Liono

http://www.iht.com/getina/files/267433.html

http://iecolumnists.expressindia.com/full_...ontent_id=76143 72 hours, 21 years Lesson from Nanavati: you can no longer brush the past aside, it always comes back to haunt I suspect each one of us who covered the anti-Sikh riots as reporters in November 1984 has a persistent nightmare. Some still wake up in cold sweat as images of half-burnt bodies in Trilokpuri appear again and again. Some cannot shake of the image of helpless widows, their men and children killed, their houses burnt, pleading for help from a police that only looked the other way. I have a couple of mine, too. One is of defiance. A group of Sikh taxi drivers outside Imperial Hotel on Janpath decided to protect themselves as the state — South and North Blocks, Rashtrapati Bhavan and Parliament are less than a kilometre away — had chosen to abdicate all responsibility. They picked up chains, sticks, iron-rods, just stones and decided to take on the mobs. On the afternoon of November 2, I was with a small group of reporters that witnessed this remarkable incident. A mob of several hundred would converge on the taxi stand shouting the by-now-familiar slogan: khoon ka badla khoon, Indiraji hum sharminda hain, tere qatil jinda hain (blood for blood, Indira we are ashamed, your killers are alive). But the small group of taxi drivers, instead of fleeing, challenged them with what looked like a whole motor workshop converted into an armoury — they had even plucked out fenders from their Ambassadors. A dozen assaults were mounted, each was beaten back and soon enough many helpless bystanders, including us reporters, were cheering. All it took were a few brave men to keep at bay a mob of the kind that was looting, pillaging and killing in many parts of the city, unquestioned, unchallenged and often helped by a police force that looked more complicit than even Modi’s in Gujarat, 2001. In Gujarat at least the police opened fire several times, killing Hindus and Muslims. Here you found Delhi policemen openly talk of the need to teach the Sikhs a lesson. Only in Paharganj did we see some police firing. But, as it turned out, the story here was that some armed Sikhs (“Khalistani sympathisersâ€) were apparently hiding in a house. So two groups of Delhi policemen and one of CRPF were firing at it. It was so farcical, entirely comical — except there was a real fear of some reward-seeking policemen getting caught in this competitive friendly fire. My other nightmare is a beautiful house at the corner of Chiragh Dilli and Panchsheel Park, next to where the flyover came up later. The house burnt furiously as perhaps no other, even in those three days of arson. There was no provocation, just that word had spread that it was owned by a Sikh family. The family, fortunately, escaped the mobs. But the looted house, set on fire, lit the night brutally in what you thought was safe, upper-crust South Delhi. The mobs, on the other hand, had just realised that while there were easy killings available in poorer, more congested, areas, real “value†in terms of loot, was in well-to-do areas. I remember that burning house, the towering column of smoke that dominated an already blackening sky, as I drove past it on my Enfield one afternoon, riding the pillion behind me two neighbours — India Today colleagues, one of them expecting her first child soon, as we were expecting our second. Both our boys are twenty now, and final year college students. They represent a whole new generation of Indians born after that dreadful tragedy which has already voted in one state and one national election. But those that suffered in those 72 hours of hell are still awaiting justice. Those that were responsible for it have still escaped the supposed long arm of justice, or retribution. That burning house is my most persistent nightmare. It was never rebuilt. It was believed the owners sold it and migrated to Punjab. Or at least that is what was believed rather easily at that point in a city dominated by people who had already seen one Partition. Partition, in fact, was the dominant metaphor in the rumour mill. Your next door neighbour would tell you of trains loaded with Hindu bodies coming in from Punjab. There was talk of mass rape and mutilation of women. Then you asked a few questions on the source of the rumour and the answer usually was, “I didn’t see, but my brother saw a train, or probably my brother’s friend’s neighbourâ€. There was no truth in any of them. No such thing even happened. And truth to tell, even the most vicious rumours never succeeded in turning Hindus against their Sikh neighbours. In one colony after another you saw vigilante patrols at night with residents carrying hockey sticks, cricket bats and even shotguns, not to ward off any attacks from marauding Sikhs but to protect their own Sikh neighbours. Ordinary people like us in middle-class localities ignored all rumours and maintained peace. Even when Delhi Police officially joined the rumour business by giving currency to wild rumours that Sikh militants had poisoned water supplies. In many areas we saw police vans making announcements asking people to avoid municipal water that may have been poisoned. These were no communal riots of the kind you often see, or saw in Gujarat, where neighbours turn on neighbours. In every locality, from tony Panchsheel Park to the Govindpuri slum, the killer mobs came from elsewhere. Somebody had got them together, told them where to go and target the Sikhs. Most important, they were promised the police won’t interfere. And that was a promise Delhi Police kept for a good 72 hours. I remember driving around Govindpuri on my motorbike, skirting burning bodies, a hundred fires, big and small, raging around the place, and at the local police station they told you nothing had happened, nobody had died, everything was in control. Or the odd policeman would chide you. What’s wrong with you presswallas? Are you Khalistani sympathisers? Reporters like me had limitations in terms of how extensively one could document all this because I then worked for a fortnightly (India Today). But several newspaper reporters, notably Rahul Bedi, Sanjay Suri and Joseph Maliakan of the Indian Express, did stellar and courageous work tracking and documenting this, day after day. Without their contribution, so many inquiries and commissions would have failed to name even these few names. The points that intrigued me for a long time afterwards were, if mobs had all come from “elsewhereâ€, who were these people? Who got them together, and what was in it for them? Finally, how did the killings stop abruptly? It was clear soon enough that the mobs comprised mostly jobless lumpens, collected by political mafiosi on the promise of easy loot and pillage. One of the most shameful chapters in that story was how Delhi Police, under pressure a few days after the riots, declared a ‘voluntary disclosure scheme’ whereby you could bring back any goods you may have looted and deposit them in a police station with no questions asked. The killing, however, stopped all of a sudden the moment a few army APCs appeared. No mobs fought with the army, there was very little firing. Just the message that the army was out and police “protection†no longer available now, and the mobs lost their will. It was, after all, not like the Partition, or even Gujarat, 17 years later. This was not the case of a community turning on another in blind fury, willing to face bullets, lathis, anything. This was “good-time†mobs who melted away the moment they saw some challenge. That is why those of us who covered the riots, and many more who carried out relief or citizens’ investigations subsequently, generally believe that what we saw over those murderous 72 hours were not Hindu-Sikh riots but Congress-Sikh riots. Or, rather, Delhi Congress-Sikh riots. Too many small time Congress politicians, who had built their careers organising crowds for Sanjay and then Indira Gandhi, decided revenge was naturally expected of them. So what is the difference between collecting an Emerge- ncy-type crowd to chant slogans in support of the 20-point programme, or a pogrom of the Sikhs which also brought the promise of loot. If there is one thing that has emerged with the Nanavati Report and its aftermath, it is that political parties have to accept their past will continue to come back and haunt them. They cannot, as in the past, use brute force to sweep all questions under the debris. The Congress is not the only party to have done so. If Advani and Vajpayee, after making such solemn speeches last week, recall what their own party did with the Srikrishna Commission in the Bombay riots of 1992, they will be ashamed too. And, hopefully, they will remember that when Justice Nanavati delivers his findings on Gujarat, 2001.

