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Inni Kaur
IThey say do not write..
They say do not speak..
They say forget about it..
If I agree — then
In my silence lies my guilt.
As long there is breath
As long as there is strength
I will write; I will speak
For I remember .......
I Remember....
The year is 1739
Hindustan is in terror
The cruelty of the Mughals
Is felt everywhere.
Nadir Shah is in Delhi
Looting the treasures.
Carting 2200 Hindu women
For his private harem.
The news spreads like wild fire
Across this great land
Helplessness and confusion
Reign supreme.
Sardar Jassa Singh
Commander of the Sikh army
Hears of this atrocity
Vows to take a stand.
The Sikhs are a minority
The Mughals have the upper hand
Despite this disparity
A midnight attack is planned.
The Mughal camp is asleep
The Sikhs wait in silence
At the stroke of midnight
They begin the attack.
Talwars are in the air
The Mughals are caught off-guard
The women are freed
And safely brought back.
In Hindu households
A sign of relief is heard
As the women rush back
To the arms of their loved ones.
There are Sikh casualties
But there are no tears;
To uphold a woman’s honor
Is the Sikh dharam.
From that day on
A pattern emerged;
The Sikhs struck at midnight
To free the captured women.
Every night, the women prayed
For the safety of the Sikhs
Mothers told their daughters
Trust only a Sikh.
Hindu mothers with love
Made their first-born sons Sikhs;
A sacred trust existed
Between a Hindu and a Sikh.
Through the centuries
This trust and love continued
Until the forces of evil
Raised their ugly head.
The year is 1984
The unthinkable happened
Our Hindu brothers
Turned on us.
Sikh women were raped
Their fathers, husbands
Sons and brothers
Butchered in-front of their eyes.
The country is in shell-shock
At the brutality of this massacre;
Yet no voice rose
To speak against this massacre.
I ask my Hindu sisters
Where were you?
Did your hearts not bleed?
At the rape of your sisters.
Twenty years have gone by
But the pain has not diminished
There are no answers
To what happened in 1984.
To my Hindu sisters
I have one request.
Tell your sons, husbands and brothers
The sacrifices of the Sikhs.
To my Sikh veer
I need not remind you
You are bound by your Guru
To protect the weak.
No Sikh hand will rise
Against any women;
Be she a Hindu or a Muslim
She has the protection of a Sikh.
My Ardaas:
Let the winds be gentle
Let there be peace on this land
Let this shattered trust
Be given a chance to grow.
But ask me not to forget
For I remember....
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