Sikhs and 1857
Sikhs, comprising a tiny fraction of the Indian population, have sacrificed more than any other community and yet they are being labeled as traitors. The facts presented above make it clear that the events of 1857 were neither the beginning of the freedom movement nor were they the first battle of freedom nor an an organized movement.
It has always been Sikhs who fought for freedom. They are not traitors. Rather Hindus are the real traitors. When Sikhs were fighting the Mughals, Hindus worked as spies for the government while Hindu kings sent their armies to help the Mughal government. It was a Hindu who tortured Guru Arjan Dev Ji, a Hindu who had Guru Gobind Singh Ji's youngest sons arrested, and a Hindu who convinced the minister of Sarhind to execute them. It was a Hindu who was directly responsible for the first Sikh holocaust and a Hindu who appointed Massa Ranghar to be in charge of Darbar Sahib whose misdeeds and anti-Sikh activities are well known among the Sikhs.
It was Hindus who let the British enter India through sea without any opposition. Only the Sikh kingdom, which was not under British rule, was subsequently attacked and annexed by the British forces with the help of Indian armies. Sikhs were betrayed by Hindus internally and externally. Soon after the death of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, all Indian armies joined the British to attack Punjab. During the battles, Hindu Dogras betrayed the Sikh armies by joining the British army and cutting off the food and weapons supply to the Sikh army. The victory of Sikhs was turned into a defeat by the Dogras.
Was this not betrayal? The most powerful empire (British) and all Indian armies stood together to fight and kill Sikhs. Even then, Sikhs fought so bravely that it will be remembered until eternity. Poet Mohammad Shah wrote:
ਜੰਗ ਹਿੰਦ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦਾ ਹੋਣ ਲੱਗਾ, ਦੋਵੇਂ ਪਾਤਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਫੌਜਾਂ ਭਾਰੀਆਂ ਨੇ ।
ਨਾਲ ਗੋਲਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਬੰਦੇ ਜਾਣ ਉੱਡਦੇ, ਹਾਥੀ ਉਡਦੇ ਸਣੇ ਅੰਬਾਰੀਆਂ ਨੇ ।
ਅੱਜ ਹੋਵੇ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਤਾਂ ਮੁੱਲ ਪਾਵੇ, ਜਿਹੜੀਆਂ ਖਾਲਸੇ ਨੇ ਤੇਗਾਂ ਮਾਰੀਆਂ ਨੇ ।
ਸ਼ਾਹ ਮੁਹੰਮਦਾ ਇਕ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਬਾਝੋਂ ਫੌਜਾਂ ਜਿਤ ਕੇ ਅੰਤ ਨੂੰ ਹਾਰੀਆਂ ਨੇ ।
After the annexation of Punjab, Indians oppressed and killed Sikhs. No pen or book can completely explain the mistreatment of Sikh civilians by the Indian armies. Men and children were killed, houses and property were burnt and women were dishonored. This oppression by Hindus was not forgotten by Sikhs in 1857. How could Sikhs forget the way their free country was taken over in 1849 by the British with the help of Hindu kings?
After so many sufferings, Sikhs were still recovering from the unorganized religious riots that broke out in 1857 which were collectively termed, a "freedom movement". One thing must be noted is that not a single Hindu leader contacted the Sikhs. Sikhs were never asked to join this "freedom movement". A characterless person Bahadur Shah Jaffar from the family of Muslims was chosen as a king to sit on the throne. It was the same Mughal Empire which oppressed and killed people for many centuries. Sikhs, having fought the Mughals for so long, found unacceptable that the same regime came forward and took over. Had Hindu armies helped Sikhs in 1849 instead, the outcomes would've been very different. India would've become independent 8 years before 1857.
Sikhs did not fight for personal gains or religious reasons. They fought for freedom and opposed foreign rule. Hindus who fought for personal gains helped British take over India and Punjab by betraying Sikhs and killing their children are being called "patriots". After all the sacrifices Sikhs have made for freedom, giving their lives, and having inspired others to fight for freedom, they are still being called "traitors".
Is this justice? Is this the prize we are being given in India? What a shameless act!
It was Sikhs who started the first peaceful movement against the British. It has always been Hindus who have opposed the Sikhs more than any other community. Sikhs were the first one to start a war of independence and the first community to come forward to fight for freedom whether the enemy was Afghans, Iranians or the British. The freedom of India is the result of the sacrifices made by Sikhs and and by their own spilled blood.
The Indian government has always deprived Sikhs of their basic human rights by saying "Where were you when we needed you in 1857"? Although it has been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that the mutiny of 1857 was neither a war of independence nor was it a struggle to unite India, however, before we answer this question they should answer ours first:
1. When Guru Hargobind Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji fought their wars with the Mughal government, where were the Hindu armies?
2. When Baba Banda Singh Ji established the first Sikh kingdom and fought numerous battles with the Mughals why didn't the Hindu armies come forward to help Sikhs?
3. While Sikhs were fighting Afghans, Iranis, Turkish and Mughal forces, where were Hindus and their armies?
4. When Darbar Sahib was being destroyed where were Hindus?
5. When prices were put on the heads of the Sikhs, where were the Hindu armies?
6. When invaders like Ahmad Shah Abdali were taking thousands of Hindu women back to Afghanistan as slaves it was Sikhs who fought him and freed those women. Why didn't the Maratha and other Hindu armies join the Sikhs? After all, it was their women Sikhs were fighting for.
7. Where were Hindus, the so-called "patriots", when Sikhs were fighting the British during numerous protests such as Gurdwara Nanakana Sahib, Jaito, and Bajbaj Ghat?
The list goes on but the simple fact is that by not helping the Sikh community that had been fighting for freedom for 200 years prior to 1857, Hindus became the real traitors of India. The actual numbers of sacrifices made by the Sikhs can never be counted; however, the following table shows how many Sikhs have spilled their blood compared to the other communities for the freedom of India during British Empire.
Sacrifices of Sikhs for India's Freedom during British Empire:
|
Type |
Sikhs |
Non-Sikhs |
Percentage of Sikhs |
|
Prison One Year |
1,550 |
575 |
73% |
|
Hanged |
93 |
28 |
77% |
|
Jalianwala Bagh |
799 |
501 |
61% |
|
Bajj Bajj Ghaat |
67 |
46 |
59% |
|
Kooka Movement |
91 |
0 |
100% |
|
Akali Movement |
500 |
0 |
100% |
|
Deported |
2,147 |
499 |
81% |
|
Death sentence |
92 |
35 |
72% |
|
Indian National Army |
12,000 |
8000 |
60% |
It is clear that Sikhs made more sacrifices than all other communities and are the true heroes. It is a known fact by those who rule write the history. Since Sikhs are being labeled as "traitors", it leaves no doubt that today's leadership is not only ignoring the facts but also misrepresenting and maligning the true identity of the Sikhs by not writing the history in its true form.
It is time for Sikhs to realize that no matter how much they sacrifice and spill their blood for the freedom, without fighting for their own country, that history will always be against and unfair to them. Sikhs need to rise up to the tyrant Indian government that labels them as "terrorists" and establish their own country so that they can live as Sikhs, true patriots and freedom fighters. It is time for Sikhs to expose the true faces of the traitors. Otherwise, it will be a grave injustice not only to the history but to the Sikh martyrs who sacrificed their presence so we can have a glorious future.
Excerpts taken from:
"Did Sikhs betray in 1857" by Professor Inder Singh
"Was the Indian slavery due to Sikh betrayal" by SSU
