RELIGION , POWER AND POLITICS

The combination of religion, power and politics is always lethal. It brings immense destruction, pain and leaves behind it's scars for years. You never tend to forget them, even if you want to, you always try to analyse what went wrong, how it could have been avoided, but sadly nothing could be done now.

For a Sikh, the first week of June is very painful. It brings back memories of what had happened in 1984 and how the entire Sikh community was treated as terrorists in the later decades. Around this time every year we have discussions, debates on various platforms which brings back pain all along. Also it's very difficult to even talk about this matter, as being very close to religion, most of the people try not to talk much about it but today, I will.

It's a story of Greed, Ego clashes and conquest for power, in modern times according to the Democratic values. Back in 1977, the Gandhi family saw the fiery and fierce nature of one young man and decided to use it for their own politics. Their political party had recently lost the 1977 Indian General Elections, so they recruited a new extremely strong opinionated and an orthodox young man Jarnail Singh Brar, a farmer who did not even receive primary education, to fulfil their political aspirations in Punjab. That man was never a militant, rather he was slowly poisoned to become one. Suddenly an unknown stranger's voice became the most heard voice on radio and Televisions. He started accumulating and manipulating people, everyone saw that but kept quiet because he was backed by the government.

The Government thought they could use him for the forth coming elections but everything in vain as they had again lost in elections even though he had campaigned actively in three constituencies. Viewing that this man is no more useful in any way, they left him on his own. But the one who gets addicted to the power, stardom and popularity he becomes a dangerous person. He wanted to quench his thirst for power, this time all alone, all by himself. By that time Congress was unable to control him after coming back to power in the 1980 Indian General Election.

Then came into picture the famous Akali Dal party, the Akali Dal initially opposed him. However, as he became increasingly influential, the party decided to join forces with him and started 'Dharam Yudh Morcha'. I tried to gather knowledge about this morcha but still could not understand a thing about it.  As far as I could understand it was a call to create Khalistan in order to win more autonomy for Punjab. Miss Gandhi considered it secessionist document and evidence of an attempt to secede from the Union of India. The resolution was made fundamental as the demand for autonomy was phrased such a way that would have given more authority to the Sikhs than Hindus in Punjab. Thousands of people joined the movement as they felt that it represented a real solution to their demands, such as a larger share of water for irrigation, and return of Chandigarh to Punjab.

Following this lot of murders happened, airplanes were hijacked, the then DIG of Punjab, Avtar Singh Atwal was murdered in the pious Golden Temple. The youth of Punjab was manipulated upto the extent that they thought it was absolutely right and virtuous to kill people. Sadly, no government made even a slightest of an effort to control the activities of this man. Everyone knew about his activities yet Akali Dal and SGPC gave him shelter in the pious Golden Temple for their own political benefits.

I don't want to recall all what happened from June 1 to June 8 in 1984, most of the people reading this might know, how bullets were fired on thousands of the innocent pilgrims, how tanks were allowed to enter the most sacred place of the Sikhs, how the entire structure of Shri Akal Takht Sahib was destroyed by the tanks, how our Sikh literature was destroyed. The Indian Law has given the status of a Juristic person to Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji, the holy book of the Sikhs, 500 of such holy books were reduced to ashes. My hands tremble when I type this, eyes start watering and my blood starts boiling. Why did it have to happen at the first place? Who was responsible?

That man was used by every political party for their own benefit. He was used, his knowledge of religion was used, his religion was used. A young man who was such a brilliant speaker that he could easily influence tons of youth within a second they meet him. This man could have been put to a better use by channelizing his energy in the right direction by discouraging his wrong deeds. The government could have nipped the evil in its bud, but that didn't happen and what actually happened the government couldn't have expected in their wildest dreams. They had prepared an explosive material for their own benefit but sadly it exploded in their own garden that too in a most unexpected way.

What followed afterwards was tragic, our Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was murdered by her Sikh bodyguards, but what happened after that was a genocide, Sikh Genocide. The ruling government, it's leaders openly declared that they want to kill every Sikh. Thousands of innocent Sikh men, women and even children were murdered in Delhi. From 1980's to 1999, dark clouds never left Punjab's sky. Young men were murdered in false encounters in order to remove the so called militancy from Punjab. Militancy whose seeds were sown by the Government themselves. They destroyed our generations. There are plenty of parents who still cannot figure out whether their children are alive or dead , thanks to the merciless and dreadful police encounters!

Well to summarize all I can say is that the amalgamation of religion, power and politics has always been the destroyer, it caused destruction way back at the time when Mahabharat took place. Well in the 20th century it could have been avoided, it should have been avoided. But sadly it couldn't because no one was ready to bow down, neither the government nor that man. That man who loved his religion more than anything else in this world was used for his religion.

Every time someone asks me why do we say never forget 1984? I'll tell you why, because we should never forget why it happened, it happened because of the greed of power, to which no one can put an end to.