Should ‘Sikhs Want Justice’ for 1984?

Guru Piarey Jio,

Across the world next month, a lot of Sikhs will be getting together and marching, shouting slogans, making speeches and holding up Placards saying “Sikhs want Justice”, “India stop killing Sikhs” and “Freedom is our Birthright”.

Conversely, many young, educated, practising Sikhs born and brought up in the West who are leading lights in their communities will be shunning these same demonstrations and marches and will state “I don’t do rallies”.  What’s going wrong here?

This maxim applies here “If what you are doing is not working, Change what you’re doing”. Can we be honest about these rallies. They are not working. Don’t get us wrong, it’s a great day out, lovely to see all the sangat together, united in their pain. But let’s face it:

(1)    We are not achieving Justice.

(2)    We are not getting Freedom.

(3)    We’re not even spreading awareness.  Most of the people are Sikh Punjabis who already know what the march is about. The speeches are in Punjabi and even if we told a few hundred people, we would have been better off buying a double page spread in a national newspaper stating the facts of 1984.

(4)    In spite of knowing the above facts, we keep on spending time and money on doing these marches. We have no definition of what would be success.

(5)    The problem facing us is so big, we either run away from it, or stick to what is easy, i.e., demos. There are no large scale debates about what would be better. Becuase there is no definition of success to be achieved by a rally for 1984, then we cannot have an action plan that actually achieves that.

If we can just address the main point here, its that we are not thinking or approaching this in the right way. Let’s address the approach and then lets come up with a few better ideas.

Firstly, ‘Sikhs’ should never ‘Want’ Justice.  Can you just imagine Dhan Guru Gobind Singh ji, on his blue horse, with his plumed turban, weapons overflowing, saying that he ‘wants’ justice? No, we cannot. Justice is something that Guru ji would ‘Deliver’. To want is to be left wanting. Applying the principle of “Vand ke Shako” to Justice would be to give everyone else Justice and get it for yourself.  For the Khalsa to be walking around like beggars asking for justice is a shame, shame upon us that we think this is what the Guru’s own body should be doing. The Khalsa for which Sarbans Daani (the 10^th Master) sacrificed his mother, father and all four beautiful sons and he did so with a smile,  what is that Khalsa doing now walking around asking others to give it justice. We are the deliverers of justice, “Sri Sahib ji Sahae”, let the respected sword always remain by our side. Never ask for Justice O beloved Khalsa. Don’t be offended O Khalsa jio, please read on. We would kiss the feet of the Khalsa, drink the water after washing them, put our heads on the ground for it to walk upon, please let that Khalsa never bend its head to anyone else but to Vaheguru or Guruji.

Lets ask ourselves, What is this ‘Justice’ that we seek? Do we expect that the Western Governments, after putting pressure on India, and even if the Indian Government suddenly decided to prosecute those have killed, raped and destroyed Sikhs in 1984, do we honestly expect that at the end of those trials that we would get Justice? No, we won’t and we shouldn’t. It would not be the justice that we seek and at the end of that process, we would be marching again. The ‘Justice’ we seek should always be that of our own choosing and that which is done in line with the principles and actions of our Gurus and the Granth and Guru Panth.  True Justice can only be delivered by Vaheguru and since the Khalsa Panth is the form of Akaal Purakh (see Puratan Rehitname) upon the earth, then it should work out what would be justice and then work to deliver that justice.

If you read our post on ‘Why does India persecute Sikhs?’ you will see that it’s pointless to ask India to ‘stop killing Sikhs’. As long as Sikhs do what they are meant to do, the 1% that control India will always try to kill Sikhs. The real answer of ‘When will India stop killing Sikhs?’ can only ever be, ‘When the Sikhs are in charge of India’. When the Guru’s army itself sits on the throne of Delhi, then will India stop killing Sikhs and everyone be reconciled to the rule of the Khalsa.

It’s also pointless to say Freedom is our birthright. Freedom is our aim, it’s what we plan to deliver to the world, not just ourselves. The price of freedom has always been paid in blood. It’s not our birthright, its our ‘death cry’. We need to be the Braveheart crying out Freedom as they chop us from joint to join and saw us in half. Freedom needs to be lullaby we sing to our kids, the whispering chant in our head when we awake and the constant throbbing in our heart. Freedom. To be free of falsehood, to be free of Fear and Hate, to be free of the shackles on the mind, to be free of caring what others think, and to be free to do what is right and required and to that ourselves. Freedom. Fiercely Free and Fiercely independent. To Death. Even Death will not part us from Freedom.

What then of 1984? What would be the right approach?

Perhaps we should start by not moaning about all those that died? Who died and where did they go? The eternal soul, which migrates, doesn’t die. Why would a Sikh cry about death? We are wedded to death and it must consume us all, but very few live immortal lives. Lives such that Guruji himself comes for them at the end. As much as we ourselves have cried about the sorrows of 198 and after that, the fact is that this is simply our mind talking, not the Guru. Injustice needs to be destroyed but once someone is dead, we can do nothing for them. Our job is to serve the living, not to bemoan the dead. Celebrate the dead, the fact that they gave their life for Guru. They will all either come back into Sikhi or go onto Eternity.

So why cry for them and yet ignore all those who are living? Surely at every rally, we should be getting all the sangat to pledge big. A minimum amount of £100 each to up to £1000 each towards those loved ones that were left behind by the shaheeds and now need help. A multi-10’s of millions pound/dollar fund, supporting orphans, single mothers, old parents, through education and illness. Just like a Son, Daughter or Parent would want to themselves. That should be our first approach. If every person who gives a speech at an 84 rally starts off by first pulling out a £1000 wad of cash and says,” I pledge this money for the living victims of 1984 and I ask that you do too”, they would have said enough.  As they say, put your “money where your Mouth is” or also, ‘put your offerings to the Guru, in the mouth of the poor and needy’.  This would bring much respect to the Panth and would alleviate the guilt that is endemic in the Panth. The guilt that makes us turn away when we see the photos of these families suffering in India. The guilt that we are not doing what we should be doing. So let’s start.

