Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 90.196.3.126 (talk) at 20:31, 2 September 2007 (→Politics and movement for Theocracy). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale or Jarnail Singh (Template:Lang-pa; February 12, 1947–June 6, 1984) was the leader of the Damdami Taksal, a religious fringe group based in India. Bhindranwale carried heavy influence among many religious fundamentalists in Punjab during his time at the top of his self-imposed authority, he tried to spread his own 'moralistic' values and persuaded the unemployed usually uneducated male youth to follow him. He was known for his support for the creation of the proposed theocratic state of Khalistan. In 1981, Bhidranwale was arrested for his involvement in the murder of innocent civilians including the proprietor of the Hind Samachar Group. Although he surrendered to police he was later released due to absense of evidence, Bhindranwale was kept on close watch by Punjab's police officials. Bhindranwale is more notable for his notorious involvement prior to Operation Blue Star in which he and other terrorists occupied the Akal Takht complex with arms and ammunition, including the Golden Temple, in Amritsar. He was killed by the Indian Army, who had orders from Gandhi and president Zail Singh ordered the Army, led by Kuldeep Singh Brar, to the Golden Temple to remove Bhindranwale and his followers on June 3, 1984 and to eradicate terrorists hiding inside the sacred temple. Since his death Bhindranwale has remained a controversial figure in Indian history. Like Osama Bin Laden some view him as a martyr who was fighting for the his political abitions using Sikhs as a vote winner, and others see him as a terrorist and extremist.

Many also believe that the assassination of the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her own Sikh bodyguards was because the army took out Bhindranwale prior to Operation Bluestar.

Early life

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale or Jarnail Singh Brar was an un-elected leader of Damdami Taksal, a Sikh organisation based in India. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (Feb 12, 1947 – June 6, 1984). He was born in the village of Rode, Faridkot district, Punjab, India. His father Joginder Singh, was a local Sikh leader. Jarnail Singh was the seventh of eight brothers. He was brought up as a strict vegetarian and was proud to be a member of the Jat caste. As a child he was hyperactive and anti-social, once described by a BBC journalist as 'not being very intelligent' and with such acute learning disabilities he failed to attain any qualifications and dropped out of school at an early age. Being unable to read, write or speak any English, his only career option was to enter religious politics and eventually made a career by becoming an attention seeking firebrand cleric.

Rise to popularity

In Punjab, Bhindranwale went from village to village as a religious missionary converting people. He asked people to live according to his rules and tenets. He would give endless speeches and encourage numerous women to take Amrit, the holy nectar. Bhindranwale preached and encouraged them to return to his path by giving up vices like masturbation, illicit sex, meat-eating, pornography etc. His focus on fighting for some cause made him a hero in the eyes of some crating militancy. He did however despise the educated and successful Sikhs. The successor to Gurbachan Singh Khalsa, Kartar Singh Khalsa, who died in a road accident on August 16, 1977, mentioned Bhidranwale as being the new leader of the Damdami Taksal. Bhidranwale was formally elected at a bog ceremony at Mehta Chowk on August 25, 1977.

In one of Bhindranwale's speeches, he made a references to the Prophet Mohammed which many Muslims found offensive.

Politics and movement for Theocracy

In response to questions about his political ambitions Bhindranwale once said:

If I ever become president of the Akali Dal or the S.G.P.C. , an M.L.A., a government minister, or a member of parliament...I shall deserve a shoe-beating by you.

Despite these statements, Bhindranwale participated in some gerrymandering in 1979 and still only manged to achieve less than 3% of the vote. A year later, Bhindranwale campaigned actively for Congress in three constituencies' during the general elections. Due to his lack of success in election politics, Bhindranwale did not make his political ambitions very clear. As stated in a 1984 Time Magazine article, Bhindranwale had become so notorious that he had usurped the authority of the Shiromani Akali Dal, a Punjab-based Sikh political party. Bhindranwale wielded a great deal of power and the political factions in Punjab did not make or commit any major action without thinking about Bhindranwale's militant tactics.

