Chapter 11 - THE AFTERMATH

Military attack on the Golden Temple Complex was tauntingly Code-named by the government as Operation Blue Star because the Akali support turbans of blue col­our and the government wanted not only to remove blue turbans but their heads too. Similarly Operation "mop up" carried out simultaneously was code named "Woodrose" because the Sikh youth were like roses but in the eyes of government grown in the woods. Both these bloody Operations were carried out with reckless venge­ance. They aroused in the minds of the Sikhs deep re­sentment, hatred and revulsion against the government. Therefore the devout Sikh youths were virtually burning with fire of revenge and vowed to avenge the murder of Akal Takht from Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Her sin was unforgivable and unatonable. Hence she was destined to meet her nemesis one day or the other and she did meet it on 31st October 1984 just five months after she had taken the suicidal step attack to the Golden Temple Complex. Though her assassination resulted in the geno­cide of the Sikhs yet it raised the head of the Khalsa and restored their honour and pride.

II

The rise and fall of the Traitors

Though all Akali leaders were released from the Jail in early 1985 yet the Sikh masses seemed to be leader less, for, the released leaders had been badly discredited by their own omissions and commissions. Therefore, they pleaded with Baba Joginder Singh, father of Sant Bhin-dranwaie and persuaded him to lead the demoralised and vanquished community. He was thus forced to lead the Akali Dal. As a result Longowal demitted office of the President of Akali Dal and Talwandi also disbanded his own splinter group. This paved the way for unity among the Akalis and United Akah Dal was formed under the Presidentship of Baba Joginder Singh.

This new dispensation, however, was a big sore in the eyes of courteries of Longowal. especially Balwant Singh, who was Longowal's main advisor, besides Surjit Singh Barnala, who was dreaming to become Chief Min­ister of Punjab. Seeing their dreams shattered Balwant Singh and Barnala persuaded Longowal to withdraw his resignation who readily obliged them as he, too, had a lust for power.

This trinity, while holding negotiations with the Central government before military action, called Opera­tion Blue Star. had considered Sant Bhindranwale as a stumbling block is their way because the latter wanted nothing short of realisation of Anandpur Sahib Resolu­tion while the trinity was ready to give up that demand in return for power. Now that the stumbling block had been removed from their way the "trinity" reopened talks with the Central government. They picked up the thread where they had left it before military action and deliber­ately ignored stalwarts like Tohra, Badal and Talwandi. To facilitate success of negotiations the Central govern­ment appointed Arjun Singh as the governor of Punjab, for, he had cordial relations with the trinity.

Although Tohra, Talwandi and Badal were aware of the secret dialogue being held by Longowal and his courterie with the government yet they did not know what specific formulation the demands would take.

However a sudden announcement made by the Cen­tral government in the evening of 23rd July 1985 sur­prised th,e Akali Dal and the general public. That an­nouncement said that Longowal would meet Rajiv Gan-dhi the Prime Minister, on 24th July. It was a clear indi­cation that some sort of agre&ment between them had been arrived at. As was expected it. was-announced by the government on 24th rJuly that a "Memoran.dum of Settlement" had been signed by Rajiv Gandhi and Longowal. Thus Longowal stabbed the Akali Dal and the Sikh masses in the back once again. At that juncture Longowal did not represent the Sikh masses or the Akali Dal. He was leading only a splinter group of Akalis whereas the majority of them was being led by Baba Joginder Singh but even then he had not been taken into confidence by Longowal. As a result all top Akali leaders outrightly rejected the Memorandum of Settlement brand­ing it a great betrayal of the Khalsa Panth.

There is nothing new in the fake Memorandum of Settlement because similar offers were being made by the government before the military attack on the Golden Tem­ple Complex and those offers were rejected and debunked by Sant Bhindranwale and other leaders including To-hra and Talwandi. If such a lollipop was to be accepted by these old traitors and that too after experiencing a catastrophe then why they had allowed the government to destroy and desecrate the Golden Temple Complex which had caused enormous loss of life and property. Apparently these traitors have laid waste the sacrifices made by the devout Sikhs.

According to the terms and conditions of the so called Memorandum of Settlement the main demand of Anandpur Sahib Resolution has been permanently bur­ied into the deep sea: transfer of Chandigrah has become a dead issue; river waters dispute and other issues have been thrown to the wind. Thus the Memorandum has turned out to be a negation in totality and demands raised during the Dharm Yudh Morcha have been given a per­manent burial.

