“GANDHI, NEHRU EVERYWHERE!” WHAT DO YOU THINK?

INDIAN SLAVE COLONY BELONGS TO ONE DYNASTY. ALL ONE BILLION INSULTED & DEGRADED INDIANS ARE EQUAL AS DYNASTY’S “COOLIES & SERVANTS”. Only the KASHMIRIS are the chosen primates at a level higher than the rest and have special status conferred on them as per Article 370 of BROKEN BHARAT’S (PARTITIONED INDIA’S) CONSTITUTION.

There is NOT ONE man or woman of stature, honour or dignity in this vast sub continent in South Asia if we do not see any OTHER name on this list, apart from the dirty, corrupt, callous, autocratic HINDU BASHING (Sikh “killing”) ruling Dynasty that occupied MIDDLE INDIA* as soon as the British left.

(*West India is Pakistan and East India is Bangladesh. Traitor Nehru signed the unconditional surrender of India without any protest, argument or condition while “Bapu” MK Gandhi was wailing, “India will be cut upon my dead body.” Nehru ignored the “Father of Nation” and promptly called Middle India “Bharat” or simply “India” in order to FOOL his timid and ignorant subjects. Not one in one billion noticed the DECEPTION. His daughter INDIRA made sure that the Sikhs do not get any wiser but call their “Land of Two Rivers” again “PUNJAB”. None can recall that once LAHORE was the capital, not Nehru’s “Union Territory”!)

Here is a "short" list of schemes, roads etc. for Nehru-Gandhi dynasty promotion with Tax Payers’ money!

Following is the list of Government schemes and projects;

universities and educational institutions; ports and airports; National parks and sanctuaries; sports tournaments, trophies and stadia; hospitals and medical institutions; national scientific and research institutions; University chairs, scholarships and fellowships; festivals;

roads and buildings named after three members of the Nehru Gandhi family, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, which has been submitted to the Election Commission .

This list includes most of the projects, schemes and institutions funded by the Union Government and the Governments in the States.

In a planned and systematic effort to gain unfair advantage over other political parties, the Congress party has named all major Government programmes, projects and institutions in the country after three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family - Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru - who are its icons, and disturbed the level playing field in the electoral arena.

Over the last 18 years, on a rough estimate, about 450 Central and State Government programmes, projects and national and State-level institutions involving public expenditure of hundreds of thousands of crores of rupees have been named after these three individuals.

Central

1 Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana; 
2 Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission; 
3 Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers, Department of Women & Child Development;
4. Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana; 
5 Indira Awas Yojana
6 Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme; 
7 Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission
8 Jawaharlal Nehru Rojgar Yojna 
9.Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojna; 
10 Indira Gandhi Canal Project, Funded by World Bank 
11.Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana

State schemes

1 Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Package for Tsunami Affected Areas, 
2.Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Scheme, Govt. of Puducherry 
3Rajiv Ratna Awas Yojna; 
4 Rajiv Gandhi Prathamik Shiksha Mission, Raigarh; 
5 Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission, Madhya Pradesh; 
6 Rajiv Gandhi Mission on Food Security , Madhya Pradesh; 
7. Rajiv Gandhi Mission on Community Health, Madhya Pradesh; 
8 Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corp.; 
9 Rajiv Gandhi Tourism Development Mission, Rajasthan; 
10 Rajiv Gandhi Computer Literacy Programme, Assam 
11 Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rojgar Yojana, Govt. of NCT of Delhi 
12.Rajiv Gandhi Mobile Aids Counseling and Testing Services, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation 
13.Rajiv Gandhi Vidyarthi Suraksha Yojana, Maharashtra; 
14 Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Water Shed Management, M.P.; 
15Rajiv Gandhi Food Security Mission for Tribal Areas, MP 
16.Rajiv Gandhi Home for Handicapped, Pondicherry; 
17 Rajiv Gandhi Breakfast Scheme, Pondicherry; 
18 Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Divas, Punjab; 
19 Rajiv Gandhi Artisans Health & Life Insurance Scheme, Tamil Nadu; 
20 Rajiv Gandhi Zopadpatti and Nivara Prakalpa, Mumbai; 
21 Rajiv Arogya Sri programme, Gujrat State Govt. Scheme; 
22 Rajiv Gandhi Abhyudaya Yojana, AP; 
23 Rajiv Gandhi Computer Saksharta Mission, Jabalpur 
24 Rajiv Gandhi Bridges and Roads Infrastructure Development Programme; 
25 Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Niwara Prakalp, Maharashtra Govt 
26Indira Gandhi Utkrishtha Chhattervritti Yojna , HP; 
27 Indira Gandhi Women Protection Scheme, Maharashtra Gov; 
28.Indira Gandhi Prathisthan, Housing and Urban Planning Department, UP Govt 
29.Indira Kranthi Patham Scheme, Andhra Pradesh ; 
30Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana, State Govt. Scheme; 
31 Indira Gandhi Vruddha Bhumiheen Shetmajoor Anudan Yojana, Govt. of Maharashtra
32.Indira Gandhi Nahar Project, Jaisalmer, Govt. of Rajasthan 
33.Indira Gandhi Niradhar Yojna, Govt. of Maharashtra; 
34 Indira Gandhi kuppam, State Govt. Welfare Scheme for Tsunami effected fishermen; 35 Indira Gandhi Drinking Water Scheme-2006, Haryana Govt. 
36.Indira Gandhi Niradhar Old, Landless, Destitute women farm labour Scheme, Maharashtra Govt.
37.Indira Gandhi Women Protection Scheme , Maharashtra Govt. 
38.Indira Gaon Ganga Yojana, Chattisgarh; 
39 Indira Sahara Yojana , Chattisgarh; 
40 Indira Soochna Shakti Yojana, Chattisgarh; 
41 Indira Gandhi Balika Suraksha Yojana , HP; 
42 Indira Gandhi Garibi Hatao Yojana (DPIP), MP; 
43 Indira Gandhi super thermal power project , Haryana Govt. 
44 Indira Gandhi Water Project, Haryana Govt. 
45.Indira Gandhi Sagar Project, Bhandara District Gosikhurd Maharashtra; 
46 Indira Jeevitha Bima Pathakam, AP Govt; 
47 Indira Gandhi Priyadarshani Vivah Shagun Yojana, Haryana Govt; 
48 Indira Mahila Yojana Scheme, Meghalaya Govt 
49.Indira Gandhi Calf Rearing Scheme, Chhattisgarh Govt. 
50.Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Vivah Shagun Yojana, Haryana Govt. 
51.Indira Gandhi Calf Rearing Scheme; 
52 Indira Gandhi Landless Agriculture Labour scheme, Maharashtra Govt.

Sports/Tournaments/Trophies

1.Rajiv Gandhi Gold Cup Kabaddi Tournament; 
2 Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Run; 
3.Rajiv Gandhi Federation Cup boxing championship 
4.Rajiv Gandhi International tournament (football) 
5.NSCI - Rajiv Gandhi road races, New Delhi; 
6. Rajiv Gandhi Boat Race, Kerala; 
7Rajiv Gandhi International Artistic Gymnastic Tournament 
8.Rajiv Gandhi Kabbadi Meet 
9.Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Roller Skating Championshi; 
10 Rajiv Gandhi memorial marathon race, New Delhi; 
11Rajiv Gandhi International Judo Championship, Chandigarh 
12.Rajeev Gandhi Memorial Trophy for the Best College, Calicut; 
13 Rajiv Gandhi Rural Cricket Tournament, Initiated by Rahul Gandhi in Amethi 
14.Rajiv Gandhi Gold Cup (U-21), football; 
15 Rajiv Gandhi Trophy (football; 
16. Rajiv Gandhi Award for Outstanding Sportspersons; 
17 All Indira Rajiv Gandhi Basketball (Girls) Tournament, organized by Delhi State
18.All India Rajiv Gandhi Wrestling Gold Cup, organized by Delhi State 
19.Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Jhopadpatti Football Tournament, Rajura; 
20.Rajiv Gandhi International Invitation Gold Cup Football Tournament, Jamshedpur 
21.Rajiv Gandhi Mini Olympics, Mumbai 
22.Rajiv Gandhi Beachball Kabaddi Federation; 
23 Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Trophy Prerana Foundation; 
24 International Indira Gandhi Gold Cup Tournament; 
25 25 Indira Gandhi International Hockey Tournament 
26.Indira Gandhi Boat Race; 
27.Jawaharlal Nehru International Gold Cup Football Tournamen; 
28 Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Tournament.

Stadiums

1.Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, Delhi ; 
2.Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi ; 
3.Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi ; 
4. Rajiv Gandhi Sports Stadium, Bawana 
5.Rajiv Gandhi National Football Academy, Haryana; 
6.Rajiv Gandhi AC Stadium, Vishakhapatnam 
7.Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Pondicherry; 
8 Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Nahariagun, Itanagar; 
9.Rajiv Gandhi Badminton Indoor Stadium, Cochin; 
10.Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadavanthra, Ernak; 
11.Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex , Singhu 
12.Rajib Gandhi Memorial Sports Complex, Guwahati ; 
13.Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad 
14.Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Cochin; 
15.Indira Gandhi Stadium, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh; 
16.Indira Gandhi Stadium, Una, Himachal Pradesh; 
17.Indira Priyadarshini Stadium, Vishakhapatnam; 
18 Indira Gandhi Stadium, Deogarh, Rajasthan 
19.Gandhi Stadium, Bolangir, Orissa

Airports/ Ports

1.Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, New Hyderabad, A.P. 
2.Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal, Cochin 
3.Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi 
4..Indira Gandhi Dock, Mumbai 
5.Jawaharlal Nehru Nava Sheva Port Trust, Mumbai

Universities/Education Institutes

1.Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shilong 
2.Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Aeronautics, Ranchi, Jharkhand 
3.Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, Gandhi Nagar, Bhopal, M.P. 
4.Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, Kharagpur, Kolkata; 
5.Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy, Secundrabad ; 
6 Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala, Punjab; 
7 Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Tamil Nadu; 
8 Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy, Begumpet, Hyderabad, A.P; 
9.Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam, Kerala; 
10 Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering Research & Technology, Chandrapur, Maharashtra are among the 98 institutions named after Rajiv, Indira and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Awards

1.Rajiv Gandhi Award for Outstanding Achievement 
2.Rajiv Gandhi Shiromani Award 
3.Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Awards, Delhi Labour Welfare Board 
4.Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award 
5.Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award 
6.Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Conservation Award 
7.Rajiv Gandhi National Award Scheme for Original Book Writing on Gyan Vigyan 
8.Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 
9.Indira Gandhi Prize for National Integration; 
10.Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award; 
11.Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Awards, Ministry of Environment and Forests 
12.Indira Gandhi Memorial National Award forBest Environmental & Ecological; 
13 Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Purashkar; 
14 Indira Gandhi NSS Award 
15 Jawaharlal Nehru Prize" from 1998-99, to be given to organizations (preferably NGOs) for Popularization of Science; 
16 Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Competition 
17 Jawarharlal Nehru Student Award for research project of evolution of DNA are among the 51 named after the family members.

Scholarship / Fellowship

1.Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship Scheme for Students with Disabilities 
2.Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for SC/ST Candidates,
3.Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for ST Candidates, 
4 Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship, IGNOU;
5 Rajiv Gandhi Science Talent Research Fellows; 
6.Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship, Ministry of Tribal Affairs; 
7 Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes candidates given by UGC;
8Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship sponsored by the Commonwealth of Learning in association with IGNOU;
9 Rajiv Gandhi science talent research fellowship given by Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for advanced scientific research are among others named after the family members.

