Pakistan’s Smoking Guns

This September and October our state Punjab has witnessed a spike in terrorism-related activities. The explosion at Tarn Taran and arrest of four Khalistani militants with a huge cache of arms and ammunition in September were the primary ones that attracted my attention. The incidents indicate the persistent attempts by Khalistani militants and their base country – Pakistan – to recreate the blood-stained era of Punjab’s history. The recent months have also brought to light how drones originating from Pakistan have been used to make weapons’ drops on the Indian side.  Moreover, the Pakistani Islamist terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) had also threatened to bomb several railway stations in Punjab, including the Amritsar and Bhatinda stations.

The spike in such incidents, arrest and threats comes close behind the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). As J&K witnessed prolonged shutdown, Rawalpindi has made concerted attempts to revamp the dead insurgency in Punjab, in an attempt to open a new front as a part of its death by thousand cuts strategy against India

After the removal of J&K’s special status, there have also been reports that the work on the Pakistani side of the Kartarpur corridor was slowed down. The recent arrest of KZF terrorists has revealed that they were being operationalised to execute attacks not only in Punjab but in J&K as well. Recent news confirmed that a JeM militant had worked in tandem with KZF in transporting arms and ammunition from Pakistan into India.

The continuing attempts by Rawalpindi to drag the state of Punjab and the Sikh community back to the anarchic days of the 1980’s and early 1990’s show that they view the life and blood of Sikhs and Punjabis as something that can be spilled to further their own political agenda. The destruction of lives in Punjab is visible in the massive pumping of heroin across the border, with the active connivance of the ISI and Pakistan-based Khalistani militants, including KZF chief Happy Singh.

In view of the developments in J&K, Punjab is likely to be used as a route to push more weapons into Kashmir via Punjab. More recoveries and arrests thus seem probable in the coming days. In an attempt to polarise communities, militants are likely even to conduct attacks to a create communal rift and to disseminate propaganda to breed distrust. We as a community must build resilience and be on guard against vested elements who want to push us back into darkness and bloodshed.

Khalistani drug peddlers

The drug menace is ruining the future of Punjab, creating widespread addiction among the youth, and posing a significant threat to the stability of society. Punjab drug consumption is three times the national average. Not a day goes by without the recovery of a drug consignment. In June 2019, 532 kilos of heroin were recovered in a single seizure. This consignment, as well as an overwhelming proportion of all drugs in the state, is being pushed in from Pakistan, and Khalistani terrorist groups based in Pakistan are at the centre of this illegal trafficking. Narcotics smuggling is the main source of income for the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). Paramjit Singh Panjwar, the leader of the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) is another major drug smuggler, adding to his list of despicable crimes, including the murder of innocents in numerous acts of terrorism. Panjwar is an important conduit for the large-scale push of heroin into Punjab, and smuggling is one of his principal sources sources of revenue.

The Khalistani terrorists makes tall claims about fighting for the Faith, but they are bringing ruination on the youth of Punjab, including Sikh youth, flooding the state with drugs and trapping tens of thousands in the curse of addiction. Sikhism explicitly bars the use of any intoxicant, and promoting the trade in drugs violates every teaching of the Gurus. The Khalistanis involved in the drug trade, and in the ruination of the youth of Punjab, even as they project themselves as holier-than-thou Sikhs calling for their imaginary ‘land of the pure’ is nothing but hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy. These are criminals and pygmies who will go to any extent to promote themselves and make a few extra dollars, even as they destroy the lives of the common people, who they claim to ‘fight’ for, but more often murder in acts of terrorism, or destroy with their drug trade. The opulent lives of these gangsters in opulent bungalows and pent houses in Pakistani safe havens are underwritten with the blood and future of Punjabi men and women who fall prey to addiction. Everything that they say and do is against the basic tenants of Sikhism and of fundamental human morality.

The Khalistani vultures who wear garb of our religion have abused and misused our religion for their own personal benefits. The aim of these self-declared warriors of faith is to create a generation who are weak in their body and minds. These men and women can then be exploited for criminal purposes to create an army of expendable criminal cohorts, who can then be used to create unrest in Punjab and drag it back into the darkness of terrorism. Every one of us, Sikh and non-Sikh, in Punjab has to be on guard against these unscrupulous and exploitative manipulators. We must fight the Khalistani terrorists and drug traders, and try to bring back our youth from the nightmare of addiction.