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=75930 In Punjab, ATR opens old wounds RAMANINDER K.BHATIA Posted online: Tuesday, August 09, 2005 at 0207 hours IST CHANDIGARH, AUGUST 8: Sikh PM or not, Congress has always been and will remain an enemy of the Sikh kaum. The Nanavati report proves that.’’ Her voice chokes as Baldev Kaur, who lost her 21-year-old son Gurcharan Singh in the riots, tells you about what she now calls her ‘‘futile’’ testimony before the Commission in Ludhiana three years back. ‘‘I told them I had seen HKL Bhagat telling the mob, ‘tumne kuch nahin kiya in Sikhon ka’,’’ she says. She saw her house go up in flames before she managed to escape with her two younger sons, shorn of their hair by well-meaning neighbours. ‘‘I did not even get to see my son’s body,’’ she sobs. For the 20,000-25,000 riot-hit settled in various towns of Punjab, the ATR only served to reopen old wounds. Inderjit Kaur of Mohali, who saw her father and four brothers being lynched at Shakarpur, rasps: ‘‘It’s like rubbing salt to our wounds.’’ She also remembers seeing Bhagat with the mob. ‘‘I saw at least 100 Sikhs being killed. Police filed FIRs on our statements but did nothing.’’ Manjit Singh Chawla, leader of the Danga Peerit Welfare Council, Punjab, who escaped from Kanpur to take refuge in Dugri, blames the riots on the Congress. ‘‘For Congress, the Sikhs are ‘jaraayam pesha (criminal) kaum’. They’ve exposed the bias by shielding those who engineered the massacre,’’ Chawla says. He alleges that victims in Bihar and UP were not even called by the Commission. Interestingly, many riot victims in Punjab had named four Congress leaders — Jagdish Tytler, HKL Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar and Dharmdas Shastri — while deposing. Surinder Singh, pradhan of Danga Peerit Council in Dugri, Ludhiana, for instance, claims he saw Sajjan arrive in his car at the Mangolpuri Gurdwara and direct the mob to attack Sikhs taking shelter there. ‘‘The police had taken away our kirpans and we were defenceless,’’ he remembers. Singh had named the leaders while deposing. He was told he would be called to Delhi to appear as witness, but the summons never came. For many, life is yet to get back on rails. Balwant Kaur of Bilaspur in UP still awaits her husband’s return. He was heading for his sister’s place when the riots began. Kaur had searched in vain for him before settling in Chandigarh. (With Kuldip Singh)

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=75926 Govt turns law on its head to shield Cong’s very own Cong buries the Sikh massacre again Nanavati on Sikh riots: Judge spares Congress and Centre, slams Tytler and Sajjan but Govt steps in to say no action is needed MANOJ MITTA Posted online: Tuesday, August 09, 2005 at 0200 hours IST NEW DELHI, AUGUST 8: Twenty years after hundreds of Sikhs were massacred in the Capital, a judicial inquiry has for the first time given a finding that Congress leaders were involved in it. The Justice G T Nanavati Commission, which was set up in 2000 to undo the ‘‘whitewash’’ by the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission in 1986, has indicted, among others, a minister in the Manmohan Singh Government, Jagdish Tytler, and Congress MP from the Outer Delhi constituency, Sajjan Kumar. But, having waited till the last permissible day to table the Nanavati Commission’s report in Parliament, the Government today rejected the finding against Tytler on a ground that is bound to trigger a legal controversy. The Commission concluded that there was ‘‘credible evidence against Jagdish Tytler to the effect that very probably he had a hand in organizing attacks on Sikhs.’’ In its action taken report (ATR), the Government however interpreted these carefully chosen words to mean that ‘‘the Commission itself was not absolutely sure about his involvement in such attacks.’’ And then, turning Indian jurisprudence on its head, the Government claimed that ‘‘in criminal cases, a person cannot be prosecuted simply on the basis of ‘probability.’’ This flies in the face of the fact that cases are registered—and even charges are framed—on the basis of probability. It is only at the stage of conviction does the system insist upon charges being proved beyond reasonable doubt. Brushing aside the Commission’s recommendation to look into the allegations against Tytler and ‘‘take further action as may be found necessary,’’ the Government said that ‘‘any further action will not be justified.’’ The Government similarly stonewalled the recommendation to re-open seven of the cases against Sajjan Kumar. Two of those cases, it said, did not relate to the riots at all. In four other cases, the Government said ‘‘it will not be just to reopen’’ them as no fresh material has been produced before the Commission. It is only in one out of those cases did the Government agree to ‘‘look into the factual position’’ and take ‘‘appropriate action.’’ Two other Congress leaders figuring prominently in the Nanavati Commission report are Kamal Nath and H K L Bhagat. But neither figures in the ATR for different reasons: Kamal Nath because of the Commission’s finding that ‘‘in the absence of better evidence’’ it was not possible to say that he had instigated a mob and Bhagat because of his physical and mental condition in recent years. The very fact that the allegations against various Congress leaders was either confirmed or left open by the Nanavati Commission in various degrees marks a major advance for the victims of the 1984 carnage. This is because the Ranganath Misra Commission set up six months after the massacre gave a clean chit to the Congress party and its leaders, specifically including Bhagat. Any participation from the Congress camp, it said, was limited to party workers. But the Nanavati Commission, having indicted some of the Congress leaders from Delhi, said that a ‘‘large number of affidavits indicate that local Congress(I) leaders and workers had either incited or helped the mobs in attacking Sikhs.’’ The Commission tempered this much awaited finding with a disclaimer. ‘‘There is absolutely no evidence suggesting that Rajiv Gandhi or any other high ranking Congress (I) leader had suggested or organized attacks on Sikhs.’’

Government disappointed us, say Sikhs:- New Delhi | August 08, 2005 11:43:10 PM IST With the G.T. Nanavati Commission report on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots tabled in the parliament Monday, most Sikhs believe the government has disappointed the community. "The government has made a mockery of the reports presented by nine different commissions set up by it over the last 21 years. There is no action against the culprits only because of political reasons," said author Patwant Singh. "Its one of the most reprehensible acts. How can the government ignore the sentiments of 20 million Sikhs for a couple political leaders?" Singh told IANS. Violence against Sikhs had erupted when then prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards Oct 31, 1984. About 2,700 people were killed and 2,800 others injured in carnage that Congress leaders have been accused of engineering. Singh said: "Where is the secular face of the Congress? What happened to those promises of justice for all communities? At least the party should respect the reports presented by honourable judges. "I am disappointed to see (Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh's government doing nothing. Our prime minister has disappointed us." Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee president Paramjit Singh Sarna said the government's action taken report, also tabled in parliament Monday, was "nothing but a shame". "The role of the government and its action taken report is nothing less than shameful. There is no justice for the families of innocent victims. Just give us justice," Sarna demanded. "We are disappointed not to see action against Congress leaders and police officials directly involved in the violence," he said. For those fighting for the victims, the wait was not worthwhile. "For how long will these innocents live in pain? There is no job, no compensation and finally no justice," said H.S. Pholka, the president of the All India Riot Victims Committee. "We are utterly disappointed." Jagdish Tytler, now a central minister, and Congress MP Sajjan Kumar are among those named in the Nanavati Commission's report for instigating mobs to avenge Indira Gandhi's killing. But the government said in its report Monday that it could not proceed against the leaders on the basis of a "probability". -- (IANS) http://www.witness84.com http://www.carnage84.com

http://www.sikhsangat.org/publish/article_274.shtml Report on ’84 riots damned By TNS Aug 9, 2005, 01:23 Mohali, August 8 Victims of the1984 riots protest in Mohali against the Nanavati Commission Action Taken Report which was tabled in Parliament on Monday. “Three thousand murders, but not a single murderer identified or punished till now. Is this what you call justice?†questioned an agitated Hardeep Singh, a victim of the 1984 riots here today. Reacting sharply to the contents of the Nanavati Commission Action Taken Report that was tabled in Parliament this morning, members of the 200-odd families who shifted here in 1984 were an infuriated lot. Demanding action against Union Minister Jagdish Tytler and MP Sajjan Kumar for their alleged role in getting Sikhs killed, the victims rejected the report that had given a virtual clean chit to the two. “I lost my father and my four brothers in the riots . Was I left alive to see this day? No action has been taken against any one of those who came to my house, doused petrol on my father and brothers and killed them. Then they burnt our house down. After 21 years we have no justice and now no hope is left,†said Inderjit Kaur who is living in Phase 11 with her family. “Everything was carried out in connivance of Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler, H.K.L Bhagat and Dharamdas Shastri. These persons should have been hanged long ago. Instead all that the governments did was constitute commission after commission and look at the result. Tytler and Sajjan have been let off today,†alleged Harpal Singh, who came to Mohali from Delhi after his house was looted and is now the general secretary of the Sikh Danga Pirat Parivar Society. Members of over 200 families shifted to Phase 11 following the implementation of a rehabilitation scheme in 1984. The victims admitted that when Dr Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, was made the Prime Minister, they had hoped that justice would prevail. “But today all hope has died. Even if the report has recommended inquiries against Shastri, P.G. Gavai and S.C. Tandon, we know that nothing is going to come out of these. The PM has played the same role that Giani Zail Singh played during the riots — watch like a mute puppet even while people of his community were being wronged,†said Surinder Kaur, another victim. “Who says there is not enough proof against Tytler and Sajjan? They were at the forefront, organising the riots. The police was told not to help us. It was the Army that came later and helped us and we dared to come out of our houses,†alleged Lakhvinder Singh. “The Akali government got us these houses. but the Congress government asked us to pay heavy penalties on the houses later. I lost my father-in-law in the riots. We have brought up our children in filth and poverty. Now they are jobless. The riots ruined our future generation too,†said Mrs Gurmail Kaur whose house in Trilokpuri, New Delhi, was burnt down. “I have not been given a house,†pointed out Gurdial Singh. The victims are planning to meet the Prime Minister. “We demand immediate resignation of Tytler and Sajjan Kumar,†said Mrs Paramjit Kaur, councillor.

Govt fooling people on Nanavati report: lawyer Onkar Singh in New Delhi | August 09, 2005 11:49 IST Last Updated: August 09, 2005 13:02 IST H S Phoolka, the well known lawyer who has been arguing the cases of Sikh riot victims since 1985, blames the United Progressive Alliance government for trying to fool the Indian public by claiming that Justice G T Nanavati himself was in doubt over whether Jagdish Tytler, currently the minister for overseas Indian affairs, had a hand in the October-Novermber 1984 riots following then prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination. "They are taking shelter behind the word 'probably' and trying to shield Jagdish Tytler. I am surprised that some leading lawyers from the Congress party are trying to defend a man who should have been prosecuted by claiming that Justice Nanavati had not indicted the minister in question. Those who have studied law and practise it know that when a judge is giving his findings as head of a Commission of Inquiry, the maximum length that he can go is to use the word probably. If the judge was to say that the man was indeed involved, that would amount to passing judgment," Phoolka told rediff.com on Monday night. He took the UPA government to task for saying it would consider what action to take against police officers whose conduct had been found questionable by the Nanavati Commission. "This government has been sitting on the report for the last 6 months and in this period, they should have registered First Information Reports against the officials and politicians named in the report and proceeded against them," Phoolka added indignantly. "But look at what they have done. They reluctantly table the report in the House after 6 months only to say that they would consider taking action. Even now, they are not saying we are initiating action against the erring officials and politicians. In the case of the politicians, they are trying to protect them instead of prosecuting them." The Justice Nanavati Commission, in its recommendation, said 'it is safe to record a finding and that there is credible evidence against Shri Jagdish Tytler to that effect that very probably, he had a hand in organising attacks on Sikhs. The Commission, therefore, recommends to the government to look into this aspect and take further action as may be found necessary.' Phoolka said it was not the judge's responsibility to file an FIR. This was the job of the police and they would have to further investigate the matter. The Commission's recommendations have come as a shock to Phoolka who expected the findings to be much more explosive than what has been noted in the 184-page report by Justice G T Nanavati. for more info visit http://www.witness84.com

21 Years on ...... not only the perpertrators are not punished for murdering thousands of Sikhs but they are called heroes (kpgill) and given positions in government (tytler, sajjan kumar) 21 years on ...... Sikhs are still living under persecution and slavery

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200506141510.htm Mann arrested on sedition charges Chandigarh, June 14. (PTI): Veteran Akali leader Simranjit Singh Mann was today arrested by Punjab Police from Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Sangrur on charges of sedition. Police sources said here that Mann, who is the President of Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann), has been arrested for allegedly raising the demand for Khalistan, a separate homeland for Sikhs. Separate cases under sedition charges were registered by Punjab police against Mann on June 8 and 13 following a complaint from the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC). During the 21st anniversary of operation Blue Star on June 6, Mann had allegedly raised slogans for a separate sikh land before Akal Takht. He had also allegedly brandished swords demanding "Khalistan." After a complaint by SGPC, police had booked Mann on June 8 slapping sedition charges on him. A similar case was registered against the radical leader on June 13 for "tempting" Sikhs to raise demand of freedom by way of getting separate Sikh homeland.

Sunday 12th June Assembly at Hyde Park 12 noon Rally 1 pm March sets off from Hyde Park 2 pm March ends at Temple Place 4 pm Contact your local Gurdwara for details regarding transport to London http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat...5000&icon=x

Vaheguru ....the Parkarma at Sri Darbar Sahib Shaheed Singhs

A reflection on the attack on Darbar Sahib 21 years ago, this movie is a collection of media segments in response to the attack and the assasination of Indira Gandhi. A must see for everyone. http://www.sikhresource.com

Vaheguru

http://www.maboli.com/Sikh_HR/Picture_Gall...lue_Star_2.html These pictures show pilgrims being rounded up, arrested, and even killed, although the army denies taking any pilgrims captive. Worshipers were turning out in large numbers because it was near the day of the fifth Guru's (Guru Arjan) martyrdom anniversary, one of the large Sikh anniversaries.

Never can we forget......

Thanks I will check those out

http://www.punjabjustice.org/

http://www.panthic.org/news/123/ARTICLE/13...725060f4cbfd5f9 Mrs. Khalra: Punish KP Gill Sunday 22nd May, 2005 Gurleen Kaur - Panthic Weekly Staff Surrey-BC, Canada (KP) - Last week, Mrs Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the widow of Sirdar Jaswant Singh Khalra, visited North America. Sirdar Khalra was a Sikh human rights activist who was murdered in the custody of the Punjab police. The culprits are still free, says Mrs Khalra. Mr. Khalra was a Bank Director before getting into human rights in Amritsar. His two collegues disappeard. He found out by word of mouth that their bodies was burned at Durgyana Mandar. He went to find out more information there. The employees provided a register to Mr. Khalra, where he could check to see if the name was there. Glancing over the register Mr. Khalra noticed something that was a bit out of place. Besides finding the names of his two collegues he found thousands of names of people that were said to be (Lawaras). The names had all sorts of information written next to it ex. Fathers name, height, weight, age, hair colour length, where they lived, area where they were killed, how they died, address of their homes, which police officer brought them in. They had to register these names in order to get wood from the municipal corporation to burn the bodies. This is where they over estimated themselves. They did not think that anyone would be able to obtain the register with the thousands of names. After viewing the register, Mr. Khalra cautiously made a photocopy of the register. He then used the same excuse to go to Pati and Tarn Taarn and made photocopies of all those registers from there as well. Even though they had all the information of the person, they still said the body was unknown. After getting the copies of the register, Mr. Khalra realized that if he showed the register to people in Punjab or the Punjab government then he would run into a lot of trouble and his voice maybe silenced very quickly. It was because of this Mr. Khalra decided to publish the records outside of India. Mr. Khalra went to Canada in June and went back to Punjab July 27. Here he distributed the records to all the Gurudwaras along with submitting it into the Parliament. He knew that when he went back to Punjab, he would be killed, however, he decided that he would get the records out to as many people as he could. He needed to tell the people how the Punjab police burned 15 to 20 bodies together and then threw the half burned bodies into the closest river. It was after Mr. Khalra spoke up against the police that the public stopped being afraid to speak. It was after Mr. Khalra spoke up that the police started being afraid. Mrs. Khalra believes that the abductions and murders of Sikh men stopped after the abduction of Mr. Khalra. The Khalra family received a lot of support from Sikhs living abroad, however, the support that they had thought they would receive from Mr. Badal and the Sikhs from Punjab was not there. Mrs. Khalra had thought that they would receive support from Mr. Badal since he had mentioned this issue in his speech when he was running for elections. However, when he was approached about this issue, he told Mrs. Khalra to forget the whole thing. He said that she had spent so much money already; she had kids to raise and had to live her own life now. She had to leave the job she had held as a librarian at a University and now is unable to get the job even though she has applied for it many times. However, she was told by the administration of Mr. Badal that she does not have to work if she does not want to. If she stops pursuing the case they will help her raise her children. The case is still continuing today, and hopefully the government will realize that if this happened in 3 towns it is very possible that it was happening in other cities in Punjab. Mrs. Khalra is currently in North America where she has said that she found a lot of moral support from Sikhs. The reporter can be reached at gurleen.kaur@panthic.org