National Parks/Sanctuaries/ Museums

1.Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarhole) Wildlife Sanctury, Karnataka; 
2.Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Sanctury, Andhra Pradesh 
3.Indira Gandhi National Park , Tamil Nadu; 
4.Indira Gandhi Zoological Park , New Delh; 
5 Indira Gandhi National Park, Anamalai Hills on Western Ghats 
6.Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Vishakhapatnam
7 Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS) 
8.Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Pollachi; 
9.Rajiv Gandhi Health Museum; 
10.The Rajiv Gandhi Museum of Natural History 
11.Indira Gandhi Memorial museum, New Delhi are parks and museums named after the family members. 
12. Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Mumbai)

Hospitals/Medical Institutions

1.Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science, Bangalore, Karnataka;
2 Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre, Delhi; 
3 Rajiv Gandhi Home for Handicapped, Pondicherry; 
4 Shri Rajiv Gandhi college of Dental Science & Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka; 
5. Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Bio Technology, Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala; 
6 Rajiv Gandhi College of Nursing, Bangalore, Karnataka; 
7 Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital, Raichur; 
8 Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, Bangalore, Karnataka; 
9 Rajiv Gandhi Paramedical College, Jodhpur; 
10.Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, Thane, Mumbai are among 39 medical institutions named after the family members. 
Maharashtra

Institutions/Chairs/ Festivals

1.Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development. (RGNIYD), Ministry of Youth and Sports; 
2 Rajiv Gandhi National Ground Water Training & Research Institute, Faridabad, Haryana; 
3.Rajiv Gandhi Food Security Mission in Tribal Areas 
4.Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development; 
5..Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission, Chhattisgarh; 
6.Rajiv Gandhi Chair Endowment established in 1998 to create a Chair of South Asian Economics 
7 Rajiv Gandhi Project - A pilot to provide Education thru Massive Satellite Connectivity up grassroot Level are among 37 named after Rajiv, Indira and Nehru.Pondicherry

Roads/Buildings/places

1.Rajiv Chowk, Delhi; 
2 Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, Safdarjung, New Delhi; 
3 Rajiv Gandhi Handicrafts Bhawan, New Delhi; 
4 Rajiv Gandhi Park, Kalkaji, Delhi; 
5 Indira Chowk, New Delhi; 
6 Nehru Planetarium, New Delhi; 
7 Nehru Yuvak Kendra, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi; 
8 Nehru Nagar, New Delhi; 
9 Nehru Place, New Delhi ; 
10 Nehru Park, New Delhi Nehru House, BSZ Marg, New Delhi, are among 74 named after the family members.

And latest addition…(courtesy of Sharad Pawar & CM Ashok Chavhan) 


Rajiv Gandhi Bandra Worli Sea Link Source :

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/12096/government-schemes-projects-named-nehru.html

http://asuryaprakash.com/annexure1.html

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Baatcheet - Indian Army Bulletin

Serial Number 153, June 1984

Introduction

1-It is amply evident now that the decision to employ the army in Punjab to deal with the tragic situation was taken by the authorities reluctantly as a last resort. Akali Dal could not be brought to the negotiating table. No final settlement could be accomplished. Unfortunately, the Akali movement ultimately went out of the control of the moderate leaders and the extremist took over. The places of worship became their secure bases from where they carried out their unlawful activities.

The Army Action

2-Being pledged to democracy and secularism, it has been a practice of the Government to honor the religious sentiments of every community. Accordingly, police entry into the places of worship was not permitted, although there is no written law, which expressly prohibits it. Government showed utmost patience in dealing with the terrorists, who had taken shelter in the Gurudwaras and were issuing death warrants, killing innocent people all over the country belonging to every community. Lawlessness prevailed over a long time. Theses terrorists, criminals, murderers, smugglers and other undesirable elements wanted the police, taking shelter in the Gurudwaras, started organizing themselves for anti national activities. A large quantity of arms, ammunition, sophisticated transmitting equipment recovered by us during the action and Pakistani nationals dressed as Nihangs prove their evil designs. Countries inimical to us and some disgruntled ex-servicemen also helped extremists by training them. The temples were converted into fortresses and unlawful activities continued unabated. Some of our innocent countrymen were administered oath in the name of religion to support extremists and actively participated in the act of terrorism. These people wear a miniature kirpan round their neck and are called "Amritdharis".

3-Under such circumstances, the Government had to act promptly and sternly, for the benefit of all of us, to protect the sanctity of our religious places and preserve unity and integrity of the country as a whole. Besides the police and para-military forces, the military also had to be brought on the scene to deal with the situation.

4-The army action has been appreciated by all. Our officers and men have shown unprecedented courage in facing the terrorists who indulged in the most brutal acts of even blowing up our men with lethal devices. The army has exhibited great restrain and discipline by not even pointing their weapons towards Harmandar Sahib from where the terrorists kept showering bullets on them. Those who took part in the action belonged to all communities. Having taken oath to maintain sanctity of the holy place, they displayed indomitable will and unprecedented loyalty. Everyone is proud of our men that even under great provocation they maintained their balance.

An Appeal

5-Although majority of the terrorists have been dealt with and bulk of arms and ammunitions recovered, yet a large number of them are still at large. They have to be subdued to achieve the final aim of restoring peace in the country. Any knowledge of the "Amritdharis" who are dangerous people and pledged to commit murder, arson and acts of terrorism should be immediately brought to the notice of the authorities. These people may appear harmless from outside but they are basically committed to terrorism. In the interest of us all, their identity and whereabouts must always be disclosed.

6-We keep our ears and eyes open; never listen to rumours and malicious propaganda being planned and carried out by the enemy agents.

7-Our integrity and loyalty to the country could never be questioned. We have a long tradition of sacrifices for our Sacred Mother Land. Our forefathers taught us to always live for the well being of the country as a whole. It is our bounden duty now to protect the National interest at all costs.

Conclusion

8-Army is absolutely an apolitical organization. Narrow considerations of caste, creed and communal feelings have never betrayed us. We belong to the country and re-dedicate ourselves to sacrifice everything for its honor, unity and security. Whatever happened was unavoidable. We must learn from it that we do not fall prey to the designs of external forces.

 Khalistan: Undesirable, Unnecessary or Inevitable?

Editor's Note: After the stormy decade of the 1980's in which the question of Khalistan became a defining issue, the years that followed mercifully saw a time of relative quiet both within Punjab and the Sikh communities in the diaspora. Even then many of the

issues that fueled the insurgency, including the many unfulfilled promises of India's leaders, along with the lack of justice and transparency, remained unaddressed. Surprisingly, in the past few months, in Canada of all places, Khalistan has again returned to center stage starting with some injudicious remarks ascribed to the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. Now, many politically ambitious Sikhs and non-Sikhs - seeing an opportunity for publicity - have jumped into the fray. The ethnic Indian press is once again painting Sikhs as terrorists - all over some slogans shouted and and photos displayed during a Vaisakhi parade!

The following essay was written in 1994 at the height of the insurgency, which flowed from the Indian government's crimes and excesses against Sikhs in Punjab and elsewhere in India. Much has since changed but the issue of Khalistan deserves revisiting, hence

this reprint today.

In writing this, the usual reason - to convey a point of view - is reinforced by a better one, to initiate a debate.

Debating Khalistan is an impossible assignment and an onerous chore in some ways. Yet it is only in debate that we hone our skills, sharpen our focus and define our goals. And we should not be afraid to take on sacred cows. This discussion is particularly timely

because in recent years a litmus test of political correctness has emerged by which to judge a Sikh. If your opinions fall even a hair short of total support for the idea of Khalistan you are quickly

branded anti-Sikh. And this is unfortunate. This debate needs a devil's advocate for an impossible cause and I am that - a devil's advocate.

The word "Khalistan" conjures some very disturbing images among Indians; people still remember the painful birth of Pakistan. The Indian government has used the recent demand for Khalistan by Sikhs for some petty and inane policies which are more likely to make that dream of many come true. Many nasty suggestions were made regarding the Sikhs ('Send them to Pakistan!) by many Hindus, including Rajiv Gandhi. The reality is somewhat more complex.

Certainly the Sikhs need no lessons in patriotism. It has been repeatedly and clearly established that during the struggle for India's independence, the sacrifice of the Sikhs was far in excess of their proportion in the country; fully 70 to 80 percent of all freedom fighters who were arrested, sentenced, exiled or hanged by the British were Sikhs.

Within a few years of independence, Sikhs had transformed the Punjab into the richest province of India with the highest standard of living. Where India used to have famines every year, now thanks to the Punjabi Sikh farmers, the country can even export food. In many ways India owes its unity and integrity to the Sikh soldiers who served it so well in its three wars against Pakistan and one against China.

How is it that things changed so much so soon?

Before the attack on the Golden Temple in June 1984 on Guru Arjan's Martyrdom Day, one could perhaps count on the fingers of one hand the number of Sikhs who would opt for an independent sovereign Republic of Khalistan. After the massacre of innocent Sikhs in November, 1984 and the subsequent repressive policies of the Indian government directed solely against the Sikhs, one could count on the fingers of one hand the number of Sikhs who would not chose Khalistan.

This striking shift occurred within months of the attack on the Golden Temple. Rather than being angry at the Sikh community's response, frustrated by it or afraid of it, one should understand that such dramatic swings are not to be taken lightly but are not necessarily etched in stone either. The longer such feelings last, the more entrenched they become and harder to dislodge. The Rubicon may well have been crossed in this matter. The

massive increase in the demand for Khalistan indicates that the Sikhs are not sure of their place in India. When the present is slippery the future appears menacing.

Blaming a foreign hand as Indira and Rajiv Gandhi often did is escaping responsibility; an objective view would be more useful.

Pakistan has been consistently accused of fomenting and fanning rebellion in Punjab and Kashmir. Not that there is much proof of it but even if it were true, an outsider can only exploit a house divided where discord already exits. If people who have sacrificed so much for the unity, integrity and viability of India for so long now no longer want to be a part of it, there are only two possible explanations. Either most of the 15 million Sikhs were struck by lightning and have lost all reason or there is merit in what they say; one must look at what the Indian government has promised or delivered to them in the past 45 years.

The Sikhs have long said that the promises made to them by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru before 1947 have not been honored. It was for this reason that the Sikh members of the Constituent Assembly of independent India did not initial their acceptance of the Constitution of India. The record of documents and speeches exists and is simple enough to verify. To have to wait and agitate for 45 years for promises to be fulfilled is indeed to have to wait too long. By now, all promises should have been dealt with - fulfilled or negotiated, but certainly resolved.

At this time, most Sikhs feel that in India, justice is selective and politics reign supreme. Again, important here is not only the reality but also its perception. To dismiss this feeling as mere hallucination (of 15 million people?) would be compounding an injustice with stupidity.

When Sikhs look at the 500 years of their history, it surprises them that anyone should question their loyalty or their right to live with dignity on their own terms in India. In spite of long-standing disaffection with the Indian government, the Sikhs' loyalty was not questioned when they defended India against China or Pakistan, nor was it in doubt when Punjab contributed to India's independence or economic recovery. In essence, today's Sikh is saying: "My loyalty to the country is a matter of history; to ask me to take a loyalty oath is an insult. I do not have to prove my fitness for a place of dignity here. You, who have done me wrong and are in such a larger majority than I, have to show me that you wish me to remain a part of India."

To whom is this addressed? To the Indian government and the majority community.

It is necessary to remember that despite the attack on the Golden Temple and the widespread state terrorism directed specifically against them, Sikhs did not rebel en masse.

Examine this behavior of the Sikhs in the context of what Lincoln said at his first inaugural in 1861: "If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might, in any moral point of view, justify revolution . . .".

