New Delhi: Controversy reigned on the 38th anniversary of Operation Blue Star as members of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) raised pro-Khalistan slogans near the Golden Temple on Monday while the Akal Takht jathedar called for Sikh youngsters to be trained in using traditional and modern arms.
According to news agency PTI, several people present at the Golden Temple in Amritsar held banners and placards with ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ written on them and wore T-shirts with pictures of the slain separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale printed on them.
Pro-Khalistan slogans were also raised by activists of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) outfit led by former MP Simranjit Singh Mann, who was also present at the spot.
Operation Blue Star was a military operation in which the Golden Temple was stormed by security forces to take on separatist militants. The temple was severely damaged during the operation.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex religious body of the Sikhs, displayed the bullet-ridden holy ‘Saroop’ (volume) of the Guru Granth Sahib. The ‘Saroop’, which was installed in the sanctum sanctorum at that time, was hit by bullets during the military action in 1984.
Elaborate security arrangements were put in place in Amritsar to ensure that the event passed off smoothly.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and others mark the 38th anniversary of Operation Blue Star in Amritsar, June 6, 2022. Photo: PTI
PTI also reported that Giani Harpreet Singh, the Akal Takht jathedar, expressed “concern over the spread of Christianity” in Punjab the presence of “churches and mosques” in rural parts of the state. The Akal Takht is the highest Sikh temporal seat.
Delivering his customary address to the Sikh community from the Akal Takht’s podium to mark the anniversary of Operation Blue Star, Singh also said that the Sikh community should make arrangements for the training of Sikh youth in martial arts and using weapons.
“Today, we are confronting several challenges that are weakening us on the religious, social and economic fronts. To weaken us on the religious front, strong publicity of Christianity is being carried on in Punjab,” he said.
The Jathedar of the Akal Takht said “churches and mosques” are being built in numbers in Punjab’s villages and noted “it’s a matter of concern and worry for us”.
This should be tackled by the Sikh institutions and jathebandis (organisations) by coming forward to preach the Sikh faith, like the old Sikhs and saints did, he said.
He appealed to all the eminent associated with the Sikh religion to visit villages, especially the border villages, of the state and strengthen the Sikh religion.
The Jathedar pointed out that the time has come to step out of air-conditioned rooms and said Sikh preachers and scholars need to visit the border areas to promote Sikhism and apprise the youth about the rich Sikh tenets and history.
“We need to understand that if we are weak on the religious front, we will not be strong on economic and social fronts and then politically also, we will be weakened,” he said.
The jathedar said that the Sikhs have been blessed with the determination of Raj (sovereignty) from the time of Gurus (masters), which Sikhs still reiterate in their daily ardas’ as ‘Raj Karega Khalsa’.
“And to move in this direction, the Sikh youth will have to move forward in the world by getting high quality education. At the same time, it is imperative for the Sikh community to be proficient in the Sikh martial art received as inheritance,” he said.
He said the Sikh community should make arrangements for the training of youth in Sikh martial art (Gatka) and other heritage weapons and also set up the shooting ranges for training of modern weapons as required. The Jathedar also expressed concern over drug menace afflicting many youths and talked about the need to fight the scourge.
Saying that the “ghallughara (massacre) of June 1984″ is a painful saga of atrocities perpetrated on the Sikh community, the Jathedar questioned the heavy deployment of forces by the government in Amritsar city during that time.
On the occasion, the family members of several former terrorists were honoured with ‘Siropaos’ (robes of honour) by Head Granthi Giani Jagtar Singh, Giani Harpreet Singh and SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami.