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The following excerpt are taken from “Oppression in Punjab:
Report to the Nation” published in 1986 by a team
investigating the situation of Punjab and its people. The
report shows how innocent Sikhs including women and children
were oppressed, tortured, dishonored and killed in the name of
“national unity”.
WOMEN: COURAGE IN THE FACE OF HUMILIATION AND DEATH
"My world
is lying in shambles all around me." J. P. had written while
languishing in the loneliness of his prison. We understood
the truth of these moving words when we met the women in the
Punjab villages. J. P.'s word was the whole of India which he
had loved and lived for, a woman's world is her home, her
husband, her children, her land, her cattle and the golden
corn. It is a small world which she loves and lives for, and
that world today is laying in shambles all around her.
Lonely, overworked, harassed daily by the Army and the police,
dishonored, beaten up for not being able to produce the men
who have been missing - they came to meet us out in the open
regardless of the fear of the police, woman after woman told
us what they have been facing since the army action.
Fifty-year-old Swaran Kaur, wife of the ex-MLA Harbans Singh
Ghuman of Ghumankala village has her house raided 45 times by
the army, BSF and the police; every time they come they
destroy everything furniture, beads, they mix up different
types of cereals with rice; they have taken away her tractor
and driven away her servants. They come anytime, enter her
bedroom, pull out sleeping children, clutch her at her throat,
make her stand in the sun for hours - a high blood pressure
patient not withstanding - till she faints. Of her four sons,
two are in the Jodhpur Jail, one of them the youngest, a
student, had gone to the Golden Temple on the 3rd to keep a
vow in connection with some college test, the other had gone
there to spend a night till the shops reopened and he could
buy something (farmer implements, tools) for his farm. The
3rd son was pounced upon and literally lifted up and taken to
CIA staff, Batala from the bus stand where, coming from the
doctor, who was treating his child for polio, he was waiting
with his wife and the sick child. He has undergone inhuman
torture. Swaran Kaur's 4th son who we interviewed has been
living away from home because of police harassment. This is
not telling you about the boys - it is about their suffering
mother. Why are the young men - hundreds of them - find
citizens of India not being allowed to live in peace and
contribute to the progress of Punjab - is a very relevant
question we should all try to answer. They are neither
terrorist, nor extremist - but terrible torture inside the
jail and the fear of torture if they are caught increasing
their indignation which will justify violent action.
Gurdip
Kaur who had come out of the police clutches only tow days
earlier has not met her husband Manohar Singh a young
agriculturist of village Harchowal since October '84, this is
what she told us; "My husband is an Amritdhari, so the police
and the Army have troubled him a lot. Terrorized by the
police, he might have run away. I do not know where, or he
may have been killed by the police or by the Army. I have no
information about him. The police are troubling me. For the
first time on 26 November 84 the ASI of P.S. Sri Hargovindpur
pulled me out of my house and pushed me into his van. They
kept slapping my face and punched with their fist, they took
me to the police station. They abused me in the filthiest
language which I fell ashamed to repeat. There was no woman
police there and the policeman started interrogating me
themselves. I was detained at P.S. Sri Hargovindpur for five
days, from November 26 to December 1, 1984 and then at the
Ghuman Police Chowki from 1st December to 6th December. I was
let off only after giving Rs. 1800 to SHO Amar Singh.
"Since
then, I am taken to the police station and kept there for 10
days every month. In all I have been detained seven times.
Only yesterday on May 3, I was kept in the P.S. for 12 hours
and dishonored. When I was detained in police custody in
November - December 1984, they destroyed the little crop that
we had grown. The Bhayas I had employed were beaten and
driven away!"
Gurdip
Kaur's relatives who came to help her were rounded up; her old
father, sister-in-law and her husband, her brother, and ever
her brother's old mother-in-law were all dragged to the thana,
and tortured. It was only after they could collect Rs. 3000
and give it to Amar Singh, SHO, of Sri Hargovindpur, they were
released.
"Even now
the women fold among my relatives are often taken to the
police station and slapped, pushed around and abused. The SHO
himself does the interrogation. There are no women police.
It is extremely fanfold for us that the policemen themselves
should question us. The police lawlessness that prevails here
must be brought under check."
Gurcharam
Kaur (40) of village Damodar, Vice President of Istri Akali
Dal Distric Committee (Fatehgarh Churian) said, "I have not
been able to till my 5 acre farm as I have been harassed by
the minion of Santokh Singh Randhawa, till the other day
Punjab-Congress I President. As soon as the land is ploughed
and seed sown, these gangsters come and destroy everything.