Indira Gandhi who probably wanted a strong united India, will be remembered as the one who fragmented the people and dismembered the country.

If the Indian government cannot act swiftly, decisively and effectively to assure the Sikhs of justice and security, it will never regain its right to govern nor should it. The Sikhs then would have little choice but to carve out a homeland of their own. Khalistan, no matter how small or imperfect, would then become a reality. Demands of human dignity will prevail and, be it ever so humble, be it ever so meager, Khalistan will also exist among the nations of the world. No army and no governmental rhetoric will be able to prevent it. And at this time the Indian government has clearly lost any claims to the hearts and minds of the Sikhs.

I submit to you that the conventional arguments why Khalistan is not viable - they are nonsense. That the country would be small or landlocked and its economic base limited - these things do not matter. The country would be larger than many member states of the

United Nations, its economy better than that of many emerging nations in Eastern Europe.

In recent years, many Sikhs have presented most lucidly all the good arguments for Khalistan - the broken promises, systematic injustice to the Sikhs, all the history, etc.

But as T.S. Eliot reminds us, "History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors and issues, deceives with whispering ambitions. Guides us by vanities."

The issue of Khalistan is not all black or white. It is not Khalistan now or Khalistan never; it is perplexing.

I can present several good reasons why Khalistan is not desirable. Never in their history have Sikhs set about to conquer territory, subjugate people in the name of religion or establish Sikhism as state religion. Ranjit Singh for instance was a ruler who happened to

be a Sikh and not a particularly good one at that in his later years, he was much better at being a ruler. He did not establish Sikhism as the state religion. His administration was secular. His Punjab remained a multireligious country. It did not become a Sikh Punjab.

Let us look at it somewhat differently. I am a minority no matter where I live - in India or wherever. When I came here in 1960 there were two Sikhs in New York; in Oregon where I went to school, I was the only one. Many of you share that experience. Except in Punjab,

even in India I remain a minuscule minority. A part of me says "wouldn't it be nice, wouldn't it be right if there was little bit of dirt, a little part of this earth which was mine, where I was the king?"

And that says - Khalistan now.

Another part of me says where I hold sway, there will be someone else - a non-Sikh - who will not, whose sensitivities will be ignored, whose rights will be a little abridged, who will not be the chosen one, who will be second class for no fault except that he is not a Sikh. And that is not the Sikh way. That says to me that countries based on religious identity alone are not desirable. Two examples that come to mind are Pakistan and Israel.

But what is undesirable can become historically necessary and even inevitable. Again Pakistan and Israel come to mind. Two thousand years of diaspora, bigotry, suffering and pogroms convinced the Jews and the world of the necessity and the inevitability of aJewish homeland. Before the formation of Pakistan in 1947, the demand was not a longstanding one. Just before India's independence, Mahatma Gandhi and three others dominated the political scene - Nehru, Patel and Azad. Nehru - the father of Indira Gandhi, became India's first the Prime Minister, Patel was the home minister, and Azad - the sole Muslim, others were Hindus - was the education minister.

Azad wrote his diaries which were sealed for a number of years after his death and finally opened a couple of years ago. In them he put the blame for Pakistan squarely on Nehru. He claimed that Nehru and his Hindu dominated political party was most reluctant to share power

with the Moslems and the Moslems were suspicious of the Hindus. Result: a partition of the country and Pakistan became not only necessary but inevitable.

Seems like history may be repeating itself in Punjab.

The partition of the country in 1947 carried a horrendous price tag. Nations are formed when there is a shared culture, language, history and so on, not necessarily religion only. The Sephardic and Ashkenazy Jews in Israel do not get along all that well even though both are Jews. Religion alone could not hold together Pakistan and Eastern Bengal, now Bangladesh. Someday, I am sure, Bangladesh and Indian Bengal would want to come together as Greater Bengal, based not on religion but on culture, as can be seen in the reunification of Germany.

The demand for Khalistan has to be looked at in perspective. Before 1984, no responsible Sikh leader demanded Khalistan with one exception: Jagjit Singh Chauhan who is London-based and has been asking for Khalistan for over 20 years. I met him in the seventies and he was a voice in the wilderness, not many gurdwaras would give him the time of day.

In 1984, Bhindranwale did not plant a flag and declare, "No more India, we are Khalistan - a separate, sovereign country" - although there was sufficient provocation. Nor did any other Sikh leader.

When Pakistan was formed in 1947, the Sikhs suffered - we lost a lot. The refugee problem was worse than in Europe after the second world war. The lives lost! We also lost a substantial part of our heritage. The birthplace of Guru Nanak, the historical places in Lahore and Punja Sahib, to name a few.

If Khalistan were to be carved today, we would lose a lot more of our inheritance. The Gurus did not live and preach only in Punjab. They traveled all over India from Assam and Bengal to the South. More importantly, look at our people. The Sikhs are an outgoing,

assertive, outward looking people. They would not be satisfied for long, hemmed in a mini-country with limited opportunities. Soon the borders would be strained. Pakistan is friendly now, but for how long?

Remember, only people and individuals have friendships, nations do not; they have only self-interest to guide them. The words Pakistan and Khalistan literally mean the same - "land of the pure" in their respective languages. How neighborly will be two lands of the pure and for how long?

If Khalistan is undesirable, has it become necessary and inevitable?

Now that the demand for Khalistan has surfaced, how hard a demand is it? Is it written in stone? I am not sure, even though I realize that once the genie is out of the bottle, it is difficult if not impossible to push it back.

Despite all the injustice to the Sikhs, in 1985 Longowal and the Sikhs signed an accord with the Indian government - to give peace another chance. Too bad that the Indian government of Rajiv Gandhi did what Indira Gandhi had done earlier; they did not fulfill their

promises but delivered more repression. Again in 1989, the Sikhs participated in the electoral process, won by landslides, welcomed the new Prime Minister V.P. Singh into a peaceful, open Punjab - no security was necessary. By this act they clearly showed the world that they were not rejecting ties to India, only that the nature of the ties had to change. Until only one year ago, Simranjit Singh Mann was still looking for a solution within the Indian constitutional framework. Too bad that the government delivered what it always did - more repression.

Nations cannot be bonded by force as the Soviets have discovered but only by enlightened self-interest. The West-Europeans are learning that closer political and economic ties can be beneficial to all - of course there is resistance because of the history of centuries of

suspicion, war and bloodshed. It can't be easy for any of the Europeans to comfortably trust the Germans. If the Soviets had disbanded earlier, a looser, cooperating confederation of nations might have resulted - now the Ukrainians, the Lithuanians and the

Estonians are at each others throats. Just look at Yugoslavia.

India awaits a similar fate and needs enlightened leadership.

I can visualize the whole Indian subcontinent - including Pakistan and Bangladesh - remarcated into several secular nation-states based on culture, language and economic interest; the level of cooperation to be determined by their self-interest and their shared history. As it is, I find that most of us Sikhs have more in common with the culture of Punjab and that means Pakistan than with the rest of India where I can only communicate in English.

In post-independence India, the only cultural phenomenon that may be the uniting glue of modern India appears to be the Hindi movie industry. Any nation deserves better. I would like to see the nation-states free to pursue their own economic and cultural development and not be under the heels of remote bureaucrats in Delhi. Only then will they be able to preserve their rich heritage and contribute to the diversity and richness of the Indian subcontinent.

To my mind the Sikhs have clearly rejected the model of the present Indian governing system. Khalistan though undesirable has become increasingly necessary, primarily because of the shortsighted policies of the Indian government. Has it become inevitable?

By now events have probably already overtaken what I have written here, but when I look at my views I have to echo Walt Whitman who said, "Do I contradict myself?. Very well then I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes.)"

The issue of Khalistan can and should be debated but it will eventually be decided not in New York, London or New Delhi but in the streets and villages of Punjab. In the meantime, Sikhs everywhere support the legitimate aspirations of our people in the Punjab in whatever form they are expressed.

One thinks of Jefferson who said, "I weep for my country when I reflect that God is just."

  I.J. SINGH 

*************************************

 BANK OF SIKHISM, Build your assets

* Deposit                                 * Withdrawals

* Honest Living                      * Dishonest Living

* Taking HIS NAME                * Forgetting HIM

* Serving mankind                 * Serving yourself

* Equality in mankind            * Discriminating

* Respect elders                    * Disrespect elders

* Be humble                           * Be ostentatious

* Share your assets               * Be greedy

* Time for family                    * No time for family

* Visit Gurdwara                    * No Gurdwara

* Keep promises                    * Break promises

* Keep agreements                * Break agreements

* Keep commitments             * Breek commitments

* Clarify expectations            * Violate expectations

* Accept feedback                 * Reject feedback

* Listen first then talk           * Talk first, no listen

* Be loyal                               * Be disloyal

* Be kind                                * Be unkind

* Be courteous                       * Be discourteous

* Offer apologies                    * Avoid apologizing

* Don’t be righteous               * Be righteous

* Avoid anger                          * Be angey

* Be monogamous                  * Be promiscuous

* Love people                          * Hate people

Hi, my name is

ANAND MARRIAGE and HINDU MARRIAGE ACT

THE ANAND MARRIAGE ACT, 1909

[Act No. 7 of 1909]

[22nd October 1909]

An Act to remove doubts as to the validity of the marriage ceremony common among the Sikhs called Anand.

Whereas it is expedient to remove any doubts as to the validity of the marriage ceremony common among the Sikhs called Anand;

It is hereby enacted as follows:

2. Validity of Anand Marriage.

All marriages, which may be or may have been duly solemnized according to the Sikh Marriage ceremony called Anand shall be and shall be deemed to have been with effect from the date of the solemnization of each respectively, good and valid in law.

3. Exemption of certain marriages from Act.

Nothing in this Act shall apply to-

(a) Any marriage between persons not professing the Sikh religion, or

(b) Any marriage, which has been judicially declared to be null and void.

4. Saving of marriages solemnized according to other ceremonies.

Nothing in this Act shall affect the validity of any marriage duly solemnized according to any other marriage ceremony customary among the Sikhs.

5. Non-validation of marriages within prohibited degrees.

Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to validate any marriage between persons who are related to each other in any degree of consanguinity or affinity, which would, according to the customary law of the Sikhs, render a marriage between them illegal.

HINDU MARRIAGE ACT

(Act 25 of 1955)[18th May, 1955]

An Act to amend and codify the law relating to marriage among Hindus. Preliminary

1. Short title and extent.-(1) This Act may be called the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and applies also to Hindus domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends who are outside the said territories.

2. Application of Act.- (1) This Act applies,-

(a) to any person who is a Hindu by religion in any of of its forms or developments, including a Virashaiva, a Lingayat or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj;

(b) to any person who is a Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh by religion, and

(c) to any other person domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion, unless it is proved that any such person would not have been governed by the Hindu law or by any custom or usage as part of that law in respect of any of the matters dealt with herein if this Act had not been passed.

Explanation.- The following persons are Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas or Sikhs by religion, as the case may be,-

(a) any child, legitimate or illegitimate, both of whose parents are Hindus, Buddhists,

Jainas or Sikhs by religion;

(b) any child, legitimate or illegitimate, one of whose parents is a Hindu, Buddhist Jaina or Sikh by religion and who is brought up as a member of tribe, community, group or family to which such parents belongs or belonged; and

(c) any person who is a convert or re-convert to the Hindus, Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh religion.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the members of any Scheduled Tribe within the meaning of clause (25) of Article 366 of the Constitution unless the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, otherwise directs.

(3) The expression "Hindus" in any portion of this Act shall be construed as if it included a person who, though not a Hindu by religion is, nevertheless, a person whom this Act applies by virtue of the provisions contained in this section.

3. Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) the expression "custom" and "usage" signify any rule which, having been continuously and uniformally observed for a long time, has obtained the force of law among Hindus in any local area, tribe, community, group or family:

Provided that the rule is certain and not unreasonable or opposed to public policy; and Provided further that in the case of a rule applicable only to a family it has not been discontinued by the family;

(b)"District Court" means, in any area for which there is a City Civil Court, that Court, and in any other area the principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction, and includes any other civil court which may be specified by the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, as having jurisdiction in respect of matters dealt with in this Act;

(c)"full blood"and "half blood"- two persons are said to be related to each other by full blood when they are descended from a common ancestor by the same wife and by half blood when they are descended from a common ancestor but by different wives;

(d)"uterine blood" - two persons are said to be related to each other by uterine blood when they are descended from a common ancestor but by different husbands. Explanation.- In Clauses (c) and (d) "ancestor" includes the father and "ancestress" the mother;

(e)"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(f)(i)"Sapinda relationship" with reference to any person extends as far as the third generation(inclusive) in the line of ascent through the mother, and the fifth (inclusive) in the line of ascent through the father, the line being traced upwards in each case from the person concerned, who is to be counted as the first generation;

(ii) two persons are said to be "sapinda" of each other if one is a lineal ascendant of the other within the limits of sapinda relationship, or if they have a common lineal ascendant who is within the limits of sapinda relationship with reference to each of them;

(g)"degrees of prohibited relationship " - two persons are said to be within the "degrees of prohibited relationship"-

(I) if one is a lineal ascendant of the other; or

(ii) if one was the wife or husband of a lineal ascendant or descendant of the other; or

(iii)if one was the wife of the brother or of the father's or mother's brother or of the grandfather's or grandmother's brother or the other; or

(iv)if the two are brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, or children of brother and sister or of two brothers or of two sisters.

Explanation.- for the purposes of clauses (f) and (g) relationship includes-

(I) relationship by half or uterine blood as well as by full blood;

(ii) illegitimate blood relationship as well as legitimate;

(iii) relationship by adoption as well as by blood; and all terms of relationship in those clauses shall be construed accordingly.

4. Overriding effect of Act.- Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act.-

(a) any text,rule or interpretation of Hindu Law or any custom or usage as part of that law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall cease to have effect with respect to any matter for which provision is made in this Act;

(b) any other law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall cease to have effect in so far as it is inconsistent with any of the provisions contained in this Act. Hindu Marriages

5. Condition for a Hindu Marriage.- A marriage may be solemnized between any two Hindus, if the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:

(i) neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage;

(ii) at the time of the marriage, neither party,-

(a) is incapable of giving a valid consent of it in consequence of unsoundness of mind; or

(b) though capable of giving a valid consent has been suffering from mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and the procreation of children; or

(c) has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy;

(iii) the bridegroom has completed the age of twenty one years and the bride the age of eighteen years at the time of the marriage;

(iv) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;

(v) the parties are not sapindas of each other, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;

(vi) (Omitted)

6. Guardianship in Marriage.- (Omitted by Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976.

7. Ceremonies for a Hindu marriage.-(1) A Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party thereto.

(2) Where such rites and ceremonies include the saptapadi (that is, the taking of seven steps by the bridegroom and the bride jointly before the sacred fire), the marriage becomes complete and binding when the seventh step is taken.

8. Registration of Hindu Marriages.-(1) For the purpose of facilitating the proof of Hindu marriages, the State Government may make rules providing that the parties to any such marriage may have the particulars relating to their marriage entered in such manner and subject to such condition as may be prescribed in a Hindu Marriage Register kept for the purpose.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the State Government may, if it is of opinion that it is necessary or expedient so to do, provide that the entering of the particulars referred to in sub-section (1) shall be compulsory in the State or in any part thereof, whether in all cases or in such cases as may be specified and where any such direction has been issued, and person contravening any rule made in this behalf shall be punishable with fine which may extend to twenty-five rupees.

(3) All rules made under this section shall be laid before the State Legislature, as soon as may be, after they are made.

(4) The Hindu Marriage Register shall at all reasonable times be open for inspection, and shall be admissible as evidence of the statements therein contained and certified extracts therefrom shall, on application, be given by the Registrar on payment to him of the prescribed fee.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the validity of any Hindu marriage shall in no way be affected by the omission to make the entry. Restitution of Conjugal rights and judicial separation

9. Restitution of conjugal rights.- When either the husband or the wife has, without reasonable excuse, withdrawn from the society of the other, the aggrieved party may apply, by petition to the district court, for restitution of conjugal rights and the court, on being satisfied of the truth of the statements made in such petition and that there is no legal ground why the application should not be granted, may decree restitution of conjugal rights accordingly.

Explanation- Where a question arises whether there has been reasonable excuse for withdrawal from the society, the burden of proving reasonable excuse shall be on the person who has withdrawn from the society.

10. Judicial separation.- (1) Either party to a marriage, whether solemnized before or after the commencement of this Act, may present a petition praying for a decree for judicial separation on any of the grounds specified in sub-section (1) of Section 13, and in the case of a wife also on any of the grounds might have been presented. (2) Where a decree for judicial separation has been passed, it shall no longer be obligatory for the petitioner to cohabit with the respondent, but the court may, on the application by petition of either party and on being satisfied of the truth of the statement made in such petition, rescind the decree if it considers it just and reasonable to do so.

Nullity of Marriage and Divorce

11. Nullity of marriage and divorce- Void marriages.- Any marriage solemnized after the commencement of this Act shall be null and void and may, on a petition presented by either party thereto, against the other party be so declared by a decree of nullity if it contravenes any one of the conditions specified in clauses (i), (iv) and (v), Section 5.

12. Voidable Marriages.-(1) Any marriage solemnized, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be voidable and may be annulled by a decree of nullity on any of the following grounds, namely:-

(a) that the marriage has not been consummated owing to the impotency of the respondent; or

(b) that the marriage is in contravention of the condition specified in clause (ii) of Section 5; or

(c) that the consent of the petitioner, or where the consent of the guardian in marriage of the petitioner was required under Section 5 as it stood immediately before the commencement of the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978, the consent of such guardian was obtained by force or by fraud as to the nature of the ceremony or as to any material fact or circumstance concerning the respondent; or

(d) that the respondent was at the time of the marriage pregnant by some person other than the petitioner.

2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), no petition for annulling a marriage-

(a) on the ground specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall be entertained if-

(i) the petition is presented more than one year after the force had ceased to operate or, as the case may be, the fraud had been discovered ; or

(ii) the petitioner has, with his or her full consent, lived with the other party to the marriage as husband or wife after the force had ceased to operate or, as the case may be, the fraud had been discovered;

(b) on the ground specified in clause (d) of sub-section (1) shall be entertained unless the court is satisfied-

(i) that the petitioner was at the time of the marriage ignorant of the facts alleged;

(ii) that proceedings have been instituted in the case of a marriage solemnized before the commencement of this Act within one year of such commencement and in the case of marriages solemnized after such commencement within one year from the date of the marriage; and

(iii) that marital intercourse with the consent of the petitioner has not taken place since the discovery by the petitioner of the existence of the said ground.

13. Divorce- (1) Any marriage solemnized, whether before or after the commencement of the Act, may, on a petition presented by either the husband or the wife, be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground that the other party-

(i) has, after the solemnization of the marriage had voluntary sexual intercourse with any person other than his or her spouse; or

(ia) has, after the solemnization of the marriage, treated the petitioner with cruelty; or

(ib) has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition; or

(ii) has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion ; or

(iii) has been incurably of unsound mind, or has suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder of such a kind and to such an extent that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent.

Explanation- In this clause-

(a) the expression "mental disorder" means mental illness, arrested or incomplete development of mind, psychopathic disorder or any other disorder or disability of mind and include schizophrenia;

(b) the expression "psychopathic disorder" means a persistent disorder or disability of mind (whether or not including sub-normality of intelligence) which results in abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct on the part of the other party and whether or not it requires or is susceptible to medical treatment; or

(iv) has been suffering from a virulent and incurable form of leprosy; or

(v) has been suffering from veneral disease in a communicable form; or

(vi) has renounced the world by entering any religious order; or

(vii) has not been heard of as being alive for a period of seven years or more by those persons who would naturally have heard of it, had that party been alive;

Explanation.- In this sub-section, the expression "desertion" means the desertion of the petitioner by the other party to the marriage without reasonable cause and without the consent or against the wish of such party, and includes the willful neglect of the petitioner by the other party to the marriage, and its grammatical variations and cognate expression shall be construed accordingly.

(1-A) Either party to a marriage, whether solemnized before or after the commencement of this Act, may also present a petition for the dissolution of the marriage by a decree of divorce on the ground-

(i) that there has been no resumption of cohabitation as between the parties to the marriage for a period of one year or upwards after the passing of a decree for judicial separation in a proceeding to which they were parties; or

(ii) that there has been no restitution of conjugal rights as between the parties to the marriage for a period of one year or upward after the passing of a decree of restitution of conjugal rights in a proceeding to which they were parties.

(2) A wife may also present a petition for the dissolution of her marriage by a decree of divorce on the ground-

(i) in the case of any marriage solemnized before the commencement of this Act, that the husband had married again before the commencement or that any other wife of the husband married before such commencement was alive at the time of the solemnization of the marriage of the petitioner: Provided that in either case the other wife is alive at the time of the presentation of the petition;

(ii) that the husband has, since the solemnization of the marriage, been guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality; or

(iii) that in a suit under Section 18 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, (78 of 1956), or in a proceeding under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, (Act 2 of 1974) or under corresponding Section 488 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, (5 of 1898), a decree or order, as the case may be, has been passed against the husband awarding maintenance to the wife notwithstanding that she was living apart and that since the passing of such decree or order, cohabitation between the parties has not been resumed for one year or upwards;or

(iv) that her marriage (whether consummated or not) was solemnized before she attained the age of fifteen years and she has repudiated the marriage after attaining that age but before attaining the age of eighteen years.

Explanation.- This clause applies whether the marriage was solemnized before or after the commencement of the Marriage Law (Amendment) Act, 1976.

13-A. Alternate Relief in Divorce Proceedings.- If any proceeding under this Act, on a petition for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce, except in so far as the petition is founded on the grounds mentioned in clauses (ii), (vi) and (vii) of sub-section (1) of Section 13, the court may, if it considers it just so to do having regard to the circumstances of the case, pass instead a decree for judicial separation.

13-B. Divorce by mutual consent.-(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act a petition for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce may be presented to the District Court by both the parties to a marriage together, whether such marriage was solemnized before or after the commencement of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976, on the ground that they have been living separately for a period of one year or more, that they have not been able to live together and that they have mutually agreed that the marriage should be dissolved. (2) On the motion of both the parties made earlier than six months after the date of the presentation of the petition referred to in sub-section (1) and not later than eighteen months after the said date, if the petition is not withdrawn in the mean time, the Court shall, on being satisfied, after hearing the parties and after making such inquiry as it thinks fit, that a marriage has been solemnized and that the averments in the petition are true, pass a decree of divorce declaring the marriage to be dissolved with effect from the date of the decree.

