Sikhi Explored Sunday 22nd January 2012 Volume 1 | Issue 6

Sri Harmandar Sahib– „The Golden Temple‟

Regardless of your religion, belief, colour, caste or creed, the beauty and tranquillity of Sri Harmandar Sahib is admired by all throughout the world. People from a variety of places have made the journey to Amritsar to ex-perience the peace and calmness that radiates from the Sikh‟s most holiest shrine. It is often referred to as the Golden Temple, but is officially known as Sri Harmandar Sahib, the „Temple of God‟, which is a fitting name for a place that continuously sings the praises of the almighty Lord. Last week on Saturday 13th January (First day of the month, Magh), Sikhs celebrated the anniversary of the foundation stone being laid at Sri Harmandir Sahib(1), and it was an occasion that gave me the chance to sit and reflect on the history of this glorious place. It is this wonderful and rich history, that dass will be sharing with you all today.

The tale and origin of Sri Harmandar Sahib interestingly does not start at the founding of Sikhi by Guru

Nanak Dev Jee, it actually begins thousands of years ago. Perhaps, it is the imagination of people simply in

love with Amritsar, but it is thought that even historically, Sri Darbar Sahib (another name for Harmandar

Sahib) was an extremely holy and monumental place. It is believed that this blessed land was a centre of human

activity around 5000 years ago, where it was inhabited by the Mohenjodaro race and moreover the place where

the Rishis of the Vedas believed to have meditated(2). Furthermore, it is here, in the presence of the holy lake in

Amritsar, that the Sage Valmiki wrote the epic, Ramayana(3) and it is said, that the Buddha meditated here, as

did Sri Guru Nanak Dev Jee almost two thousand years later(4).

Of course, this can all be debated but the fact remains that the place which has developed as the epicentre of Sikhi is believed to have divine properties and an eternal spiritual significance through the pages of history.

Guru Nanak Dev Jee, a truly enlightened soul, was surely aware of the importance of this location and it is

recorded that when travelling with Bhai Mardaana Jee from Sultanpar, they came to a very dense forest where

there was a pool of water. He foretold that a Holy tank and Temple would be constructed at this place, and it

would become a divine place for all his followers(4).

1st Image- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/

Golden_temple_pano.jpg

1st Image- In 2004, Devotees carry out sewa to clean the sarovar at Sri Harman-

dar Sahib http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040326/index.htm

This prediction became true, when Guru Amar Dass jee founded a new city. In June 1570 accompanied by Sri (Guru) Ram Dass, his son-in-law, Guru Jee purchased land from the village headsman and the places of Gumtala, Tung, Sultanwind and Gillwali were all colonised to become a new thriving town named Guru Ka Chakk(4). Under the expert leadership of Guru Amar Dass, Sri (Guru) Ram Dass began the construction work and made sure the town was adequate to support the migration and well-being of many Sikhs. After the town was established, complete with a flourishing residential complex and economy, Guru Amar Dass Jee sent for his son-in-law to return to Goindwal. Here the Guruship was passed down to Sri Ram Dass making him the forth Guru of the Sikhs(4). The new Guru was instructed to move permanently to the new city and establish it as a centre of teaching. While the development and population of the city boomed, with flocks of Sikhs moving in, a peculiar event took place.To briefly narrate, there was a man named Duni Chand Khatri who was a very rich and powerful landlord. His wealth, lavish lifestyle and control had made him arrogant and conceited. He was foolish to think that there was no one more powerful than him and his ego overwhelmed him.[insert tuk from salok mo-halle 9] One day, upon hearing his daughter state that it was God who was the provider of everything and not him, he decided to marry her to a leper and banish her from his home. Despite having to face a drastic change in lifestyle, Bibi Rajni accepted this as the will of God and cared for her disabled husband with great love and devotion. When she heard about the construction of a new town being built by the Guru, which welcomed all, Bibi Jee and her husband decided to shift there. While briefly leaving her husband by the shade of a „ber‟ tree and beside a small pool, a miracle occurred. The leper decided to crawl into the water after seeing a black crow dip into the pool and re-emerge, now with white feather. Struggling with all his might, he made it to the water and after dipping himself in, he was astonished and amazed to realise that he had fully healed from his disease and disability. Sikhs all over Guru Ka Chakk became aware of this miracle and the news soon reached Guru Ram Dass. Upon reaching this