We have complained to the police and even bribed them but to
no avail. During the Army action, I was arrested on the
grounds that I had failed in my duty to inform the authorities
about the huge catch of sophisticated arms and ammunitions
stored in the complex, because I was a frequent visitor to the
Guru Nanak Niwas."
There was
young Satwant Kaur, wife of Ranjit Singh again from Harchowal
village, and agriculturist. She said, "My husband and I are
both Amritdharis; my husband was arrested and tortured, he
must have been killed which may be why I have not seen him
since his arrest. I myself was arrested on November 26 by the
SHO of Sri Hargovindpur, badly beaten up and abused and kept
for five days in the thana and then sent to Ghuman Chowk,
where the SHO himself conducted the enquiries. I was released
since I was innocent and nothing was found against me. The
SHO takes me to the thana every month and detains me there for
five - ten days and I am dishonored. Only God knows what they
do to me there. My tractor was taken away and kept at the
police station from June 84 till December 84; my brothers had
to pay Rs. 4000 to Amar Singh, the SHO of Sri Hargovindpur to
get my tractor released.
The only
request of this poor woman is that "the dishonor to which I am
constantly subject to must be forthwith stopped and the SHO
Amar Singh transferred."
The list
is endless - so is misery and so is fortitude and magnificent
pride - excepting once or twice when the memory hurts beyond
human endurance - there were no tears! Tears will fall only
in the enveloping solitude where none can see. These are the
women of Punjab.
ATROCITIES ON CHILDREN
A
12-year-old boy, Kalu, son of Harbans Singh of Village Agwan
(P.S. Dera Baba Nanak) had been taken away at night to the
dredged Interrogation Centre at Amritsar four days earlier.
'None knew what had happened to him,' his uncle Darshan Singh
told us. In Kala Nangal, two boys had become mental wrecks
after having been in Military custody.
The story
of the children is the story of our shame. So gross and
insensitive the political parties have become that not one of
the 11 members of Parliament representing 10 political parties
visiting Amritsar on August 1, 1984 felt like taking any
action, when they were informed that 25 children between 4 and
12 had been detained in the Ludhiana jail under section
107/262 having been rounded up from the Golden Temple in the
early July. It was Smt. Kamal Devi Chattopadhyaya - old and
very sick - who moved in the matter and discovered the
shocking fact some of the detained children were blind and
there were in the jail several women and old men. Obviously,
they had been found too dangerous by the Army to be allowed to
remain outside. She moved to the Supreme Court with a writ
petition. Supreme Court ordered the authorities to release
"all children kept under detention in various jails and
children's homes in the Stat of Punjab" immediately.
The orders
however were not carried out - minors continued to remain in
jails and being questioned the jail Superintendent, Patiala,
admitted that there were many children still inside his jail
also. The story of ghastly torture of young boys as well as
of other arrested people has been released full by Justice
P.S. Cheema, Vigilance Judge, Sessions Division, Patiala,
during his visit to Ladha Kothi (Sangrur Distt.) jail. Since
violations of the rule of law is now the rule and the Armed
Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Special Powers Act has made the
Army supreme, Major Das picked up six children who were taking
their examination in the Jaffarwal village School in
September. They were taken to the Military Camp at Tibri and
tortured there. He came back to the village again and raided
houses of 5 other boys - 3 of them were arrested and tortured
for 7 days. There was no FIR, no charge sheet, the only proof
that the army had taken them and tortured them was the signs
of the torture themselves; young Charan Singh who was a fine
runner with ambition to represent his school in Punjab's
Running Competition has become lame, he said, "I told them
break my arm but don't twist my leg, they did not listen."
TORTURE
The Army
tortured people only because they were religious Sikhs;
65-year-old Swaran Singh, was the Sarpanch of Jaffarwal
village; young Puran Singh, a technician of Gurdaspur, a
highly respect farmer young Amrik Singh of Aulakh village and
many others had to undergo the most sadistic, cruel and
bestial torture.
Young
Puran Singh's, who was tortured so inhumanly by the Army and
the Police, case is worth mentioning that it ought to be taken
up by the Amnesty International.
Puran
Singh became an Amritdhari in 1977 and had no interest
whatsoever in politics, but little did he know that because
his motha, a Panchayat member did not help a Cong-I man to be
elected as Sarpanch and who eventually got elected, it would
make him suffer such inhuman torture.
