Instant Sikh History 2016 by Dr. Sangat Singh - HTML preview

{1}. The Delhi Riots: A People’s Verdict”, Indian Express, February 10, 1985.

{2}. Zuhair Kashmeri and Brian McAndrew, Soft Tag:  How the Indian Intelligence Service Penetrated Canada, Toronto 1989, pp. 86-89 and  ad passim.

{3}.  Sangat Singh, The Sikhs in History, 2014 pp.605, 631

{4}. Two main agents, Dr. Attar Singh expected an appointment as ambassador to Moscow, but he died a disheartened man at PGI Chandigarh.   I don’t want to go into the circumstances of his death.  Pritpal Singh expected an appointment as Vice Chancellor to a University, but  accepted appointment as pro-Vice Chancellor at Amritsar. 

{5}. Report of Justice Ranganath Misra, Commission of Inquiry, vol 1.p. 30,44, 57, and ad passim

{6}. India Today, June 30, 1986, p. 29

{7}. Shekhar Gupta in India Today, August, 1986, p. 32.

{8}. In a separate department, the Government of India decided to intervene militarily to suppress Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.  Tavleen Singh   mentions of union government’s uneasiness at the existence of Sikh Light Infantry (SLI) in tact as one of the factors for the decision.  It was  the first and was badly mauled.  It was taken back, and put it into action the second time,  and was withdrawn after the decision of Rajiv  Gandhi government, when the govt. decided to wind up the intervention.

{9}. Dilip Bobb e al. “The Spectre of Terrorism”, India Today, July 31, 1987, p. 31

{10}. Cf. Sunday, July 19, 1987, p. 15

{11}. To vitiate for Jain Muni Acharya Sushil Kumar mission, for release of army deserters, release of Jodhpur detenues, probe into 1985  rioters and fake police encounters

{12}. Sushil Muni’s interview, India Today, April 30, 1988,  pp. 71-73

{13}. The Telegraph (Calcutta) April 3, 1988.

{14}. India Today, October 15, 1990.

{15}. India Today, December 31, 1990.

{16}. Cf. Joyce Pettigrew, The Sikhs of Punjab, London 1995. pp 108-09

{17}. Khuswant Singh, My Bleeding Punjab, Delhi 1992. p.76.

{18}. For Jalandhar seminar, see. Punjabi Tribune, December 13, 1993.

{19}. Cf. Tribune Editorial. November 21, 2005 and October 17, 2007.

{1}. I heard of Beant Singh’s being killed, the same evening at Toronto on just arrival from San Francisco.  Dixi Road Gurdwara’s President  was running a Radio Programme. He was known to be Government of India’s agent, and I suspected his motivation in collection of  people’s comments. I wanted to convey to Gill to reach Bhajan Lal, but resisted my comments. 

{2}. This was KPS Gill’s solution of the problem and shamefully Government of India agreed with it. 

{3}. He had shunned Congress and later formed part of Barnala Government. He had performed a sterling performances at village Kandu  Khera in 1986 enumerations, showing how it broke Haryana’s links with Abohar and Fazilka. He had quit Barnala Government for  indiscretion, at Rajiv Gandhi’s instance taking over National Security Guards into the Golden Temple complex. 

{4}. Prakash Singh Badal had miserably failed to get emergency excesses committed, when Akali Dal was the only party to continue till the last  date till the withdrawl of emergency, in withdrawing Hydel and Power agreement, 1976, by Morarji Desai, failing which to withdraw from  the Central Government.

{5}. I asked an Intelligence Officer around 2005, how Surinder Kaur Badal was very close to Ramesh Inder Singh? What is their relationship? He  took five months to give me the answer. He said, Ramesh Inder Singh is his mother’s brother’s son, (1st cousin). Because of his position  Badal was never put up in jail but kept in posh residences: sometimes his wife stayed with him. His son and nephew were moved over to  America in 1990s. So, he said, was the case with Tohra, because of his closeness with Harkrishan Singh Surjeet.

{6}. Internet.

{7}. Ibid.