Let’s turn to the right approach for Justice. As we said, let’s deliver justice, but how. Here is a proposal. Why dont we set up a Sikh International Criminal Court (SICC) and then set up trials of all those named as the perpetrators of 1984 and after. We have so much evidence readily available regarding the Nov 1984 killing sprees. Let’s prosecute Sajjan Kuman and Jagdish Tytler ourselves. With all the lawyers, solicitors and judges in our Panth, we are fully able to run such a trial. Put the evidence and trial on youtube and if these people are found guilty, let the Panth and Punj Piare judges give them a sentence. Such a sentence should only refer to Sikh history for precedents and not pay any heed to what the world may think about it.  If such a sentence is death, then the hukamnama (order) should be given that any Sikh, where they may be, has been commanded, that if they are able to kill those sentenced to death by the Panth, then they should do so straight away.

Before everyone starts with the “oh that just sounds nuts” let us cover some points.

(1)    Trials can be run in absentia. We assume that most of these will have to be since I doubt they will come willingly. Many governments run trial in absentia. The best example is that of Israel. They have held many Nazi War Criminal Trials and having examined the evidence in front of them, sentenced people to death. These deaths have been carried out by Mossad.

(2)    This does not violate the sovereignty of India. These people being prosecuted are Criminals and Murderers. If the Indian political and judicial system is unable to deliver justice for Sikhs that are citizens of India, then the Sikhs have already been guaranteed their rights in the speeches of both Nehru and Gandhi (the founding fathers). We have the sword and we shall be using it. Killing criminals doesn’t change the politio-social democratic system of India, affect its economy or its education system. All it does is deliver Justice for Indians. In this way it is a force for good and one that acts against corruption. All Indian Independence fighters, now national heroes did the exact same thing. Even now we can look at the USA, launching missiles against Al-Qaeda leaders, no matter what country they are in. They do this, because they see these people as enemies of liberty everywhere. Why shouldn’t we Sikhs also see things this way?

(3)    Why do we need the permission of the SICC? Just get on with it. We know they are guilty so if you want to do it, just go and kill them. Indeed we are sure that some readers will claim that we should do it ourselves rather than writing about it. This approach misses the point somewhat. Look at the killing of Osama Bin Laden by the US Navy Seals.  The whole of the US and Obama administration are able to hold their heads up high that they killed Osama just like they said they would.  The Navy Seals carried out their job but the fact that it was ordered by the US president, acting with the authority given by the US people, means that its not just a lone bunch of Navy Seals that killed Osama, its bigger than them. If you wanted to launch an investigation into Bin Laden’s death, you would start from Obama, not from the Seals.

Effectively what we are saying is that if the SICC found Jagdish Tytler or Sajjan Kuman or KPS Gill or Sumeedh Saini guilty of crimes again humanity/Sikhs and sentenced them to death, then any Sikh who carries out that death sentence can simply point to the SICC and say, ‘I was just following the orders of the Panth’. Otherwise, that individual becomes a terrorist and criminal. If we do it through the SICC then that Sikh is a soldier of the Khalsa Panth, doing his duty as per the hukamnama of the punj piare. He/She will not need to be eloquent in their own defence rather they can point to the SICC trials as their main motivation for the killing. Effectively it would mean the Panth would be on trial, the evidence used in the SICC hearings would be on trial and the decision making process of the SICC would be trial. If the SICC was watertight in these, it would become a very interesting debate about sovereignty, justice and international law.

Plus, just imagine the media flurry that would happen if the Punja Piarey of the SICC were citizens of western Countries and thus were able to use those rights of citizenship.

(4)    This is tantamount to inciting terrorism or ordering murder: Not terrorism, this is merely Justice but yes, it may mean ordering Murder. But when Guru Gobind Singh ji put to death all the masands who were stealing the sangat’s money, what was that? When the Khalsa Panth gave Sukha Singh and Mehtab Singh the order to go bring back Massa Ranger’s head, what was that? The Khalsa has to administer its own justice. This is what all sovereign nations do and exactly what Obama did by making the killing of Osama Bin Laden one of his key priorities. You need a good justification of this, one that can stand up to scrutiny. I cant think of one much better than a bunch of educated, qualified Sikhs, critically examining the evidence and then passing judgement whilst giving the historical justification for that order. Especially when all the evidence and deliberations are on youtube.

(5)    The SICC judges will be arrested and prosecuted! What better seva that to get prosecuted for something so chardikala? Something that achieves both Justice and great awareness of the injustice in India. The Indian press are not going to print this stuff, so the western press will have to cover it. The SICC judges will get to defend themselves in Court. Again the debate will have to focus on their justification of judging an individual who has committed heinous crimes and walked scot free.  The funny thing is that Pandit Nehru himself was a lawyer who defended the Indian Liberation Army soldiers that were being prosecuted by the British. The arguments used to defend the ILA leaders were that they were not mercenaries, (or terrorists) but rather “bona fide soldiers” that did not recognise the British Sovereign. Therefore they were to be treated as political prisoners. Surely a Sikh that carries out the hukam of the Khalsa is also saying he recognises the Khalsa Panth as his Guru and can point to the historical precedents which back up his actions. He too is not a lone mercenary lunatic, but a soldier and the Panth itself should be tried in his defence.

(6)    No-one would put themselves up to be a SICC Judge –Khalsa jio, we respectfully state that IF, in our entire Panth, we can’t find 5 educated people able to serve judges, (plus prosecutors etc), then we should forget 1984 and go home. What’s the point of shouting slogans and thousands marching if we cant find five to actually do something. There is no more panth left saving then. We are no longer Nirale, or unique, we are the same as everyone else. It seems pertinent here to remember that the Khalsa needs to embrace death, forget about the consequences or dont bother taking amrit.  Pehla maran kabool, jeevan ki chad aas. “First accept death and leave the desire to live!”This is the requirement of being a Sikh and especially being a Khalsa. We need to be fearless as long as we are doing the right and honourable thing. Look at Bhai Rajoana, he is not scared come what may. We are being harsh now, but only because we know that the Five do exist and will come out. But how many people reading this article will then join our facebook page and like this post? How many will then say out loud, I support the establishment of the SICC? That’s what those Five will need, the feeling that the Panth is calling for this and therefore they will step forward. Yes, we are anonymous right now, but also there is a good reason for that, as what we plan to bring to the table is much bigger than just this and requires us to stay unknown for now. If the SICC is something you like, then join us in this movement and say so.