http://www.panthic.org/news/129/ARTICLE/13...34ca404725d07a5 Nanavati Report – the silence is deafening! Sunday 22nd May, 2005 Vikramjit Singh - Guest Columnist (KP) The Budget session of the Indian Parliament has come and gone and the Indian Government has gone back on its promise of releasing the Nanavati Commission Report on the 1984 Genocide. Now the Government says that the Report will be tabled during the Monsoon session. The Government has sought refuge in the clause that gives it six months, from the submission of the Report to the Government, to table such a Report in Parliament. The buffer of six months was for some other reason but the Indian Government is misusing this clause to delay tabling of the Report. There are rumors that the Government is planning to release only 200 hundred pages of the Report. The other part, which should be the damaging part, will be kept under wraps on some security excuse. Recently the Government has trashed the Phukan Commission Report and this could be a prequel for the Nanavati Report. To highlight the games the Government is playing is the fact that the Interim Report of the Godhra riots was released the very same day it was submitted to the Government. That is because in this Report the Government had political mileage to gain whereas the Nanavati Commission Report is a liability for the Congress. More than two decades have elapsed and the riots affected await justice. In comparison the Gandhi family got justice in no time as Shaheed Satwant Singh and Shaheed Kehar Singh were hanged within 36 months. But, today we have to look beyond the Nanavati Report. Justice Nanavati has commented that he has recommended re-opening of cases against certain Congress leaders. Re-opening cases after so many years would serve no purpose. This is a classical case of Justice being delayed and buried! However, law will take its course and we will have to wait and watch. If nothing else Congress could have at least politically punished people like Sajjan Kumar and Tytler. But rather than punishing them both were given nominations for the Lok Sabha elections and Tytler today is a Minister in the present Government. After all public perception should be given some credence and Congress is doing just this when it comes to Modi. Someone has suggested that we go for the South African type of Truth Commission. But, in the South African case the affected were in power and there was a quest to uncover the truth. In India’s case Congress would do everything to keep things under wraps and in the bargain also get amnesty for the perpetrators of this heinous crime. What is surprising is that the Indian Government has the gall to question the Canadian Investigation and Judicious system in the Kanishka matter. Congressmen say that Congress has apologized for the riots. Well if Satwant Singh had apologized for the assassination of Mrs. Gandhi would the Courts have reversed his death sentence? Leave that, would Congress have forgiven him? NDTV carried a news item in which they re-visited the riots affected areas. They showed an elderly Sikh saying that he lost four of his sons in the 1984 genocide. But, he said he had Faith in Waheguru that he will get justice. This is the beauty of Sikhism after loosing four sons, after seeing the literal burial of Justice still this Sikh has Faith that his Guru will not let him down!

A sign of kalyug, these people who are killing there daughters will certaionly be punished, the problem lies with the decline of Sikhi thus lack of fear/love of Akaal Purakh, Vaheguru Jee.......... the following poem was posted on sikhnet on this topic: http://www.sikhnet.com/Sikhnet/discussion....1A!OpenDocument To the ‘Kuri-maar’ parents I am a child. My name is Har-Preet, but you don't know that yet. It's dark, but I know you're there. I'm only six weeks old, But my heart is beating. I'm not even the size of a raspberry, But my heart is beating. I am a person. I'II like the color yellow, but you don't know that yet. It's warm, like your hands will be when you hold me. I'm only eleven weeks old, But I am growing hair and fingernails. I only weigh a half ounce. But I am growing hair and fingernails. I'll have a life. I'll win a first prize at drawing, but you don't know that yet. I can't see anything, but I will see your face. I'm only fourteen weeks old, But I have a face and fingerprints. I'm only three inches long, But I have a face and fingerprints. I'll add to the world. I'll smile at you first, but you don't know that yet. I'm still within you, but I'll run to be with you. I'm only nineteen weeks old, But I'm sucking my thumb. I only weigh nine ounces, But I'm sucking my thumb. I will be loved. I'll have two kids, but I'll be yours first. I can hear your voice, but soon you'll hear mine. I'm only twenty-five weeks old, But I have the hiccups. I'm only eight inches long, But I have the hiccups. I will see things you will never see, Love people you will never love, Do things you will never do, Be things you will never be, That is, if you let me live.

I have heard Maharaaj referred as Aad Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee (not sure why - again more knowledgeable can answer this) but never as Adi Guru Durbar bhul chuk maaf karna jee

Good point to respect Guru Maharaaj by writing Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee rather than abbreviated, its more respect. Every Sikh I ever met which ever background has called Maharaaj "Guru Granth Sahib Jee" - dont understand why the constant attack on Sikhi from so called Sikhs is happening, one example is Maharaaj being called 'Adi Guru Durbar'. Again these so called sanatan sikhs (kal de jamne) rewriting and disrespecting Sikhi.