Tarn Taran : Another alarm

The Tarn Taran blast has again underlined the continuing vulnerability of the state to radical violence by a microscopic minority of pro-Khalistani supporters. The minority Khalistani elements, safely tucked away in ISI havens and in far off countries in the Americas and Europe, want Sikh blood to flow to inflate their egos and feed their sense of self-importance. After 15 years of relentless bloodletting, Punjab saw the defeat of the Khalistani movement in 1993. However, continuing attempts by these elements, who have been insulated from the ground realties of Punjab, are yet to accept that the people of Punjab have rejected their murderous ways. We are not willing to pay with our flesh and blood for their twisted ideology.

The vitriolic Canada and US based Khalistani’s as well as Pakistan supported Khalistani elements risk nothing. They have no roots here. They won't lose a family member to acts of violence. All they would do is tweet a megabyte of nonsensical comments, in the safety of their well-insulated homes. The overseas Khalistani elements are today exploiting our vulnerability and our faith. These Overseas-based dance monkeys of the ISI offer funding to conduct violence and do sacrilegious acts to disrupt communal harmony in Punjab. Some Sikhs, who would otherwise be ready to earn from a honest day’s work, fall prey to these sacrilegious scammers and end up having to pay with long spells in jails.  We also have to remember that, no matter what our real or perceived grievances are, taking another humans life can never be justified. As true Sikhs we have to remind ourselves that we have to be the voice of Sikhism and not like those braying with blood lust.

Let us remind ourselves that those channelling weapons and drugs into our state have only one aim in mind – elimination of the Sikh community, which is a principal beam of support for India. They want to drag Punjab into a continuing vortex of violence which will drown our people in blood. What the Pakistanis want is a mirror image of themselves in their neighbourhood and the first step for them is to see us killing each other like they have been doing for the past over 70 years.

Vitriolic rabble

In the month of August, particularly as August 15 nears, the vitriolic commentary of Khalistani ideologues reaches its Zenith, with claims that this date is not the Independence Day for Sikhs. Such statements are current amongst a miniscule vocal element in the Sikh Diaspora that lives in the post truth environment of Europe and other ‘developed’ countries and that includes Khalistanis who have the blood of innocents on their hands. Many of them have never set foot in Punjab or know of our contribution to the Independence struggle. The statements of the Khalistani supporters is directly diminishing the value of the heroic deed done by the likes of Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh.

Every year without failure, the post truth believers (never a sizable population by the way) try to raise a ‘Khalistani flag’ in front of the Indian High Commission here a. Such acts also disregard the heroic deeds of our brethren, who serves in the Indian Armed Forces and have reached top echelons of the services by their grit and hard work. In the dark days of Khalistani terrorism in Punjab, August 15 and January 26 were used by the Khalistani terrorists as a reference point to bump off more unarmed civilians. Today, these dates are used to heighten the pitch of a venomous discourse by deceitful, ignorant and manipulated individuals.

This hooliganism underwritten by those who see Sikhs as meagre pawns in a power game to bleed India with a thousand cuts. But the repercussions cause trouble for innocent citizens, projecting us (Sikhs) in a poor light across the world, and causing embarrassment to the majority among the community everywhere. Moreover, in a world which is tired of terrorism and all information just a click away, no one in their right minds would come out to support a movement that seeks to reignite a vicious and dead ideology, which instigated the murder of nearly 12,000 innocent civilians in a decade and half long violence. It would also be right to point out at this juncture that a majority of those killed by the gunmen propounding the idea of Khalistan were also Sikhs.

It is unfortunate and demeaning that the teachings of our Guru and symbols of our religion are being denigrated by a minority as a means to gain publicity. Without taking in the essence of the teachings of our Gurus, and applying them into their daily lives and actions, these eyeball-grabbers are attempting to transform our religion into gestures, symbols and rituals of hatred and murder.

The forgettable massacre?

There is nothing intelligent so say about a massacre
Kurt Vonnegut, Novelist

On a Summer evening, 35 Sikh men and children were ordered out my armed camouflaged personnel and were lined up near to a gurudwara. The armed men opened a volley fire with their automatic rifles, while chanting religious slogans. The firing continued for ten minutes stopping only to reload their rifles. The date was March 20, 2000 and location was Chittisinghpura in Anantnag District of Kashmir. The murders of the 35 innocent Sikhs were member of Lashkar e- Toiba, (LeT) a Pakistan sponsored group which has often been mentioned as the veritable arm of ISI. Some of those involved in the attack was identified as Rasool Wani, Zamrood, Abu Maaz, Shahid, Babar, Tipu Khan and Maqsood all members of Pakistan sponsored Jihad Groups.