(7)    No one will carry out the Hukamnama of the SICC:  This is impossible Guru Piarey jio, just look at the shaheeds who gave their live for the Panth. Their spirits have come back to the Panth. Again, they look to serve the Guru Khalsa Panth. From Bhai Mehtab Singh and Sukha Singh, to Sukha and  Jinda to Bhai Dilawer Singh and Jathedar Balwant Singh Rajoana, they acted. But they acted in small groups without backing. Now the panth needs to unite and think big. And the Panth needs to believe that its own members will answer the call. Think of the thousands of ardaasa done every day for the chardikala of the panth. Think of the thousands and millions of chaupai sahibs that people do for the chardikala of the panth. After all this, do you think that the call of the Panth will go unanswered? No Khalsa jio, if the Guru Roop Khalsa in the SICC gave even 30 days for the order to be carried out, we have full faith that the Panth would deliver the justice we choose for ourselves. If it doesn’t then its because those people will go into hiding. Read below for other options too.

(8)    But this is the job of the Akaal Takht: We agree, but we also know the state of the Akaal Takht right now, its been hijacked by the 1% who hate Sikhi. So, we bow to the Akaal Takht, but when the Khalsa of old was on the move, then the Panth made decisions on the move. Guru Gobind Singh ji themselves never went to Harimandar Sahib or the Akaal Takht, even though they founded the Khalsa Panth. In any case, IF the Jathedaar of the Akaal Takht was free from all outside influence, even then, we would still need a SICC to examine the evidence and give its recommendation. It would be the job of the Akaal Takht Jathedaar to endorse it. So why don’t we focus on getting the SICC established? Why not unite and call for this to happen? Allow people to put their names forward to be the prosecutors, the judges and let’s get on with delivering Justice. So no longer do we remain ‘Wanting Justice’.

Here are some other proposals to how we may need to change our approach and action plan regarding 1984.

(1)    For those who do not wish to carry out the trial of certain people and believe them already guilty by the evidence seen, maybe we should open up a reward fund for anyone who kills or captures those responsible. Every year at the marches, people should openly pledge money into a fund and in doing so, openly violate the law and court arrest. A large fund would make it viable to hire a Private Military Company or Assassin to do this with minimum damage to other people. The US already have a reward for kill or capture on most people they want to catch or kill, and are avid users of para-military assassins for taking out their enemies, and we don’t mean for dinner.

(2)    Kaurs, please get involved.  Most men just seek to build their castle in their house, protect it and take responsibility for being the defender of their family. In doing this, first they look for the foundation stone, i.e. a woman. As Dhan Guru Nanak Dev ji writes, men are tied to women. It’s also the fact that Women have a role to play in the upcoming battle for the panth’s honour. Let’s spell it out. The Panth is dishonoured. Our women have been raped, our children killed and the perpetrators walk about free. What more dishonour could there be on a man, or on a Panth?

It’s the women who will need to get involved if the honour of the Panth is to get restored. Women need to give men both the impetus and the strength to sacrifice all.  It should no longer be the case that a man feels he has to choose between his responsibility to his family and his responsibility to the Panth. It should be that the women tells the man, fulfil your responsibility to the Panth or you’re not welcome in this family. That’s how we used to roll.

Where are the Mai Bhagos who tell the men to go back into battle and not return without their Guru? Where are the mothers who tell their sons to avenge the Panth’s honour or to marry the daughter of a shaheed? Where are the mothers who tell daughters to trust only the man who is willing to give his life for Sikhi? Who tells their daughters to marry a son of a Shaheed. Who encourage encourage their man to be a shaheed? Don’t think that we should shy away from the word Shaheed just because of a recent fanatical Islamic suicide bomber trend. Our shaheeds are different, we celebrate them even if they die to save someone else’s religion.  See Guru Tegh Bahadur, shaheedan de sirtaj Dhan Guru Arjan Dev ji, the four sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the Shaheedi jathas who held up cannons with their shoulders, each shot of the cannon burying one Singh into the ground only to have another willingly take his place. These are our shaheeds and we salute them, in every single Gurdwara, four to five times a day during our ardaas. Why do we salute shaheeds and let not encourage our family to become shaheed? What could be more beautiful to know that your child died in that glorious tradition and will come back to this earth even more blessed? Why do a nation of people who sing songs of “Purja Purja Kat marei, Kabhoon na chade khet”, “let me be cut into little little pieces but let me not leave the battleground”, why does this nation get scared of death? It’s because we have forgotten Guru’s promise, that death will not even touch one who is in his sanctuary. We fear death like the West fears death, as a great unknown. If we did Simran and Kirtan and experienced the divine one, felt ourselves dislocated from our body, we would realise that death is nothing and that Guru himself will come for those who die in his love. Wasn’t death what Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur embraced? Isn’t Death what Guru Gobind Singh sent his sons towards? Isn’t death what we are asked to accept when stepping onto Guru’s path and playing this game of love? O Mothers, Daughters and Sisters of and in the Khalsa, teach us not to fear death but to feardishonour. Tell us how dishonoured you feel and then tell us to regain the honour of the Panth.

Where are the women who would refuse to share their husband’s beds until these monsters are killed? Why not set up a pledge website where Kaurs pledge that until and unless these criminals are brought to justice, they will not be sleeping with their husbands. Why does this scare the readers but not the fact that those men who raped our honour walk around another day scot-free. Make this a Kaurs’ solidarity issue. Look at the Colombian women who did exactly this just to get their men to fix a road. Just for a road! Here the honour of our beloved Panth is at stake. Why should men get their marital rights when the Panth doesn’t even have the men to hold its head up? You might wonder why this option has not being aired before, but guess which gender is doing most of the speeches at these rallies. This call cannot come from the men, it has to come from the united Kaurs.

The time has come for us to do things bigger, more globally and more connected. This is the Panthic way. For the Indian born Sikhs, let us give you the example of Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas. When she is dishonoured, what does she do? She swears not to wash her hair until she washes that hair with the blood of the one who dishonoured her, Dusshsana. Bhima vows to do this for her and he carries it out. Where are those Sikh women who have such morals now? Why are our mothers and sisters looking for an easy life and conform rather than being fiercely independent and honoured Sikh warrior princesses? We don’t need every women in the panth to do this, even a hundred or a thousand would be enough if they take this pledge, openly and on social media. It would shame the Singhs into doing something about this dishonour that hangs over our head.

