Pakistan

Lahore tribute: Sikhs remember victims of Golden Temple raid

Stage protest, hold demonstration to raise awareness about massacre

Rana Tanveer June 07, 2015

Sikh children march in protest to the 1984 Indian Army attack on the Golden Temple. PHOTO: EXPRESS

LAHORE: Members of the Sikh community descended on Lahore from all parts of the country on Saturday to pay tribute to the victims of Operation Blue Star that was launched by the Indian government in 1984. The raid on Golden Temple left about 500 Sikhs dead and many others injured.

About 300 Sikhs, including children and women, assembled in Nankana Sahib from different parts of the country and reached Lahore together to mark the attack on Harmandir Sahib Complex popularly known as Golden Temple by the Indian forces.

They staged a sit in at Charing Cross (now renamed Faisal Square) where they had lunch. They were carrying placards inscribed slogans like never forget, never forgive and no more genocide of Sikhs of India.

They were chanting slogans in favour of Pakistan and against the Indian government. A delegation of Pakistan Sikh Gurdawara Parbandak Committee (PSGPC) handed over a memorandum to Punjab minorities minister Tahir Khalil Sindhu on the commemoration.

Speaking on the occasion, PSGPC Secretary General Gopaal Singh said they are proud of being Pakistanis. He said there are 350 Sikh Gurdwaras in Pakistan and all are in control of PSGPC.

Gopaal Singh condemned the Indian government over Operation Blue Star and said they would take revenge for it at any cost. Later, the demonstrators marched to Alhamra Hall where they had planned a performance to depict the operation.

Operation Blue Star

The Indian military operation which occurred between 3 and 8 June 1984, on the orders of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi against Sikhs in order to establish control over the Harmandir Sahib Complex in Amritsar, Punjab, and remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala and his armed followers from the complex buildings. Bhindranwala, a secessionist leader, calling for the establishment of Khalistan, had earlier taken up residence in Harmandir Sahib and made it his headquarters in April 1980.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2015.

COMMENTS (30)

Uncle Sam | 9 years ago | Reply No mention of the thousands of people who were killed by the extremists (for e.g. AI Flight 182) during the extremist reign of terror. Also, no mention that the Sikh genocide of 1984 was orchestrated by that "great protector of minorities" - the "liberal/secular" Congress party. If Pakistan wants to become a progressive, forward looking state then it will have to remember that "Laaton ke bhoot, baton se nahin maante"

Kushal | 9 years ago | Reply Such a failed state Pakistan has become, that it is now pushing the children of a minority community whom they have brutally murdered, raped, looted and booted them out in 1947, to demonstrate how bad India is. Let the children who are now demonstrating in Lahore, remember the plight which their forefathers went through in 1947.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

JSM | 9 years ago | Reply I pity the kids who are shown parading in the picture above, Pakistan is not the place for them.

Major Chump | 9 years ago | Reply @Rex Major: "They should never forget they were Hindus once. All the Gurus including Guru Nanak were born Hindus." Didn't all the Gurus then rejected Hinduism and embraced Sikhism? So, what that tell you, genius?

Bewildered | 9 years ago | Reply (Dear Mod: This is my 3rd attempt. I am really bewildered why would you block my on topic, factual, and perfectly within ET's guidelines comment.) About a decade ago, once one of my Sikh class fellow in Toronto took me to a Sikh Gurdwara for some Desi food I was so missing there and craving for. There in the main hall of the Gurdwara were hanging dozens of framed photographs of the mutilated and disfigured dead bodies of the Sikh youth died from the worst kind of inhuman torture inflicted upon them by the Indian security forces. In one of the several reports by Human Rights Watch covering Sikhs genocide in India, they mention discovering that in order to hide the evidence of their brutalities, the Indian security forces secretly cremated in Hindu crematoria more than 6,000 bodies of the Sikh youth they had earlier picked-up in one district of Punjab and tortured them to death during investigations. The HRW reporters expected similar numbers for other districts as well. In addition to that, thousands of Sikh women were gang raped and dishonored, and men were hacked to death or burnt alive by Hindu goons in New Delhi in just one day of 1984, which a true Sikh can never forget. And as if all this was not enough and also to show Sikhs their true place, these arrogant supremacist Hindu elites made sure that none of the Hindu perpetrators of these heinous crimes they had committed against Sikhs is punished for his evil deeds.

rohit950723 | 9 years ago | Reply 1984 is certainly bad & sad incident. But this demonstration in Pakistan conveys that Pakistani Government asked them to demonstrate...

Allah Ditta | 9 years ago | Reply @Tyggar: Foreign policy matters are two complicated for an average person to understand. I am talking in perspective of inter-state relations, Babu Maharaj.

Bewildered | 9 years ago | Reply @hellboy: "not like the muslims who are always in mood of victimhood." Sure they will have to turn from 'victims' to 'hellboys' sooner than later if Indians kept on spitting venom against Muslims.

Kaloi | 9 years ago | Reply A handful of them???

