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Jyoti basu is dead

Dr.B.R.Ambedkar

Monday, October 12, 2009

Signs Of EVIL

Signs Of EVIL

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time- One Hundred Fifty Six

Palash Biswas



“ I had no intention of imitating or being disrespectful to Guru Gobind Singh. I had absolutely no intention of equating myself with Guru Gobind Singh. This is a misunderstanding that is causing a lot of needless harm and it should be cleared ”

- Dera leader Baba Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim

Welcome this gesture to hope Calm at least! But we must be aware of the dangers ahead! We have to analyse Cause and Effect.Analysts say the alleged action by the DSS has to be seen in the context of state elections held in Punjab in February. The DSS issued a public appeal for people to vote for the Congress party. Most Sikhs in Punjab support the rival Akali Dal party.
According to Punjabi journalist, Jagtar Singh, religious sects have traditionally been very subtle about their support for political parties. They have usually issued internal appeals asking their followers to vote for the political party of their choice. Sikh leaders, angry at the direct intervention by the DSS in the elections, seized the opportunity to whip up popular sentiments of their community against the DSS. Observers say the latest conflict threatens to lead to a polarisation of the communities.

The Nation India is Burning! Surfaced the Evil Forces! Shining India, Sensex India and brand India seem to be quite detached as everything is arranged systemetaically in accordance with the Global Order!Clashes between India's long-established Sikh community and a religious sect in the northern Indian state of Punjab have left one person dead and dozens others injured.

Dera Row is reminiscent of eigties while Sikh Panth is at the stake for political gains with very dangerous implications. It reminds me Operation Blue star, Murder of Mrs Indira Gandhi,countrywide anti Sikh riots and the fallout express in Terrorism! The Indian Nation and , as well as, Sikh Panth have overcome the crisis. My memories of eighties haunt me with Punjab alert. I don`t know what my countrymen feel at this point. We are siezed! We succumb! We resist! We are evicted! We are displaced! We lose lives and livelihood. In these circumstance this row must be settled at once!

Emergency was the cause of Indira`s deafet in mid term Elections in March, 1977. But she lost her life for Operation Blue star while she was in full bloom once again regaing State Power just becuase she could not handle Punjab affairs with a Sikh Rashtrapati, Zail Singh in Raiseena Hills! Zail Singh also died in a mysterious Road accidents later.

After a five-day standoff between Sikhs and Dera Sacha Sauda followers in Punjab Dera leader Baba Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim has apologised to the Sikh community for hurting their sentiments.Earlier, the Akal Takth had said there would be no question of accepting an apology from Dera Sacha Sauda. In Sirsa, Haryana, where the Dera is headquartered, about 30,000 men and women gathered to protest the attacks on them by the Sikhs.Meanwhile in Sangrur on Friday thousands gathered to cremate a Sikh protester who was killed in clashes with police and Dera followers in Sonam on Thursday night. Sikhs in Sonam burned two homes of Dera followers in retaliation on Friday.

But now, with the Dera leader apologising, there is hope that tempers in Punjab will finally simmer down.In a tape released by the Dera Sacha Sauda, Baba Gurmeet said he did not intend to show disrespect to Guru Gobind Singh.

''I had no intention of imitating or being disrespectful to Guru Gobind Singh. I had absolutely no intention of equating myself with Guru Gobind Singh. This is a misunderstanding that is causing a lot of needless harm and it should be cleared,'' he said.

There were violent clashes between Sikhs and Dera Sacha Sauda followers after a picture of Dera Sacha Sauda leader Baba Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim showing him dressed in the attire of Guru Gobind Singh and baptising people appeared in most newspapers on Sunday.

There's been tension between the Akal Takth and the Dera Sacha Sauda ever since Dera leaders threw their weight behind the Congress in the recent assembly elections, accusing the Akalis of victimising their leaders.

Thousands of Dera followers and Sikhs faced off over the week with clashes in many place. The situation turned increasingly political with the BJP, the coalition partner in Punjab, criticising the Akalis' handling of the situation.