"Being
told that I was busy with my prayer, they took my younger
brother and made it clear that he would get released only
after I presented myself at the police station. Next morning
I went to P.S. Dhariwal from where I was taken to P.S.
Gurdaspur where I was kept for 6-7 days and tortured. I was
made to lie on my face. A thick log was placed from above on
the back of my thighs and the legs were pressed upwards. It
caused a lot of muscular pain. Sometimes, I would be forced
to stand for long hours with knees bent to the extreme and
hands raised upwards, till I felt exhausted and became
unconscious. When I came to, they would give me a little
water and again continue this torture till I fell
unconscious. The third method was to make me sit on the
ground , my hands tied at my back, one person would stand
behind me with his knees to my back so that would be firmly
fixed to the ground and then two other would stretch my legs
apart to the very maximum. The pain at the groin was
excruciating. Sometimes they would beat the soles of my feet
with sticks. While torturing me they would repeatedly ask,
"What is your relationship with Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale?"
What is you relationship with the Federation (AISSF)? And how
many times have you crossed the border?"
"There was
no record of my detention. After a week or so, I was
released. I was again arrested in July at night and taken to
P.S. Dhariwal and mercilessly beaten with leather straps.
They made me stand with hands ties and raised high while two
persons would pull my legs apart, until I fell unconscious.
This time also there was no charge and no record was kept. I
was released after 4-5 days.
"I was
again taken to P.S. Dhariwal in August and interrogated about
people who had absconded, some of who I know. I was again
tortured by the same methods but with a little less intensity
and was released after five days.
"My agony
was not over. On September 10, 1984, as I was coming home
from duty I was taken at 11 p.m. at Kanuan (Electricity
Substation) and this time by the Army. My eyes were
blindfolded and my hands were tied behind my back. I was put
inside a military vehicle and vulgar and abusive words were
showered at me. The asked, "How many Hindus have you killed",
"In how many actions have you been active?"
"I was
taken to an unknown destination and there I was hit on my
chest and abdomen, and I was not allowed to sleep. I would be
kicked whenever I would fall asleep. On September 16, 1894
the army handed me over to the Dhariwal police where I
remained till 7th October when I was produced before the
magistrate with a charge-sheet that I was shouting slogan of "Khalistan
Zindabad u/s 124 A. I was given police remand up to 25th
October. On 19th October I was shifted to Ladha Kothi in
Sangrur Distt, one of the worst torture chambers. I was again
produced before the Migistrate on 26th October, when the
remand was extended up 1st November.
"In 'Ladha
Kothi' I would hear cries. The same question would be asked
of us again and again and we would be told to say something.
Not knowing what to say, we would be confused and then we
would be tortured separately. A rod would be pressed behind
one's neck and hands tied high up and then the body would be
bent. Another method applied was a log tied behinds one's
back and passed between the arms and hinds ties up and then
the legs being stretched to the maximum till one became
unconscious. One day I was hung from the ceiling, my legs
dangling in the air.
"I was
sent to Gurdaspur Jail on November 1st and was there up to
December 7th when I was release on bail. I was acquitted in
February 1985 as no evidence could be produced by the
prosecution.
I was
suspended from service in September 1984 when I was picked up
by the Army but I have been reinstated on 24th March 1985."
IMAGE OF THE ARMY
One of the
painful things which we have to report is that today in
Punjab’s rural area which have given their sons to the Indian
Army with such pride and love - the image of that Army lies
shattered. The inhuman atrocities they have committed on
innocent people - shot down little boys because they had black
turbans, denied drinking water when prisoners were dying of
thirst in the June heat so that they were ready to drink their
own urine- the communal overtone in the brutal treatment that
have administered to the Amritdaris, the way they have looted
valuable and made money and of course their wanton destruction
of the Golden Temple and shooting down of the common pilgrims
inside the various Gurdwaras of Punjab have earned them the
man of an 'Occupation Army' in the countryside of Punjab, and
this name is going to stick.
Yet, to be
fair the Army is only carrying out orders. If they have
tortured people in their various Camps, they had the green
signal from the Central Government. India is the only county
which did not sign the new UN convention against torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment as punishment.
The rulers who say that they believe in democracy, secularism,
freedom of worship, social justice and human rights have
themselves enacted black laws and have let loose unabashed
State terrorism which has been unleashed specially on the
Sikhs - because they are Sikhs.