Finally, a point regarding the SICC. Obviously the initial trust in a SICC will only come when its orders are carried out. However once that does happen, it is vital that the vision of the Court does not remain just Punjabi Sikh orientated. It should look at cases such as Narendra Modi (buther of Gujrat) and other Indian politicians. It should not shy away from prosecuting “Sikhs” either. And it should look outside India as well. Perhaps every Gurdwara could one day have a top twenty most wanted list, ten people wanted for crimes against the Sikhs and also ten people wanted for crimes against humanity. The Khalsa Panth’s hukamnama should be issued,  to destroy each of these wanted individuals so we can show we care about other people and other atrocities. Put tyrants, despots, criminals on the list and say “We, the Sikhs, are going to get you!” Make a fund of money for this so we can put a reward next to each head. Once this SICC actually starts delivering the Justice that Sikhs are meant to, then perhaps we will once again have the situation as that existed in Guru Tegh Bahadurs time, when people approach the Sikhs and say, “O Khalsa of the house of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh, we ask you to give us Justice”. Then maybe our slogans will change to “Ask us for Justice” and we will be the strength of those who have no strength, the shelter for those who have no shelter and the honour of those who have no honour. We are not here to ask, we are here to give and the only thing we ask from our Guru is that he blesses us with both the right approach and the strength to carry out the right actions. In doing so, if we have to die a thousand deaths, we only ask that he sends us back a thousand times to carry on that mission that he was given.  And that each time, our Guru blesses us with that inner connection to our Creator, by which we know his Word to be true and what the world tells us to be less true. That is faith and that is justice. Dhan Guru Dhan Vaheguru.

Vaheguru.

What is Chardikala?

Guru Piarey Jio,

After the celebrations of Vaisakhi (the birth of the Khalsa), it is well worthwhile to introspect on the meaning of Chardikala. Having heard translations like “soaring spirit” and “ever optimistic” etc, the one we’ve like the best is , ‘Chardikala is when if you’ve just lost a leg and someone asks, “How are you?”, you say Chardikala.’

This ability to remain positive even in the midst of ‘Calamity’ is Chardikala. Dhan Guru Gobind Singh ji writing an “Announcement of Victory” (Zafarnama) when he had just lost his four sons, his mother, his writings and also his Sikhs had been decimated, is Chardikala. The Nihung terminology of calling dried chappaties, “Sweet”, of saying sava lakh (1,250,000) when they mean one, is Chardikala.  And where does this Chardikala stem from? Well in its purest sense, it’s from Naam. When we enjoy the bliss and joy of knowing our inner and outer Beloved, there can be no question of being sad, it’s all Sweet Hukam, it’s all Chardikala.

If we apply this definition of Chardikala to the Sikh situation in India since 1947, then you’ll see why the real reason for our troubles is purely ourselves. Its not that the Panth doesn’t have enemies, of course, we could write a very long list, but these enemies have always been there and are nothing in front of the might of Guru Gobind Singh and Vaheguru. We all know and (now) lament the fact that Tara Singh didn’t have the gumption and nous to demand a Sikh state in 1946. And we all ought to know that the Sikhs never signed the Indian Constitution. However since then the Sikhs have continued to moan and groan about Article 25 and being ‘classified as Hindus’ and ‘demanded’ equal rights in a ‘democratic’ and ‘federal’ Indian ‘Republic’.

Could there have been a better approach? What would someone truly chardikala, ferociously independent have done about the fact that Sikhs were in India and classified as Hindus.

(1)    Forget arguing about semantics: The Chardikala way woud have been to see this as an opportunity, not a loss. Why bother arguing semantics with a bunch of colonial trained power hungry elitist upper castes. “Moorakhe naal na Lujhiye” don’t argue with idiots. Lets just do the job of the Sikhs and deliver justice and equality and spiritual nourishment and it doesn’t matter what you call us, our actions will speak for themselves.  Actually, from studying history you can see that its actually Hinduism that is a made up term, they are the ones who lack clear identity, not the Sikhs. The Sikhs are easily identified by singing Gurbani, Gurudwaras, Langar, and Guru Granth Sahib. The ‘Hindus on the other hand are so disparate and follow so many different paths, its impossible to categorise them. What is the opportunity I hear you ask? The opportunity is actually of Khalsa Raj. If we grasp the above, and had some real Chardiakala, we would have seen that every self respecting Hindu, especially the more intelligent type would surely have recognised the value of Sikhi and its simplicity. The opportunity is the two points below.

(2)    Emancipate the ‘Harijans’: India at that time was only 350 million or so, most of these were poor, downtrodden lower caste Indians who were always going to be scraping the bottom of the “fruits of success” barrel whilst simultaneously being the “driving force” of industrial growth. These are precisely the people who are most in need of Guru Gobind Singh jis revolutionary ideology of a armed populace that is able to defend its own rights and give itself royal surnames. Forget the ‘people of God’ we should make them the ‘Army of God’ the Akaal Purakh ki Fauj.  We all know that true freedom cannot be won for someone, they have to do it for themselves. If we truly believe Sikhi is freedom, then we’d have to give them Guru Nanaks message and show them the path of Sikhi.

(3)    Spread Sikhi outside Punjab: Any true follower of Guru Nanak, who faithfully sings “Kal Taran Guru Nanak Aaya” and “Suni Pukar Datar Prabh, Gur Nanak jag mahe pataiya” cannot think that the message of the Gurus is to be limited to Punjabis alone, let alone those deluded few who think its for Jats!  If we are to fully realise Guru Nanaks mission, then every person on the earth should know of Guru Nanaks message and have the choice to follow him as Satguru.

Here you have a large population of ‘Hindus’ who nearly all believe in:

a)      Reincarnation

b)      Atma (Soul) and Parmatma (Grand Soul)

c)       Meditation and the Holy power of Yogis and Sadhus

d)      The four yugs.

e)      Vishnu, Krishan and Raam

f)       Singing Bhajans in Sangat as a form of worship.

g)      The idea of Dharm, ie righteousness.