Kam | 9 years ago | Reply After Kashmir, naxals, and nagaland, Khalistan will also become a reality

Tyggar | 9 years ago | Reply @Allah Ditta We need to stand on high moral grounds than responding to idiotic moves. After your own Lal Masjid operation, you dont have much of a moral ground to stand on

Rex Major | 9 years ago | Reply @whatever: "... forgeting why they converted fron hindu to sikh...". They never converted. The eldest son of the Hindu family was given to Khalsa to defend against Muslims. Sikhism grew out of that. They should never forget they were Hindus once. All the Gurus including Guru Nanak were born Hindus. Khalsa came much later. Khalistan movement was the brainchild of Zia ul Haq to create his "Bangladesh" moment in India. I bet Tribune won't let this go through.

Woz Ahmed | 9 years ago | Reply I was being ironic !

JSM | 9 years ago | Reply @Khan: You tel us the number of Sikhs in Pakistan. I think it is not even 300.

Rahul | 9 years ago | Reply an indian sikh ( man mohan singh) led a country of a billion plus for 10 years..and here ET publishes an article with hardly 2 dozen "children".

Gopeet | 9 years ago | Reply @Milind: Should we talk about the RSS and Shiv Sena roving gangs? Hunting for Muslims in Madras, Poona and Bangalore. They are all over India. Since the Vermillion Lord took over, these bands and gangs are encouraged to harass Muslims. Christians are regularly victimized too.Churches burnt and vandalized.. The list is endless...

Khan | 9 years ago | Reply @Shiv: How on earth have you concluded that there are only 300 Sikhs in pakistan?!

satender rajput | 9 years ago | Reply oh my god so many sikh protesters, such a huge crowd... and such a high demonstration that ET make it a headline.

whatever | 9 years ago | Reply hats off to these sikhs who are standing for their mother nation and forgeting why they converted fron hindu to sikh. Muslims must learn from these sikhs despite so much prosecution they will stand for their motherland. No doubt sikh religion is held in great esteem

Awais | 9 years ago | Reply Where the hack are those self claimed minorities activist, who always blame onto sunis for everything happens in Pakistan... and you Indians don't you have anything to do ?? your newspaper are not good enough to read or is it all about Bollywood in that ??

Secular Hindu | 9 years ago | Reply India's secular fabric is too strong , can absorb many such incidents. Hindus in particular have been very tolerant and allowed every religion to come and prosper in India since thousands of years...600 BC on wards. Islam, Christianity , Sikhism , Judaism came in later of AD. Indian has been tolerant society not because of any particular King or Leader..its more so because of we Hindus. Let there be no doubt in minds of any outsider or Indian resident about this Diversity and Tolerance in Indian society, which will remain intact for thousands of years ...!

Amit Lunia | 9 years ago | Reply We could see a huge crowd of protesters who today protest and raise anti India slogans as on Monday they have to stand in line for Indian visa and @ woz we could see all minorities finally resting in peace in your country, no hindus left , all sikhs in the photo are the only one left Muslims like Shias, Ahamadis, Ismailis, bohris etc fast attaining RIP status

Azeez | 9 years ago | Reply Pakistan's crocodile tears.

Milind | 9 years ago | Reply "They were chanting slogans in favour of Pakistan and against the Indian government." Well they're uninformed... Agreed the unscrupulous Congress Party in the Indian Govt messed it up by playing cynical politics, they also need to know that it was Pakistan that stoked the fire by supplying arms, training to the Khalistani terrorists...

Dr.A.K.Tewari | 9 years ago | Reply Now we will encourage those muslims who want to register their protest against the Red Star operation . So far we were thinking that we should demoralise the terrorists by saying the Red star operation was a correct step bur now it became clear to us thattit for tat policy is the correct policy to handle the terrorist state like Pakistan .

Maxx. | 9 years ago | Reply In the wake of Indira Gandhi assassination well over 3000 Sikhs were killed, There are tens of thousand of Sikhs who have migrated to Canada and other places to escape the Hindu persecution. Muslim killings, Gujarat and elsewhere, Christian massacre(500 killed in Orissa), hatred against minorities at all time high. A hypocrisy called a democracy.

Shiv | 9 years ago | Reply Clearly a stage managed show! They talk of Operation Bluestar, what about the fact that there are no more than 300 Sikhs in Pakistan? What about the fact that Guru Arjun Dev had to choose martyrdom at the hands of the barbaric Mughals? And how about the massacre of Sikhs in Lahore, by Zakaria Khan governor of the very same Lahore, who offered a price for the head of every Sikh? Can memories be so short?

Woz Ahmed | 9 years ago | Reply So proud of Pakistan that religious minorities can live in peace and harmony, without their places of worship being attacked . Thank you Sikhs of Pakistan.

Allah Ditta | 9 years ago | Reply If India is doing things that do not fall in the normal behavior or conduct of the states, we do not need to respond the same way. We need to stand on high moral grounds than responding to idiotic moves.

hellboy | 9 years ago | Reply Past is past .Punjab and sikhs are the developed and progessive state in India.Because its due to their religion and courage to build themselves not like the muslims who are always in mood of victimhood.

Replying to X