14. No petition for divorce to be presented within one year of marriage.- (1)

Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, it shall not be competent for any Court to entertain any petition for dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce, unless at the date of the presentation of the petition one year has elapsed since the date of the marriage: Provided that the court may, upon application made to it in accordance with such rules as may be made by the High Court in that behalf, allow a petition to be presented before one year has elapsed since the date of the marriage on the ground that the case is one of exceptional hardship to the petitioner or of exceptional depravity on the part of the respondent, but, if it appears to the court at the hearing of the petition that petitioner obtained leave to present the petition by any mis-representation or concealment of the nature of the case, the court may, if it pronounces a decree, do so subject to the condition that the decree shall not have effect until after the expiry of one year from the date of the marriage or may dismiss the petition without prejudice to any petition which may be brought after the expiration of the said one year upon the same or substantially the same facts as those alleged in support of the petition so dismissed.

(2) In disposing of any application under this section for leave to present a petition for divorce before the expiration of one year from the date of the marriage, the court shall have regard to the interests of any children of the marriage and to the question whether there is a reasonable probability of a reconciliation between the parties before the expiration of the said one year.

15. Divorced persons. When may marry again.- When a marriage has been dissolved by a decree of divorce and either there is no right of appeal against the decree or, if there is such a right of appeal, the time for appealing has expired without an appeal having been presented, or an appeal has been presented but has been dismissed, it shall be lawful for either party to the marriage to marry again.

16. Legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages.-

(1) Notwithstanding that a marriage is null and void under Section 11, any child of such marriage who would have been legitimate if the marriage had been valid, shall be legitimate, whether such a child is born before or after the commencement of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976, and whether or not a decree of nullity is granted in respect of the marriage under this Act and whether or not the marriage is held to be void otherwise than on a petition under this Act.

(2) Where a decree of nullity is granted in respect of a voidable marriage under Section 12, any child begotten or conceived before the decree is made, who would have been the legitimate child of the parties to the marriage if at the date of the decree it had been dissolved instead of being annulled, shall be deemed to be their legitimate child notwithstanding the decree of nullity.

(3) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be construed as conferring upon any child of a marriage which is null and void or which is annulled by a decree of nullity under Section 12, any rights in or to the property of any person, other than the parents, in any case, where, but for the passing of this Act, such child would have been incapable of possessing or acquiring any such rights by reason of his not being the legitimate child of his parents.

17. Punishment of Bigamy.- Any marriage between two Hindus solemnized after the commencement of this Act is void if at the date of such marriage either party had a husband or wife living; and the provisions of Sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) shall apply accordingly.

18. Punishment for contravention of certain other conditions for a Hindu marriage.- Every person who procures a marriage of himself or herself or to be solemnized under this Act in contravention of the conditions specified in clauses (iii), (iv), and (v) of Section 5 shall be punishable-

(a) in the case of a contravention of the condition specified in clause (iii) of Section 5, with simple imprisonment which may extend to fifteen days, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both;

(b) in the case of a contravention of the condition specified in clause (iv) or clause (v) of Section 5, with simple imprisonment which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both;

(c) Clause (c) omitted by Act 2 of 1978.

Jurisdiction and Procedure

19. Court to which petition shall be presented- Every petition under this Act shall be presented to the District Court within the local limits

of whose ordinary original civil jurisdiction:

(i) the marriage was solemnized, or

(ii) the respondent, at the time of the presentation of the petition, resides, or

(iii) the parties to the marriage last resided together, or

(iv) the petitioner is residing at the time of the presentation of the petition, in a case where the respondent is at that time, residing outside the territories to which this Act extends, or has not been heard of as being alive for a period of seven years or more by those persons who would naturally have heard of him if he were alive.

20. Contents and verification of Petitions.-(1) Every petition presented under this Act shall state as distinctly as the nature of the case permits the facts on which the claims to relief is founded and, except in a petition under Section 11, shall also state that there is no collusion between the petitioner and the other party to the marriage.

(2) The statements contained in every petition under this Act shall be verified by the petitioner or some other competent person in the manner required by law for the verification of plaints, and may, at the hearing, be referred to as evidence.

21. Application of Act 5 of 1908.- Subject to the other provisions contained in this Act and to such rules as the High Court may make in this behalf all proceedings under this Act shall be regulated, as far as may be, by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

21-A. Power to transfer petitions in certain cases.-(1)Where-

(a) a petition under this Act has been presented to a District Court having jurisdiction by a party to marriage praying for a decree for a judicial separation under Section 10 or of a decree of divorce under Section 13; and

(b) another petition under this Act has been presented thereafter by the other party to the marriage praying for a decree for judicial separation under Section 10 or for a decree of divorce under Section 13 on any ground, whether in the same District Court or in a different District Court, in the same State or in a different State, the petitions shall be dealt with as specified in sub-section (2).

(2) In a case where sub-section (1) applies,-

(a) if the petitions are presented to the same District Court, both the petitions shall be tried and heard together by that District Court;

(b) if the petition are presented to different District Courts, the petition presented later shall be transferred to the District Court in which the earlier petition was presented and both the petitions shall be heard and disposed of together by the district court in which the earlier petition was presented.

(3) In a case where clause (b) of sub-section (2) applies, the court or the Government, as the case may be, competent under the Code of Civil Procedure, 5 of 1908 to transfer any suit or proceeding from this District Court in which the later petition has been presented to the district court in which the earlier petition is pending, shall exercise its powers to transfer such later petition as if it had been empowered so to do under the said Code.

21-B. Special provision relating to trial and disposal of petitions under the Act.-

(1) The trial of a petition under this Act, shall, so far as is practicable consistently with the interests of justice in respect of the trial, be continued from day to day until its conclusion unless the Court finds the adjournment of the trial beyond the following day to be necessary for reasons to be recorded.

(2) Every petition under this Act shall be tried as expeditiously as possible, and endeavour shall be made to conclude the trial within six months from the date of service of notice of the petition on the respondent.

(3) Every appeal under this Act shall be heard as expeditiously as possible, and endeavour shall be made to conclude the hearing within three months from the date of service of notice of appeal on the respondent.

21.-C. Documentary evidence.- Notwithstanding anything in any enactment to the contrary, no document shall be inadmissible in evidence in any proceeding at the trial of a petition under this Act on the ground that it is not duly stamped or registered.

22. Proceedings to be in camera and may not be printed or published.-(1) Every proceedings under this Act shall be conducted in camera and it shall not be lawful for any person to print or publish any matter in relation to any such proceeding except a judgment of the High Court or of the Supreme Court printed or published with the previous permission of the Court.

(2) If any person prints or publishes any matter in contravention of the provisions contained in sub-section (1), he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.

23. Decree in proceedings.-(1) In any proceeding under this Act, whether defended or not, if the Court is satisfied that-

(a) any of the grounds for granting relief exists and the petitioner except in cases where the relief is sought by him on the grounds specified in sub-clause (a), sub-clause (b) and sub-clause (c) of clause (ii) of Section 5 is not any way taking advantage of his or her own wrong or disability for the purpose of such relief, and

(b) where the ground of the petition is the ground specified in clause (i) of sub-section (1) of Section 13, the petitioner has not in any manner been accessory to or connived at or condoned the act or acts complained of, or where the ground or the petition is cruelty the petitioner has not in any manner condoned the cruelty, and

(bb) when a divorce is sought on the ground of mutual consent, such consent has not been obtained by force, fraud or undue influence, and

(c) the petition not being a petition presented under section 11 is not presented or prosecuted in collusion with the respondent, and

(d) there has not been any unnecessary or improper delay in instituting the proceeding, and

(e) there is no other legal ground why relief should not be granted, then,and in such a case, but not otherwise, the court shall decree such relief accordingly.

(2) Before proceeding to grant any relief under this Act, it shall be the duty of the Court in the first instance, in every case where it is possible so to do consistently with the nature and circumstances of the case, to make every endeavour to bring about a reconciliation between the parties: Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall apply to any proceeding wherein relief is sought on any of the grounds specified in clause (ii), clause (iii), clause (iv), clause (v), clause (vi) or clause (vii), of sub-section (1) of Section 13.

(3) For the purpose of aiding the Court in bringing about such reconciliation, the court may, if the parties so desire or if the Court thinks it just and proper so to do adjourn the proceedings for a reasonable period not exceeding fifteen days and refer the matter to any person named by the parties in this behalf or to any person nominated by the Court if the parties fail to name any person, with directions to report to the Court as to whether reconciliation can be and has been effected and the court shall in disposing of the proceeding have due regard to the report.

(4) In every case where a marriage is dissolved by a decree of divorce, the court passing the decree shall give a copy thereof free of cost to each of the parties.

23-A. Relief for respondent in divorce and other proceedings.- In any proceedings for divorce or judicial separation or restitution of conjugal rights, the respondent may not only oppose the relief sought on the ground of petitioner's adultery, cruelty or desertion, but also make a counter-claim for any relief under this Act on that ground; and if the petitioner's adultery, cruelty or desertion is proved, the Court may give to the respondent any relief under this Act to which he or she would have been entitled if he or she had presented a petition seeking such relief on that ground.

24. Maintenance pendente lite and expenses of proceedings.- Where in any proceeding under this Act it appears to the Court that either the wife or the husband, as the case may be, has no independent income sufficient for her or his support and the necessary expenses of the proceeding, it may, on the application of the wife or the husband, order the respondent to pay the petitioner the expenses of the proceeding such sum as, having regard to the petitioner's own income and the income of the respondent, it may seem to the Court to be reasonable.

25. Permanent alimony and maintenance.-(1) Any court exercising jurisdiction under this Act may, at the time of passing any decree or at any time subsequent thereto, on application made to it for the purposes by either the wife or the husband, as the case may be, order that the respondent shall pay to the applicant for her or his maintenance and support such gross sum or such monthly or periodical sum for a term not exceeding the life of the applicant as, having regard to the respondent's own income and other property of the applicant, the conduct of the parties and other circumstances of the case, it may seem to the Court to be just, and any such payment may be secured, if necessary, by a charge on the immoveable property of the respondent.

(2) If the Court is satisfied that there is a change in the circumstances of either party at any time after it has made an order under sub-section (1), it may at the instance of either party, vary, modify or rescind any such order in such manner as the court may deem just.

(3) If the Court is satisfied that the party in whose favour an order has been made under this Section has re-married or, if such party is the wife, that she has not remained chaste or if such party is the husband, that he has had sexual intercourse with any woman outside wedlock, it may at the instance of the other party vary, modify or rescind any such order in such manner as the court may deem just.

26. Custody of children.- In any proceeding under this Act, the Court may, from time to time, pass such interim orders and make such provisions in the decree as it may deem just and proper with respect to the custody, maintenance and education of minor children, consistently with their wishes, wherever possible, and may, after the decree, upon application by petition for the purpose, make from time to time, all such orders and

provisions with respect to the custody, maintenance and education of such children as might have been made by such decree or interim orders in case the proceedings for obtaining such decree were still pending, and the Court may also from time to time revoke, suspend or vary any such orders and provisions previously made.

27. Disposal of property.-In any proceeding under this Act, the Court may make such provisions in the decree as it deems just and proper with respect to any property presented at or about the time of marriage, which may belong jointly to both the husband and the wife.

28. Appeals from decrees and orders.-(1) All decrees made by Court in any proceeding under this Act shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), be appealable as decrees of the Court made in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction and every such appeal shall lie to the Court to which appeals ordinarily lie from the decisions of the Court given in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction.

(2) Orders made by the Court in any proceedings under this Act, under Section 25 or Section 26 shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), be appealable if they are not interim orders and every such appeal shall lie to the Court to which appeals ordinarily lie from the decisions of the Court given in exercise of its original civil jurisdiction.

(3) There shall be no appeal under this section on subject of costs only.

(4) Every appeal under this section shall be preferred within a period of thirty days from the date of the decree or order.