http://www.sikhtoons.com/HangedToDebt.html

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200505120306.htm Punjabi farmers 'most indebted' in India New Delhi, May 12 (UNI): Punjab tops the "Indebtedness list of farmer households" of states with every farmer family on an average owing Rs 41,576 to credit institutions including private money lenders against an all India average of Rs 12,585. Punjab is followed by Kerala with Rs 33,907, Haryana Rs 26,007, Andhra Pradesh Rs 23,965 and Tamil Nadu Rs 23,963. Almost all the State farmer households barring those of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttranchal, West Bengal owe nearly Rs 10,000 or above. This was revealed in a Survey on "Indebtedness of Farmer Households" by the National Sample Survey Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation here on Wednesday. Going by different social groups of farmer households on all India basis, kisans belonging to the Scheduled Tribe owed below Rs 6,000, while that of the Scheduled Castes below Rs 8,000. Farmer Households belonging to the other backward classes were burdened by just below Rs 14,000, while farmer households of other categories were indebted to the level of Rs 18,000 and above. Another notable feature in case of Punjab was that farmer households belonging to Scheduled Tribes were really over burdened with outstanding loans amounting to Rs 1,18,495, while the Scheduled Castes Rs 10,399, OBCs Rs 21,862 and others Rs 66,147. Punjab is the only State in the country, where scheduled tribe farmer households owed rupees one lakh and above, which also tops in other respects. Another interesting aspect thrown up by the 59th Round of the National Sample Survey pertains to Mizoram, where the scheduled tribes alone had outstanding loans of Rs 1,937 while no other social group including the Others' category owed anything.

http://www.panthic.org/news/125/ARTICLE/13...dc774d508e059b7 Punjab has no surplus waters for other states! Sunday 8th May, 2005 Anoop Singh - Panthic Weekly Staff Bhatinda, Punjab (KP) - Following the recent demand by the Rajasthan High Court that the State of Punjab should hand over control of the Ferozepur, Harike and Ropar canal headworks, all three located in Punjab territory, to the illegal Bhakhra Beas Management Board (BBMB), Punjab CM has stated that the state has no surplus waters for other states. The Rajansthan court further directed the Central government in New Delhi to ensure compliance of its illegal order within thirty days. Speaking at Communist function on May 6 in Bhatinda, Punjab CM, Capt. Amarinder Singh said, "According to the 1971 measurements, Punjab had 17.1 MAF water, while the recent testings showed the decline to 14.6 MAF only." He further stated that because of the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL), 9 lakh acres of fertile land in Punjab had been destroyed resulting in16 lakh farmers losing their source of income. Rajasthan was drawing 8.6 MAF of water from the Ravi-Beas system through the Rajasthan canal, also called the Indira Gandhi Canal. It was one of the largest canals in the world having the capacity to carry 18,500 cusecs of water. Rajasthan was also getting 1.5 MAF through the Bhakra Mainline canal besides 1.1 MAF through the Gang canal, also called the Bikaner canal. Meanwhile, a Punjab river water expert, Mr Pritam Singh Kumedan appealed to the state government saying, “It is the right time to challenge the claim of Rajasthan on the river waters passing through Punjabâ€. Speaking in Chandigarh on May 2, he went on to say that Punjab had been showing unnecessary generosity towards Rajasthan by allowing it to draw water from the Ravi-Beas and other river systems despite the fact that it being a non-riparian state was therefore not automatically entitled to a drop of water. "Nowhere in the world was a non-riparian province or country allowed to draw water from the share of a riparian province or country. Even in India, no riparian state except Punjab gave water from its share to non-riparian states. But Rajasthan, even though it was a non-riparian state, had been drawing a huge share of 11.2 MAF from Punjab waters for a long time," he stated. "Its capitalised value was Rs 6 lakh crore", he added. Mr Kumedan said that except for 1.1 MAF of water, which Rajasthan was getting through the Gang canal by paying “seigniorage†(revenue) to Punjab, there was no justified claim of that state on Punjab waters. He said that the then Union Irrigation Minister, Gulzari Lal Nanda had allocated 8.0 MAF to Rajasthan from the river waters on January 29, 1955 at a meeting of the Chief Engineers of the states concerned. No formal agreement was signed between Punjab and Rajasthan at that meeting. Allocation was made just on the basis of the proceedings of the meeting to Rajasthan, he added. Later on January 31, 1981, Indira Gandhi unilaterally increased Rajasthan’s share to 8.6 MAF, then forcing the then Punjab Chief Minister, Darbara Singh, to agree to this. Mr Kumedan today urged the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, to file a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the claim of Rajasthan on Punjab river waters. He said that in fact all political parties of Punjab should file a joint petition in the Supreme Court challenging the allocation of water to non-riparian Rajasthan. He said this was the most important issue which should be settled once and for all. Mr Kumedan said that the Bhakra Beas Management Board was an unconstitutional body and its formation should also be challenged in the Supreme Court. The reporter can be reached at anoop.singh@panthic.org