Operation Blue Star (June 3 to June 6, 1984) was an Indian military operation at the Harimandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab, the holiest temple of the Sikhs.

We went inside with humility in our hearts and prayers on our lips." General K. Sundarji said.

For official stance, Operation Blue star was a must as by mid May 1984 Punjab had been gripped by terror for nearly three years. The Pakistan-backed terrorist movement had acquired monstrous proportions. Not a day went by without massacres of Hindus, Sikhs, migrant workers and those who opposed the terrorists diktats. From Golden Temple, the most sacred symbol of Sikhism and seat of its religious power, hit lists were drawn up and death squads were dispatched under the guidance of the malevolent figure Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

The chanting of the gurbani was now drowned by the staccato bursts of gunfire. Prominent Sikh figures were assassinated near the Golden Temple when they went to pray there. Pushed to the wall, the Indian Government under Mrs. Indira Gandhi, gave the signal for the most complex and largest anti-terrorist action in the world.

Four months and three weeks later, Indira Gandhi paid the ultimate price for ordering Operation Bluestar on 31st October,1984. During this period I had been in Meerut as a professional journalist. Riot torn Meerut city was spared by anti sikh elements at the time just after Indira`s assasination. But rest of the country was burning!

Emergency was a mistake committed by Mrs Gandhi, but she was resposible for the blunder to understand Sikh Panth! Perhaps it was because of her so called soft hindutva line for which RSS supported Rajiv Gandhi in 1984 Elections unconditionally. RSS was advocating Hindu interests at the time! RSS is doing the same after UP election results! Is it only a coincidence?

Would Dr Manmohan singh will be able to understand the sikh sentiments as he himself belongs to Sikh Panth. I do not hope so from a slave of world bank who is out to deculturalise India with his great team of Comoraders! He is too busy in SEZ, World Bank, WTO, IMF, MNC affairs as Four world trade powers said on Friday they had held "productive" talks on how to reach a long-delayed global free trade deal and Brazil said a breakthrough could come next month when they meet again.After a two-day meeting, ministers from the United States, the European Union, India and Brazil said in a brief statement they were still hopeful of wrapping up the World Trade Organization's Doha round of negotiations by the end of 2007.

What about Punjab and Indian nation itself? Just Remeber those days of Blue star!

Pl see the references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Blue_Star
http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/events/attack841.html
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1970s/Bluestar.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/operation-blue-star
http://www.answers.com/topic/operation-blue-star
http://www.sikh.com.au/blue/
http://www.sikhreview.org/june2000/chronicle.htm
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1133674.cms
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/history/operationbluestar.shtml
http://www.sikhs.org/1984.htm
http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/06/stories/2007050604570900.htm
http://www.sikhtimes.com/news_060204a.html
http://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2004/06/operation-bluestar-20-years-later.html
http://dmoz.org/Regional/Asia/India/Punjab/Society_and_Culture/History/Operation_Blue_Star/

Meanwhile, Security personnel push back a crowd gathered near the site of an explosion at a crowded marketplace in Gauhati, India, Friday, May 18, 2007. At least five people were injured in a powerful explosion triggered by the rebel United Liberation Front of Asom near the Gauhati Central Jail in the busy Fancy Bazaar area of the city, according to a news agency.

On the other hand,a suspected terror attack at the historic Mecca mosque here today claimed 12 lives and injured 50 after a powerful remote-controlled bomb ripped through a gathering of thousands offering Friday prayers.Minutes after the blast, Muslims angered by what they said was a lack of police protection began chanting slogans _ a situation that quickly devolved into mobs throwing stones at police, who responded with baton charges and tear gas.The bombing and ensuing clash between worshippers and police raised fears of wider Hindu-Muslim violence in the city, which has long been plagued by communal tensions and occasional spasms of religious bloodletting.Many of those injured in the explosion at the 17th-century Mecca Masjid were severely wounded, and the city's police chief, Balwinder Singh, warned the death toll could rise.

