'Nineteen Eighty-Four' (The Storming Of 'The Golden Temple')
1998
75.5 x 101cm (29.75 x 39.75in)
Poster colour, gouache and gold dust on mountboard
Artist: Amrit and Rabindra K.D.Kaur Singh
'Nineteen
Eighty-Four' depicts the storming of the Golden Temple, the Sikh
community's most holiest and historic shrine, by Indian troops in 1984.
It reflects the personal sense of suffering and injustice felt by Sikhs
world-wide, during the attack and in the aftermath of violence which
resulted in the injury and death of thousands of innocent men, women,
and children in Punjab.
The different perspectives displayed by the composition seek to convey the "mixed feelings"
experienced by the artist, along with many fellow British Sikhs, when
news of the attack first appeared in the media. The distant, bird's eye
view of the Golden Temple itself symbolises the geographic and physical
separation of the Diaspora Sikh community from what was happening in
India, and their consequent feeling of detachment which was heightened
by "the notable lack of media coverage at the time".
In contrast, the ground level close-up view of details in the
foreground focuses on the atrocities carried out by the Indian army,
emphasising the Diaspora's emotional attachment and closeness to what
was happening, despite being physically removed from the situation.
The painting was initially inspired by the artist's anger at the "inadequate
and biased media coverage which contradicted the personal, eye witness
accounts, that were filtering through from the Sikh community in India
at the time and, later, the various Amnesty International and Human
Rights Movement reports". In her "liberating"
of the Golden Temple from alleged Sikh terrorists, who had based
themselves in the grounds of the complex, the media generally portrayed
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as the moral victor. However, the painting
shows that "the main casualties
of the attack were in fact the thousands of pilgrims who had come to pay
homage on one of the most important religious days in the Sikh calendar".
The bias of the media and "the damaging effects it has had on the image of the Sikhs"
is symbolised by the group of blindfolded reporters who stand as
'partners in crime', shoulder to shoulder, with Indian troops (top
left). There is a sense of horror and panic as pilgrims scramble over
one another to find refuge from the bullets and armoured tanks. The
diagonals created within the composition by the steep line-up of
soldiers (right) and the specific orientation of the square temple
complex, lends to the visual disturbance and chaos of the scene. The
surrounding borders of the painting hem in the fleeing crowds, enhancing
the feeling of claustrophobia and revealing the futility of their
attempts to escape.
The
symbolic representation of the 17th century Sikh warrior and martyr,
Baba Dip Singh, (seen here supporting his severed head in his hand)
whose defence of the Golden Temple against Muslim invaders became
legendary, "reflects the common
belief among Sikhs that the attack of 1984 paralleled the worst
atrocities perpetrated against them in past history".
Indira Gandhi's inclusion within the painting, even though she was not
actually present during the attack, clearly puts the blame of bloodshed
ultimately on her shoulders. Her political motives for the attack are
called into question through those features which demonstrate the
faultless past record of Sikh loyalty to India in her early battles
against repeated foreign invasions and persecution, and throughout the
fight for Indian Independence. These include the Jallianwalla Bagh
Monument which honours those Sikhs who lost their lives in the Amritsar
Massacre of 1919, (a decisive turning point in India's struggle for
Independence), the severed head of Independence freedom fighter Bhagat
Singh Saeed and that of Guru Tegh Bahadur (the ninth Sikh leader whose
martyrdom for the sake of the Hindu faith earned him the title of 'Hind
Ki Chaddur' - or 'Protector of India'). Having been offered to India on a
sacrificial plate, both heads are shown being frivolously tossed aside
by Mrs Gandhi. These symbols provide a context to the "total incomprehension, deep sense of betrayal and hurt which Mrs Gandhi's actions evoked within the Sikh community".
Essentially, the attack of 1984 was regarded by many as an ill judged
move by Mrs Gandhi in her wrangle for popularity in the polls. In this
respect, this painting takes on board a more universal message where Mrs
Gandhi is depicted as a "muilti headed demon" composed of various 20th century politicians (including Clinton, Thatcher and Churchill) -who collectively "represent the kind of political abuse which manipulates the 'dispensable' masses in an obsessive thirst for personal power.