place he told Baba Budha Jee, a highly revered Sikh that this was the spot Guru Nanak Dev Jee had foretold and instructed his Sikhs that a Amrit (nectar) savorar (tank) must be constructed. Four wells were dug at the four corners of the place, and upon completion the city was renamed Amritsar(4). The Guruship was then passed on to Sri Guru Arjan Dev Jee, the youngest son of Guru Raam Dass Jee. As by this time Amritsar had become a well organ-ised and built city, the one thing the Sikhs needed was a temple where they could hear the beautiful

hymns in praise of God being sung, while they bathed in the sarovar. So under the instruction of Guru Raam Dass, the new Guru, Arjun Dev Jee began work in designing and building the temple, which he named Har-mandir Sahib. The Guru with all his ingenuity and compassion for humanity, wanted to build a temple that was unmatched throughout the world in design and which acted as a symbol of the core principles in Sikhi.

Firstly, the Guru saw to it that the Sri Harmandir Sahib had four entrances. This signified the fact that the

Sikh religion was open to people from all four corners of the World. Next, to represent humility, Guru Jee

decided that he would build Sri Harmandir Sahib lower than the surrounding area(1). It was common in

those times (and still is now) to build temples on the highest hills and mountains, but Guru Jee wanted peo-

ple to have to step down to enter the Harmandir, portraying modesty before God.

1st Image– Langar Hall in Sri Harmandar Sahib http://www.jacobmetcalf.net/india/images/india018-large.jpg

2nd Image– Sri Guru Arjan Dev Jee dictating the Adi Granth to Bhai Gurdas Jee www.artofpunjab.com

3rd Image- Sri Harmandir Sahib in 1870-photograph by John Edward (http://www.unp.me/f44/golden-temple-harmandir-sahib-in-

1870-photograph-by-john-edward-14412/

Like all Gurdwaras, langar was to be served to everybody without discrimination. All of these features are still important and apply to this very day, with estimates that 75,000 people are served food in the langar on a daily basis(5). Guru Jee completed the construction of Sri Harmandir Sahib with the instalment of the Adi Granth (later to be known as Guru Granth Sahib Jee, after the hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Jee were added by Guru Gobind Singh Jee). This was the first Granth of the Sikhs to be compiled and it contained the holy writing of the first five Gurus, as well as other saints. The compilation which be-gan in 1599 finished in 1604. Bhai Gurdas Jee was the honoured Sikh to be given the task of inscribing the Adi Granth, while Guru Arjan Dev Jee dictated it. Bhai Sahib was the nephew of Guru Amar Das Jee and his Vaaran (own writings) are widely respected in the Sikh community. After the Adi Granth was placed in Sri Harmandar Sahib, Baba Buddha Jee was appointed the first Granthi (reader) and all revered this holy Granth(4).

Guru Arjan Dev Jee than established a daily routine that is still carried on till this day. In the early hours of the morning the Adi Granth is brought to the Darbar Sahib (court) and Asi Di Vaar is sung. After a Hukamnama (command from the Granth) is taken, holy hymns from the Adi Granth are sung throughout the whole day and late into the evening(6). It is the only Gurdwara where there is no katha, announcements or marriage ceremonies –just con-tinuous kirtan. (These activities take place in the surrounding buildings e.g. the Akal Takht is used for speeches).

As you can imagine, Amritsar became a truly divine place. Under the benevolence of the Guru, people were embedding the holy hymns in their heart and walking on the path of truth. A poet Hari Dass writes, “Amritsar Vaikunt Ko Tolio Hari Hari Dass. Goro Huto Dhar Raheo Horo Chario Akaash” This can be translated to, “When the city of Amritsar and heaven were placed on scale pans of balance, the pan carrying Amritsar being heavier, fell down to earth and the pan carrying heaven being lighter, rose to the sky”. (In other words, the poet is using this poignant metaphor to say that Amritsar is the equivalent of heaven on earth)(4).

