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Author: Kulbir Singh
Date: 06-27-03 14:16
We all know that the riots of 1947 were the worse that the Sikhs faced in the last century. Sikhs in 1947 lost all their property, money and many lost their lives. They chose to live in India and did not change their religion to secure their property, money or lives. After leaving everything in Pakistan Punjab, the came to East Punjab i.e. Indian side of Punjab and built everything from scratch. Then another massacre came in the 1980s when tens of thousands of Sikhs died for Sikhi.
In the next few days, I am going to write on selected incidents that occurred in Rawalpindi area of Pakistan, in March 1947. This area was worse affected by the riots of partition in 1947. The Sikhs were massacred by the Muslims of that area. The striking thing that I want to write under this thread is not that Sikhs got massacred but how bravely the Sikhs fought back aggression and how much they sacrificed to keep Sikhi. Some of the stories are very emotional and very hard to read. I am not sure if I can narrate these stories as well as they were narrated by the people who actually saw all this with their own eyes. I will try.
AREA OF POTHOHAAR I.E. RAWALPINDI AREA OF PAKISTAN
This area was the centre of Sikhi in those days. Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh jee writes that before he went to jail, this area was full of bibiyaan with dastaar and many families had adopted the strict Khalsa rehit. It was in this area where Sant Baba Attar Singh jee Mastuanawaale, did rigorous bhagti for many years. This is the land where great Sikh Siri Thakur Nihaal Singh, reputed to be a brahmgiyaani gursikh, did great preaching of Gurmat. This is where Baba Khem Singh Bedi did heavy parchaar of Gurmat and inspired many to take amrit of Guru Sahib.
Sikhi parchaar was so heavy in this area that even Brahmin Hindus adopted Sikhi and became tyaar bar tyaar Singhs. This area was very prosperous and Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh jee writes in one of his books that due to increase in maaiya, may Sikh families had become weak in Sikhi and had become more indulged in worldly pleasures. Who knows, maybe this is why this area was hit most severely by the riots of 1947
MASSACRE OF THEHA KHALSA AREA OF RAWALPINDI – MARCH 1947
This small town of Theha Khalsa was one of the main towns of Pothohaar (Rawalpindi area). Sikhs and Hindus living in this town were very well off. In total about 500 families lived in this small town. There were some Muslim families living there too but there was no communal problem at all.
In the fateful month of March 1947, riots started in other parts of Pothohaar. Actually it is wrong to call it riots because the Sikhs were not attacking anyone, just defending themselves. The Sikhs of Theha Khalsa town assembled at the local Gurdwara Sahib to discuss what to do. Sant Gulaab Singh was the undisputed leader of this village and he was from a very well-to-do family. His ancestral home was very big. During the discussions, he suggested that all the Sikhs of that village assemble at this house and stay there till the danger of riots is over. He said that it would be easy to defend if all the Sikhs stayed at one spot.
He further said that at this crucial time only Guru Sahib can help them.
SIKHS MOVE TO THE HAVELI OF SANT GULAAB SINGH
All the Sikhs after hearing the emotional lecture of Sant Gulaab Singh agreed to move to his house. They brought all their money, jewellery and gold etc, along with them and assembled at his house. In total about 1200 Sikhs and some Hindus assembled at his house. They fortified the haveli by making bunkers and replacing regular doors with heavy doors. They covered the walls of the haveli with shields of iron.
First of all they secured a large room and brought all Saroops of Dhan Siri Guru Granth Sahib jee over there. Over 36 saroops were brought to that room. Big tanks of water were filled and large quantity of fire-wood and grains was stocked up. The Sikhs were in great danger, so they all started doing paath day and night. They asked Guru Sahib for strength to save their faith.