About 10,000 people usually attend Friday prayers at the mosque, which is located in a Muslim neighborhood of Hyderabad, and the blast sparked a panic.

Zionist Hinduism lost its face in UP elections facing Mayawati`s caseology. RSS advocates hardline Hindutva! Sikhs and Muslims feel the heat and dust of political flare ups!
These are the Signs Of EVIL, friesnds!

Well! The BJP said that it was unhappy with the Akali Dal's handling of the situation in the state, which has been hit by violence owing to clashes between Sikhs and supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda.The group at the centre of the controversy is the Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS), one of many religious sects operating in northern India.

BBC reports,`These sects usually take root by offering community services and social welfare as well as spiritual leadership. Over time, as their followings grow, they often start clamouring for political influence. In religious terms, the DSS is hard to classify. And many experts argue that it is not, as some have said, an offshoot of Sikhism.

"Dera Sacha Sauda combines the core of different religions," Pramod Kumar, director of the Institute of Development and Communication in Chandigarh, told the BBC.

Its followers are drawn mainly from low caste Hindus. But they also include Sikhs, Muslims and Christians. The group has a strong presence in southern Punjab and its influence spreads across some 12,000 villages of Punjab as well as the states of Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.’


My father Pulin Kumar Biswas has been a close friend of Congress Leader ND Tiwari. Being a Brhmin leader, he supported the Bengali Dalit refugees always. As we were driven out of Bengal by Ruling Brahminical system in Bengal, in a different geopolitics we learnt to live our life in a different way.

While Mrs Gandhi was murdered, my father was staying with Mr ND Tiwari, who was the Finnance minister in Indira cabinet. Father rushed to the Hospitol and saw with cold horror MRS Gandhi bleeding! He had his meetings with the great leader. It was a shock for him. He witnessed the angry mobs involved in anti Sikh Riots. It was Tiwari who ejected him out of the hospitol. my father never forgot those horrible scenes lifelong. Specially as we live in Uttaranchal Terai with sikhs side by side, wholike us also happens to be partition victims! My most of the schooldays friends were either Sikhs or Kumauni! We felt very badly the wounds. my father who was also a leader of 1958 Dhimri Block Peasants` Uprising in the line of Telengana, worked with Terai sikhs lifelong!

My Father is dead. He died in 2001. Had he been alive,I am afraid he would have been horrified once again! ND tiwari is alive and sidelined out of mainstream politics. I would have liked ND Tiwari or Jyoti Basu in Raiseena Hills despite my stiff difference of opinions with both the old men. But I realise, both of ther are well committed and are not comradors. Both of them worked with Mrs Gandhi and knew where Mrs Gandhi was at fault, speicially regarding Punjab!

We should hope that Manmohan singh won`t repeat those blunders which led the nation to Operation Blustar and the mandatory Fallout! This week's violence has raised the spectre of the violence between Sikhs and followers of the Nirankari sect in 1978 that left many dead. The Nirankaris were then accused of polluting doctrinal purity and cultural traditions of Sikhs. The violence led to a divide between the Hindu and Sikh communities. It was a factor in the growing sense of Sikh identity and also Sikh militancy that led to an insurgency that took thousands of lives in the Indian Punjab.

"Though the latest incident is similar to the event in 1978 there is no parallel as that led to the movement for religious identity," Dr Kumar says. "If the state government manages the post-conflict situation slightly more intelligently, normality could return to the state in the next few days."

But sentiments are running high. Analysts say the Punjab government, headed by the Akali Dal, seems to be in no mood for reconciliation with the DSS.

The federal authorities have said they are taking no chances to prevent further trouble, hence the decision to deploy heavy security reinforcements in the region.


Against the backdrop of sectarian strife between followers of Dera Sacha Sauda and Sikhs, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday advised Punjab government to maintain utmost vigil to ensure law and order and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal described the newspaper advertisement in which the Dera chief purportedly wore the attire of Sikh Guru Gobind Singh as a "big provocation" and said the denigration of Sikh gurus by anybody was not acceptable to the people. He also said the Dera chief was the "real culprit" in the matter.


