Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
India

31 Years After 'Blue Star', Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale Still Hero For Jammu Sikhs

IANS, 07 Jun, 2015 12:15 PM
    Thirty-one years after he was killed in 'Operation Blue Star' in Amritsar, Punjab, separatist militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale is still regarded as a martyr and 'sant' by Sikhs living in Jammu.
     
    Sant Tejwant Singh, the chief Sikh priest at Dana Singh Gurdwara Sahib in the Sikh-dominated Nanak Nagar area of Jammu city, strongly believes Bhindranwale was a sant (saint) and martyr of the Khalsa Pant.
     
    "He sacrificed his life for the Sikh Pant. He was a sant who deserves all respect and honour from the Sikh community," Sant Tejwant Singh told IANS. Around 300,000 Sikhs live in the Jammu region. 
     
    Asked why did the militant Sikh leader gather arms inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, he said: "It was the government that allowed free passage of arms into the Golden Temple."
     
     
    Hundreds of Sikhs earlier this week protested over the removal of posters of Bhindranwale in Jammu. Life began limping back to normalcy on Saturday as the authorities withdrew the army from areas that saw street protests.
     
    Sant Tejwant Singh said Bhindranwale lives in the hearts and minds of the community, and blamed the state administration for inciting trouble by removing his posters.
     
    "Was there any order not to display these posters? Posters of Sant Bhindranwale are displayed on vehicles and shirts in Punjab and elsewhere. Nobody objects to these outside Jammu and Kashmir. Why did police remove his posters in Jammu?" he asked.
     
    Advocate Surinder Singh, member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and former president of the Jammu Bar Association, said: "The way he (Bhindranwale) was killed, Sikhs believe he is a martyr and sant."
     
     
    "The Sikh Panth will always salute him for laying down his life to protect the sanctity of Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple)."
     
    Virenderjeet Singh, president of the National Sikh Front, also believes Bhindranwale was a sant.
     
    "Bhindranwale will always be regarded as a sant because the Akal Takht decreed that he was martyred for the Guru's cause," he said.
     
    However, what was intriguing during the three-day protests in Jammu city was not that angry Sikhs raised pro-Khalistan slogans, but pro-Pakistan slogans at some places.
     
    Senior journalist Harbans Nagokay said it was "mere anger that prompted some Sikh youths to raise pro-Pakistan slogans".
     
    "Nobody should try to read too much into this. Sikhs have always been in the forefront of protecting India's honour in wars against Pakistan," he said.
     
     
    Hindus in Jammu city, however, do not want to get into any controversy discussing the sainthood of the militant Sikh leader.
     
    "We want to live peacefully with Sikhs and other communities in Jammu. How they deal with or discuss their saints and leaders is not our problem," said Sansar Chand, a 45-year-old resident.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Smriti Dares Rahul To Debate In A War Of Words

    Smriti Dares Rahul To Debate In A War Of Words
    A war of words broke out on Friday between Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and union HRD Minister Smriti Irani on Twitter over IIT-Madras's censure of a students' group for criticising the Narendra Modi government.

    Smriti Dares Rahul To Debate In A War Of Words

    Killer Heat Wave Continues To Sweep Across India, Toll Over 1,700

    Killer Heat Wave Continues To Sweep Across India, Toll Over 1,700
    The searing heat wave continued unabated on Thursday in many parts of India, claiming another 414 lives in Andhra and Telangana alone to take the toll above 1,700 while rains brought relief in some states, officials said.

    Killer Heat Wave Continues To Sweep Across India, Toll Over 1,700

    Varun Gandhi's Immature Offering Butchers Poetry

    Varun Gandhi's Immature Offering Butchers Poetry
    If there is something that really stands out in this book, it has to be the images, contributed by different photographers, to complement the poems. 

    Varun Gandhi's Immature Offering Butchers Poetry

    Student Visa Day Attracts Over 4,000 At US Missions

    Student Visa Day Attracts Over 4,000 At US Missions
    Over 4,000 Indian students who had applied for visas to pursue education in the United States were interviewed at various US missions across India on the occasion of its annual Student Visa Day, an official said here on Thursday.

    Student Visa Day Attracts Over 4,000 At US Missions

    A Doctor's 'Jihad' To Popularize Birth Control Among Assam's Muslims

    A Doctor's 'Jihad' To Popularize Birth Control Among Assam's Muslims
    Now, Muslim males with two or more children are voluntarily coming out in large numbers to get sterilized and help control the population.

    A Doctor's 'Jihad' To Popularize Birth Control Among Assam's Muslims

    Millionaire Indian-Origin British Hotelier Ranjit Singh Power Goes Missing In Punjab

    Millionaire Indian-Origin British Hotelier Ranjit Singh Power Goes Missing In Punjab
    Punjab Police have booked a UK-based NRI for the mysterious disappearance of a British hotelier of Indian origin Ranjit Singh Power, who has been missing from the state since May 7, an official said on Wednesday.

    Millionaire Indian-Origin British Hotelier Ranjit Singh Power Goes Missing In Punjab