III

The Last efforts for unity

Fortunately I have had very close and cordial rela­tions with the top Akali leaders especially with Jathedar Gurcharn Singh Tohra ad Jagdev Singh Talwandi. There­fore I tried to create some conducive atmosphere for bring­ing about unity among them. I met all top leaders. They all were willing to forge unity but were apprehensive. Nevertheless I held last meeting with Balwant Singh and Surjh Singh Barnala at Ludhiana on 18th August 1985. We discussed various formulations to forge unity but Balwant Singh harped only on one point saying that none else than Longowal was acceptable to him as the Presi­dent of Akali Dal. Upon this a quick idea came to my mind and I suggested the name of Barnala for Presidentship of Akali Dal. This suggestion enlivened Barnala but Balwant Singh's face turned pale. Any way gathering his nerves he questioned me whether this proposal was acceptable to Talwandi. Certainly. I said with full confidence, and when in ecstatic mood I begged leave of them to convey good news to Talwandi, Balwant Singh followed me to the gate and said in no uncertain words that even Barnala was not acceptable to him. When I asked why he did not say so to Barnala he replied. "How could I say so in his face." There ended the last efforts for forging unity in the Akali Dal. Two days later Harchand Singh Longowal was gunned down by some devout Sikh youth in his own district of Sangrur. When his body was cremated in his own village Longowal I came across Balwant Singh who was in a gloomy mood. tie murmured that he had been ruined. I reminded him of his obstinacy shown by him on 20th August and whispered to him that should he be raised from the grave.

As the luck would have it Barnala was made Presi­dent of Akali Dal. As committed by Rajiv Gandhi. Akali Dal led by Barnala was facilitated by the Congress to win the elections and form the government in 1985. Barnala however was a dejure Chief Minister while Balwant Singh was a de facto Chief Minister.

Rajiv Gandhi wanted to extract an extra pound of flesh from the Barnala government. Then Rajiv inducted government agents in the Golden Temple Complex in the guise of fake militants and then conducted Operation Black Thunder by sending commandos to capture them from the temple. This drama was enacted by the Rajiv government in connivance w'ith Barnala and Balwant Singh in order to justify the earlier military action code named "Operation Blue Star."

Soon thereafter the Barnala government was dis­missed in 1987. And Balwant Singh met the fate of a trai­tor like his mentor. Longowal. Thus ended the sordid story of these traitors.

Post Script

Without giving some more detail about Jathedar Ranjit Singh and assessment of the present politico-reli­gious situation this book seems to be some what incom­plete.

Bhai Ranjit Singh was born on 25th June 1955 in village Thatta Ghariala in Patti Tehsil of district Amrit-sar. This area is a part of "Majha" which is known as a land of the brave people Like Sant Bhindranwale. Bhai Ranjit Singh also studied upto 5th standard in Patti town and then shifted to Delhi in 1970 in search for livelihood. He worked and lived in Delhi upto 1980.

When traumatic incident of 13th April 1978 occurred at .Amritsar he was still living in Delhi. This incident shook his conscience, for, being a devout Singh, he could not swallow the cruel and ghastly murder of the 13 de­fenceless Sikhs at the hands of blood thirsty Nirankaris. He vowed to avenge the massacre of the Sikhs and set upon the job while he was still in Delhi. By winning con- fidence of the Nirankari leaders he managed to enter their citadel, the Nirankari headquarters, at Delhi. Accordingly he was allowed to stay in a room opposite the main en­trance of Nirankari Chief's residence and worked there in the guise of a carpenter for about four months. During this period he carefully watched the movements of Gur-bachan Singh and assessed his security arrangements. Then he meticulously worked out a plan to exterminate the Nirankari Chief in his own den, for, he was solely responsible for the Amritsar episode. When he was fully confident that he would accomplish his task he called upon Sant Bhindranwale in the Golden Temple Complex perhaps to seek his blessing and then returned to Delhi about two weeks before he actually assassinated Gur-bachan Singh on 24th April 1980.

This stout and sturdy man, six feet tall, had a com­panion called Kabul Singh.

Bhai Ranjit Singh, companion of Kabul Singh, stayed with him in the Nirankari headquarters. Ranjit Singh perhaps first intend to gun down the Nirankari Chief on the Baisakhi day, that is. the 13th April, but he could not get the chance. However this stout and sturdy and six feet tall man stunned the country on 24th April 1980 by assassinating Gurbachan Singh. Nirankari Chief right in his fortified citadel in Delhi. This brave Singh avenged the gruesome massacre of the Sikhs and the whole Sikh community was jubilant for this feat of val­our. As he and his companion Kabul Singh knew the exit routes they easily managed to escape. After their escape Kabul Singh went to Sant Bhindranwale and lived with him till the end.