All the Sikhs had to focus on was telling them that

a)      We are now in Kalyug – accepted

b)      Kirtan/ Singing Praises in Sadh sangat  is the highest form of worship in Kalyug.

c)       Guru Nanak is the Satguru of Kalyug. The previous Satgurus worked in previous yugs but times have changed.

d)      Look at all the other bhagats that have been famous, have any of them done anything as amazing as the ten Gurus, did anyone of them build cities, write full Granths, fight tyranny, establish Dharma? No, in Kalyug it’s Satguru Nanak for you my friend.

e)      Satguru Nanak is now in Gurbani Kirtan sung in all Gurudwaras.

f)       Our Atma is part of parmatma and through kirtan and Guru’s grace, we can realise this.

Thats it, job done. The rest of the proof of Sikhi is simply in the amazing ethics and social structure it promotes and also the amazing lives of our Gurus and the behaviour of the Sikhs following this. Back in 1947 the respect for the Sikhs was at an all time high. They had just been at the forefront of fighting for Independence, they were hugely respected for their decency. The reality at that time was that if a Singh was sitting in a train carriage, everyone else was resting easy.  We can still access this respect, its just hidden under the surface of the recent bollywood propaganda.

The end result of all these three would have meant that in the 55 years since independence, Sikhs would have easily been the biggest religious group in India, with some Hindu Brahmins and Muslims. Effectively the demographic of Punjab would actually be all over India. Ask yourself, if that were the case if we would ever need anyone ‘shouting slogans’ and ‘demanding’ Khalistan.

If you think this is a little crazy, let us remind you of the situation prior to and after independence of 1947. Ambedkar, the writer of the Constitution and champion of the lower-caste hindus (himself a lower-caste) was fed up with Hinduism and its caste system. He saw no chance of reforming that system. He saw only two options, Sikhi and Buddhism and his initial preference was Sikhism. However, the prevailing Sikhs of that time dissuaded him, and he turned to Buddhism. The Punjabis didn’t want to have the SGPC and Gurudwaras dominated by lower-castes. They knew that if Ambedkar takes Amrit, then possibly about 60 million of his followers, (India’s population was around 350 million, out of which only 8 million were Sikhs) would also end up taking Amrit and then Sikhi would be truly huge and not just about Punjabis. What a shocker! This is not a story told to us often, no we prefer to focus on Article 25, and the massacres done by the Muslims, but not about what we ourselves turned down in India, the chance to be the dominant ideology. All the resources of India could have been gathered for the benefit of the poor and downtrodden. India could now be one of the most prosperous, female friendly and egalitarian countries, instead of the most unequal, least lawful, where women still fight for acceptance and where state and corporate governance is least ethical. Instead of harping on about not being Hindu, why not just spread Sikhi to all the Hindus. That would have been Chardikala!

So why don’t the Sikhs have the backbone for this type of thinking? Why do we instantly think of protesting and writing letters instead of thinking Chardikala. Why did the Akaal Takht not issue a hukamnama in 1948 that all Sikhs are now to register their marriage with the Akaal Takht and not the Indian Government. Why not set up an independent marriage record bureau and issue marriage licences? If a marriage was not recognised by the Indian government that Sri Akaal Takht had recognised, it would be an act of cultural war. Why is this idea so outlandish to some readers but not the idea that Sikhs spend 55 years trying to repeal a law in a constitution that they did not sign?

Who was it that told us that “Sikhs do not preach”, yes you guessed it, it was the British, who incidentally, first wiped out all the truly Charidkala Singhs in the Anglo Sikh wars and then systematically planned the downfall of Sikhi, making all their colonial servants into Singhs, but regimenting them into following the Sahib.  Yes, we have to respect the bravery of those British Indian Army (a misnomer if there ever was one) Singhs, but they were shadows of the type of Singhs that ruled over the Throne of Delhi and had issued coins in the Gurus name.  While the Singhs of old sang songs of the Khalsa ruling the world from the sun rising to the sun set (from east to west- ie all over the world), the non-Chardikala thinking that the British had fostered on the Sikhs resulted in us only thinking about Punjab. As mentioned before, what about Takht Hazoor sahib, Takht Patna Sahib?

Recently at a Sarbat Khalsa meeting in the UK, a Singh said that if we are to really follow Bhai Rajoana as our Jathedar then our ‘mang’ (want) cannot be the Anandpur sahib resolution. The Anandpur Sahib resolution did not ask for Khalistan, it merely asked for Punjab to live free from the exploitation of Delhi. Since it was not honoured at all, then now the ‘mang’ must be Khalistan. I respected his thought process, independent thinking! But take it one step further, why should Sikhs settle for a diminutive Punjab, a shadow of its past glory. Pakistan Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana etc had all stolen from Punjab. No, we say that there should be no ‘mang’, we should be thinking about India first, not Punjab. If we get India, then Punjab will automatically be free.

Previously people have misunderstood our main argument, which is that Sikhs should, as the first step, be thinking about a total takeover of India, from the political to spiritual sphere.  Aside from the point about freeing the poor Indians and ensuring the Khalsa Raaj includes the five takhts, lets also examine one other crucial argument for this.

India is now a nuclear power: This is unfortunately the key shashter of this age and if you don’t have this weapon at your disposal, then you are not one of the big boys and no one listens. Maharaj kirpa, even now Sikhs are part of India and able to take it over from the inside. Once we’ve achieved the Khalsa mission in India, the Khalsa would automatically nuclear armed, which is a good thing, not a bad thing! Dont think small, think big. If the true Khalsa ran India, would you really want a situation where China, Russia and the US had a weapon that it did not. If the Khalsa decided to intervene in an unjust situation where the US, Chinese or Russian interests were to prolong conflict, how could we accomplish the mission of Vaheguru when the others could simply threaten Nuclear attack. This is a blessing on the Khalsa, we don’t have to invent Nuclear Weapons (see Iran), we simply take over India.

If you think we are being a bit optimistic and should think smaller, ie a Punjabi Khalistan, please consider the implications of a small country located on the border of two very large nuclear powers with diametrically opposed belief systems, Pakistan and India, and that have previously gone to way over each other. Does anybody want to live in a place like Kashmir, where its just a no-mans land between India and Pakistan? Its far more viable to take over India than it will be to convince India to free Punjab and thereby give an opportunity for Pakistan to take over Punjab. If it ever looked like Pakistan would do this, India would surely just launch a pre-emptive invasion of Punjab, to protect its territorial interests and then guess where the war between Pakistan and India would be fought…in Punjab! Who wants this? Or perhaps you think that Pakistan is getting more stable and would never do this, in which case you need to read up on the failed Islamic state to-be that is Pakistan. No, the alternative does not bear thinking about, which is why its even more crucial that Sikhs in India  get it into their heads that they are Indian and they are here to Rule India. It’s already evident in the Indian flag that it also pledges orange! The colour that was of the Sikhs has been put first, then the Ghandi white and the Muslim green.