The
glaring discrimination show at the Navel Center against the
Apprentice Rajinder Singh (20) son of Mohinder Singh of
village Ladha Kunda at Jamnagar Navy Training Centre ought to
be taken not of by authorities in the Naval Headquarters. The
unceremonious way he was discharged, the closing down of the
Gurdware preventing him for taking part in the Guru Nanak's
birthday festival show how communal our entire set up is in
our defense forces. It is a dangerous portent and one must
beware of it.
During the
Curfew in June according to Advocate Bhagowaila the Hindus
were allowed to go out but not the Sikhs, and in the
encounters it is always the Sikh youth who is killed, because
either he is a smuggler or a terrorist - obviously there is no
Hindu smuggler in Punjab these days nor one Hindu who believes
in violence.
POLICE TERROR
In the
past 2 years the enactment of new laws in quick succession: (i)
the Punjab Disturbed Area Ace, the Chandigarh Disturbed Areas
Act, (ii) The Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Special
Powers Act, (iii) The code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab
Amendment Act) (iv) The Terrorist Affected Areas (Special
Courts) Act - besides the National Security Act (2nd
Amendment) - each remaining one of the South Africa's
repressive laws - was meant to bring Punjab to her knees, not
merely 'to subdue' her but 'to vanquish' her a word much used
by Mrs. Ghandi during Emergency while referring to the
Opposition leader who were accused of attempting to
disintegrate the country as the Akali Sikhs are alleged to be
doing today.
The police
who in any case are not known for their adherence to law -
have now become immeasurably more arbitrary, more cruel
because of the sanction provided by the black laws. The have
devised a distinct pattern of behavior: (i) repeated arrests,
(ii) repeated raids on a particular household, (iii) repeated
torture of one particular person, (iv) repeated harassment of
relative, (v) terrorizing of women and children often
molestation of women, (vi) demanding of huge sums of money for
agreeing to release innocent people, (vii) planting of arms to
show encounters and then killing young men, (viii) active
participation with Cong-I leaders, (ix) preventing the crops
being harvested.
Mahinder
Kaur (50), the widowed mother of Mukhvinder Singh (24-25) of
village Barriar, P.S. Distt. Gurdaspur, said her son never
returned home after the Army action - she does not know if he
is dead or alive, but the police have raided her house
countless times, often twice a week. The crops have not been
allowed to be harvested. So acute is harassment by all the
Security forces - the police, Army and the CRP - that "We had
to leave our house, it remained locked between July-December
1984". Their economic condition is pitiable. Balkar Singh
(45) of village Khujala P.S. Sri Hargovindpur, surrendered
himself to the police in October - an agriculturist owning 8-9
acres of land, for 20 day he was tortured in P.S. Qadin and
continuously interrogated on whether he was associated with
'extremists', whether he had supplied them arms etc. After 20
days he was released to be again arrested after one month and
again illegally detained without any record of arrest, any
charge sheet and without production before the Court of
Magistrate. For 10 days he was again tortured and
interrogated and then released. Once again he was arrested on
27th April 1985. Again there was no FIR, no charge
sheet but the case of rifle - snatching by two extremist from
the Home Guards near village Panchgarina P.S. Qadin was
hoisted on him and another young man Kulwant Singh who was
working on his farm with the thresher when he was taken away,
and for 40 hours nobody knew what had happened to them. They
were continuously tortured and interrogated and not allowed
any food or water during this time. On May 4, a day previous
to our meeting Balkar Singh they were released. His rice crop
has been destroyed, he has six children and the economic
hardship he is facing is considerable.
In Khajera
village at least in 10 families arrests have been made - 6 men
are still in jail but without FIR or production before the
Court. "For every 1 member of a family missing or detained
members of 20 other families would be harassed and troubled in
ever conceivable way and their crops would be destroyed", said
Sukhdev Singh, a villager. He added "repression is counter -
productive, repression of an Amritdhari - does not reduce
their number, rather fresh recruits have multiplied". "When
the attack takes place, then the sprit is kindled."
For the
release of Amarjit Kaur, wife of Joginder Singh, a graduate
and an Amritdhari Granthi of Darbar Sahib of Village Manepur,
P.S. Kalanaur, - missing since the Army Action - Amarjit
Kaur's father has paid Rs 1400 on one occasion. She has been
taken to the P.S. and illegally detained four times - ten days
each time. Every time the police want money. Now they are
harassing Joginder Singh's sister's husbands - Prem Singh of
village Ahawan P.S. Kalanaur; Bibi Bir Kaur, mother of Amarjit
Kaur said - "this harassment must stop." Even the fodder for
the cattle is destroyed.