MUSLIMS ATTACK THE HAVELI FILLED WITH SIKHS
On March 8, 1947 while the sangat was doing Siri Rehraas Sahib paath, many thousand Muslims came and surrounded the building. They were shouting “ALLAH HOO AKBAR”, “MUSLIM LEAGUE ZINDABAD”, “KAFRON KO MAAR DO” i.e kill the infidels. There must have been at least 6000 Muslims and all had weapons. Many had guns. Some were on horse backs and they were shouting anti Sikh slogans. They were uttering obscenities against Master Tara Singh and other Sikh leaders.
The sangat kept doing simran of Vaheguru Vaheguru. The Muslim crowd assembled in the school building. It is not clear what was decided in that meeting but when they came out of the meeting they started burning the shops and houses owned by the Sikhs. Then they attacked the haveli where all the Sikhs were present. The Sikhs had some guns and they kept the crowd away.
On one side of the haveli, they attacked with great vigour. Sardar Partap Singh, a very brave young man, took along with him about 8-9 singhs and attacked the attacking Muslims. They attacked with so much force that the Muslims were pushed back. One of the bullets hit Sardar Partap Singh on his leg.
The next day again the Muslims came back but this time they did not wait for the night. They came back around 10am. The Muslims again attacked but could not get in the haveli. Then the Muslims sent a representative to talk to the Sikhs holed up in the haveli. Sant Gulab Singh refused to accept their conditions that the Sikhs should disarm themselves.
This way the fight went on for 2 more days. Finally on the last day, the Muslims came with bombs and said that they would bomb the haveli if the Sikhs did not get out of there. The Muslims promised by swearing on the Koran that they were only interested in the gold and money and not in killing anyone. The Sikhs had no choice but to get out. They did ardaas and moved out, leaving all belongings behind.
After the Sikhs came out, they got surrounded by the large crowd of Muslims. The Sikhs arrived at the sarovar of the local Gurdwara Sahib. The pathaans armed with latest weapons surrounded the Sikhs sitting around the sarovar. The Sikhs were chanting “Satnam Siri Vaheguru”. By then about 10,000 Muslims came where the Sikhs were. Along with them, they had a dozens of barbers lined up to cut the hair of Sikhs. Children were crying for food and milk. Old and young were helpless to do anything. The whole scene was a scene from hell.
SHAHEEDI SAAKA
Sant Ghulab Singh jee writes as follows:
“by this time Sardarni Lajavanti Kaur asked me if she could go to the well by my hut. I took her to the well and everyone washed their faces and drank fresh water. There were 90 bibiyaan (Sikh females). Many were unwed young girls. My granddaughters, grandsons, nieces, and other related women were there amongst them”.
“Soon a person came and asked me to go to the Gurdwara Sahib where the aggressors (jarvaane) were troubling the sangat. He said that the sangat was calling me. I said Sat Sree Akaal to bibiyaan and started walking towards the Gurdwara Sahib”.
“The well was about 200 feet from the Gurdwara Sahib. When I reached there, a Muslim leader came up to me and asked me, “So what have you decided?” I found out that the singhs had been given half an hour to accept Islam or else they get ready to die. The Singhs present there said to the Muslims that they would do what Sant jee (this daas i.e. I) tell them to do”.
“Dhan Pita Kalgidhar! I laughed after hearing this from the Muslim leader. I said, “Your cruel and tryant emperors like Aurangzeb and Farukhsiyaar too could not do anything to the Sikhs. What can you do, when they could not do anything. Do what you want to do. We will never give up Sikhi and will never become Muslims”.
“When I came to the Gurdwara Sahib, some pathaans and thugs from Punachh and Mairabaad sensing that the bibiyaan were alone at the well, reached there and surrounded the well. They addressed the bibiyaan, “Now we are going to take away your daughters and sister and will marry them after converting them to Islam.” At that time Sardarni Laajavantee Kaur could not resist Bir Rass anymore and said, “Scoundrels! Who can touch the daughters of Guru Kalgidhar. From the time we took amrit, we accepted death as reality and don’t fear it.”