28(A) Enforcement of decrees and orders.- All decrees and orders made by the Court in any proceeding under this Act, shall be enforced in the like manner as the decrees and orders of the Court made in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction for the time being enforced.

29. Savings.-(1) A marriage solemnized between Hindus before the commencement of this Act, which is otherwise valid, shall not be deemed to be invalid or ever to have been invalid by reason only of the fact that the parties thereto belonged to the same gotra or pravara or belonged to different religion, castes or sub-divisions of the same caste.

(2) Nothing contained in this Act shall be deemed to affect any right recognised by custom or conferred by any special enactment to obtain the dissolution of a Hindu Marriage, whether solemnized before or after the commencement of this Act.

(3) Nothing contained in this Act shall affect any proceeding under any law for the time being in force for declaring any marriage to be null and void or for annulling or dissolving any marriage or for judicial, separation pending at the commencement of this Act, and any such proceeding may be continued and determined as if this Act had not been passed.

(4) Nothing contained in this Act shall be deemed to effect the provisions contained in the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (43 of 1954), with respect to marriages between Hindus solemnized under that Act, whether before or after the commencement of this Act.

30. Repeals.- (Repealed by the Repealing and Amendment Act, 1960 (58 of 1960), Sec. 2 and the First Schedule.)

Harbans Singh

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Comments of British Generals regarding Sikh Soldiers

By guruka

Created May 15 2009 - 2:23am

These comments of British Generals regarding the Sikhs and their Turban are important and, I hope, helpful for the two Sikhs who joined the army in  the USA and are facing identity issues with the army. These quotes are from my book, How Europe is Indebted to the Sikhs – Role of Sikhs in Europe during WW II , Vol. II.  
- Bhupinder Singh (Holland)

Turban vs. Helmet 
In the early days of World II (1939-1945) the Sikh Regimental Center , then known as 10th Battalion the Sikh Regiment, was stationed in Nowshera (now in Pakistan), when I got enrolled in June 1940.

I recollect that Maj Gern Kilroy (who had earlier commanded its No: 4 Company as a Captain) was deputed by the Army HQ (then called General HQ) to visit the Training Center to convince and persuade the Sikh soldiers being drafted to the European War Zone, to wear helmets (even over their turbans ) to protect themselves from sustaining head injuries. The entire gathering opposed the idea. 
Ultimately he came forward with a bet that let any one soldier accompany me to the battle field where heavy shelling is going on. If that person yet refuses to wear a helmet, I will reward him with Rs. 100 and in case he then wares it, he will pay me Rs.1 only for losing the bet. ( In those days a soldiers monthly salary was Rs.16 only).  
He was astounded to see that all the listeners raised their hands, in acceptance of the challenge. He left the stage with a smile and submitted his findings to Army HQ, where the idea was nipped in the bud for good. 
- Gurbachan Singh Bedi, Ottawa, Canada.

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DIVALI AND SIKHI

This article is inspired by the actions of some parbhandaks and sangats to celebrate Divali within the precincts of the local Gurdwara. Such celebrations range from encouraging Sikhs to bring sweets and delicacies to the Gurdwara, lighting the Gurdwara premises with oil lamps, to actually conducting full scale kirten, katha and ardas diwans in relation and in conjunction with Divali.  

            Some parbhandakis, parcharaks and ragees have justified such practices by quoting / singing Gurbanee, citing historical incidents that connect Divali to our Gurus, and by pointing to the prevailing practices relating to Divali of the Harmandar Sahib and other Takhts. 

This article thus aims to (i) examine the Gurbanee quotes  that are said to give the spiritual nod for Divali to be celebrated as a Sikh festival, (ii) examine the Divali-related Sikh historical incidents  cited, and (iii) encourage evaluation of prevailing practices (pertaining to Divali) in the Golden Temple etc. The final part of the article will attempt to put Divali into its original and proper perspective by tracing the origins, purpose and philosophy of the festival.

DIVALI AND GURBANI. The most commonly sung and quoted Gurbani verses relating to Divali are derived from Bhai Gurdas’s^[1] Var 19 Pauree 6. Sikh ragees sing this pauree and explain it as evidence that Divali and the lighting of lamps is to be celebrated as an authentic Sikh practice. For a full understanding, the entire pauree is quoted below. An explanation of the pauree follows.

Divali Dee Rat Deevay Baleean.

Tarey Jaat Snaat Ambar Bhaleean.

Fullan Dee Bagaat, Chun Chun Chaleean.

Teerath Jatee Jaat Nain Nihalean

Har Chandauree Jhaat Vasae Uchaleean

Gurmukh Sukh Fal Dat Shabad Smaleean.

             Keen readers of Gurbanee know that the main message of a shabad is encapsulated in the Rahao line. This is the generic rule of the five thousand plus shabads that are written by the Gurus and Bhagats in the Guru Granth Sahib (GGS). The writings of Bhai Gurdas do not follow such a practice. Bhai ji does not use Rahao in any of his 912 paurees (in 40 vaars), 672 Kabits and 3 swayeas.  In all his writings, his main message is always contained in the final verse of the pauree, kabit or swayea. The first five lines of every pauree are illustrations / explanations for the real message which is provided in the final / concluding line.

            A translation of the above pauree is as follows: 

The lamps of the night of Divali eventually burn out.

The stars of the night sky stop sparkling when dawn comes.

The beauty of the orchard disappears as the flowers are picked.

The gaiety of the place of pilgrimage dies when the crowds leave.

Life- even as bestowed by God- is temporary; settled and then destructed.

Yet, the Gurmukh is blessed with the fruit of permanent joy through his

 Immersion in the Shabad.

The meaning of this pauree is therefore as follows: A Gurmukh seeks bliss from the Shabad. The joy that comes from the Shabad is not as temporary as the lamps that burn on Divali night, the star-lit night skies, and the beautiful sights of the blooming orchard, the joyous atmosphere of the places of pilgrimages or of human life itself.

As stated above, Guru Arjun Dev ji bestowed the title of Gurbanee dee Kunjee (the key to understanding Gurbanee) to Bhai Ji’s writings. In other words, understanding Bhai Gurdas provides one the key to unlock the treasures of the GGS. Guru Arjun recognized him as an interpreter par excellence of Gurbanee. As is the case with all of Bhai Ji’s writings, he is extolling the Sikh to link spiritually with the Shabad – by which he means the GGS and all the messages that are contained therein. This pauree is written to give inspiration to the Sikh to connect with the Shabad by virtue of the permanence of the joy that comes as a result.

Now, to use the first line of this pauree – Divalee Dee Raat Divey Baleean – as Gurbanee justification for Sikhs to light lamps (or otherwise celebrate) the Divali night is ignorance – feigned or genuine. If that is the case then gazing the stars (the second illustration of temporariness in line two) can also be argued to be a call by Bhai Gurdas for Sikhs to worship the planets. On the same account, then planting orchards and going for teerath yatra or pilgrimages (as mentioned in lines 3 and 4) is also recommended Sikh spiritual practice. Each of the four events in each of the four lines are examples / illustrations used by Bhai Ji to make a concluding point regarding a particular characteristic (permanence of the joy) of the Shabad. This characteristic of the Shabad is contrasted with characteristics of the four events. Surely then, it would be highly disingenuous to suggest that the events being contrasted are acceptable as Sikh practice. 

A cursory examination of the language used by Bhai Ji in the pauree gives indication of his emotions. Lamps are lighted. The word for lighted is Jagaeeyan. However, Bhai Ji uses the word Baleean – meaning burned. He is saying “lamps burn away.” His emotive context is easily discerned from here. The emotion behind “lighting” a lamp is generally positive. Lighting lamps gives one a sense of creating light and brightness. But Bhai Ji’s emotions are concerned with the temporariness of the act – that the lamps (no matter how many positive feelings they create) eventually burn out, or burn to cinder, burn to darkness. Bhai Ji’s message is concerned with the final outcome – that lamps burn out. His concern with the initial act (the lighting / Jagayean) is no more than to indicate its temporariness. He is using this act (and others) to explain the concept of temporariness as opposed to permanence (of the joy of the Shabad) – which is his main concern.  Hence to interpret this line as a call by Bhai Ji to Sikhs to “burn” lamps on Divali night is to miss the point all together.

It must also be pointed out that apart from singing the above pauree and interpreting it (albeit wrongly), no ragee or parcharak has been able to find a single shabad from the 5,867 that make up the GGS that discusses Divali. In fact the word Divali or any of its equivalents does not appear in the GGS even once. This alone should make any Sikh wonder. Why would a Sikh related festival (if indeed Divali was such) not be mentioned even once in the GGS? Even in this pauree of Bhai Gurdas Ji, the issue is the burning away of lamps during the Divali night – not the celebration of Divali per se. It therefore goes without saying that attempts by some of our ragees and parcharaks to stretch to breaking point the meaning of this line requires nothing less than distortion. 

DIVALI AND SIKH HISTORICAL INCIDENTS. Two significant historical incidents are cited by those who attempt to link Divali to Sikh history and spirituality. The first relates to what is termed Bandee Chor Divas, (literally: prisoners release day) and is related to Guru Hargobind Sahib, our sixth Guru. And the second is Bhai Mani Singh Ji’s martyrdom. Both need examination to separate fact from apologetic thinking.

(i) Bandee Chor Divas. Sikhs have been told that Guru Hargobind Singh Ji was ordered released from the Gwalior prison by Emperor Jahangir. Guru ji accepted the release on condition that 52 other Hindu kings / princes imprisoned in the same jail be released together with him. The Guru, upon securing the release of the kings, himself arrived at Amritsar, and the Sikhs celebrated by doing a deep-maala (literally: rosary of lighted lamps) display at Harmandar Sahib. This release happened on Diwali day. So on Diwali day, Sikhs actually celebrate the release from prison of Guru Hargobind ji – by lighting lamps.

Is this an accurate depiction of Sikh history and an accurate interpretation of Sikh sentiment? Or are some Sikhs so eager to celebrate Divali, and so fervent to want to link Divali to Sikh practice and tradition that they simply had to find or create  an incident that is suggested to have happened on or close to Diwali day, and use that as a pretext to celebrate? The following arguments will help answer this question.

First, the euphoria of Bandee Chor – a Guru being released from prison – needs to be looked at within the context of Sikh history. In 1521 Babur attacked Saidpur at Ahmenabad and reduced the city to rubble. Guru Nanak, witnessing the episode of destruction went up to Babur and critiqued him in spiritual yet stinging terms, as recorded in his Tilang Raag Shabad on page  722    

Paap Kee Janj Ley Kablon Dhaeya, Joree Mangey Daan Ve Lalo

Saram Dharam Doe Chap Khaloe, Koor Firey Pardhan Vey Lalo.

Translation: Bringing the marriage party of sin, Babar has invaded from Kabul, demanding our land as his wedding gift, O Lalo. Modesty and righteousness both have vanished, and falsehood struts around like a leader, O Lalo.

The result of the critique was a harsh jail sentence for Guru Nanak and Mardana who were thrown into prison with thousands of others – mostly women and children meant to be sold as slaves in Kabul. Guru Nanak gave solace to the prisoners, consoled them, and stood up to Babur as their representative. After a discourse with Guru Nanak, and having made to realize his folly, Babur ordered Guru Nanak released. The Guru’s condition was that he would only accept release if each and every prisoner was released. Now the question: Why aren’t Sikhs extolled to celebrate Guru Nanak’s Bandee Chor Divas? Why is there no Deep Maala to commemorate this day?  Because it does not coincide with Divali? Or it did not happen close enough to Divali day? Or there was no Harmandar Sahib to be lit up with lamps then? Or simply because this Bandee Chor provides no pretext for celebrating Divali?