{8}. When Ajit Singh Sandhu reportedly threw himself before the Himalayan Queen train, following was the position of Punjab police officers:  Total strength- 70,000; total case registered-1200; officers facing prosecution-140; officers in jail-30; officers on bail- 100+; CBI probing  cases involving partially identified or unidentified bodies-2000. 85 CBI and 91 judicial probes.The worst part of it was that there was  polorisation of opinion on plight of police officers under judicial scrutiny. Punjab Hindus represented by Laxmi Kanta Chawla, Punjab’s  BJPs General secretary went to Amritsar jail to express solidarity with jailed policemen. The position of Balramji Das Tandon was  not much different. Even Badal Government finally chose to give these policemen judicial assistance. Cf, India Today, June 9 & 16, 1997;  Times of India, Sept 29, 1987

{9}. Internet,  May 19, 2016

{10. }Sant Sipahi, October 1997.

{11}. Tribune March 15, 2005. Cf Sangat Singh Opsit pg 549;  Itihas ‘ch Sikh, 2008 pg 639.

{12}. ibid pg 557.

{13}. Tribune, June 13, 2004. Later, Captain Amarinder Singh in an interview with the Indian Express (July 13, 2008) revealed that he was  advised by top legal authority when in New Delhi on Saturday, July 10, 2004, that abrogation of treaties with retrospective effect  was the only solution to the vexed SYL water problem. Only that could  ward off the handing over of the canals to Central Public Works  Department of Government of India on Tuesday, July 13, 2004. He arrived at Chandigarh on Sunday, and the bill was ready by next

 morning, Monday, July 12. Akalis were told of the bill only an hour  before its introduction in the state Assembly, then in Session. The  Governor signed with demur, in the belief that the Chief Minister had just been to New Delhi and had been advised so by the Central  leadership.

  Amarinder Singh was aware that he could be sacked in the process, but did not care. Sonia Gandhi was furious and did not talk to  him “for a good eight months”. Amarinder Singh did not ask the central Congress leaders as he was sure that they would not do so. That  was  Amarinder Singh’s greatest contributions to Punjab’s welfare.

{14}. Spokesman, July 17, 2007.  Tribune, July 27, 2007.

{15}. Sangat Singh Op cit, pg. 570 Rozanna Spokesman, Sept 30, 2007.  S. Joginder Singh in 2016 mentions the loss at 6 times to what it was  mentioned in 2007. 

{16}. Those who are asking for death sentence of Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler for their role in 1984 program should ponder. Death

  sentences have been overruled in their cases as no Hindu can be sentenced to death. *See editoral Tribune, too little, too late” March 27,  

         2007: also Hindustan Times, March 30.

{17}. Between 2006-08, see pp. 557, 569, 578 and 580.

{1}. {The Economic Times, August 09-15, 2015.}

{2}. Manmohan Singh Chinna and Kanchan Vasev, in The Sunday Express, October 25, 2015.

{3}. The SGPC President should have restrained.  He, at first suspended them and then restored them

{5. }Of over 25 prominent Sikhs intellectuals who were founders of All India Sikh Students Federation in 1944 at Lahore were asked.  In 2014 at  a specific Conference held in Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, New Delhi, have you gone through what I have written in my work, The Sikhs in  History.  None of them, including some of those to whom I had presented a copy of my book, have gone through it.  I wrote in the last  Chapter, Future of the Sikhs, (Itihas ‘ch Sikhs). I have delineated very clearly that a declaration of Khalistan was not needed to achieve  their objectives.  It is Gangu Brahmin descendents like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Jamura Rajiv Gandhi have played upon  certain terms in our lexican to crush us.  They have used people like Dr. Jagjit Singh Chauhan and suprisingly Gurmit Singh Aulakh from  Washington D.C. for the purpose.  We should discard this type of lexicon used against us.  I said,  in the presence of ChardiKala Time  T.V. who was present in conducting of the proceedings, that there was not a single person in Punjab who understands what I was trying  to convey.  I wrote in the very first edition published in New York in 1995 that-

  ‘A declaration of Khalistan or a declaration of war is not needed for a people to fight for their liberation.  A Hungarian Scholar, Istvan    Kende, after considerable research has observed, (Development Peace, Vol.4, Spring 1983, pp.35-36), that since the Second World  War,  over a period of thirty years, 1945-76, 120 wars have been fought in 71 countries involving the forces of 84 countries, and not in   a single  case a formal declaration of war was made.  India has fought three wars with Pakistan without making a formal declaration      of war.  In recent times, Russia and Chechenya have fought a full fledged war without making a formal declaration. 

