[ This article is taken from a facebook page (courtesy Pankaj Kr Patel - one of SikhNet readers - acknowledged gratefully) that has overwhelming support shown for Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana ~ ED]
The Sword is Drawn
I have just realized that our legacy is nothing without my Sikh brothers joining their hands and demanding their rights in a Nation that is well known not to respect Sikhs as valued citizens, the same Sikhs that don’t think twice before offering their lives again and again for a country that has 98% Non-Sikhs who just sit back and watch or cheer-on. Why is it that when there is a war in the horizon, the Sikhs are the only ones seen head on with the enemy?
So in the past few days we have woken up when our brother Rajoana said that he does not recognize the judicial system of India and would rather be hung. We as Sikhs could not digest a brother of ours who helped rid the world of a tyrant proudly sitting in wait on death row. What about the hundreds of Sikh brothers whose voices have been shut behind Indian jails for decades and the hundreds that got arrested for standing against India’s abuse of human rights the past week? What about the 18 year old martyr Bhai Jaspal Singh whose fathers’ tears could break anyone’s heart? What about the thousands of mothers crying for Justice after 1984? What about villages where Sikhs were practically wiped out during Sikh genocide and ethnic cleansing? What about India forcing us to live as slaves of India? What about Sikh sovereignty? What about justice for thousands dead in Delhi? Justice for the demolition of Akal Takht, where the military tanks and Sikh blood spilled even today haunts us day and night.
I personally live in a city where I haven’t seen Sikhs for years but proudly asked dozens of my Caucasian and African friends to sign petitions so even if my contribution to our fight as Sikhs against a government that has given my people nothing but pain can still be something but insignificant. My senior manager even encouraged me to protest outside the local Indian mission which is 600 miles away. He even agreed to give our entire staff of 60 the weekend off to travel and protest. He valued what was hurting and burning me inside that my people are in pain worldwide and I can’t stand it. The man has unshaken belief in human rights and its vital stand in society. I even printed the story of Bhai Rajoana and distributed it to entire of our staff for knowledge and the support was priceless.
If a man who is not even Sikh but an Atheist along with my work mates who are mostly Christian and two Jewish brothers can be willing to support us, then why are we as Sikhs not open enough to demand our rights from the Indian Government and the release of hundreds or thousands of our brothers who are in Indian jails from fabricated cases to protesting which took place in recent days. Are we so weak that we can give the life of an eighteen year old but cannot demand the Punjab government for a probe into this cold-blooded killing of this young man Jaspal Singh?
What is saddening is that when Sikhs have started a revolution, we await for Rajoana to give us the next signal. The Man is beyond words but lets look at where he got his strength from. The blessing has come from Guru Gobind Singh Ji, when he has used this Khalsa to wake the entire Sikh Nation! The sword has been drawn and we are at a battle with the Indian Government. Twenty – two million Sikhs can now demand everything from a transparent pro-sikh government in Punjab, the return of our historical Gurudwaras grabbed by the Indian Government especially in Delhi, the protection of Sikh rights, bringing the perpetrators of 84 to book, to all else. We cannot stop now. We have taken one step by Bhai Rajoana putting voice in our silent to speak for our rights and now we are silent once again. Bhai Hawara gave his life for us and so did Jinda and Sukha. Then again there are hundreds who gave their lives for Sikhs and Justice. Not to forget the young Jaspal Singh from Gurdaspur. Can you ask yourselves what you have done for your Sikh brothers and Sisters or for the brotherhood of the Khalsa and the Sikh Nation?
The point is Bhai Rajoana, Hawara, Jinda and Sukha all had a choice. They could have joined a University in Punjab and gained a qualification and chase status by travelling to another country but instead they decided to give their lives in the services of the Khalsa. What I have done all my life is run after better pays for work and better countries for greener pastures but all I was doing was running away from myself and the truth. I made a mistake.
I did not realize the truth then. I have now. I have taken a six month leave from my work and have decided to return to Punjab which was once our home but is now a Shiv sena hold and a Center of grabbers from states such as UP and Bihar who live on our land, do business, work and burn our turbans instead of thanking Punjabi hospitality. They are the same who come right back into langars across Punjab for free meals right after burning our turbans.
I have realized that the one home my future generation will have is almost gone and soon my children will be living as slaves in their own homeland. If my children see the videos of the Indian people who our past generations spent centuries protecting first from Mughals and then from enemy nations are now burning our turbans and trying to tarnish the existence of the Khalsa and the Khanda Flag, my children will despise me for not having done all I could when I had the chance and instead leaving them with oppression to tackle. I will now for six months in Punjab spread the word of Human rights and get various institutions involved. I will write letters to Indian Authorities and the Authorities in the West to understand the oppression we Sikhs are facing today. I feel like before I get strangled from being extremely ashamed (I am more than enough already) of returning to Punjab I may as well contribute to getting Sikhs with more knowledge and Understanding of where they stand now and where they need to be as sons and daughters of the tenth guru who always taught us to never stand down, never give up and never say Quit. Even if it drenched your last drop of blood! Which was all far from succumbing to oppression, don’t you think? I am sure I will face hundreds of people who will oppose anything I do but I am ready for this challenge. If I get arrested and shut behind a prison, the so be it. My father has already asked me to do as much as I can to help the Khalsa rise and nothing would make him more proud. The time of shutting up and watching the injustice is over for me. The sword is drawn! I would be humbled to give my life in the services of the Sikh Nation.
Waheguri ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh!
Baldev Singh Sangha (United States of America)