The story of Guru Hargobind’s release on Diwali day deserves further examination. Given that the 52 Kings were Hindu, their release on Diwali day is of significance to them and their subjects. It is thus entirely possible that Jahangir – upon the persuasion of his Hindu wife - decided to release them on a day that was auspicious to the Hindu Kings. Sikhs are told that the deep mala was done at Harmandar Sahib upon the Guru’s arrival at Amritsar. Gwalior is in Agra – 112 miles out of Delhi. An express train journey from Delhi to Amritsar these days takes eight hours. The mode of travel by Guru Hargobind would have been horse back, or a horse carriage. Even if the Guru had rushed back to Amristar – without stopping to meet with any of the  sangats that would have gathered to greet him at the many villages and districts between Agra,  Delhi and Amritsar – he would have arrived four or five days if not weeks after Divali. Not meeting with the multiple sangats en-route and rushing back to Amritsar is highly uncharacteristic of any Guru. No Guru would leave behind sangats to rush off to Amritsar or anywhere else. What was he rushing there for? To sit on a throne as the 53^rd Hindu King? In any case, even if he did rush, Guru Hargobind’s arrival would not have coincided with Divali – it would have been off by four or five days at least.

Second, the performing of a Deep Maala itself needs examination from a Gurmat point of view.  There is no Sikh spiritual activity that resolves around the Diva (lamp). Beyond an article of practical use (providing light), Gurbanee discounts any and all Diva related rituals. In fact Gurbanee discards physical diva-related ritual and instead gives inner spiritual context to the lamp. On page 878 of GGS, in Ramkali Raag for instance we have an entire shabad devoted to the Diva by Guru Nanak.

 Shape your lamp on the wheel of good actions.

In this world and in the next, this lamp shall be with you.

Within the heart, this lamp is permanently lit.

 It is not extinguished by water or wind.

Such a lamp will carry you across the water. 

 Wind does not shake it, or put it out. Its light reveals the Divine Throne.

The Khatrees, Brahmins, Soodras and Vaishyas cannot find its value, even by        thousands of calculations.

 If any of them lights such a lamp, O Nanak, he is    emancipated.

 Gurbanee accords similar treatment to another practice involving the Diva namely the aartee.  Physical aartee as a ritual is discouraged and Gurbanee provides inner spiritual context to aartee in the shabad Gagan Mei Thaal Rav Chand Deepak Baney (Dhnasree First Guru).

Upon that cosmic plate of the sky, the sun and the moon are the lamps.

The stars and their orbs are the studded pearls.

The fragrance of sandalwood in the air is the temple incense, and the wind is the fan.

All the plants of the world are the altar flowers in offering to You, O Luminous   Lord. 

What a beautiful Aartee, lamp-lit worship service this is! O Destroyer of Fear,      this is Your Ceremony of Light.

Given that these gurbanee injuctions already existed, it is thus unlikely that Sikhs would have indulged in a mass lamp lighting ritual or deep mala to welcome their Guru. It is even more unlikely that the Guru would have allowed his Sikhs to indulge in a ritual that was not only of no significance in Sikhi, but against Gurmat. It is more likely that huge numbers of Sikhs thronged to visit him on the way from Agra to Amritsar and he had divans of kirten, katha, langgar sewa, and parchar for weeks culminating in a grand gathering at Harmandar Sahib.

Third, if one assumes that Guru Hargobind started the practice of deep maala, in defiance of the teachings of the first 5 Gurus, then one must look at other historical events of stature and importance. It is worth noting that there is no record of the Sikhs having performed deep maala when Harmandar Sahib was inaugurated, when the first parkash of the GGS was conducted, when Akaal Takhat was installed,  when Guru Hargobind intitiated his Meeri Peeri army, and or when he returned victorious in each of the four wars he fought with local Mughals. These are all events that happened within a 50 year span (before and after) of the sixth Guru’s release from Gwalior. If indeed Deep Maala was an accepted practice then, it would have been done on all these other occasions. Yet, it was not. Surely no Sikh would have trouble accepting that all of the historic events above would be of a higher importance to the Guru when compared to his release from prison. Why then is a lesser event being celebrated with a grand Deep Mala?

An examination of the collective mental psyche of the Sikhs at the time of their Guru’s release will shed light on the probability of the Sikhs undertaking an exercise of lighting thousands of lamps to celebrate Diwali. Jahangir had, on 30th May 1606, after having kept him in prison, put to death in the most inhumane and cruel way, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs,. That this was the first martyrdom of the Sikhs, that their peace loving and beloved Guru was the victim, and the terrible tortures he endured had a lasting impact on the Sikh collective psyche. The Sikh psyche was tormented and beleaguered beyond imagination. One Guru was cruelly executed; the successor was imprisoned for one year.  It is impossible to imagine that the Sikhs would have decided to have any grand celebration (Divali or otherwise) with the cruel and inhumane death of their Guru still fresh on their mind. It is equally impossible to imagine that Guru Hargobind would have allowed or condoned a grand celebration to commemorate his own release from prison. For someone who was prepared to die in battle four times with the Mugal tyrants, and for someone to call upon his Sikhs to be ever prepared to lay down their lives for justice, being jailed would have been as trivial as being released.

In light of the above, it is clear that the Deep Maala story is concocted as an after thought by people eagerly seeking to provide a historical justification to link Divali to the Guru. The similarity between the story of Guru Hargobind returning to Amritsar and that of Ram Chander returning to Ayothya to celebrate Divali (elaborated below) is striking enough for Guru Ji’s Bandee Chor celebration to come across as un-imaginative, whole scale plagiarism and dull fabrication.  As is the case with most afterthoughts – they do not withstand careful scrutiny, are shaky at best, and dubious at worst. Given that lighting lamps was the standard way of providing light and given the huge crowds present when Guru Hargobind arrived from Gwalior, a great many lamps may have indeed been used for their practical value. But if using many lamps constituted Deep Maala, virtually every day before the advent of electricity would have been a Deep Maala day at Harmandar.

(ii) Bhai Mani Singh’s Shaheedee. Sikhs are told that Bhai Sahib Ji sought to have a gathering of Sikhs during the Divali of 1737. The local ruler agreed to not persecute the Sikhs who attended provided Bhai ji agreed to pay a fixed amount of money. Subsequently, upon discovering that the ruler had devised a plan to attack the sangat, Bhai ji sent notices for the Sikhs to not attend this function. There was thus no function and Bhai ji refused to pay the agreed amount to the ruler. He refused to allow the existing golak of the Guru Ghar to settle the amount due. As a result, Bhai ji was cut up limb by limb.

 This incident is used to portray the fact that Sikhs did celebrate Divali as a religious function because that is what this great Shaheed intended to do. But was that the intention – to celebrate Divali as a Sikh religious function? Or was Bhai ji merely using the occasion to gather Sikhs to conduct a spiritual diwan that had everything to do with Sikhi (Kirten, Gurbani recitation, langgar sewa etc) and nothing to do with Divali per se? In any case, the function was never held. More importantly, the outcome of the Divali of 1737 was the cruel limb by limb mutilation of a brave, noble, bright and principled jewel of the Sikh community. Only one thing can be worse than this cruel annihilation of a man of God. That would be to use his name, his sacrifice, and his loss of life to sanction us Sikhs to do deep malas, distribute sweets and to celebrate this day. And those who are most guilty of such gross deviation are the present day guardians of the Harmandar Sahib. What is most disturbing to the Sikh psyche is the fact that the roots of this great martyrdom of a great Bhram Gyani  panth rattan soul lay in his desire to maintain the sanctity and dignity of Harmandar.  But now the guardians of the same Harmandar are bent on soiling Bhai Ji’s sanctity.

DIVALI AND HARMANDAR SAHIB.  In what can be described as a senseless waste of funds, money and energy sincerely contributed by Sikhs who look to the Harmandar as their spiritual guidance, parbhandaks of this seat of holiness conduct, at virtually every Divali night an ostentatious display of fireworks, deep mala, and distribution of sweets. To see Harmandar Sahib (and other leading Gurdwaras and Takhats – notably Patna and Damdama) take part in a ritual so decidedly critiqued by the GGS, on an occasion so unrelated to Sikhi – is a clear indication of the spiritual and moral corruption that has seeped into today’s Sikh spiritual leadership.

 No authority at Harmandar, Patna or Damdama has been able to justify their Divali night extravaganza save to quote Pauree 6 Vaar 19 of Bhai Gurdas Ji, mention Bandee Chor Divas and link to Bhai Mani Singh’s Shahidee – as discussed above. No one can authoritatively give a time frame when this practice started. It certainly was not practiced during the Guru’s times because there is no mention in the GSS. Such practice certainly did not happen during the 100 years or so after the demise of Guru Gobind Singh in 1708 and defeat of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur – as the Sikhs – hunted as they were by the rulers of the day - were hiding out in the jungles as guerillas. ^[2]  The Harmandar itself was destroyed many times over during this period to prevent the Sikhs from even secretly visiting it to get spiritual strength. This period is replete with tales of Sikhs challenging each other to go for a dip in the Sarowar (pool) of Harmandar Sahib. The challenge was substantial as it involved the risk of getting caught and losing one’s life. The price of the head of a Sikh was up to 80 rupees. It is thus difficult to believe that Sikhs would have conducted a deep mala or any celebration every year on Divali under such circumstances during these 100 years.

Yet it is highly likely that the divali related deep mala crept into Sikh Gurdwaras sometime during these 100 years of a tumultuous period. Since the Sikhs were fighting for survival in the jungles of Punjab, the hills of Jammu and the deserts of Rajasthan, the Sikh Gurdwaras, including the major historical sites were in the hands of Mahants, pseudo-sikhs, government backed deviant Sikhs etc. By and large they were anti-Sikh and had their philosophies rooted in deviant practices or Bhramanical beliefs. This is a period when Bhramanical rituals such as Lohree, Maghee, Rakhree, Shraad, Sangrands, Maasiyas, Puranmashi, Karva Chauth, Dushera, Divali etc were brought into and institutionalized as “Sikh” practices. One century was more than enough for these rituals – even though tossed out by the GGS – to be rooted firmly in Sikh maryada (Gurdwara practice). 

When Sikh Raj was established in 1801 – the Sikhs were no longer hunted, but their Gurdwaras continued to remain in the hands of the deviant Sikhs. Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s ministerial portfolio for Sikh Religion was in the hands of the Dogra brothers who were Hindu converts from Jammu and Kashmir. We now know that these brothers were on the pay roll of the British for the purpose of destabilizing the Sikh Raj. These Dogra brothers sat as parbhandaks of Akaal Takhat, sanctioning deviant practices and doling out huge sums of money and land to the deviant Mahants. It is thus most likely that Divali related Deep Mala at Harmandar Sahib and other leading Sikh Gurdwaras was regularized during this period. When the British annexed the Sikh Raj, these Mahants and controllers of Sikh Gurdwaras were supported by the new rulers for politically expedient goals and actively allowed to carry on their activities. It was during the British rule (Guru Nanak’s Nirangkari Gurpurab of 1942 ) that the first Akhand Paath of the Bachittar Natak Granth (dubiously called Dasam Granth) was conducted at none other than  the Akaal Takhat itself !  It wasn’t until the Singh Sabha Movement of the early 20^th Century that the historical Gurdwaras were liberated and put under the control of SGPC. These Gurdwaras were physically liberated, but Sikhs are still trying to liberate themselves from the deviant practices and rituals that were rooted by their previous occupiers. At the same time, non-historical and local Gurdwaras contined to remain in the hands of individuals and a host of deras have sprung up. The deras are run by a sanitized version of the Mahants known as Sants. A good number of local Gurdwaras, including diaspora gurdwaras are staffed by granthis who are the products of dera philosophies and sant influences. It is in this context that the introduction and continuation of Divali deep mala (and other Bhramanical rituals) at Harmandar Sahib (and other Gurdwaras) is perhaps best understood.