This peaceful period in Sikh history, where Sikhs were freely allowed to practice their faith was ended after

the death of Emperor Akbar and subsequently led to the horrific torture of Guru Arjan Dev Jee, making Him

the first martyr of the Sikh religion(7).

1st Image– Sri Akaal Takht Sahib in Amritsar http://www.amritsar.com/Akal%

20Takht.shtml

His son, Guru Hargobind Sahib Jee became the next leader of the Sikhs. And he added to the Dar-bar Sahib complex, by building an „Akaal Takt‟ (Immortal throne) directly opposite the Shrine(7). This became the official headquarters of the Sikhs, and was used to make secular decisions on behalf of the Sikh community. This reinforced the message of the previous Gurus, that to be Sikhs, it was our duty to not only be spiritual but also be physically present in the events of the world. To represent this concept of Miri-Piri (Temporal-Spiritual balance a Sikh should have), Guru Hargo-bind Sahib Jee adorned two swords, one signifying Shakti (power) and the other Bhakti (Meditation) and hence the khanda symbol, contains two swords showing this(4).

As Guru Hargobind Sahib Jee left Amritsar in 1635, the control of Sri Harmandar Sahib fell into the hands of the cunning and corrupt Meharban, who was Guru Arjan Dev Jees nephew (Son of Prithi Chand) . Me-harban along with his own son had a detrimental effect on the Sikh faith, as they controlled Harmandar Sahib for the next 6 decades, spreading their own tainted message(2). This period was a difficult one for Sikhs, as the Gurus were engaged with defending the faith and spreading Sikhi at the same time. Consumed with the thirst for power, Meharban installed his own Granth at Harmandar Sahib and preached their own precarious views, to gain wealth and influence. Most Sikhs however knew better and stayed away from these miscreants. The real Adi Granth was carried away by Dhir Mal, the grandson of Guru Hargobind Sa-hib Jee, and to this day, It still remains in the possession of his descendants(8). Some years later, and after Guru Tegh Bahadur was refused entry by the scared Minas(1) (Footnote:- mina is a word often still used today in Punjabi culture that depicts somebody who is deceitful. Prithi Chand was labelled as mina by the Sikhs, and this name stuck with his followers). Guru Gobind Singh Jee decided that enough was enough, and that he would deal with these Minas. He sent (Shaheed) Bhai Mani Singh Jee along with some other Sikhs to take over Harmandar Sahib and restore the Sikh maryada (Code of conduct). Bhai Mani Singh did this and played a pivotal role in both re-establishing Sri Harmandar Sahib as the Sikh Headquarters, and leading the Sikhs in the struggle from 1708 onwards(1). Before Guru Gobind Singh Jee left this world, He gave eternal Guru-ship to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Jee and although Sikhs did take this as the final word of the Guru, there was a need for a liberated soul to mould the psyche of Sikhs to see the Guru Granth Sahib Jee as their living Guru. As you can imagine, at the time of Guru Gobind Singh Jees departure it was the first time Sikhs did not have a Guru in a human body to lead them and therefore it was important that Sikhs understood the importance and command of Guru Granth Sahib Jee.

Bhai Mani Singh, being one of the great Gursikhs in our history, had received viakhya (learnt the meanings)

of the whole of the Guru Granth Sahib Jee from Guru Gobind Singh Jee himself, as well as having the task

of writing the holy Granth while Guru Jee recited it. Therefore there was nobody better than him to steer

the Sikh community through these difficult times.