However, we feel that there is another stage that will be required. You see although by and large, Indians are the easiest group of people to agree with the Sikh philosophy, in the quest to make a Khalsa Raj in India, it may be hard to convince the downtrodden masses of the revolutionary power of Sikhi. Getting people to actually go inside and discover the Truth within themselves and live a fiercely independent life in accordance with that Truth is relatively easy in the independent thinking environment of the west, but In India, they always want to be a follower rather than a leader. Its the land of the babas, where simplistic tricks work wonders. They are not yet able to take up the mantle of freedom. Its going to take a long time to convince those who are slaves in the mind to become Khalsa. Its going to take a revolution in the West in order to affect that change. The Khalsa will have to become the dominant philosophy in one of the Western countries. India apes the west, having lost its self but not its confidence, it now is confident of beating the West in the question for the Western Ideal. It will be the Khalsa of the West that will remind India of its true spiritual self.  I don’t just refer to the 3Ho yogic Sikhs, which are spearheading the way and giving us the photogenic images of white and black people as Sikhs. I mean the thousands and hundreds of thousands of White, Black, Chinese Sikhs who are about to come into the Khalsa.  The Punjabis are not ready for them, the Gurudwaras are not ready for them, but Guru is preparing them.

When the Khalsa idealogy spreads in the West, it will not just be by simple preaching. No, the Sikhs will have to deliver the goods so to speak. They will not just be able to speak of Sikh bravery in WW1 and 2. No, it will have to be present day bravery, present day human rights work and present day spirituality that the revolution will begin.  We in the west are very cynical. However, when the day comes that Sikhs are building homeless shelters and providing medicine to those in need, when the day comes that Sikhs are being prosecuted for rescuing trafficked and slaved women and in the process killing Albanian mafia lords, when the day comes that walking into a Gurudwara becomes an enlightening experience, full of joy and bliss, on that day, will Sikhi truly prove its mettle and it will be adopted in legions.  The political conversation in Western countries will be dominated by activist Sikhs who are applying Guru’s principles to public policy.

This will initially simultaneously give the Punjabi Sikhs a sense of shame for abandoning Sikhi and a sense of pride in the actions of their religious brethren.  But after this will come a sense of revolution, that things must change in Punjab too and also a sense of confidence that Sikhi is a world philosophy and it deserves their full focus in emancipating India. The Hindu Indians will not be thinking of Sikhi as some Punjabi silly joke but as a serious meditative and socially just system. Much blood will be lost in trying to move into real democracy. India is not a country that wants its people to think or be independent. The 1% rule there and they have a lot of people whom have been sold the myth of ‘Incredible India’. These people will resist the advance of Sikhi, which is why the West will have to be place where Sikhi goes strong first. The stranglehold on Sikhi in India will tighten, but as is in all cases since time began, the Truth will prevail. The Sikhs are not scared of dying a hero’s death, the only comparison is the cowards death at home with family with lots of unfulfilled hopes. Death will come for us all, but the Sikhs, inspired by Guru’s will have to show the world what it is to truly live! The Khalsa will free Punjab and Sri Akaal Takht will be independent.

From this base, the Khalsa Ideology will come to dominate the world. The Khalsa will not need to run a country specifically, it will ensure all ethical principles are being followed and where they are not, it will intervene. The key thing is that the Khalsa can only rule when it actually does the job of Sikhi, to raise everyones awareness, to feed the hungry, fight the tyrants and meditate on the One. The raj is only assured to those in touch with the True Being.

Some may accuse us of thinking grand dreams. Sure, but ask yourself this, what did you think Guruji meant when he said Raaj Karega Khalsa? Why do you shout it now? Be honest with yourself O dear Khalsa, Is this not the secret dream in your heart? The dream that you did not wish to tell everyone in case it scares them?  Please do not worry about sounding like a Muslim and talking about Sharia law, we are very different. Why cannot the Khalsa share its vision for the world? If we do not define our objectives and vision, then someone else will define it for us. There are two points to consider here, firstly,, look at the fast growth of Islam in Western countries. It’s not at all unusual to see Western people adopt Islam, even though the Islamic ideal is well known to everybody, namely an Islamic World. Compare that to our ideal of a Khalsa Raj, where people are free to practice any belief and where basic food, education, housing and medicine are not subject to competition theory but available to all. This is an ideal that we should feel confident about spreading. The second point is regarding the 3HO Sikhs, the only large group of Western Sikhs. One of our favourite songs to come from 3HO is the Song of the Khalsa, if you haven’t heard it, we heartily recommend it. The last verse is amazing and goes something like this, “The Khalsa will rule the world and all will be safe in its fold, but if the Khalsa falls, there wont be a world at all”. When exhorting us to be strong as steel and steady as stone, the song also clearly gives the correct translation of Raj Karega Khalsa. This song is sung by nearly all the Sikhs in 3HO, their children grown up with it and their consciousness is imbued with it. Surely we can understand that no one wants to be a loser, everyone wants to join a winning team especially if you agree with them already. The Khalsa has been given this job, its here to accomplish Sat Jug on this earth. An age of Truth, where the Truth rules supreme. That is Chardikala.

So why are Punjabi Sikhs so shy of making this their founding mission statement? The answer is, because they lost their Chardikala and don’t even know it. That’s why we go around shouting slogans and signing petitions, because most of us are not thinking from first principles. What we need to do is simply organise ourselves to think big, bigger than we’ve thought before. Then we need to live Sikhi and breathe it, so the Naam fills our being and its what we are. Then when we’re thinking big and living Sikhi, we need to think like a sword, a great big flashing steel sword, hardened and tempered, sharp and decisive. When we do that and gather in numbers of five and above, around us the revolution will start as Guruji himself will give us strength to do so, its his promise to those who remain distinct and Chardikala. The Way of the True Bhagats is Distinct (see Anand Sahib) Then the Khalsa will rule the world and all will be safe in its fold.

