Among them was Giani Partap Singh, a former Jathedar of the Akal Takht and at that time over years of age, a highly respected spiritual guide for the Sikhs. He openly criticised Bhindranwale for occupying the Akal Takht and stocking weapons inside the Sikh holy shrine.
But, he was shot and killed in cold blood at his home at Tahli Chowk. Very quickly, all other voices fell silent. But Bhindranwale didn't just occupy the Akal Takht; he turned it into a charnel house of torture and butchery. In one highly publicised case, when one of Bhindranwale's favoured hitmen, Surinder Singh Sodhi was killed in a fracas with some of the other criminals in his entourage, brutal retaliation followed.
One of the conspirators, Malik Singh Bhatia, was summoned to the Akal Takht, and after a charade of 'forgiveness', was first hacked with swords and, grievously wounded, when he tried to flee, shot down on the Parikrama.
Baljit Kaur, a woman conspirator, was tortured, her breasts hacked off, and then killed within the Akal Takht itself. Her body with the mutilated corpse of third accomplice, Surinder Singh Chinda, was recovered in gunny bags from the Grand Trunk Road the next day. A tea vendor outside the temple was shot dead.
Bhindranwale had notices posted on the walls of the Temple boasting, "Within twenty-four hours, we have eliminated the killers and two of their accomplices. Tortured, mutilated, and hacked to pieces, bodies stuffed into gunny bags appeared in the gutters and sewers around the temple with a sickening frequency.
It is not possible, here, to list the unending chain of crimes committed by Bhindranwale and his armed cohorts. Suffice it to say; between and , more than civilians had been killed, overwhelmingly by Bhindranwale's gangs.
Between January and June 3, , another persons were murdered across Punjab by the terrorists. Tensions erupted in Jammu on Thursday when a Sikh youth was killed and some others injured as police and youths clashed over the removal of a poster of Sikh extremist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Who was Bhindranwale? Bhindranwale was a leader of the Damdami Taksal, a Sikh religious authority and a political revolutionary in the early to mid s.
Why is Bhindranwale so controversial? Bhindranwale pioneered the demand for the independent Sikh nation of Khalistan. Though Bhindranwale himself never claimed he supported such a state, he made several statements which implied his support. What is the Khalistan movement? The Khalistan movement was a religious-political movement within Sikh groups for the creation of a separate state of Khalistan. From the late s, it assumed a militant face.
The Akali Dal indirectly supported the movement and created a charter of demands. Though the resolution did not explicitly call for a separate country, it envisioned transfer of territory to the Punjab as well as considerable devolution of powers of the Centre on the states. But it was one Jagjit Singh Chauhan who first supported the idea of an independent Sikh country.
How was Bhindranwale connected to this? Chauhan was said to be in constant touch with Bhindranwale, and the former held some radical ideas of a separate Sikh state. Chauhan declared himself president of the "Republic of Khalistan", named a Cabinet, and issued Khalistan "passports", "postage stamps" and "Khalistan dollars". How did Bhindranwale become politically influential? Bhindranwale was initially supported by the Congress during the late s.
The association of Bhindranwale with the Congress increased his influence and stature in politics. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale: Sant or terrorist? Two ubiquitous photographs seen across Punjab are those of Bhindranwale and Bhagat Singh. Opinions remain divided between Sikhs and Hindus in Punjab, but both sides have learnt to stay together with this contradiction and SAD and BJP even had a highly successful tie-up that lasted over 23 years.
All is not in black and white, if some Sikhs remain critical of Bhindranwale, some Hindus too want a nuanced understanding. After getting the replies in negative, he made it a point to highlight it in the media and described him as a martyr.
In the same interview, Kahlon also defended the three farm laws and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that he was sincere towards the Sikhs. His simple and crude message, however absurd, that Hindus want Sikhs as second class citizens, has registered with even articulate Sikhs.
What I saw and what I knew personally and very clearly was that he was speaking out against narcotics and on other social issues in Punjab.
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