sahib. Although during his interview with Canadian Media, Kalsi identified the reasoning behind the picture display, he fell for the propaganda that is cast by some Canadian News agencies when reporting on the Kanishka incident.
Kalsi told the press that Parmar is considered a martyr by the Dashmesh Darbar Gurdwara Sahib and thus his picture was put on display by the executive committee, but he expressed disappointment over the fact as he considered Parmar a mastermind of the plot. Parmar founded the BKI Canada unit but he was never convicted under Canadian law in the Air India bombings. Before the trials were initiated, Parmar was mysteriously murdered by Indian Government agents.
The Gurdwara President, Sudagar Singh Sandhu held that once Jesus Christ was also considered a terrorist and assassinated, he is now respected as a martyr. Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, who at one time were believed to be involved in the plot, were acquitted from all charges by the Court. Similarly, the belief about Parmar’s involvement could have been different had he been allowed to go through a trial.
The Sikh Community has a long history of martyrs and it takes pride in learning from their struggles. For this reason, pictures of martyrs are commonly found in Sikh institutions. The fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjun Dev Ji, was the first martyr of the faith who took a strong stand against religious intolerance. Thereafter, following in the footsteps of the Guru, Sikhs have always stood against injustice. Parmar is considered a martyr of the Khalistan Freedom Movement which was initiated to put a stop to atrocities by the Indian Government.