The Muslims thugs got angry hearing such answer from Sardarni Lajavanti Kaur. They moved forward towards her. Sardarni jee was holding her 5 year old granddaughter and a grandson. She loudly said the jaikaara, “Bole So Nihaal!! Sat Srree Akaal!!”. Saying this she jumped in the well, in order to avoid getting her granddaughter and herself raped by the Muslims. Within seconds all Sikh women jumped in the well. All 90 jumped in. A person came running to me and told me the whole incident. After hearing this incident, all Sikhs present there said, “Dhan Gursikhee!! Dhan Guru Kalgidhar! I dashed towards the well”.
“At that time what to talk about the pathaans but all aggressors were shaken from within. They were saying that who can kill such people who can sacrifice their lives to save their honour.”
“When I reached the well, my granddaughter, Harbhajan Kaur, my daughter-in-law Kartar Kaur and one sister-in-law Sardarni Ram Rakhee were crying as the well was full and they did not drown. By then 87 lives had been taken. They were taken out of the well. I was baffled. I uttered, “Dhan Gurdev, these daughters of yours have passed your test. Please show me the way too. At that time I had clear darshan of Dhan Guru Nanak Dev jee and Hazoor said, “You still have to see more of this bloodshed. You have to do some more sewa of sangataan”.
“After this bloody massacre, the Muslims got scared and started running away but some scoundrels were left. All Sadh Sangat came to my house and stayed there for the night. Muslims tried to find a lone Sikh to convert but could not convert anyone”.
“I climbed a tall tree and saw a scene from hell. 87 lives had been sacrificed. The towns of Dera Khalsa, Kallar, Thamali, and Beval were burning. At that time I sang out baani to get peace of mind”
“At amritvela, I got darshan of Guru Kalgidhar jee and he said that our test was over.”
The above was written by Sant Ghulaab Singh and I have made a humble effort to translate the quoted paragraphs above. In any case, the military arrived soon and everyone was taken to the camps. The shaheedi of Sardarni Lajavanti Kaur and other Sikh women, saved the remaining Sikhs.
I will write more in the days to come. The massacres of Vahaali are unbearable.
Daas,
Kulbir Singh
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Author: Gabroo Khalistan Dah
Date: 06-27-03 14:48
DEG TEG FATEHHHHHH
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Author: SS
Date: 06-27-03 19:17
That is so sad. This story proves that for the Sikhs, there Sikhi and honour was more important then life itself.
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Author: Toronto Wala
Date: 06-28-03 08:37
Thank you Bhai Kulbir Singh Jee for translating this sad story. I hope you continue translating more about the partition of India.
And thank you again for telling us about the Pothohar region. I am just wondering… in Bhai Randhir Singh Jee’s autobiography bhai sahib mention doing Bhagtee in Abatabad. Isn’t Abatabad also located in Pothohar? I also heard that a lot of the Puraatan scholars also came from this area of Punjab as people in this area were well educated.
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Author: Kulbir Singh
Date: 06-28-03 08:46
Toronto Wala wrote:
> Thank you Bhai Kulbir Singh Jee for translating this sad
> story. I hope you continue translating more about the
> partition of India.
>
The next story that I am going to write is how the Sikhs of Vasaali pind of Pothohaar region fought back the aggressors and how all of them got shaheed. This story is extremely emotional and gets you all motivated to be a Sikh at all cost. You would also want to learn martial arts after reading this story. Stay tuned for that one.
> And thank you again for telling us about the Pothohar region.
> I am just wondering… in Bhai Randhir Singh Jee’s
> autobiography bhai sahib mention doing Bhagtee in Abatabad.
> Isn’t Abatabad also located in Pothohar? I also heard
> that a lot of the Puraatan scholars also came from this area of
> Punjab as people in this area were well educated.
Yes Abtabaad is in Pothohaar region and many Sikh scholars were from this region. Pothohaar region was very well educated and most of the businesses were owned by the Sikhs. Sant Attar Singh jee Mastuanewaale did many years of intensive bhagti in this area. This is the area from where he first emerged and did Sikh Parchaar.