     “The self-styled Panthic Committees, or individuals who made formal declarations of Khalistan did so either under external inspiration  or without much deliberation or even basic knowledge as to how such struggles are organised and conducted.”  Sikhs in History, Last  Chapter, sec: VIII, any edition.{ }

{6}. You must understand what Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were doing were descendants of Gangu Brahmin, and they wanted  to teach the Sikhs a lesson through the agony of Sikh pheriphenalia in comprecency Sikh looking jamuras like Partap Singh, Giani Zail Singh  and host of others.

{1}. This showed Defence Minister Sardar Baldev Singh a cypher and Sardar Sardul Singh Caveesher counted for nothing.  He was told for his  choice to be with Nehru or his opponents – and he eventually chose his selection for Nehru.  This was the first time that Master Tara  Singh was arrested in India after freedom.

{2}. Here it is important to know about importance of Sirhind. Punjab at the time was divided into Lahore and Multan provinces.  Then  there was sub-province in Sirhind which was directly administered by imperial Delhi.  The Hindu hill rajas of Shivalik Hills were under  administration of imperial Delhi through the Lieutenant Governor of Sirhind.

  The objectives of Banda Singh Bahadur in conquering Sirhind was not one of making revenge for the martyrdom of two younger sons  of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, and his elderly mother.  To say so would constitute a petty thought process.  The petty minded people cannot  think big, and cannot even  present the truth or events in its proper perspective.  These however could provide inspiration to his forces.   Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) or Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal)’s petty minded people taking over a procession  from Hazur Sahib Nanded  to Sirhind to celebrate Sirhind Victory Day, is to be seen in this very light.

{3. }Cf. Muzaffar Alam, the crisis of empire in Mughal Northern India, Awadh and Punjab, 1710-48 (Delhi, 1986), chapters on Punjab and  ad passion.

{4}. Attributed to Guru Gobind Singh, the couplet forms part of Bhai Nand Lal’s Tankah Nama (Code of Conduct) for a member of the Khalsa.   The full couplet reads “Khalsa shall rule, and no one will challenge their authority.  Humiliated in defeat, all will join their ranks and be  alone will be saved who seeks their refuge.”  Cf. Ganda Singh, “How the Sikh Raj Came About”, Punjab Past and Present (hereinafter  PP&P) Vol. XV, October 1981, p. 433.

{5}. The Persian inscription on Banda Singh Bahadur’s coins was as follows:

 Obverse

  Sikka zad har do alam tegh-i-Nanak wahib ast

  fateh Gobind Singh Shah-i-shahan fazl-i-sacha sahib ast

 Coinstruck for the two worlds with the sword of Nanak, and victory granted by the grace of Gobind Singh, King of Kings, and the true  Emperor.

 Reverse

  zarb ba aman-ud-dahar masavarat sahar

  zinat-ut-Takhat-i-Mubarak Bakht

   Struck in the heaven of refuge, the beautiful city, the ornament of the blessed throne.  The inscription on Banda’s seal become a model      for future inscriptions on Sikh coins and seals:

  degh o tegh of fathe o nusrat-i-bedrang

  yaft az Nanak guru Gobind Singh

  Through hospitality and the sword to unending victory granted by Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh.

{1}. Avtar Singh Makkar, who is the parrot in the hands of Badal when Bikram Singh Majithia mentioned about denigrading of Guru Gobind  Singh bani in context of Arun Jaitley.  Frankly, he could not go to the court. But he straightaway filed a case before a Ludhiana Court in July 2016 relating to Kanwar Sandhu of AAP, What could a parrot do?

{20}. Hari Singh Nalwa’s image is mentioned evocatively by Gen. Mohammad Ayub Khan.

{21}. Later he was married to Sindhi girl who did her MBBS from Karachi and came to India for marriage. Shortly afterwards his elder son was  President, Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Rajouri Garden, a very powerful Gurdwara in the area.