Bhindranwale was widely perceived to be a supporter for the creation of a proposed theocratic state of Khalistan. However, in a BBC interview, he stated that if the government agreed to the creation of such a state, he would not refuse reflecting deliberate ambiguity or confusion. Other quotes attributed to Bhindranwale include "we are not in favour of Khalistan nor are we against it." Responding to the formation of Khalistan he is quoted as saying, "We won't reject it. We shall not repeat 1947." To which he added, "if the Indian Government invaded the Darbar Sahib complex, the foundation for an independent Sikh state will have been laid."

Role in the militancy

On April 13, 1978, a few GurSikhs of Akhand Kirtani Jatha went to protest against Nirankaris. The confrontation led to the murder of thirteen members of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha and three Nirankaris. The FIR named twenty-two persons, several of whom were known associates of Bhindranwale.The victims were implicated. This infuriated Sikhs further. On April 24, 1980, the leader of Nirankaris, Gurbachan Singh, was killed. The FIR named nearly twenty people involved in the murder, most of whom had ties to Bhindranwale. Bhindranwale was subsequently implicated in ordering the assassination. A member of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, Ranjit Singh, surrendered to committing the assassination three years later, and was sentenced to serve thirteen years at the Tihar Jail. Bhidranwale was later released as he could not be charged by Indian courts due to lack of evidence.

On September 9, 1981, Jagat Narain, the proprietor of the Hind Samachar Group, was shot dead near the Amaltas Motel. Lala Jagat Narain was a prominent opponent of Bhindranwale. Two days after the assassination, police issued warrants for the arrest of Bhidranwale. A police search in Chando Kalan, a Haryana village, failed to produce an arrest. Upon seeing this, Bhidranwale publicly announced that he would surrender on September 20.

On September 20, 1981, Bhindranwale was arrested on charges of orchestrating Lala Jagat Narain's murder. Over the next twenty-five days while Bhindranwale was held in custody, sporadic fights erupted in areas where Bhindranwale's accomplices had gathered. Bhindranwale was released on bail on October 15 as India's Home Minister, Giani Zail Singh announced in the Parliament that there was no evidence against Bhindrawale. In a public statement issued soon after, Bhindranwale expressed his approval for Lala Jagat Narain's murder. Nonetheless, staff of Narain's newspaper, the Punjab Kesri, and its distributors were targeted for some months and 62 people linked to the paper were murdered.

Death

On June 3, 1984 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi initiated Operation Blue Star and ordered the Indian Army to surround the Golden Temple complex to kill the militants in the complex. It was widely reported that Bhindranwale did not survive the operation and is thus regarded as a "martyr" by Sikhs.

According to Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Brar, who commanded the operation, the body of Bhindranwale was identified by a number of agencies, including the police, the Intelligence Bureau and Sikh fighters in the Army's custody. Bhindranwale's brother is also reported to have identified Bhindranwale's body. Pictures of what appear to be Bhindranwale's body have been published in at least two widely circulated books, Tragedy of Punjab: Operation Bluestar and After and Amritsar: Mrs Gandhi's Last Battle. BBC correspondent Mark Tully also reported seeing Bhindranwale's body during his funeral.

People who maintain that he survived the operation include Dilbir Singh, the Public Relations Advisor at Guru Nanak Dev University. He stated that Bhindranwale was injured on the right side of his temple. He stated, "a government doctor verified he was captured alive. He was tortured to death." R.K. Bajaj, a correspondent for Surya magazine, claimed to have seen a photograph of Bhindranwale in custody. This claim is strongly contested, especially by Bhindranwale's son who has now become a prominent figure within Sikh politics. Some within the Damdami Taksal claimed he is still alive. However, Jarnail Singh was pronounced a martyr by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee at a function in 2003.

Legacy

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was praised by some Sikhs as a matyr of common time, but to many other Sikhs he was considered a terrorist. Bhindranwale is hailed by some for his efforts to preach his take on the Guru Granth Sahib to the Sikh people. (Even though many were capable of reading and writing for themselves) Famed Indian novelist Khushwant Singh stated that " gave the movement for Khalistan its first martyr in Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale." In 2003, at a function arranged by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Joginder Singh Vedanti, the present jathedar of the Akal Takht made a formal declaration that Bhindranwale was a "martyr" and awarded his son, Ishar Singh, a robe of honor. Harbans Singh's The Encyclopedia of Sikhism describes Bhindranwale as "a phenomenal figure of modern Sikhism."