Daas,
Kulbir Singh
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Author: Toronto Sikh
Date: 10-20-03 08:36
Bhai Kulbir Singh, when are you going to write part three? they were very good to read. So please write part three.
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Author: gurjinder singh hayar
Date: 10-26-03 01:47
taken from karni nama below. regardless of whether one agrees with the details of karni nama or not aint it strange how and why pootahar is mentioned to be bought to justice long b4 it happened? ( note "They will raid Lahore.
They will bring Potohaar to justice; They will take Peshawar", )
I will have to return again to resurrect the Khalsa. They shall reside in the Punjab.
I shall make people from all four corners into one.
mwJy ivc hoxgy lutngy lwhOr]
poTohwr ko soD ky iPr lyvyN psOr]
cONkI Atk bhwlky KolyN KYbr qMg]
jlwlbwd ko jIqky kwbul hosI jMg]
kwbl rwj bhwlky ZznI ko iPr lyNh]
mulk hjwrw soD ky kMDwr kUc kryNh]
blK buKwrw swD ky iPr lyvyN isMD bloc]
aun mulkoN ko jIqky zbq kryN sb log]
m`kw mdInw rUm ko mrh`tw BIl PrMg]
dKn pUrb ihMd ky jIq kryNgy jMg]
idlI qKq pr bihgI Awp gurU kI Poj]
CqR Julygw sIs pr bVI krygI mOj]
audy Asq lO hmIN hY Avr n rhsI koie]
They will be in Majjha; They will raid Lahore.
They will bring Potohaar to justice; They will take Peshawar.
They will set up a cantonment at Attock and then open the Khyber Pass.
They will establish a kingdom in Kabul and then take Ghazni.
After bringing Hazaara to justice they will march on to Kandahar.
After taking Balack and Buckaara, they will conquer Sindh and Baloch.
After gaining victory over these lands they shall govern all the people.
Mecca, Medina and Rome shall tremble.
They shall gain victory in battle over south and west India.
The Guru’s Army shall sit at the throne of Delhi.
Umbrellas of kingship shall sway over their heads. All shall be content.
From East to West all shall be conquered. None shall challenge the Khalsa. All humanity shall become one.
scy swihb dy rwj ivc siqjug hosI Awn]
AwigAw cly pMQ dI KweyN n jm kI bwn]
POj iPry Akwl dI mkVI inAweIN hoie]
nIlw bwnw pYhr ky Avr n dIsy koie]
In the kingdom of the True King, Satjug shall be established.
The Khalsa Panth shall rule. The arrows of death shall not touch them.
The Army of the Timeless shall grow and spread like locusts.
All shall wear vestments of blue; no one else shall be seen.
sunhu kwjI rukn dIn isMG kryNgy rwj]
mlyC syK Kp jweyNgy pIr murId suhwb]
Listen Qazi Rukan Din, ‘The Singhs shall rule’.
The Unholy Sheikhs shall be destroyed. Pirs and Mureeds shall be no more.
ieko nwm sB jpyNgy qb vyKn AwvY Awp]
byeImwn kSUmqI dyK nw skyN pRqwp]
reIAq hoie sb imlygI sUby QwpyN Awp]
DrqI dyvy AMn Dn pRbq dyeyNgy lwl]
myvy sB qr dyNgy vyKy Awp Akwl]
vwihgurU sB jpYNgy mukq AwpxI jwn]
Drmswl bhu hoieMgI CpY msIq kurwn]
pRgt hoie Awp pRBU hir mMdr myN Awie]
nwm khwvYN vwihgurU isMG imlyN qb Dwie]
s`cw purK AKwieky idlI bYTw Awie]
pwqSwhI suK isauN kry vYrI rhY n kwie]
ijDr dyKy Kwlsw kMpyN cOdW loie]
cOdW shMsr brK lg rwj AYsw hI hoie]
All shall recite the one name of the Lord. Then he shall come himself.
