Sikh History
Brief History of Sikhism
The history of Sikhism started with Guru Nanak Dev Ji. He was the first Guru of the fifteenth century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The religious practices were formalized by Guru Gobind Singh Ji on 13 April 1699.[1] The latter baptized five persons from different social backgrounds to form Khalsa (ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ). The first five, Beloved, then baptized Gobind Singh into the Khalsa fold.[2] This gives the order of Khalsa, a history of around 300 years.
The history of Sikhism is closely associated with the history of Punjab and the socio-political situation in 16th-century Northwestern Indian subcontinent (modern Pakistan and India). During the Mughal rule of India (1556–1707), an intolerant form of Islam attempted to convert the local population to Islam. Prominent Sikh Gurus were killed by Islamic rulers for refusing to convert to Islam,[3] and for opposing the persecution of Sikhs and Hindus.[4] Of total 10 Sikh gurus,[5][6][7][8][9] 2 gurus themselves were tortured and executed (Guru Arjan Dev and Guru Tegh Bahadur),[10][11] and close kins of several gurus brutally killed (such as 6 and 9 years old sons of Guru Gobind Singh),[12][13] along with numerous other main revered figures of Sikhism were tortured and killed (such as Banda Bahadur, Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Sati Das and Bhai Dayala),[9][12][13] by Islamic rulers for refusing to convert to Islam,[3][5][13][12] and for opposing the persecution of Sikhs and Hindus.[4][11][6][9]Subsequently, Sikhism militarized to oppose Mughal hegemony.
The emergence of the Sikh Confederacy under the misls and Sikh Empire under reign of the Maharajah Ranjit Singh was characterized by religious tolerance and pluralism with Christians, Muslims and Hindus in positions of power. The establishment of the Sikh Empire is commonly considered the zenith of Sikhism at political level,[14] during this time the Sikh Empire came to include Kashmir, Ladakh, and Peshawar. A number of Muslim and Hindu peasants converted to Sikhism.[15] Hari Singh Nalwa, the Commander-in-chief of the Sikh army along the North West Frontier, took the boundary of the Sikh Empire to the very mouth of the Khyber Pass. The Empire's secular administration integrated innovative military, economic and governmental reforms.
The months leading up to the partition of India in 1947, saw heavy conflict in the Punjab between Sikh and Muslims, which saw the effective religious migration of Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus from West Punjab which mirrored a similar religious migration of Punjabi Muslims in East Punjab.
21 Sikh vs 10,000 Pathans
The Battle of Saragarhi was fought before the Tirah Campaign on 12 September 1897 between the British Indian Empire and the Afghan tribesmen.[9] It occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
On 12 September 1897, estimated 12,000 - 24,000 Orakzai-Afridi tribes were seen near Gogra, at Samana Suk and round Saragarhi, severing Fort Gulistan from Lockhart. The Afghans attacked the little post of Saragarhi where thousands swarmed and surrounded it per eyewitness Col. Haughton, written in his biography.[10] The Sikhs, led by Havildar Ishar Singh, chose to fight to the death, in what is considered by some military historians as one of history's greatest last stands.[11] The post was recaptured two days later by another British Indian contingent. The 4th battalion of the Sikh Regiment of Indian Army commemorates the battle every year on 12 September, as Saragarhi Day.[12]
Saragarhi was a small village in the border district of Kohat, situated on the Samana Range, in present-day Pakistan. On 20 April 1894, the 36th Sikhs of the British Indian Army was created, under the command of Colonel J. Cook.[13] In August 1897, five companies of the 36th Sikhs under Lieutenant Colonel John Haughton were sent to the northwest frontier of British India (modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and were stationed at Samana Hills, Kurag, Sangar, Sahtop Dhar and Saragarhi.
The British had partially succeeded in getting control of this volatile area, but tribal Pashtuns continued to attack British personnel from time to time. Thus a series of forts, originally built by Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the Sikh Empire, were consolidated. Two of the forts were Fort Lockhart (on the Samana Range of the Hindu Kush mountains), and Fort Gulistan (Sulaiman Range), situated a few miles apart. Fort Lockhart is located at 33.5562N 70.9188E.[14] Due to the forts not being visible to each other, Saragarhi was created midway, as a heliographic communication post. The Saragarhi post, situated on a rocky ridge, consisted of a small block house with loop-holed ramparts and a signalling tower.
A general uprising by the Afghans began there in 1897, and between 27 August and 11 September many vigorous efforts by Pashtuns to capture the forts were thwarted by the 36th Sikhs. In 1897, insurgent and inimical activities had increased, and on 3 and 9 September Afridi tribesmen, allied with the Afghans, attacked Fort Gulistan. Both the attacks were repulsed, and a relief column from Fort Lockhart, on its return trip, reinforced the signalling detachment positioned at Saragarhi, increasing its strength to three non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and eighteen other ranks (ORs).
Details of the Battle of Saragarhi are considered fairly accurate, because Gurmukh Singh signalled events to Fort Lockhart by heliograph[15] as they occurred.[13]
Around 09:00, approximately 6,000–10,000 Afghans reach the signalling post at Saragarhi.
Sepoy Gurmukh Singh signals to Colonel Haughton, situated in Fort Lockhart, that they are under attack.
Haughton states he cannot send immediate help to Saragarhi.
The soldiers in Saragarhi decide to fight to the last to prevent the enemy from reaching the forts.
