BOOK REVIEW
Review written by Amanpreet Singh.
Kings College London Sikh Society
Having taken a keen interest into the events of 1984, like many other young Sikhs, I was looking forward to reading ‘Reflections of 1984’ by Harjinder Singh, as the aim of this book was to provide an objective and unbiased account of those tragic and painful events. I have found that previous literature written in the ‘Panthic’ view to either slant the truth i.e. to make up unnecessary fictional events to provide greater glory to those who lost and gave their lives in 1984 and the movement which came out of those events. This book however does not make that same mistake.
The author has taken great time to study both sides i.e. that of the State, its employees e.g. KPS Gill and that of the Sikhs, to produce a balanced narrative which exposes the dark truth of those events and the many inaccuracies of the official mainstream Indian narrative. However, he also provides some daylight on the counter-attack by the Sikhs to those events following the attack on the Sri Harmandar Sahib, which for some may come as a shock as they will learn how fragile the movement really was and how it ended.
The author has also discussed the events leading to the momentous year of 1984, dissecting the common fictional narrative made by the media at the time, with the backing of the Government of India, to present clear objective facts. Harjinder Singh does a commendable job of keeping his emotions and passions in check while writing this book. He does include them in the final portion which is an interesting read as they give an insight into the emotions and thoughts of the many UK-born Sikhs who grew up with the events in Punjab throughout their young adult life and how from the UK, they have suffered watching Punjab descend into violence during the 80s and early 90.
This book is a must read for those who would like to read an objective assessment of the events of prior to 1984, during 1984 and after and how these events still reverberate across the Punjab and the Sikh Diaspora.
 Reflections on 1984 £9.99In June 1984, the Indian Army attacked the epicentre of the Sikh Faith – the Harmander Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar. The Indian State unleashed a violent movement to suppress Sikhs – killing thousands, in response to this the Sikhs defended themselves and some took to arms. This book analyses the events of the last 30 years in Punjab, India and makes direct references to the role of Sikhs in the Diaspora. An evidence based and objective approach has been undertaken by the author, with a real desire to address the continuing issues of concern. |
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