The untrue shall not be able to see his glory.
All humanity shall unite and he will distribute provinces.
The Earth shall give food and the mountains shall give diamonds.
Fruits of many kinds there shall be, upon the sight of the timeless.
All shall recite VAHEGURU and achieve salvation.
Many Dharamsalas (places of discussion) shall exist. The Koran and the Mosques shall vanish.
The Lord shall manifest himself in body (as man).
He will make all utter VAHEGURU. All Singhs shall flock under his banner.
All shall know him as the True One. He will sit at the throne of Delhi.
He will establish a kingdom of peace and no enemies will remain.
Wherever the Khalsa turns his eye, the 14 realms shall tremble.
For 14,000 years, this kingdom shall remain.
mwieAw iek`TI krky dyhoN lMgr lwie]
nMgw BuKw ArQIAw KwlI koeI n jwie]
nwnk AwKI rukn dIn eyh vrqygI rIq]
krnI nwmw jo pVy vDy swihb isauN pRIq]
dohI iPry Akwl dI inMdk itky nw koie]
bn pRbq sB BjyNgy qry jgq myN joie]
rwj krygw Kwlsw AwkI rhy nw koie]
KuAwr hoie sB imlyNgy bcy Srn jo hoie]
Wealth will be collected and food shall be distributed.
The naked and the starving shall all receive; no one will go without.
Sayeth Nanak, ‘Rukan Din, This is how it shall be’.
Whosoever reads the Karni Namah, his love with The Lord shall grow.
The Word of the Timeless shall prevail. Those uttering falsehood shall not remain.
After the effect of The Akaal, forests, mountains and the world shall see salvation.
The Khalsa shall Rule. There will be no-one left to oppose them.
All who are lost shall gain the safety of the Khalsa
]bol o vwihgurU jI]
Utter Vaheguru Ji
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Author: ...
Date: 03-22-06 09:25
good story.
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Author: Kulbir Singh
Date: 03-22-06 10:02
There was a time couple of hundred years ago when it was unthinkable that a Sikh bibi could ever get caught by tyrants. Sikh bibiyaan were skilled in martial arts and always gave their lives fighting instead of getting caught and getting raped afterwards.
Then came 1947. Sikh women now were not capable of fighting back but honour was still more precious to them than their lives. They never could imagine even getting touched by a man other than their husband, let alone getting raped by someone. Since they could not fight back, they did Jauhar. What is Jauhar? Jauhar is an ancient Rajput tradition whereby Rajput women used to kill themselves rather than getting raped by Muslim tyrants. The legend of women of Chittor is famous to this day. In 1947 our countless Sikh sisters did jauhar and killed themselves like Bibi Lajwanti Kaur of this story above. These women had the spirit but were not physically capable of protecting their honour; so they sacrificed their lives.
Finally in 1947 the unthinkable happened. Our sisters, daughters and mothers got raped. We Sikhs had gone so much away from Sikhi that such a calamity befell upon us. I personally think that its better to die than lose your honour. In my opinion, raping a woman is worse than killing her. Our women were raped. Men were burned by putting tires around their heads. Nothing happened. No significant fight back. Why? This is the question we need to answer.
I am of the firm opinion that we can do million clevernesses and we can do draw million strategies but until and unless we adopt the basic principles of Sikhi, we will not get anywhere. Guru Sahib will never help us if we don't keep rehit, and do amritvela abhyaas. We will continue to get chhitters (juttiyaan) from everyone. Now Bhaiyaas are giving us chhitters in Punjab.
Who can touch a Shasterdhaari Sikh bibi in full Gurmukhi Baana with a dastaara on her head? Who can touch a Sikh Bibi who keeps Sarbloh Bibek? Guru Sahib blesses his Khalsa with full Tej (power) when his Khalsa keeps full rehit including Dastaara, Sarbloh Bibek.