Controversial leader


The name of the DSS chief- Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh - pays tribute to revered Hindu and Muslim figures. This perhaps bears testimony to what the sect stands for.


Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been a controversial figure and faces rape and murder charges. A report by the federal investigative agency, the CBI, into the charges against him is due to be filed later this month. This latest tension between Sikh leaders and the DSS began when pictures of Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh baptising his disciples appeared in newspapers.

Sikh leaders say he was dressed up as one of their revered 17th century gurus, Gobind Singh. This, they say, was an insult to their community.

The DSS leader has denied he was trying to emulate the Sikh guru and has refused to apologise for his actions, as demanded by the Sikh clergy.

"It took an ugly turn because the DSS leader touched a core of Sikhism by appropriating their symbols," says Dr Kumar.








Mosque Bombing


While Hindu extremists in the area could easily be blamed for the attack, the bombing could well be the work of Kashmiri Islamist groups expanding their presence in southern India.

The idea of Muslims attacking fellow Muslims to incite riots is anomalous in India, though not completely unprecedented. In September 2006, a series of coordinated explosions killed 37 people and injured more than 125 in a Muslim cemetery next to a mosque in the northern town of Malegaon (about 180 miles northeast of Mumbai) in the state of Maharashtra. Most of those killed were Muslim pilgrims who were attending Friday prayers on the Shab-e-Baraat holy day. After a series of arrests and investigations, Maharashtra police reported that the attack was the work of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). India's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) then reported in November 2006 that the main perpetrator of the attack, whose nom de guerre is Shabbir Batterywala, is a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who was working with SIMI member Raees Ahmad. Another member of SIMI, Noor-ul-Huda, reportedly admitted after his arrest that he organized the attack.

These militant Islamist groups have traditionally focused on Hindu targets to provoke extremist Hindu groups into retaliating against Muslims across India, along the lines of what happened in 1993 in Mumbai and 2002 in Gujarat when Hindu mobs went on violent rampages against Muslims, resulting in some of the deadliest communal riots in India's history. However, Indians have largely become inured to these militant attacks and have failed to provide the wide-scale, violent response the Islamist groups hope for.

The lack of a Hindu response could have led to a shift in thinking among the Kashmiri Islamist groups operating in India, who might have decided to risk alienating local support by staging attacks against Muslims in hopes of reigniting Hindu-Muslim tensions in locations that have a history of deadly communal violence. (It is important to note that these groups are rooted in Wahhabi doctrine, which justifies attacking mainstream Barelvi and secular Muslims.)

This strategy carries its fair share of flaws, however, as India's Muslim community is largely moderate and generally feels integrated within the Indian republic. Without much of a radical streak to draw from within India's Muslim population, the Kashmiri Islamist groups are likely to face a major popular backlash.

Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state, where Hyderabad is located, appealed for calm between Hindus and Muslims.Reddy called the bombing, which killed at least five people and wounded 25, an act of "intentional sabotage on the peace and tranquility in the country."
He told reporters in New Delhi, where he was meeting with federal officials on unrelated business, that one bomb went off around 1:30 p.m. and that police found and defused two other bombs soon after.

"As soon as prayers ended, we were about to get up, there was a huge deafening blast sending bodies into the air," said Abdul Quader, a 30-year-old who sustained light injuries to his legs. "People stated running helter-skelter, there was such confusion. People were bleeding, running around in a very bad condition."

There was chaos outside the mosque following the attack. Throngs of people gathered in the streets, some chanting angry slogans and throwing rocks at police, who fired tear gas and tried to disperse the crowd with batons so ambulances could ferry the wounded to hospitals.

The explosion immediately drew comparisons to a Sept. 31 bombing of a mosque during a Muslim festival in Maleagaon, a city in western India.

