June started on a bad note. In a tragic accident in my home state back home in Odisha, India hundreds died and around a thousands were injured. The first week of June also reminds me of couple of events of far reaching consequences. One is the Operation Blue Star, which happened this week exactly 39 years ago in the year 1984.
Congress party which perfected the art of mishandling issues (Bangladesh war of 1971 being the exception), completely blew the Punjab crisis out of proportion by catapulting Bhindranwale, a Sikh with a flowing beard and aquiline nose from a small time preacher into a big time martyr. (BJP is fast catching up with Congress in mishandling issues - the longer is its tenure in power, the more screw ups they are in making).
As Khushwant Singh mentioned in his autobiography, Giani Zail Singh, ex Home Minister and President of India famously described Bhindranwale as SADDE DANDA "our stick" to beat the Akalis with. Congress party wanted to use him as an useful idiot to settle score against its opponent. Eventually the genie escaped from the bottle and the DANDA became a huge stick to cause pain to Congress and nation's backside.
Bhindranwale's myth still lives on. It's not unusual to find T-shirts figuring his turbaned head and cassettes containing his speech in parts of Punjab, especially in the rural areas. His simple slogan 'JO DARTA WOH SIKH NAHI AUR JO SIKH HAI WOH DARTA NAHI' (one who fears is not a Sikh, one who is a Sikh never fears) caught the imagination of the Sikh youth.
The violence and senseless killings reached its peak in the late 1980s when the Punjab problem seemed beyond solution. I met an Odia guy, who was lucky to survice one such attacks in JCT Mills, Phagwara. One night, a bunch of terrorists entered the plant compound and wrapped up all the outsiders from outside of Punjab they could get their hands on. Then they forced them to stand in a line and shot them randomly.
But before doing their cold blooded target practice, those heartless folks took some time to play with their victims who were crying and begging for their lives. Our Odia guy was standing in a dark corner. In the commotion, he decided to take his chances. He slowly back stepped, jumped off a wall and ran away, luckily surviving the volley of bullets sent after him. The darkness and his luck saved him. The next morning (Night time bus services were banned in Punjab those days) he left Punjab once and forever, determined not to return again. His story sent chills down my spine.
Sending out the Army into the Golden Temple to flush out terrorists was akin to bringing down a house to get rid of rat menace. Operation Blue Star on 4th June had its series of consequences. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards not long after the operation to flush out terrorists from Golden Temple. Khushwant Singh who once used to be close to her family, especially to her younger son Sanjay Gandhi, but later fell out of her favor after Sanjay's death in an air crash, wanted to visit her place to pay his last respect, in spite of their estrangement.
It was followed by killing of many innocent Sikhs who were buthered by hired Congress goons. The Sikhs retaliated by killing many innocent Hindus in Punjab as the terrorism continued for many more years to come.
The other event in June is the 34st Anniversary of the Tiananman Square massacre in China. The famous picture from the 1st week of June 1989, of the lone young man standing bravely in front of a Tank carries a lot of connotations.
It is an image of defiance and a strong desire for freedom by the contemporary youth. Sadly the Chinese government effectively quashed the freedom movement. The movement became dormant, but is far from dead. Quarter of a century later in that nation well connected with microbloggers it's sitting on a tinterbox to implode any moment. History could be made any time. One never knows.
No comments:
Post a Comment