There are internet tigers who have nothing better to do than oppose the Taksaali (authentic) Sikh rehits of Khalsa like Sarbloh Bibek and Dastaar for both men and women. These internet tigers are themselves going to drown in this world and will cause many others to drown. It was the geniussness of Siri Guru Gobind Singh jee Maharaaj that he blessed us with Sarbloh Bibek. With Sarbloh Bibek in action, we can never assimilate in any other quom. Khalsa must stay niyaara. Khalsa must never assimilate.
The biggest protection against assimilation is Sarbloh Bibek and the biggest bond of Khalsa is this rehit. Roti and Beti dee saanjh is what determines our socialization. If we keep roti dee saanjh only with Khalsa, all our other socializations stop and we become one strong force that can never assimilate. So Khalsa jee let us adopt the basic rehits before doing anything else. Guru Sahib will help us only if we obey his hukams and keep rehit.
Daas,
Kulbir Singh
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Author: Its me again
Date: 03-22-06 17:59
Thanks Kulbir Singh, I don't agree with the last part though. Our women were raped and men burnet alive because they were caught off guard and there is not much you can do when few people at a time are surrounded by hundereds of mob with planned attack....... said that Sikh's did fight back and the struggle went from 1984 till mid 1990's......the sikhi spirit stayed alive and I beleive is still alive but maybe not wide spread.....
I beleive our fight had a brutal end because our panthic leaders and the major Sikh organizations refused (in-directly) to forward a helping hand to the sikh fighters.....and many betrayed the cause..........
I don't beleive in violence but fight for just cause is a must and we did fought.
The present situation is that many Sikh men and women fought and died and now their children are helpless and in degrading situation....their daughters sell their body to make living and their son's either take drugs or barely making the ends meet.....why should one fight if the panth is not read to hold your hand..? This is a big issue..........lot to say and lot to be heard......
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Author: Kulbir Singh
Date: 03-23-06 09:39
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Thanks Kulbir Singh, I don't agree with the last part though. Our women were raped and men burnet alive because they were caught off guard and there is not much you can do when few people at a time are surrounded by hundereds of mob with planned attack
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The Sikhs were caught off guard because Sikhs had forgotten the concept of staying tyaar bar tyaar. Even after 1984 we have not learned our lesson. Still if you do a survey in your area and see how many houses have working Kirpaans and other shasters, you will be surprised to see that in some Sikh areas there would be probably one kirpan per 5 or 6 houses, whereas in olden days Singhs used to have at least one kirpaan per person.
In olden days Singhs did not used to assimilate with other groups and this is why their Khalsa Tej (power) stayed to the max but today Sikhs are almost invisible and have totally assimilated with other communities. The only thing that stands out is their turbans. Their talk-walk, Raftaar-Guftaar is same as Hindus and Muslims.
The other communities now don't think that Singhs are warriors anymore. They openly ridicule them by narrating Sardarji jokes to them and mock them without any fear of retaliation. Spineless Sikhs laugh along with them when they hear such jokes. In a similar situation a Singh heard a baahman narrating a demeaning Sardarji joke to his friends. Everyone started laughing after the joke. Singh ne Ikk puthay hath daa thapaR mariya uss baahman de tay uss baahman noo naani chetay aa gayee. Now this baahman will think twice before narrating a Sardarji joke.
Our present hopeless situation is because we have lost the Khalsa spirit we were blessed with. The only way to fix this is to keep rehit and japp Naam.
Sarbloh jee kee Rachha humnai||
Kulbir Singh
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Author: aman
Date: 03-23-06 16:38
And who is the author of 80% of ridiculing sikh jokes, Khushwant Singh.If we retaliate after hearing such jokes, then people say your Khushwant Singh writes such sort of jokes , why don't you stop him first.And he has been bestowed great sikh award by the canadian embassy in India.
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