{22}. Khalsa High School, Sukho District. Rawalpindi,  was one of the prominent school in the area.

{23}. Born at Village Darkali, Khurd, Rawalpindi district, on June 30, corresponding to Asarh or Har 18, 1931 we were shortly shifted to Landi  Kotal, where my father had contracts to supply mutton to British forces.  I spent my childhood there admist Pathan students.  My mother  got worried at my speaking more of Pushto and less of Punjabi.  She brought me back to my village.  We had a Sikh mohalla surrounded by  Gurdwara which  had few students.  She used to give Bhai Sahib some money, who used to give one paisa each day for my studies.  In four  to five months I not only picked up the Alphabets,  but also had started reciting Japji Sahib.  Then, she got me admitted to  thePrimary School.  The Head Master was a Brahmin.  She told him about the date of my birth as 18 Har, he knew that Har comes after  Baisakhi,  so he wrote 18 May.  Then he asked her, if he was 6 years of age.  She said, not yet.  So he did my year of birth as 1932.  This  is how my date of birth certificate stuck to me.  After Primary, I joined my District Board’s Anglo-Vernacular Middle School at Adhwal, a  biggest village in district in Campbell.  It was towards west of village on 6 kms away joined the Boarding House.  When in 7th class, I was  initiated to Guru Granth Sahib.  Also, Punjabi was introduced as language in the school.  After completing 8th class,  I joined Khalsa High  School, Sukho, towards North of my village, about 10 kms away.  My father had told me to get Science, as he had a plan for me to go in for  engineering in Roorkie University.  It was a brilliant school, with 100 percentage in Maths, 90 percent in History etc.  When we were back  after Dussehra,  it is common for the school hostel to change the Granthi and put in one from 9th class.  I was Granthi of the School  Gurdwara for 1945-46.  I was to have a bath everyday.  Some Superintendent of the school hostel, Master Sewa Singh, every morning came  calling for me at around 4 a.m.  After the bath,  I was busy with my studies,  till the morning,  when I was to do Parkash at Gurdwara Sahib.   The Sikh students, mostly came with their own gutkas when we joined together for morning path – Japji Sahib, Jaap Sahib, Swayyas and  Shabd Hazare.  I was required to perform Ardas, and took the hukam.  Thereafter, the students would go for morning breakfast.  The whole  of Sikh students were getting together at the school, at initiation of early days and I had nothing to do with that.  (The Muslim students, and  Hindus mostly, were required to sing the prescribed songs).  After the school time was over, I was required to perform a close ceremony  for Guru Granth Sahib.  Later, I was required to sit at a thara near hostel, and I was required to recite Rehras, and perform Ardas.   Thereafter, the students were to depart to the Kitchen for their dinner.  The hostel used to serve meat once a month- Jhatkas and Koshar  for Sikhs and Muslims.  There was never any problem.

{24}. I had earlier quit the appointment as Director, Joint Intelligence in Defence Ministry.

{25}. In parenthesis, it was a very unjust war.  Indira Gandhi had instigated  Tamil people in Sri Lanka vis a vis Buddhists.  A person, who was an Army Officer and later one from R&AW told me that he had been instrumental in training them in Warfare.  Tamils were getting money and armaments.  A time came, they wanted Rs 500 crores to meet their requirements, and they were promised that.  But actually what they got were only Rs 300 crores;  there could be pilferage in various sources.  The Tamil movement had gained strength; now Indira Gandhi feared them.  They thought Tamils from Tamil Nadu would seek secession to join the greater  Tamil Nadu.  Hence, this campaign was against Tamils in 1987.  And, who were deputed to surpress them?  It were the Sikh Light Infantry (SLI) who were in intact after 1984,  and Rajiv Gandhi thought he will kill two birds with one action.  In the very first action, the SLI was very  badly mauled, and withdrew, but shortly afterwards it was reintroduced in Sri Lanka.  Buta Singh was kept in harness as a surrogate.  It remained till his last, after Rajiv’s overthrow, when the new Government withdrew them from Sri Lanka.  This made LTTE to regroup its forces, and on May 20, 1991, it blew up Rajiv Gandhi without leaving a trace of him, by a human bomb  known as Dhanu (the blessed one- real name Kalaivati) of LTTE at Madras.  A RAW – issues a agent a mole Gopalaswamy Mahendrarajan alias Mahattaya in January 1993 his Jaffna eliminated Prabhakaran, Commander Kittu, seized Mahattaya, tortured for weeks and died.  Thus,  in course of time, Sri Lanka broke through Tamil resistance in 2000,  including extermination of lot of Tamils Cf. Manmohan Sharma, What Ails the Indian Army, (Gautam Budh Nagar, 1998), ad. passion. Times of India Aug 16, 2016.