The massacre was an assault on the Sikh psyche worldwide as many Sikh mourners attended the funeral of the massacred men. The murderous rampage resulted in the suspicion of our Islamic brethren by the miniscule Sikh population in the region.

While many so called ‘’righteous” Sikhs have now been seen talking with the leadership of Pakistani Army, ISI and LeT, attempting to revive a dead and impractical idea called ‘’Khalistan” no one of them, who claim to speak for the ‘’oppressed” Sikhs (despite having lived in Canada and USA and seldom visiting their Pind) has called for the prosecution of the group leaders who were responsible for the massacre. They have been so subservient to their circus masters that they have not even asked for an public apology from Islamabad. Moreover, the when those supporting the ludicruous idea joins hand with the same people who had ordered the killing of innocent Sikhs, the hypocrisy and the bankrupt morality of those are laid bare in the open.  

Is the deafening silence because not enough of Sikh blood was spilt on that faithful day to denounce it or demand answers from those who fund these groups ( the same circus masters to whom the leaders procrastinate). 

Is the massacre of our brethren not being talked about because it carries no potential for political capitalisation, or is it not being mentioned because it is an inconvenient truth which will annoy the masters resulting in stoppage of  pittance funding to Sikh groups based in Pakistan and nurtures the delusional ‘’Khalistan dream”. 

Or is not being spoken about because the blood of our brethren is a hinderance for those who want to fill up their coffers, underwritten by our suffering

Our community which has seen enough trials and tribulations since the partition of Punjab in 1947 and need no rerun of bloody episodes. Those who are trying to hijack my religion and bring back violence in the name of religion needs to know that such degenerate beings will find no mercy from the panth anymore. We want peace to relish our dreams and aspirations not another round of bloodshed. If the Khalistan dreamers want scape goats who can validate a reason for getting blood money from their masters, they can import the goats from their own back yards (Canada and England), instead of looking for cheap labour in South Asia like a bourgeoise regime which they are.  

Gopal Singh Chawla with LeT leader Hafiz Muhammad saeed

Darkest of Times Elucidates the Bravest of Sikhs

Young man of steel this warrior brave
Steadfast and sober dressed in blue
Rises at dawn and drains his cup
And girds up for the coming day
Prayers are said in early morn
Proud turban does his head adorn

--Rattan Singh Bahngu ,Chaupai

On the faithful day of June 6, 1984, the Army was given a Pyrrhic mission of entering the Golden temple and sanitize the temple which was being occupied by armed terrorists. The mission was a sensitive one as the Golden temple was the holiest shrine for the adherents of Sikh faith. Given the sensitivity, Commanding Officers gave the option for soldiers to sit out of the operation if they found the mission contradicting their religious principles. However, in true ethos of a volunteer Army, none of the soldiers backed out of the mission and stayed diligently committed to the mission assigned to them.  

A Sikh officer of the 10 Guards, exemplified this adherence to his warrior ethos typical of Sikhs.

Raising his hand, Lieutenant Jasbir Singh stated that he wanted to be the first soldier in the temple to flush out the terrorists who had set up grenade factories and camped inside the temple with weapons. He said he wanted to be the first to flush out the militants who had brought shame to the holiest shrine of the Sikhs.

As the young Lieutenant led his troopers into the temple, he was shot and wounded by the terrorists camped inside the temple. Although bullets shattered both his legs, he initially refused to be evacuated from the premises and continued to command his troops to complete the mission objective. He was later evacuated, after receiving direct orders from CO of the Operation.
Raina choose to be in the operation to force out the armed brigands who masqueraded as true adherent of the Guru’s teachings but in reality violated his teachings both in text and spirit. The Officer was later awarded the Ashoka Chakra for his valour.

On that faithful day, Jasbir Singh Raina exhibited the highest order of courage and chose to fight for his faith and beliefs against those Khalistani’s who desecrated the Akal Takth, and committing heinous acts against humanity within the vicinity of the most sacred premise for the Sikhs.
For every terrorist who committed heinous crimes against humanity, there were many other righteous men who stood up against such heinous acts.

It is time we honour the valour of men like Jasbir Singh Raina who bled for the Sikh faith even at the peril of their lives, and give them their rightful place in Sikh history.