Contrary to the widely published reports that Bhai Ranjit Singh also sought shelter in the Camp of Sant Bhin­dranwale and that later he was weaned away by Longowal who arranged his surrender through Surjit Singh Barnala Bhai Ranjit Singh emphatically said that he himself sur- rendered on 24th March 1983 before G.S. Bawa who was the Director of Criminal Bureau of investigation. He was then convicted in the Nirankari Chief murder case and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was detained in Tihar Central Jail in Delhi and was released on 12th October 1996. Significantly, while Ranjit Singh was still under­going sentence, Gurcharan Singh Tohra. President of Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, appointed him Jathedar ofAkal Takht in 1993. However he was for­mally installed as Jathedar after his release from the Jail on 12th October 1996. In his absence Professor Manjit Singh worked as Acting Jathedar of the Akal Takht and when he demitted his office he was appointed Jathedar of Takht Keshgarh Sahib.

During his tenure as Acting Jathedar of Akal Ta­kht Professor Manjit Singh played an uncharitable role. He acted more like a politician than a religious head. He developed vested interests because in the capacity of chairman of World Sikh Council, he had collected huge amount through'donations but refused to render accounts despite repeated appeals made by Bhai Ranjit Singh. It appears that his insolent behaviour smacks some foul play as he has openly challenged the Supreme Authority of the Akal Takht.

With a view to diverting attention of the Khalsa Panth from his uncharitable behaviour Professor Manjit Singh has superimposed another controversy. This con­troversy relates to a Hukamnama issued by the Akal Ta­kht Jathedar forbidding the Sikhs to partake langar in the Gurdwaras sitting in the chairs and served on the tables. Sikhs in Canada wilfully violated this Hukamnama and the tradition laid down by the Sikh Gurus. There­fore the Akal Takht Jathedar declared some of them Tankhayia and then excommunicated them. Being a Jath­edar of Takht Keshgarh Sahib it was bounding duty of Professor Manjit Singh to endorse the religious edict that enjoins upon him but he intentionally opposed and criti­cised the Akal Takht Jathedar keeping his selfish inter­ests above his religious duties. Not surprisingly he has found a ready accomplice in Brajinder Singh. editor of "Ajit". a daily newspaper, published from Jalandhar. This editor at the behest of Professor Manjit Singh and the Chief Minister, has given a new twist to this debased is­sue which has been raised in order to diminish the au­thority of the Akal Takht. Brajinder Singh has gone to the mean extent of criticising Akal Takht Jathedar in his newspaper by name and is indulging in irreligious ac­tivities. He seems to be playing more or less the same role as was being played by Lala Jagat Narain before Operation Blue Star.

It is an irony that history is waiting in the wings to repeat itself so soon. Exactly twenty years ago more or less a similar politico-religious situation was prevailing in Punjab. At that time. too, Punjab government was be­ing run by Parkash Singh Badal in coalition with the Jan Sangh which represents Hindu fundamentalism .

At that time, too. there was a same formulation of political parties which was reigning the country. At that time, too, the same set of moderate or secular Akali lead­ers had played in the hands of fundamentalist Hindus and had vitiated the peaceful situation in Punjab. Twenty years later they are again playing the same game unmindful of the consequences.

It is an irony that the same set of failed and dis­credited Akali leaders are in power in Punjab who had been in power twenty years ago. And it is a tragedy that they have again arrayed themselves against the true lead­ers of the Khalsa Panth. In a calculated move they have started a vicious attack on the Akal Takhl Jathedar and the President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. Twenty years ago they had frowned at Sant Bhindranwale and arrayed their forces against him and Dami Dami Tak'sal but they were badly battered by the brave Sant. And ultimately they sought the help of Cen­tral government which had attacked the Golden Temple Complex to save the "great traitor" (Harchand Singh Longowal) and smash the citadel of the gallant defender of the Panth,

Today too anti-Panthic forces waging war against Bhai Ranjit Singh, JathedarofAkal Takht, not simply to brow beat him but also to diminish authority of the Akal Takht. They are acting in the same fashion as they had done in the case of Sant Bhindranwale.

But Badal should carefully study ABC of dialectical materialism and learn some lesson from the past events. formulate his present policies after rectifying past mis­takes: and plan for the future correctly, lest history should repeat itself again.