That attack killed 31 people and was seen as an attempt it inflame tensions between India's Hindu majority and Muslim minority. There are an estimated 130 million Muslims in India, a country of 1.1 billion people.

India's worst religious violence in recent years was in 2002, in the western Gujarat state. More than 1,000 people, most of them Muslim, were killed by Hindu mobs in revenge attacks after a train fire killed 60 Hindus returning from a religious pilgrimage. Muslims were blamed for the train fire.

A series of terrorist bombings have hit India in the past year, including the July bombings of seven Mumbai commuter trains that killed more than 200 people. Most of the bombings have been blamed on Muslim militants based in neighboring Pakistan, India's longtime rival.

Operation Blue Star:( ????? ???? , ?????? ????? )(June 3 to June 6, 1984) was an Indian military operation at the Harimandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab, the holiest temple of the Sikhs to flush out Sikh separatists who were entrenched in the temple complex[1]. The operation resulted in the death of Bhindranwale and most of his followers but also resulted in heavy damage to the temple.




[edit] Occupation of Harmandir Sahib
A crackdown on suspected separatist Sikh militants in early 1984 led militant Sikhs under the leadership of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to fortify the Harmandir Sahib[2]. Operation Blue Star was the Indian government's response to the temple’s fortification. The attack resulted in many casualties both military and civilian. The operation also resulted in the death of Bhindranwale and most of his followers. The temple and surrounding buildings were heavily damaged in the operation.


[edit] The operation
On June 3, a 36 hour curfew was imposed on the state of Punjab. The period coincided with the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev, a major religious holiday in Sikh calendar. When the curfew was imposed, thousands of pilgrims and worshippers were trapped in the Golden Temple complex.


[edit] Overview

Indian Army taking position outside the temple complexThe Sikh separatists within the Harmandir Sahib were led by former Major General Shabeg Singh (who resigned from the Indian Army in 1976). Gen. Brar and Lt. Gen. (later General) Sundarji leading the Indian Army to the operation believed there was no way to avoid a violent resolution. This plan has been severely criticised by many professionals.

The operation was undertaken in the cover of the night, and due to the immense firepower and sophisticated weaponry in the possession of the Indian Army, the operation was expected to be a swift one. The separatists suffered heavy casualties.


[edit] 20 hrs - 22 hrs
The first task was the destruction of Shabeg Singh's outer defenses. Much of this had been completed in the preliminary firing. Major-General Brar had hoped to frighten Bhindrenwale into surrendering, which did not happen. These defences included the seventeen houses which the police had found Bhindanwale's followers to occupy in the alleys surrounding the Golden Temple. These outposts were all in wireless contact with Shahbeg Singh's command post in the Akal Takht. Next to it was Brahmbuta Akhara, a large building housing the headquarters of a Sikh sect. Then there were three main towers which had been fortified to make positions from which Bhindranwale's men could fire into the Golden Temple complex. Because they rose well above the surrounding buildings, the towers were excellent observation posts for tracking the movement of Indian troops in the narrow alleys surrounding the Temple. The tops of these towers were blasted off in the preliminary artillery fire.


[edit] 22 hrs - 2330 hrs
It was between 10:00 and 10:30 PM on June 5 that commandos from 1st Battalion, the parachute regiment were ordered to run down the steps under the clock tower on to the parikarma, or pavement, turn right and move as quickly as they could, round the edge of the sacred tank to the Akal Takht. But as the paratroopers entered the main gateway to the Temple they were gunned down by militants with light machine-guns who were hiding on either side of the steps leading down to the parikarma. The few commandos who did get down the steps were driven back by a barrage of fire from the building on the south side of the sacred pool. In the control room, in a house on the opposite side of the clock-tower, Major-general Brar was waiting with his two supporting officers to hear that the commandos had established positions inside the complex[3].