Vir Sanghvi, one of India's leading political commentators said, " remains a martyr in the eyes of many Sikhs. Even today, rare is the Sikh politician who will dare to call him what he was: a fanatic and a murderer." Others feel Bhidranwale wanted to rise to fame and create the theocratic nation of Khalistan. Some feel that Bhindranwale was responsible for the instigation of Operation Blue Star after he took refuge in the Akal Takht in Amritsar.

References

1. ^ Singh, Sandeep. "Saint Jarnail Singh Bhindrenwale (1947 - 1984)". Sikh-history.com. Retrieved 2007-03-18. Cite error: The named reference "SH" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. ^ Lamba, Puneet Singh (2004-06-06). "Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale: Five Myths". The Sikh Times. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
3. Joshi, Chand (1985). Bhindranwale: Myth and Reality. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House. pp. p129. ISBN 0706926943. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
4. Kaur, Naunidhi (2004-06-03). "Flashbacks: Golden Temple attack". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
5. Sandhu, Ranbir Singh (1999). Struggle for Justice: Speeches and Conversations of Bhindranwale. Dublin, Ohio: Sikh Educational & Religious Foundation. pp. p285. ISBN 0967287405. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
6. Tully, Mark (1985). Amritsar: Mrs Gandhi's Last Battle. New Delhi: Rupa & Co. pp. p113. ISBN 0224023284. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |authorlinks= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
7. Singh, Khuswant (2005). A History of the Sikhs: Volume II: 1839-2004. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. p332. ISBN 0195673093. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
8. Tully (1985), p177.
9. Lopez, Laura (1984). "India, Diamonds and the Smell of Death". Time (June 25, 1984). {{cite journal}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
10. Robin, Jeffrey (1994). What's Happening to India? (2 ed.). New York: Holmes & Meier Publishing. pp. p146-147. ISBN 0841913501. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
11. Sandhu (1999), pLVI.
12. Sandhu (1999), pLVII.
13. Sandhu, Ranbir S. (1997-05). (PDF). Sikh Educational and Religious Foundation. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
14. Cite error: The named reference IT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
15. Chowla, K.S. (2003-10-18). "Tributes to a peacemaker". The Tribune. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
16. Tully (1985), p69.
17. Brar, K. S. (1993). Operation Blue Star: The True Story. New Delhi: UBS Publishers. pp. p114. ISBN 8185944296. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
18. Akbar, M. J. (1996). India: The Siege Within: Challenges to a Nation's Unity. New Delhi: UBS Publishers. pp. p196. ISBN 8174760768. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
19. ^ Kaur, Naunidhi (2001-06-23). "The enigma of Bhindranwale". Frontline. Retrieved 2007-03-17. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
20. Pettigrew, Joyce (1995). The Sikhs of the Punjab: Unheard Voices of State and Guerrilla Violence. London: Zed Books. pp. p34-35. ISBN 1856493555. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
21. Pettigrew (1995), p51.
22. Jaijee, Inderjit Singh (1999). Politics of Genocide: Punjab (1984-1998). New Delhi: Ajanta Publications. pp. p59. ISBN 8120204158. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
23. "Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale: Unclear Legacy". The Indian Express. 2003-06-09. Retrieved 2007-03-27. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
24. ^ "Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale". Shaheedi Immorality. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
25. Singh (1999), p378.
26. "Takht accepts Bhindranwale's death". The Tribune. 2003-06-06. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
27. Singh, Harbans, ed. (1996). The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Patiala, India: Punjabi University. pp. Vol. 2, p352. ISBN 817380530X. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
28. Sandhu (1999), pXL.
29. Marty, Martin E. (1995). The Fundamentalism Project. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. p596-597. ISBN 0-226-50878-1. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)

External links

• BBC Report
• From Bhindranwale to Bin Laden: The Rise of Religious Violence
• Bhindranwale, Indira Gandhi, and the Sikh Struggles vs Indian Government. Website of the Sikh Coalition
• Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale: Five Myths
• "Oh, That Other Hindu Riot of Passage - an article by Khushwant Singh
• Knights of Falsehood - by K.P.S. Gill, former D.G.P. PunjabJarnail Singh