Sepoy Bhagwan Singh is the first soldier to be killed and Naik Lal Singh is seriously wounded.
Naik Lal Singh and Sepoy Jiwa Singh reportedly carry the body of Bhagwan Singh back to the inner layer of the post.
The Afghans break a portion of the wall of the picket.
Haughton signals that he has estimated that there are between 10,000 and 14,000 Pashtuns attacking Saragarhi.
The leaders of the Pashtun forces reportedly make promises to the soldiers to entice them to surrender.
Reportedly two determined attempts are made to rush open the gate, but are unsuccessful.
Later, the wall is breached.
Thereafter, some of the fiercest hand-to-hand fighting occurs.
In an act of outstanding bravery, Havildar Ishar Singh orders his men to fall back into the inner layer, whilst he remains to fight. However, this is breached and all but one of the defending soldiers are killed, along with many of the Pashtuns.
Sepoy Gurmukh Singh, who communicated the battle to Haughton, was the last surviving Sikh defender. He is stated to have killed 20 Afghans, the Pashtuns having to set fire to the post to kill him. As he was dying, he was said to have yelled repeatedly the Sikh battle cry "Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal!" ("One will be blessed eternally, who says that God is the ultimate truth!").
Having destroyed Saragarhi, the Afghans turned their attention to Fort Gulistan, but they had been delayed too long, and reinforcements arrived there in the night of 13–14 September, before the fort could be captured.[2] The Pashtuns later admitted that they had lost about 180 killed[16] and many more wounded[17] during the engagement against the 21 Sikh soldiers, but some 600 bodies[8] are said to have been seen around the ruined post when the relief party arrived (however, the fort had been retaken, on 14 September, by the use of intensive artillery fire,[7] which may have caused some casualties). The total casualties in the entire campaign, including the Battle of Saragarhi, numbered around 4,800.
May 29, 2019/in Sikh Genocide 84 /
Source: http://www.sikhsforjustice.org/?q=content/know-the-facts
Sikhs For Justice | KNOW THE FACTS:
October 31st, 1984 – November 4th, 1984: “November 1984 Sikh Genocide”.
“November 1984 Sikh Genocide” was far from being a spontaneous expression of “madness” and popular “grief and anger” at Mrs. Gandhi’s assassination as made out to be by the authorities.
It was an outcome of a well organized plan marked by important politicians of the Indian National Congress party and authorities in the administration.
The brutal killing, looting and raping of Sikhs during the “November 1984 Sikh Genocide” took place in Delhi, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir, Chattisgarh, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra.
As per official records over 3000 Sikhs were killed but the fact is, over 30,000 were killed (mostly burnt alive) throughout India and over 2,00,000 were displaced.
Hundreds of Sikh women gang raped throughout India by goons, police officers and civil administrators and told that next generation (after rape) will be loyal to Government.
Hundreds of Gurudwaras and thousands of Guru Granth Sahibs were burnt and desecrated.
Around 300 Sikh soldiers done to death in uniform by fellow soldiers.
120 Sikhs working at the Bokaro Steel Plant Jharkhand thrown alive into burning furnaces.
Children as old as 13 days of age roasted alive on gas stoves in Kanpur and other cities in India.
In Agartala, Tripura 40 Sikh families who took refuge in a police station to save their lives were burnt alive in the police station.
In Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh 12 Sikhs were hanged from the ceiling at the railway platform.
Small children killed ruthlessly by pulling their legs apart whil their mothers being raped.
In Haryana and Madhya Pradesh Sikh women taken into hostage and raped during November 1984, still held in captivity by the goons.
Sikh women taken from refugee camps and raped even after November 6, 1984.
Sikhs on public roads burnt alive, dragged out from trains and lynched on the railway platforms and set on fire
Property of Sikhs worth millions was looted and destroyed.
Massacre of Sikhs planned in a meeting organized at 24 Akbar Road, New Delhi on October 31, 1984 attended by members of Parliament and senior members of the Congress party including Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, Kamal Nath, Dharam Das Shastri, Vasant Sathe, HKL Bhagat, Lalit Makhen, Arjun Das amongst others.
State media showed inflammatory speeches and scenes. Popular movie stars like Amitabh Bachchan shown on state television raising slogans like “Khoon ka badla khoon” (blood for blood) and “Khoon ke chintey sikhon ke ghar tak pahunchni chahiye” (Splashes of blood should reach the doorsteps of Sikhs).
Police commondos from Police headquarters Madhuban, Haryana on the orders of Bhajan Lal, the then Chief Minister of Haryana send to commit the massacre of Sikhs.
Expert arsonists and professional goons brought from outside and transported to different areas in Government buses. Supplied with inflammable materials to burn Sikhs, Sikh houses, businesses and Sikh temples.
Police either actively participated in committing the massacre of Sikhs or stood as silent spectators while Sikhs burnt alive. Police even supplied diesel from police jeeps to the arsonists. Police disarmed the Sikhs before mobs attacked them.
No curfew imposed or army called while most of the killings took place. When army called, deliberately designed to be ineffective.
After 25 years the organizers and perpetrators of the Genocide roam free and even enjoy positions of power. None punished for killings of the Sikhs.
Ten commissions have failed to bring Justice. Affidavits filed before commissions found lying at the residences of those accused of organizing and committing the massacre.