Attitudes of Sikh freedom fighters in the 1980’s

Cynthia mahmood is a writer who spent a lot of years studying the resistance movement against India by the khalsa army. She spent a lot of time with Sikh freedom fighters; the following extracts are from her writings:

As I gathered narratives of Sikhs involved in the current conflict, one thing that came through very strongly was their awareness of themselves as historical actors. There is a sense in which the sacrifices of all the past Sikh heroes and heroines are seen as investments, as challenges that have to be met by the Sikhs of today in a kind of cycle of sacrifice and dedication. One fighter describes this eloquently:

Khalistani Singh: In our daily prayers we remember all our Sikh martyrs during the mughal period, those who went through terrible hardships. They were cut to pieces, made to survive on a small loaf of bread, and they withstood all sorts of tortures. I used to think, “what type of people were they?” and while I was in the movement there was sometimes a little thought in the back of my mind that if the time came, would I be able to behave as those brave Sikhs (my ancestors) did? But finally when I went through it, it was not me but those other Sikhs who were sustaining that. It seemed they were taking the pain with me. I felt the satisfaction of knowing that with the guru’s grace I was able to pass the test of being a Sikh.

This is required of a Sikh, that a Sikh should withstand everything. What is of the body, its just elements and with death everything goes back. But the spirit is immortal and if the sprit is filled with the love of guru then that gives courage and strength.

Another women , drawing on a historical episode in which Sikh children were chopped into pieces and woven into garlands their mother had to wear, said of the potential sacrifice of her children for khalistan,

“I have only two children, not even enough to make a necklace. If they are sacrificed it will be our great pride to give back to guru what was his gift to us”.

Although the attainment of khalistan is the immediate goal of Sikh militancy, many of the more articulate members of the resistance have a much broader conception of the “Just war”

Khalistani Singh: (Referring to a portrait of Guru Teg bahadur)… That’s Guru Teg bahadur. His story is so beautiful, because he sacrificed his life for the sake of another religion, for Hindus. At the time they were being persecuted by the mughals. That’s really inspirational to me, that’s why I think Sikhs are in this world, not just for Sikhs but for anybody who needs a Sikh. Honestly, deep in my heart I feel our work in this world has to be much bigger than just for ourselves. Some of my friends say that when khalistan is established then we will be able to kick back and relax! But I say no, the work is just getting started. You have your own country, but then you need to work on achieving justice in it and then the rest of the world. When khalistan is established if I have a say, I will send five hundred or thousand or five thousand Sikhs right away to anyplace where help is needed. Let them go to Bosnia or Somalia or wherever. You don’t get peace and justice without sacrifices and our gurus taught all about that.

This brings us to an essential feature of militant Sikh attitudes towards fighting which they are engaged in, and that is that one should fight the righteous war suffused with love. “He is a very loving person” “he is full of love”, are comments I have heard about militants responsible for the deaths of many individuals. Revolutionary fighting is experienced as joyous because it is felt to be reclamation of humanity in situations in which humanity is denied.

Khalistani Singh: I can tell you this not only about my self and my companions but about all the militants I know. We are very devout people. We wake up at three or four in the morning, bathe, and pray for hours and hours. We pray before we go on a mission, that the mission should be successful. When we come back and it has been accomplished we thank the guru for that. Our only mission in life is to uphold the value of dharm (righteousness). People who are fighting for that, upholding the loftiest ideals, how can they do wrong?

(About the fighters) when they go off to mission they are not excited or nervous at all. They are totally at peace. They say their prayers, standing before Guru Granth sahib Ji and ask for strength for what they want to do. They way they take out their weapons and ready their weapons, it is close to worship. Then when they come back the first thing they do is lie prostrate before guru granth sahib ji. They thank Guru Ji if the action was successful. If not then they pray and say, “Guru Ji, thank you for keeping us alive today, and please give us the strength so that next time our mission will be successful”. They are very devout, full of noble sprit and love.

Deg teg fateh, may the kettle and sword of the khalsa be victorious. The kettle to feed the hungry and the sword to defend the oppressed.