Moving on from defining our vision about India and the Raaj, in our next post, we’ll be coming for the Gurudwaras abroad. Cause its been a long time coming and come it will. Stay tuned.

May the rider of the blue steed, of plumed turban and with hawks, who sacrificed his whole family willingly for the Khalsa, bless his children with the strength to carry though his mission. May the actions of the Khalsa lead to the world thanking Vaheguru for sending the ten Gurus that created the Khalsa. May the Khalsa give all glory to Vaheguru and live and die for Vaheguru.

Vaheguru.

Why do Sikhs get persecuted in India?

Guru Piare jio,

If we understand the answer to the above question, we will clearly grasp why Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana is on death row and probably about to become a shaheed.

Do not demand justice from the Indian Government!

Sounds strange, but here’s why this statement is likely to save us a lot of time and effort.  In essence, there are three main types of powerful (1%) people who do not and will never allow Sikhs to become strong in India. These are:

(1) Corrupt politicians

(2) Corrupt hereditary landlords and industrialists

(3) Brahmins and Pundits

Why, I hear you ask? They know that Sikhi was designed to wipe them out. They live by exploiting others and maintaining the status quo. Sikhi seeks to challenge the status quo and give power to the poor and downtrodden masses.Its simple logic. They know it before we do.

Ever since Sikhi was created by Guru Nanak sahib, these three types of ‘Indians’ have tried to wipe out Sikhi. We know the Guru’s fought against type (1) who were supported by type (2) and that Guruji soundly criticised type (3). We know Sikhi rejects all these three and promotes the following:

No priests, scripture read by people themselves, one simple gurmantar, and spiritual salvation open to all, a political philosophy immersed with values of justice, freedom and benevolence, equal rights for men and women, no racism, all castes seen as one, and finally and most importantly, it preaches the Khalsa Raj! The Khalsa philosophy is anathema to all three of the above as it arms each person and then tells them to seize political power over the world to bring about the above!  We truly are working for the 99%. Akaal!

However, although repeated faithfully by millions of Sikhs worldwide, the implications of Raj Karega Khalsa are not fully appreciated by most Sikhs. This is because the above three types of enemies of the Panth have conspired to make us forget what this means.

The basic point is that the above three types of people control India and its so called ‘democracy’. They have always known that if the Sikhs get their act together, they would take over India and they would be waving goodbye to their cushy lives forever. These three types are not religious, they worship their own ego.

However, these three (1% ers) do need faithful soldiers.  Lo and behold, the Indian Desh Bhagat ideal. A patriot who lives and dies for mother India without questioning if Mother India brainwashed him and is actually Evil Father India who is raping him and all his siblings. This is such an evil genius idea, we wished we’d had it ourselves until we realised it was wrong and Guru would not be best pleased. They are killing two birds with one stone.

Firstly, they create a general patriotic feeling in a country that is vast and disparate, one that was created by the British and had never existed as India before. They also get a small percentage of the population to form legions of Shiv Shena and RSS misguided youth who think they are preserving the honour of Hindu India. These are the guys now burning turbans and tying to make this into a communal issue so that Sikhs can once again be labelled separatists and fanatics. Once the separatist issue comes into play, all the patriots in the rest of the country are then prepared to give free licence to the govt to suppress said movement, using illegal methods.

Secondly, they actually can start the slow but sure process of slavery over the Sikh psyche. By praising Sikhs for their bravery on the one hand, they also make fun of them. Convinced by genuine sounding praise, the Sikhs joined the Indian country without negotiating for the return of the Sikh Kingdom of Ranjit Sing. Now part of India, the Sikhs are made to feel proud to be Indian, not Punjabi or Sikhs, but Indians. Ergo they too are susceptible to the very same patriotic myth.

The war on the Sikh psyche was supposed to culminate in our surrender in 1984 but things didn’t go that way. The Sikhs fought back hard, but ultimately lost the battle. Now the Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana issue is here to see who is still around preparing for the next battle. They know some Sikhs haven’t given up the war.  However, they have convinced a massive number of Sikhs that India is incredible, that its good to be Indian and that it’s an act of great honour to die for India.  Believe you me, this mental slavery is exactly what all slave masters want. A compliant slave willing to die for you. Do we need much proof of this?

How many Sikhs in India today seek to spread the Guru’s revolution to the rest of India.  Our two Takhts, of Hazoor Sahib and Patna Sahib form a lovely triangle with Punjab, giving indications as to where our kingdom should spread. However do Sikhs in India see it that way? No, they have forgotten Raaj Karega Khalsa! They want a peaceful life, creature comforts and to bury their head about the mission entrusted to the Guru Khalsa Panth. You don’t hear about Sikh missionaries bringing whole villages of low caste Hindus or outcastes into the Khalsa fold (you can read about the Guru’s doing this, see the Sikhs of Assam, made by the 9th Guru). You dont hear about Sikhs fighting the injustices meted out on Indian low-caste and outcaste women every day. (you can read about Sikhs freeing Hindu slave women from Mughal invaders). Nope, what you see is a opiated mass of Sikhs, happy to talk about the greatness of Sikhi, without actually considering that they may wall have to spread it outside Punjabis if they ever want to have a Khalsa Raaj. This is the slave mentality, precisely because it is not the master mentality. If Sikhs saw themselves as the rightful rulers of India, they would start to take charge of the way the Indian Government runs things and say nope, thats not in concurrence with Sikh principles and therefore, we’re not going to allow it.

Either you’re empowered and in power or you’re not!

So in summary, as long as Sikhs remain Sikhs and stick to Guru’s message, they will always get persecuted in India for as long as India is run by the three types of enemies of the Panth. I don’t include the hardcore RSS people here because actually in our opinion, they are simply run by politicians who want to brain-wash Indians into compliance).

We better be prepared for the blood of Sikhs to be spilled, as it will be indeed. The price of freedom has always been pain in blood. In the long term, either we re-form India and take power away from these three natural enemies or else we remain at (civil) war. The three types above have worked hard to make us forget this natural truth about our existence, ie we’re created to carry out Vaheguru’s fateh over the world.  The saying “Know Thyself” is relevant here. Once we know ourselves and our mission, then surely we can also know whom will be our enemy.

Knowing that, puts us one step closer to understand how we ended up where we are today and also how we’re going to get out of this chakravyuh (strategic trap). Then the Khalsa will Raaj and the whole world will sing its praises for having delivered justice and freedom to all downtrodden people everywhere. And the Khalsa will sing the praises of Vaheguru.