Family
after family has to pay never less than Rs. 1000 to keep the
arrest a by. "But how many of us can pay so much money all the
time?" They said.
From one
family - in Qadian village, 21 people were arrested and
interrogated together at Amritsar. They were being harassed
for not producing Ajit Singh, son of Hardial Singh - he was
arrested, tortured, then released, then again arrested again
tortured, again released- this has gone on at least 10 time
since May 1984 when Ajit
Singh had
left home saying he was going to drive trucks. There was no
news of him - when in July '84 the police came and demanded
that he must be produced. 'The story of the police was that
he had crossed over to Pakistan and we know his whereabouts'
said Ajit Singh's mother - "We are a poor family having only 2
acres of land and we have 10 children, we work for big
landlords as share-croppers, my husband has been so badly
tortured that he cannot work."
During our
stay we read in the news papers that Ajit Singh who was
actually driving a truck in Gwalior had been arrested. One
realizes the enormity of oppression that has been going on
mere suspicion - and without any check.
KEEP UP THE SPIRIT
In spite
of the prevailing sadness and tenseness the spirit of the
people is being kept up through songs and poems. Even though
Guru Nanak's songs are forbidden as Tagore's had been during
the emergency. The irrepressible Surinder Singh Ragi (Patna
Sahib walla), the head ragi of Darbar Sahib with a golden
voice said, "I speak out through the songs of Guru Nanak". He
was under house arrest from June 10 - June 18 and then kept
inside the Golden Temple for two and half months. "We were
ordered to sing Gurbani in order to tell the world that all
was well and everything was normal. On August 4 the
Government warned him that he must not sing Guru Nanak's
Shabad. "I did not stop singing it only reduce the number of
lines. There is a warrant against me under section 124-A
Sedition, but Government has not arrested me yet though it has
banned my songs." The allegory which is clear to a Punjabi
speaking person cannot be brought out English translation - so
we are giving both the original as well at the English
rendering of a couple of stanzas of the songs of the Ragi:
SHABAD
Kutta Raj
Behaliye Phir Chakki Chatte
Sappey
Dudh Pilaiye Mukh Thi Satte
Pathar
Paani Rakhiye Man Hatth na Chatte
Chooa
Chandan parhare khar kheh Palatte
Teaun
Mindak par Nindeaun Hatth Mool no Hatte
Aspan
Haathi Aapn Jarh Aap as Patte
MEANING
A dog even
if crowned would per his habit still lick the flour mill.
A snake,
even if fed with milk, would still spout venom
A stone
kept immersed in water would still have a dry inner portion.
A donkey,
even if smeared with 'chandan' would still roll in dust.
Whatever
happens, a backbiter would not change his/her habits
(Accordingly, a backbiter would uproot and destroy oneself).
SHABAD
Kal Kaati
Raaje Kasai
Dharam
Paankh kar Oodoreya
Koorh
Amavas sach Chandrama
Deesay
Naahi Kay Chharhaya
MEANING
The time
was the sword, the king were butchers
The
righteousness had taken wings and flown away
There was
darkness of untruth all around the Moon of Truth was
enveloped.
There was
a time when the National All India Congress had rushed a
fact-finding committee headed by Jawaharlal Nehru to Nabha,
where hundreds of Akalis protesting the arbitrary taking over
the Sikh State of Nabha by the British Administrator had been
thrown into jail and tortured. Later when the Sikhs sent a
thousand strong jatha many of them were killed and several of
them wounded. Gidiwani, a member of the team was also
arrested with the Akalis and inside kept the Nabha Jail till
he was on the verge of death. There was wide appreciation of
Sikhs for their spirit of sacrifice, religious fervor and
passionate love for their faith. Gandhi ji had sent a
telegram congratulating them after they won the Battle of the
Key to the Golden Temple's Toshakhana.
Things
began to change- attitude hardened after independence of India
but today in 1985, 1923 looms to dim that almost it almost
feel like other times in other climes.
Yet there
are the same people, the same patriotic citizens of India who
today as in those days would, without complaint, while being
tortured die reciting the name of their Gurus. These are those
who were killed in Jallianwall Bagh - 799 of them compared to
501 non-Sikhs.
What has
been lost sight of is that to a Sikh, be he a religious on
atheist or an agnostic - a Gurdwara is not just a building of
mortar and cement, of marble and stone, it stands for his
living Guru who sustains him in his hours of trial. By
desecrating that place of worship which could have been
avoided that symbol of strength and solace has been
desecrated.
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