They Massacre Sikhs

On the 13th of April, 1978, the sacred day of Baisakhi for Hindus and Sikhs both, the day on which the Tenth Nanak, Guru Gobind Singh, finally shaped and completed the way of life for the Sikhs, in 1699, by ordaining a political nation, the apotheosis of Sikhism, the Khalsa, assigning to the Sikh people the task of inserting themselves into history to bring about social changes and cultural trends for the good and benefit of mankind, a dozen and a half men, the cream of the Sikh society, were massacred by an organised band, when these peaceful Sikhs were on their way to a pre-arranged concourse and gathering of a new permissive sect where, admittedly, grave and malicious insults were being audaciously hurled against the Sikh religion and Sikh beliefs and sentiments, to dissuade them from it.

About one million Sikh pilgrims had gathered at Amritsar on this sacred Baisakhi day, a day on which Jallianwala Bagh massacre had taken place in 1919. Now, a batch of a few dozen prominent Sikhs marched bare footed and unarmed from Ajit Nagar, where they were reciting Gurbani Kirtan, to the gathering of these traducers of Sikhism, but they were stopped at a distance of about two hundred yards away from their venue for a period that proved sufficient for a para-military platoon, armed with lethal weapons, guns, revolvers, acid filled bottles and mechanical propellants for shooting poison- tipped arrows, to emerge from the Sikh-baiters' gathering and take up positions behind a row of motor trucks already lined on one side.

The Sikh protesters had, in the meantime, been persuaded by police officers on duty into believing that steps were being taken to stop further provocations to Sikh religious sentiments. Then, the voice of the Chief of these Sikh- baiters was heard outside through the elaborate sound-system set up within their enclosure, saying: "these Sikhs think they can stop us from freely carrying out our programme. Let them know today, how mistaken they are. Time has come to be active for those, who have come here for this job". At this stage a para-military platoon briskly advanced towards the Sikh- protesters who, in the meantime, had been joined by many more men, to make a concerted attack on the Sikhs, with bullets, acid-bottles and poisoned arrows. The police on duty hurled tear-gas bombs against the unarmed Sikhs, ostensibly to disperse them, but converting them into sitting ducks for their hunters and shikaris. One of these hapless Sikhs, a highly devout, well known and well- educated person was wounded grievously though not fatally, with multiple bullet wounds when an attacker shot at him at close range to finish the job. Before this coup- de-grace, however, the Sikh was informed by his killer that, "you are a really troublesome person." Thus died Fauja Singh