1st Image– Banda Singh Bahadur www.artofpunjab.com

And indeed, it was a very harsh and brutal time for the Sikhs, but the Guru had given his image to the Khalsa and set up a new Panth that was matchless in its character and strength. In modern day terms, the Khalsa were like the superheroes that we see today. They did not fight or live for personal victory, power or wealth, but looked to establish peace and prosperity throughout the land. The Khalsa had been set up dis-tinctly to not just protect Sikh values, but the general well-being of humanity. Built from three main com-ponents, spirituality, physical prowess and discipline, the Khalsa was established to uphold truth in the World. Banda Singh Bahadur was appointed as the General of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh Jee and he con-tinued the revolution to uproot the tyrants in Sirhind and neighbouring areas. With the Khalsa army, Banda Singh deservedly punished the people responsible for not only the execution of the Chotte Sahibzade (See Sikhi Explored, Issue 4) but the people who exploited the poor and caused countless needless deaths. The Khalsa was victorious in the Battle of Sirhind and the Sikhs delivered justice to the powerful Mughals. However the win was short-lived, the entire Mughal emporer amassed all its resources to fight back to ar-rest Banda Singh Bahadur and his companions. He was brutally executed along with 800 Singhs in public(9). Although this article was solely to reveal the history of Sri Harmandir Sahib, it is very important to give you a brief account of what was happening to the Sikh community at the time, as the events inter-link and without this backdrop, it would be very difficult to explain why the ghastly atrocities that were committed in Amritsar, happened as they did.

So to continue, after the exploits of Banda Singh Bahadur, the Mughals had been shaken to the core. Never before had they been challenged with such force, and it left them scared of what the Khalsa was capable off. Remember the Mughals were one of the strongest em-pires to rule India so the victory of the Khalsa severely damaged their ego. The rulers were left with a problem as they could not bargain or barter with these Saint-Soldiers, who were not concerned with wealth. They treated Hindus and Muslims alike, and were ready to die for

political and social reform. Therefore, under Farrukhsiyar in 1716, a statement was issued that declared all out genocide on the Sikhs. The government saw the Sikhs as a huge threat to their power and our ancestors even had a price placed on their head, and Sikhs began to be hunted for monetary reward(1). Khushwaqt Rai, the author of the manuscript, Tarikhi Sikhan, (1811) says that at this period, the Sikhs "lived in caves and thorny bushes, and subsisted on roots and blades of grass”. For their survival it was nec-essary for them to live in jungles and caves, but despite this the Sikhs remained in Chardhi Khalla (high spir-its).

When Zakaria Khan stepped onto the scene as governor of Lahore, he alongside Diwan Lakhpat Rai, an

antagonistic Hindu, stepped up the killing of Sikhs. They formed hunting parties to find and kill members

off the Khalsa(1).

1st Image–

Despite this constant animosity towards them by the upper-caste Hindu and Muslim leaders, the Sikhs stayed firm in their Gurbani and discipline. Under the leadership of Darbara Singh, the Khalsa used guer-rilla tactics to fight back and take the matter in their own hands. [Footnote today we Sikhs being dis-criminated by the Government and then ask the Government for help!] By the 1730s the Sikhs had re- ac-cumulated their strength and resources, and was a force to be reckoned with. The government under Zakharia Khan realised that regardless of the punishment and cruelty dished out to the Sikhs, they were not going anywhere. The Sikhs drew strength from Gurbani and under Bhai Mani Singhs teachings; the Khalsa put their trust in God and fought bitterly for freedom. Therefore Khan de-cided to repress the Sikhs and offered them Nawabi (political power) in some provinces, with the title of Nawab given to Sardar Kapur Singh(7). In this time of peace, the Khalsa organised themselves into two groups, the Budha Dal (made of the Older Sikh generation) and the Tarna Dal (Sikhs under 40 years of age). This will be explained in more detail in next week‟s Sikhi Explored. As the Sikhs unity and consolidation was made evident by this act of organisation, the government in-creasingly feared the Khalsa and waited for the right time to wipe them out. This chance occurred in 1737, when Bhai Mani Singh invited all the Khalsa to Sri Harmandir Sahib to celebrate Bandi Chor (divali). When Zakharia Khan asked for a payment of 5000Rs from Bhai Mani Singh, to allow this event to take place, he cowardly drafted a plan to attack the Sikhs at the same time(1). Luckily, the plan reached the Jathedar of Sri Harmandir Sahib and he quickly called of the event, telling Sikhs not to attend. Zakharia Khan went ahead with the attack and any Sikhs found bathing in the Sarovar was killed. Moreover he still demanded the money from Bhai Mani Singh, and arrested him. The Qazi asked Bhai Mani Singh to choose between Islam and Death, and after Singh Jee took the option of death, the order was given to chop Bhai Mani Singh into pieces, one joint at a time. When the executioner placed his knife on Bhai Mani Singh‟s wrist, Singh Jee stopped him. He said to the executioner “You are not following your orders. The order was that I should be cut from each joint, therefore start from my fin-gers, and do your job properly”. So in December 1737 in Lahore, Bhai Mani Singh attained Shaheedi after being cut piece-by-piece(10). Following this, the authorities took control of Sri Harmandir Sahib and here begins a period of the long destruction and defilement of the Sikhs most holy shrine.