{26}. In 1996, I had a chance meeting with Dr. Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, Vice Chancellor, Panjabi University, Patiala at Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan  and he offered me D.Litt Degree.  I declined for various reasons.

       In April 1998, when the Sikh Review, Calcutta, published a letter from Canada and mentioned one clean shaven Sikh turning to be a  Gur Sikh at Toronto,  while two others such Sikhs in Edmonton, Canada, becoming amritdhari.

        Dr. Harbhajan Singh Soch, Vice Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, wrote a very beautiful letter and avocatively reffered of  Bhai Gurdas’s letter about such people.  I felt that he wanted to award me D.Litt.  But, I chose not to respond to his letter because I was not  willing to go in for D.Litt.

       Later, Prof.  Noel Q. King, in his Foreword to the 4th edition of The Sikhs in History wrote in 2001; “Sardar Sangat Singh proves himself  among those few who in masterly style have set forth a comprehensive and rounded account of the history of this remarkable nation..... It  becomes immediately clear that this book stands in the upper echelons of the genre, taking its place with the greatest of the works  which have followed from the days of Cunningham and Macauliffe.”

    In November 2013, International Gurmat Vichar Sammelan (Conference), UK, at a congregation at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, New Delhi,  conferred on me the title of being a Mahan Sikh Itihaskar – Great Sikh Historian.

{27}. Cf The Sikhs in History, Ch.2, fn. 14-15

{28}. Mohammad Mir Qasim was the first to use the word Hindu at the time of his Sindh’s conquest in 710 A.D. The Sindhi’s had looted a  ship in the Indian Ocean area and were told that it was common for the ships to be looted, but they should hand over the half a  dozen  Arab women they had taken over. The Sindu ruler demurred. Kasim, a nephew, told his uncle Khalifa of Baghdad that they were not a  cultured or civilized people, but were Hindus – in Lughat (Dictionary) of Persian it meant, Thieves, Highwaymen, Robbers, Slaves, etc.

   In 1000, when Mahmud Ghazni started his campaigns in Hindustan, his General was Tilak or Tilaka son of Jaisen or Jayasena, educated   in Kashmir, and a Buddhist. He had a grudge against Hindu Shahi dynasty which they founded by overthrowing Buddhist rule in  mid-9th  century; and exterminated Buddhists and disfigured Bahmyan statue of Lord Buddha, the biggest in the area in 854 AD and at Gardes and  Laghman. Mahmud Ghazni’s campaign against temples and breaking idols, for instance at Jawalamuki, Mathura and Somnath etc., became  a common feature, and was a retribution for destruction of Buddhist places of worship. The Hindus places for destruction now became a  common feature, and the people were subjected to nomenclature of being Hindus – thiefs, highwaymen, robbers, slaves, etc.  Brahmins  had nothing but to accept the word Hindu in the face of the hostile arms. They got the unity among the divisive people under a hostile  situation. They became a slave for over 800 years.

   During the British era, Punjab High Court in Lahore pronounced the Persian Dictionary origin of the word Hindu, and a High Court for  Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh, in 1962 interpreted the same meaning. There was nothing creditable for Hindus in that.

2. If he had not appeared on 4{29}th day, Brahmins a hostile class, would have pressurized his father to perform his Chautha (4th day) – they  would have presented that Nanak, who was seen in villages, towns, cities, in the fields, forests, mountains was his bhoot and not  Nanak himself. Guru Nanak had to prevent that senario.

{30}. Brahma, Bisan, Mahes na koi; (There is no Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) – Maru Mallaha 1. SGGS p.1035