The few commandos who survived regrouped in the square outside the Temple, and reported back to Major-General Brar. He reinforced them and ordered them to make another attempt to go in. The commandos were to be followed by the 10th Battalion of the Guards commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Israr Khan. The second commando attack managed to neutralise the machine-gun posts on either side of the steps and get down on to the parikarma. They were followed by the Guards who came under withering fire and were not able to make any progress, radioed for permission to fire back at the buildings on the other side of the tank. That would have meant that the Golden Temple itself, which is in the middle of the tank, would have been in the line of fire. Brar initially refused, but then started to get messages from the commander of Guards reporting heavy casualties.[4]


[edit] 2330 hrs - 01 hrs
Brar again requested tanks and was this time granted his request. According to eyewitness accounts, as many as 13 stephine tanks were brought into the parikarma and lined up on the eastern side. Marble flooring of eastern parikarma was destroyed[citation needed]. However Gen. Brar never ordered the destruction of Akal Takht. A total of 90 shells were fired and the Bhindrawale was brought down by the Indian army. Later the Holy Temple was found to have more than 300 bullet holes.


[edit] Aftermath

Bullet and shell riddled Akal Takht building after Operation Blue StarAs per the affidavit filed by retired Brigadier D.V. Rao in court of Harjit Singh Khalsa, judicial magistrate first class, Amritsar, on March 19, 2007, the Indian Army suffered 83 deaths, which included four officers, four Junior Commissioned Officers and 75 other ranks. As per the affidavit , 13 Indian Army officers, 16 JCOs and 220 other ranks were injured in the operation. Indian army recorded 492 civilian deaths inside Golden Temple while 433 persons were segregated as separatists amongst 1592 persons apprehended [5]. During June of 1984, brigadier D.V. Rao served as Commander of 350 Infantry Brigade based in Jalandhar, which formed part of Ninth Infantry Division of Indian Army. The Operation led to an estrangement between the Indian Central government and large portions of the Sikh community. Indira Gandhi was later assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. The assassination triggered Anti-Sikh riots in North India. The anti sikh riots led to the killing of over 3000 sikhs in major cities. General A S Vaidya the Chief Of Army Staff at the time of Blue Star operation was also assassinated in 1986 in Pune.


[edit] Criticism of the Operation
Operation Blue Star is regarded by some military observers in India and the international community as a major military embarrassment often compared with the botched up Beslan hostage crisis. It was criticized as the most poorly conducted and managed military operation in the history of the Indian Army due to the large number of military and civilian casualties. Moreover, the success in emptying and depoliticising the temple was marred by the damage to the temple building and the death of civilian worshipers caught in the crossfire.[6] The use of artillery in the congested inner city of Amritsar proved deadly for many people living in proximity of Golden Temple. Moreover a media blackout placed in Punjab during the time of the operation resulted in widespread doubt of official stories and the promotion of hearsay.[7]

The BJP, the current opposition party was one of the strongest political critics of the Operation. They and their parent organisation, the RSS were praised by the Sikhs, notably writer Khushwant Singh for their opposition of the operation. [8].

However the army responds to such criticisms pointing out that the militants in the temple were armed with machine guns, anti tank missiles and rocket launchers and resisted the army's attempts to dislodge them from the shrine. The militants also appeared to have planned for a long occupation of the shrine having arranged for water from wells within the temple compound, and had stocked food provisions that would have lasted months. Thus it is a difficult point as to whether the Army could have waited out the militants, cut off electricity, water etc in order to ensure a peaceful non-violent end without the loss of life and damaging the temple. The wearing out approach taken by Rajiv Gandhi five years later, in Operation Black Thunder when a handful of Sikh extremists had again taken over the temple complex, was highly successful when the standoff was peacefully solved.


[edit] References
^ http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1970s/Bluestar.html
^ http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/punjab.htm Sikhs in Punjab
^ http://www.sikh.com.au/blue/ Indian Army Viewpoint
^ This is only claimed by the Indian Government and is not supported by any witness.
^ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070320/punjab1.htm
^ http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/india/india1984a.htm OnWar Repository of Conflicts
^ Anniversary Issue, India Today, Dec 26, 2005,p 136.
^ K. Singh: “Congress (I) is the Most Communal Party”, Publik Asia, 16-11-1989.