Firstly a man named Masse Ranghar had the nerve to turn the Darbar Sahib into a place where filthy

acts were committed. He would smoke, drink and watch women dance in this holy sanctuary. But his stu-

pidity was beyond belief, how long did he think he could carry on these disrespectful acts until the Khalsa

dealt with him? Two Singhs, Bhai Mehtab and Bhai Sukha Singh volunteered to be the ones to take care

of this sacrilegious man. At the same time, Sikhs had gathered and were debating whether they should

split Sri Dasam Granth into two portions or leave it as one(11). Bhai Mehtab and Bhai Sukha Singh de-

clared that if they could bring back the head of Masse Ranghar, then Guru Gobind Singh Jees Granth

would be kept as one. So after completing an ardaas they travelled to Amritsar and under disguise, Bhai

Mehtab Singh entered the Darbar Sahib. Without any fear or hesitation, Mehtab Singh Jee unsheathed

his kirpan and chopped off the head of Masse Ranghar with one swift blow(12). Their horses had been

tied to the Elachi Ber tree (which still stands today in the surroundings of Harmandir Sahib), and they

made a quick escape with the head of Masse Ranghar(5).

1st Image– Sardar Nawab Kapur Singh http://www.jathashaheedan.com/images/

nawabKapurSingh.jpg

Following the death of Zakharia Khan (See story of Bhai Taru Singh), the Sikhs had some time to consolidate their position. They took over Sri Dar-bar Sahib and celebrated Bandi Chor there in 1745, and again reorganised themselves under Nawab Kapur Singhs leadership(1). What does this show readers? Unity in the faith gives Sikhs the ability to achieve anything! Anyhow, the Sikhs were able to attack Lahore and after Diwan Lakhpat Rai‟s brother was killed, he decided to make it his personal mission to wipe Sikhs of the face of the Earth. His determination led to 7000 Sikhs being killed in the Gurdaspur dis-trict(12). "To complete his revenge," wrote Syed Mohammad Latif, (another historian of the Pun-jab) "Lakhpat Rai brought 1000 Sikhs in irons to Lahore, having compelled them to ride on donkeys, bare-backed, he had them paraded in the bazars. Then they were taken to the horse-market outside Delhi Gate where they were beheaded one after an-other, without mercy." This horrific event is referred to as the Chotta Ghallughara of 1746, and the place where the executions happened is marked with a Gurdwara named Shaheedganj. On top of this, Diwan Lakhpat Rai desecrated Sri Harmandir Sahib and had the Amrit Sarovar levelled up with sand(6). At this point it was a constant struggle for the Sikhs. They were being hunted ferociously and the place that was dearest to them was being befouled repeatedly. To give you some scope of the spirit of the Sikhs though, incredibly and despite their huge losses, the Sikhs reclaimed Sri Harmandar Sahib and celebrated Vaisakhi there in 1748, after clearing the holy sarovar(12). This celebration was marked by another significant event, as 60 armed groups of Sikhs reformed into eleven associations called the misls, and were collectively named the Sarbat Khalsa. They were all under the selected leadership of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia(1). And it was this organisation and common goal that undoubtedly gave Sikhs its strength. Of course this goes to show, in the face of adversity, oneness in community is essential and perhaps in the current difficult times Sikhs are in today, there is a lesson to be learnt from history..? Nevertheless, the invasion of India by the Afghan, Ahmed Shah Abdali (aka Ahmed Shah Durrani) placed the Sikh community in yet more grave danger. He was the ruler of the huge Afghanistan empire and thousands upon thousands of Sikhs were killed under his command.