Vaheguru.

The Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana issue

Guru Piare jio,

Inspired by the global movement, raised by one chardikala Singh in a jail cell in Patiala, this post seeks to add our 2 cents.

Firstly, Why is this issue about in the first place?  2 perspectives

(1) If I was the Indian government, this is a perfect issue to get those gupt Singhs and Kaurs who are still awake to come out into the open and so finish off the job. The Indian govt knows some Sikhs still carry the torch of freedom, they’ve done their best to rip Punjab apart, destroy the youth and ruin the Sikh religious institutions, but still there are more young Sikhs reading paat and doing global sangat.  So whilst these Guru de Sikh are still recovering strength, they would bring such an issue up, probably get people to promote it just to see who is alive. Dont forget, Congress was the instigators of 1984, now they are also getting hammered in national politics, so why not create an issue about ‘those militant Khalistanis’ defending a ‘suicide bomber’.

(2) If I could be bold enough to step into Bhai Balwant Singh’s shoes, and I was doing 17 years of bhagti in a cell, everyday doing ardaas for the chardikala of the Khalsa Panth, I’d like to think Guru sahib would bless me with the chance to do something for the panth too. Look at what thing one Singh has created! Unity of the PANTH. The one thing we’ve all unanimously agreed upon in the last 20 years or so, is that we cannot unite! So Bhai Balwant Singh is the one to unite us. What mahan Kirpa Guruji is doing upon him. And what a great idea, Kesri nishan sahib..dhan dhan Guru! All you see is orange. The photos of a sea of orange, in NY, to Canada, to UK, to India, to Australia..makes tears come to the eyes, the heart tightens, and after all these years, the life giving water of hope pours like Amrit on the seed that is our Sikh Panth.

So what now? 2 perspectives

(1) As the Indian government, I’d say that the plan has gone awry! This was not supposed to unite the Sikhs globally, thats the last thing they want. They’ve been working for over 40 years to destroy Sikh unity. Either by creating divisive issues or promoting those with own agendas to keep the panth split. They’ve also got effective control of all of our Gurudwaras both in India and abroad. A vast army of informers keeps an eye on every committee member and does background analysis on each weakness they may have. With money, prestige, false boosting and ‘other incentives’ they’ve managed to keep Sikhs fully divided.  They’ve got a massive problem on their hand! Not only do they have to manage the Sikhs in Punjab but also their agents abroad are on overtime trying to control things. They have chosen to:

(a) diffuse the situation by prolonging the hanging or at least confuse people into thinking they have. This gets rid of the Sikh hangers on, who only came along for the ride. It also allows for lots of press about CM Badal to pretend he gives two >£$% and thereby convince the rest of Indians that Badal is in theory ‘Sikh’ and that ‘democracy’ still works in India.

(b) They killed two Sikhs yesterday and came down hard on the people at a few strategic places, where funnily enough lots of camera men were available to film it. This gets the passionate Sikhs more inflamed and therefore they may still reveal who they are to the intelligence agencies. This fits with the original plan. Also it deters the hangers on, as this time they may get shot.  These are all on youtube for everyone to see.

(c) try to make this into a communal issue and detract attention away from the illegal detention of SIkh prisoners and the injustices of 1984. Get some Shiv Seva brainwashed idiots to burn an orange dastaar and then hopefully some Sikhs will react and they can once again claim that Sikhs are against Hindus.

(d) Abroad, they are just gathering info at every protest and ensuring their men are in control of the Gurudwaras. They will be preparing their agents for disruption, mis-information and division, we know that much for sure.

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(2) Another perspective on what now is from Bhai Balwant Singh’s eyes. What now is the global revolution that he has been praying and dreaming of for 17 years. When the Sikhs unite and show the world what Sikhi is. He doesn’t want the Sikhs to focus on him, or to beg for his life. Time and time again, he’s saying, be independent, stop being slaves in the head, dont ask anyone for help or clemency. The entire answer is within your hands, just do what a Sikh was meant to do, be the revolutionary!! As the Sikhs globally unite as Sangat, the what now is very crucial. How to keep up momentum, how to stay united, how to gain Guru’s blessings as we step forwards, these are all the questions we should be thinking about. If we look at Bhai Sahibs example, we see two clear messages, one being about Sikhi, ie unite and educate. Unite under the kesri nishaan as Sikhs and then educate the youth and be chardikala. The second message he gives us is about Khalsa, ie how to be fearless. He’s got faith and he’s a not bowing to anyone but Guruji and the Akaal Takht. What we take away from this is the following:

(a) Parchar of Sikhi needs to really step up. Our Gurudwaras are no longer doors to enlightenment and both reform and new institutions are required. This needs to start abroad, where the Khalsa is far freer than anywhere else. If we believe in Khalsa Raaj, it will not come about with just Punjabis, we need to think outside that box, spreading this message to both those born to Sikh families and to those who thirst for it but know not it exists. We need full time parchariks, native British, where they can actually have the respect of their families for doing parchar rather than feeling they are letting them down by doing Seva. Its not enough to do sporadic talks on evening and weekends, we need systematic courses, syllabuses and learning objectives. The skills sets of our sacred music, pronounciation of Gurbani, understanding Gurbani, our history, our martial tradition, all these need proper revival.

(b) Building our backbone, our independent thinking and fearless minds. This culture which Sikhs were renowned for and which now only exists in their business acumen. We need to rid ourselves of the slave mentality, the appeal mentality, the protest mentality, the bury your head in the sand mentality, the leave politics out of it mentality. We need to think, think and think, be sharp and really get to grips with the fundamental nature of Guru’s message. How to be Nir Bhau and Nir Vair and achieve Gur Prasaad.

We’ll have to learn to take care of our own for a start. The Singhs in jail, the widows, the orphans, the shaheed families, the drugged out youth, the farmers committing suicides, these are our own problems and we need to think long term about solving them.

We also need to come up with own action plans. See how the British born Sikhs got together recently to decide Khalsa Mattas, decision by group consensus, people talking respectfully, this is the hope of the future. We need to pick achievable and definable targets, at national, community and personal level and execute them and learn that we can do this, we can be the future we’ve all been waiting for…Vaheguru