[edit] External sources
Rediff: Operation Blustar 20 years on
BBC Reports and timeline
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Blue_Star"
Operation Blue Star - Background
On 13th April 1977, head of Naqli Nirankaris named Gurbachan led a procession in Amritsar. Earlier he had declared that "If Guru Gobind Singh can make five beloved one's., he will make seven stars" . Naqli Nirankaris are strongly associated with Arya Samajis and other such organization which came out of need to reform Hinduism, from its age old superstitions and rituals., but these movements instead of targeting common Hindu individuals spearheaded their movement against Sikhism. Arya Samajis and Naqli Nirankaris wanted Sikhs to start shaving and to drop their individuality and assimilate into Hinduism (or their form of Hinduism with rituals like "Havan"). So on this occasion of Vasakhi, Gurbachan Nirankari led a procession in Amritsar. Bhindrenwale at this time was a small time preacher, who would visit villages and preach to youngsters to adopt Sikh practices. Akhand Kirtani Jatha with its leaders set out from Akal Takht to stop Gurbachan Nirankari for his act of "Creating five stars". Gurbachan and his armed accomplice fired at these Akalis and one by 13 Akalis were killed.

After this incident, Bhindrenwale's reputation as a fierce emerging Sikh leader rose tremendously in Sikh political circles. From 1977 until 1983, Bhindrenwale led his agitation against Arya Samajis and other fanatic Hindu organizations who were working against Sikh and ncept of Punjabiat as well as many Sikhs who opposed him for his fanatical views. Many of his followers were young rural Sikhs, who had been disappointed with state and central government due to unemployment, poverty and other problems. After 3-4 years of trial, Gurbachan of Nirankari sect was acquitted by Indian court, even though more then 10 person testified against him in court, it was clearly evident that there were political heavy weights behind him as well as behind Bhindrenwale.

Till 1983 about 500-1000 persons were killed all over Punjab by armed brigades of young motor cycle driving terrorists who would suddenly appear and with one burst of machine gun kill 10-15 people. Prominent Arya samaji leaders and news paper publishers of Hind Samachar group like Lala Jagat Narain was killed by unidentified persons and Government of India implicated Bhindrenwale and arrested him at Chowk Mehta in 1982, but he was released in two days. Then, in later half of 1982 he moved to Golden temple complex where he setup his headquarters in Guru Ram Das Sarai. In 1984 he moved to Akal Takht. Indira Gandhi and government of India declared president rule in Punjab and deployed 4 division of Army through out Punjab, in a desperate attempt to flush out Bhindrenwale and his accomplice from Golden Temple complex. Then it all started, I quote from much accomplished book called "Amritsar Mrs. Gandhi's Last battle", by Mark Tully and Satish Jacob "At Seven o'Clock on the evening of 5th June, tanks of the 16th Cavalry Regiment of the Indian army started moving up to the Golden Temple complex. They passed Jalianwala Bagh, the enclosed garden where General Dyer massacred nearly 400 people. That massacre dealt a mortal blow to Britain's hopes of continuing to rule India and was one of the most inspirations of the freedom movement. When Mrs. Gandhi was told that Operation Blue Star had started,she must have wondered whether it would provide the decisive inspiration for the Sikh independence movement, a movement whch at that time had very little support outside Bhindrenwale's entourage and small groups of Sikhs living in Britain, Canada and the United States. Major-General Brar was leading a mixed bag of troops, representative of the widespread recruiting pattern of the modern Indian army, which has broken with British tradition of limiting recruitment to certain 'martial castes'. There were Dogras and Kumaonis from the foothills of the Himalayas, India's northern border. There were Rajputs, the desert warriors from Rajasthan. There were Madrasis from Tamil Nadu, one of the most southern states. There were Biharis from the tribes of central India, and there were some Sikhs. Major Brar had joined Maratha Light infantry 30 years ago in 1954 as a lieutenant.

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