In 1757, he had Sri Harmandir Sahib desecrated, and the sarovar was filled with the carcasses of dead animals

(1). Yet again, Sikhs stood up to this disrespectful act by laying down their lives in order to protect the sanc-

tity of Sri Darbar Sahib. Sant Baba Deep Singh jathedar of Shaheed Misl marched to Amritsar and defeated

the Afghans to reclaim the Gurdwara. In the process, Sant Jee was martyred. Next week marks the birth anni-

versary of this true saint-soldier, and therefore, Sikhi Explored will be looking at his inspirational life in more

detail, so please look out for that.

1st Image– Khalsa army (http://www.sikharchives.com/?p=12788)

But to continue with this tale, earlier in this article I was glorifying the Khalsa and trying my best to ex-plain how unique it was. These were not just empty words and by now you should begin to have under-stood the amount of sacrifices the Sikhs made at this time to just keep our religion alive. But I also men-tioned that the Khalsa did not just exist to protect its own purposes, but for the sake of mankind. This next event perfectly illustrates this and if there was even a doubt in your mind that the Khalsa are not heroes, than please read this next bit carefully. Ahmed Shah Abdali was determined to conquer India and add it to his vast Afghan empire. In the historic battle of Panipat he crushed the Marathas (his main opposition) to gain power of India in 1761. On his return to Afghanistan he had captured thousands of young Hindu and Maratha women as war-spoils and intended to make them his slaves. The Sikhs in an act of incredible bravery pursued the army and attacked it. They managed to rescue over two thousand young women from the hands of Abdali and made personal arrangements to make sure they were returned to their original homes(2). This is astonishing, because you must also take into consideration the situation of the Sikhs at that time. Many Hindus under Lakhpat Rais leadership had been butchering Sikhs. And for the Khalsa to still put their own lives on the line for these women shows the high moral character of a true Sikh. Again something that needs to be remembered, Sikhs have never had hatred towards a religion or discrimi-nated against anyone, the battle has always been with oppressors and tyrants. Sikhs were well aware that their act would well and truly anger Ahmed Shah Abdali, but nevertheless it was the right thing to do, so it had to be done. In 1761, Abdali returned to India and he had the objective mission of exterminating Sikhs and eradicating our culture and spiritual roots permanently. On the 5th February 1762 an estimate of 30,000 Sikhs were killed in one day(1). Dass remembers reading a famous quote, „one death is a tragedy and a thousand deaths is a statistic‟. My humble request to the reader is to not read the statement above as a statistic but reflect on the un-paralleled tragedy of this event. This day is known as the Wada Ghallughara, meaning holocaust and saw the total population of Sikhs fall by a third (estimate). Coupled with this major attack on Sikhs, Abdali returned again to Amritsar and using explosives, blew up Sri Harmandar Sahib(1). He knew what this place meant to Sikhs and he knew that by destroying it yet again he would break the moral of the Sikhs permanently and strike such a heavy blow, that the Sikhs would not be able to get up again. (Sound familiar? Replace the name Abdali with Indira Gandhi for a clue) In Jap-Jee Sahib, Guru Nanak Dev Jee writes „Aapai bheej, aapai he kaahu‟, which can be translated to the modern day saying „What goes around, comes around‟. And historians record that when Abdali personally attended the de-molishing of Sri Harmandir Sahib on April 10th 1762, he was hit by a flying brick-piece. Histo-rians say that it was a inflammation of this wound that caused his death(2).

