SAN FRANCISCO, USA—Every June, the California Sikh community commemorates the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Guru of the Sikh faith and the anniversary of the Indian government’s attack on the Sikh’s holiest shrine, the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar in 1984. This year marked the 33rd anniversary of the brutal Indian Army assault on the shrine that left thousands of pilgrims dead.
More than 10,000 Sikhs from the Bay Area, Sacramento and Central Valley attended the event. The parade highlighted the fact that even after 33 years the religious and economic demands of the Sikh minority have remained unaddressed and hundreds of Sikhs are detained in jails to this day. Along with the Sikhs, minorities in India continue to be persecuted while genocide perpetrators continue to roam free.
The event started from Market St. in San Francisco at 10:30 AM and concluded at the Civic Center. A number of guests, including former Head Granthi of Sri Harmandir Sahib, Giani Jaswinder Singh, was present at the event. Other speakers included UC Berkeley Professor Huma Dhar, youth activist Harpreet Singh, Ragi Balbir Singh, Bhai Sukha Singh UK and Kavishri Jatha of Bhai Mehal Singh.
The event organizer S. Jasdev Singh said,”we come here every year to remember our brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives for the defense of the Golden Temple. We should not forget them and we will not forget them. A separate Sikh state is the only solution to the safeguard of Sikhs”, he said.
The whole emphasis of the event was to demand a separate Sikh State Khalistan, which Sikhs feel would also act as a buffer state between India and Pakistan. UC Berkeley Professor Huma Dhar compared atrocities against the Sikhs with Kashmiris by the Indian Army. She drew parallels betweens struggles of both communities and blamed the elitist Brahman powers within India for injustices against minorities. “We are not against the 95% Hindus in India, but against those elitist powers who continue to marginalize minorities in India,” she said in Urdu. “I am really impressed by the gathering here today, seeing all of you in large numbers is very inspiration.”
Ragi Balbir Singh addressed the attendees in English. He read his paper “We are the Sikhs” and went into details of the Sikh history and counted numerous incidents in which the community had been prosecuted. Bhai Harpreet Singh spoke about concept of sovereignty and why it was important for the Sikhs. Bhai Sukha Singh from UK also shared historical aspects of Sikh history.
Sikh genocide code named Operation Blue Star has been listed in India’s Top 10 Political Disgraces by the country’s leading news journal, India Today. According to Joyce J. M. Pettigrew,( Please reference the book here) “The army went into Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) not to eliminate a political figure or a political movement but to suppress the culture of a people, to attack their heart, to strike a blow to their spirit and self-confidence”. Newspaper article of the time stated that, the operation involved six army infantry battalions and a detachment of commandos. The operation was carried out by the Indian army troops equipped with tanks, armored vehicles and helicopter gunships.
The massacre occurred from June 3-6, 1984 when the Indian army attacked the Golden temple complex in Amritsar. In addition to Darbar Sahib the main sanctum, the army simultaneously attacked 43 other Gurdwaras across the Punjab. The Sikhs fought under the command of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale for full three days against Indian Army and this fight knows as ‘The Battle of Amritsar’ too.
The operation aroused immense controversy, and the government’s justification for the rationale, timing and style of the attack continue to be debated today. No enquiry was ever ordered and no one was held accountable. The political ramifications of Operation Blue Star become readily apparent when one realizes that the action was planned by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi far in advanced for the occurrence.