1st Image– Sri Harmandir Sahib in 1870-photograph by John Edward (http://

www.unp.me/f44/golden-temple-harmandir-sahib-in-1870-photograph-by-john-

edward-14412/

2nd, 3rd and 4th Image– Operation Blue Star (www.sikhmuseum.com)

It's needless to say of course, the Sikhs did recover, and their spirit was not broken by the slightest. In as little as 4 months the Sikhs had rallied together and an army of 60,000 ready- to-die Khalsa reached Amrit-sar to battle the Afghans(2). The salutation Waheguru Jee Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Jee Ke Fateh proved truer than ever (means The Khalsa Belongs to God, And The Victory Belongs to God) and the Khalsa pun-ished the Afghans for their sacrilege, inflicting a defeat on Abdali. Charat Singh, the grandfather of the infamous Maharajha Ranjit Singh was put in charge of restoring and rebuilding Sri Harmandir Sahib(2). The main features that we see today at Sri Harmandar Sahib was com-pleted by 1776. The causeway to the Darbar Sahib, Darshan Deori, langar hall and Bungas were all built in this period. And after Sikhs rallied to take control of Lahore and Punjab, Sri Harmandar Sahib became once again the centre of the Sikhs and it was returned to its glory days. Maharaja Ranjit Singh put the fi-nal touches on Sri Darbar Sahib by having the dome plated with golden sheets, which gave rise to the name „Golden Temple‟. Sikhs from the period of 1765 to 1850 were once again in control of their most holy sanc-tuary, and under the rule of the outstanding general Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Sikhs had a peaceful period.

But the story does not end there, the Sikh Raj fell in 1850 to the British. The demise of the Sikh‟s sover-eignty is a truly epic but sad tale, filled with deceit, murder plots and conspiracy, Dass does not have the full knowledge to dive into it today but please readers, do check this period out! So it came to be in 1850(7), Sri Harmandar Sahib fell into the hands of the British administrators and it re-mained in their clutches until 1927. In this period and under the possession of the British, Sri Darbar Sahib was not desecrated like it had been in the past, but was run by a government-appointed Sikh manager. It was not until the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in

1919 that relationships radically changed between the British and the Sikhs. The Sikhs once again rose up to take control of Sri Harmandar Sahib (and eventually all the Gurdwara in India) under the fold of the Shiromoni Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), a democratic elected body of Sikhs(12).

Now I am going to fast forward fifty years and conclude this article after looking at the carnage that took

place in 1984. The Indian army invaded Sri Harmandir Sahib despite being fully aware of the sentimental

and significance of Darbar Sahib. The attack was carried out at a time that would inflict maximum casual-

ties on the Sikhs(13). An estimate of 140 bullets marks where left on the Golden temple(14), some accounts

say 300 bullet marks were counted(15). Amrik Singh and Avtar Singh were killed from bullet wounds

whilst performing kirtan in the holy darbar. An estimated 5,000 Sikhs were killed in total(16).

Government reports will tell you that this action was necessary to flush out Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindran-wale but in my opinion this was just history repeating itself. Just like Massa Ranghar, Lakhpat Rai and Ahmed Shah Abdali, Indira Gandhi issued the order to desecrate Sri Harmandir Sahib, simply to teach the uprising Sikhs a lesson. The government wanted to make sure that Sikhs did not fight for their birth rights, equality, economic welfare or religious freedom but continued to silently obey the tyrannical regime they administered. A poignant statement comes to mind, „You know Sikhs are doing something right, when they are being per-secuted‟. What does this mean? To me it reminds me that Sikhs should not be afraid to stand up and speak out against any wrong doing in the world, regardless of the repercussions. Whether it is speaking against corrupt political leaders or protecting the rights of oppressed people, it is the duty of Guru‟s Sikh to uphold righteousness in the world. These are big words and an extremely bold statement, but dass hopes that by reading the narrative above you realise that Sikhs have fulfilled this obligation to their very last breath. Waheguru Jee Ke Khalsa, Waheguru Jee Ke Fateh!

Bibliography

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