UNDERSTANDING DIVALI. It now remains to explain Divali within the context of Indian spirituality. Bramanism dictated the classification of Indian Hindu society into four main groups – Brahmin, Khatri, Veshyas and Shudars. Dress, occupations, language and celebrations were allotted accordingly to allow for distinctions to be made at the outset. The Brahmin thus celebrated Vesakhi while the Khatris considered Dushera to be their main celebration,  The Veshayas – because they were the Bania or business class – were allotted Divali which is a celebration of Laxmi Puja (godess of wealth). The Shudars – because they were lowest in the pecking order of castes – were deemed satisfied to consider Holee as their main celebration whence forth they gathered to chuck colored dust at each other in the name of guttural fun.

(i) The Philosophy.  Divali is a shortened version of Deepavlee; meaning a festival of lamps. It is fixed on the moonless (masia) night of the month of Kathak – a month associated with labour (as opposed to Veskahi which is associated with reaping the benefits). By definition Kathak Masia  falls at the end of the “working month.” The day after Divali is known as Vishkarma Divas (literally: day of no-labour – also name of a devta) and then next Dhan Chaundas (literally: day of wealth – also name of a devta). Wealth will only arrive if the deity of wealth – Laxmi arrives on Divali night, and the devotee is home waiting for her. So prior to Divali, devotees clean their homes, give it a new coat of paint etc. On Divali night, they light up their homes, perform fireworks, and distribute sweets – in anticipation of Laxmi’s arrival. The main door of the house is never closed on Divali night. Laxmi’s photo is adorned with silver and gold decorations and Kesar and Ganesh are drawn in full color on the walls / floors of the house. Many devotees gamble during Divali night hoping for wealth. Shivji and his consort Parvati are commonly depicted as gambling during Divali night. The Ramayan narrates a session of gamble between Ram and Sita on Divali night.

(ii) The History.  Given that the civilization of India is 5,000 years old, a number of significant events would have coincided with Divali. Of these the most significant is the return to Ayothya by prince Ram Chander after having defeated rival king Ravan. This battle is depicted as the triumph of good over evil. Divali night has therefore since witnessed fireworks and deep malas (to celebrate victory) and the burning of effigies of the defeated Ravan.

CONCLUSION. It is fairly clear therefore that Divali is a celebration that holds deep philosophical and historical significance to followers of the Hindu / Bramanical faith. And it is equally clear that Divali has no significance whatsoever from the view point of Sikh philosophy, Gurbanee, Gurmat and Sikh practice.

Sikhs, having lived in cosmopolitan Punjab from the days of Guru Nanak would have undoubtedly shared the joy of Divali (and even the Muslim celebrations such as Eid) with their neighbors and countrymen – without sharing the philosophical underpinnings of the event. The same can be said of Sikhs outside of Punjab and India who live in mixed societies. It is thus likely that Divali has been accepted from the social and cultural perspective by the Sikhs – in the name of good inter-communal relations and ties. A good number of Sikhs living in western countries are known to “celebrate” Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, - without ascribing to the religious and spiritual connotations of these events - presumably within the spirit of good citizenship. As a minority almost everywhere, Sikhs have perhaps better understood this principle than others. There is nothing in Gurmat that prohibits a Sikh from sharing in the joys of his neighbors and countrymen. 

But attempts to provide Sikh philosophical and historical basis to Divali (and any other non-Sikh celebrations) and endeavors to bring these functions to gurdwaras are grossly misguided. Such endeavors necessitate the distortion and manipulative interpretation of gurbanee to provide basis where none exists. They make a mockery of the rich Sikh tradition by implying a bankruptcy of indigenous Sikh celebrations. Such attempts falsify Sikh history and rob our younger generations of the chance to appreciate their own distinct identity. The spiritual esteem of the Harmandar Sahib (and other sites) is undoubtedly affected amongst gurmat and gurbanee appreciating Sikhs over the misguided and wasteful actions of these gurdhaams to burn lamps and conduct fireworks on Divali night. Above all, such actions lower the esteem of the Sikhs in the eye of our Gurus as indicated by Guru Gobind Singh: Jab Yeh Gahe Bipran Kee Reet, Mein Na Karoon En Kee Parteet. The trust and faith (parteet) that the Guru placed in Sikhs may simply be lost in so doing.

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^[1] Bhai Ji (1551- 1636) was a contemporary and uncle of Guru Arjun. The first version of the Granth Sahib (Pothee Sahib or Kartarpuree Bir) was written in the handwriting of Bhai Ji as narrated by Guru Arjun during the compilation process over a period of two years. Bhai Ji is further credited for the tireless Sikhi parchaar that he did in and outside of Punjab. Guru Arjun did not include Bhai Ji’s writings in the Pothee Sahib, but accorded  the title of Gurbanee dee Kunjee (the key to understanding Gurbanee)  to Bhai Ji’s compositions. Sikhs consider Bhai Ji to an exemplary Sikh philosopher and his writings are accepted by the Sikh Panth (as sanctioned by the The Sikh Rehat Maryada)  as Banee fit for Kirten and Katha. The only other Sikh writer whose writings enjoy a similar stature is Bhai Nand Lal Ji.

^[2] Guru Gobind Singh’s demise in 1708 was followed by Banda Bahadur’s reign until 1716.  The Sikhs underwent terror at the hands of Mughal rulers and grouped under  Misls (12 groups or bands of Sikhs) in 1747 which was the year of of the first of nine invasions of Ahmad Shah Durani. The Misls  used guerilla tactics for survival, and lived inside or in the fringes of the jungles. Baba Deep Singh’s sacrifice is while fighting Durani’s attack on the Harimandar in 1757. In 1801 Maharaja Ranjit Singh managed to unite these 12 Misals and created the Sikh Raj headquartered at Lahore. The British annexed this territory in 1849.

Mr. Advani has been calling Manmohan Singh as the weakest Prime Minister for quite some time. Recently Manmohan Singh, decided to hit back and he reminded the nation about the role of Advani in Kandhar episode, Babri demolition and Gujarat violence. Sonia Gandhi’s response to Advani’s barbs was at deeper level as she called Advani and most of BJP leadership as ‘slave of RSS’ (Bidar, Karnataka 15^th April) This jolted the BJP leadership which gave some weakly mumbled response. BJP-RSS relationship was once again brought to the public attention. It became clear that it is really the RSS which through various mechanisms, ideological and organizational, controls the second largest party in the country.

While RSS has always been calling itself as the cultural organization, by now its mask is off and the society at large knows that it is a political organization which is very shrewdly and cleverly been training swayamsevaks (volunteers) who in turn have formed various organizations to control the politics at all the levels. These organizations formed by it range from Rashtra Sevika Samiti in 1936 to Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Bhartiya Jansangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad to Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram etc. These organizations in turn have formed other subordinate organizations. What is common in these is that they are all formed by trained RSS swayamsevaks (ideological control) and that the core figures of these organizations meet often under RSS control, to coordinate their strategy. Their aim and job is to carry on the work of RSS, i.e. to push the country in to becoming Hindu Rashtra. Notably all the major characters from its stable from Nathuram Godse, Vajpayee, Advni, Narendra Modi etc. have been the RSS pracharaks at various points of time.

As far as BJP is concerned it is the new avatar of Bhartiya Jansangh which was formed in 1951 jointly with Shyama Prasad Mukerjee of Hindu Mahasabha in 1951. RSS that time felt the need for a political organization in the aftermath of murder of Mahatma Gandhi. This had led to its ban on RSS by the Government of India, with Sardr Patel as the Home minister. For formation of Bhartiya Jansangh RSS loaned three of is prominent Pracharaks, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Deendayal Upadhyay and Lal Krishna Advani. After Mookerji’s death RSS tightened its grip on Jana Sangha.

Later at Sindi (Wardha, Maharahtra) in 1954 from March 9 to March 16 a political training camp was organized for 300 pracharaks. The camp was aimed to train national RSS leadership for running the affairs of the country through Jana Sangh. RSS sarsangh chalak (supreme dictator) M.S. Golwalkar in his speech (March 16) elaborated his vision for Jana Sangh, "If we say that we are part of the organization and accept its discipline then selectiveness has no place in life. Do what is told. If told to play kabaddi, play kabaddi; told to hold meeting then meeting…For instance some of our friends were told to go and work for politics that does not mean that they have great interest or inspiration for it… If they are told to withdraw from politics then also there is no objection. Their discretion is just not required."

[Golwalkar, M. S., Shri Guruji Samagar Darshan, Volume III, Bhartiya Vichar Sadhna, Nagpur , 1978, p. 32.] Essentially the swayamsevaks deputed to work for BJP are expected to dance to the tunes of RSS and are there merely working to fulfill the agenda of the controlling organization, the RSS.

After emergency, Bharatiya Janshangh also became part of Janata Party, put together by Jaypraksh Narayan. This coalition was torn apart when the issue of duel membership came up. The socialist members of Janata party raised the issue that there cant be double membership, meaning there by that those who are members of Janata party can’t have affiliation to RSS. The Jansangh component of Janata party broke way as they said their loyalty to RSS is above the membership of Janata party. Their basic goal was out in the open, they were mere players, while RSS is the real controller.

Later the same component resurfaced as Bharatiya Janta Party. They pretended to have Gandhian Socialism as their goal. It was a mere ploy for them so they dumped it soon enough to latch on to the chariot of Lord Ram; exploiting whose name they gradually increased their electoral clout. Especially after their coming to power one could see that they are not only subservient to RSS organizationally and ideologically but even in the matters of small detail Like when Jaswant Singh was to become finance minister, RSS got it changed and Yashwant Sinha was made finance minister.

When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister, in his speech in Staten Island US, he reaffirmed his loyalty to RSS. Advani has been a regular visitor to RSS office in Jahndewalan Estate and Nagpur RSS head office. It is well know how RSS, unhappy with his ‘Secular Jinnah’ speech had to resign from the President-ship of BJP. We also know that the core organizing secretaries of BJP at different levels are RSS nominees and RSS has a special top-level secretary looking after/supervising the BJP affairs.

One will beg to differ with Sonia Gandhi on one count; slaves normally are just obeying the orders of the masters. Here the BJP, its leadership not only obeys the RSS orders, it has internalized the RSS agenda and its job is to devise different strategies and moves to ensure that RSS agenda of Hindu nation becomes strong. When in power BJP makes ground for infiltration of its siblings (other RSS progeny) to infiltrate in the state apparatus, social work, education and other possible conduits for transforming the state and society in the image of RSS.

Ram Puniyani

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 DR. DALIP KAUR TIWANA

A LEADER OF PUNJABI NOVEL

Whenever you visit Panjabi University of Patiala, near guest house and at the end of many kothis, you will see a house full of novels and short stories. Even if you enter in without ringing a bell, you will see a little curbed literary lady full of words cheerfully greeting you. She is Dr. Dalip Kaur Tiwana a universally regarded as one of the leading Punjabi novelists of today who has published twenty seven novels, seven collections of short stories, the first part of her autobiography and a literary biography. She has won awards, both regional and national, and is widely translated author.

I was campaigning for her in a different way, meeting friends, phoning them to vote for Dr Tiwana. I met her by talking on phone for the first time as she was the Presidential candidate this time for the Punjabi Sahit Academy Ludhiana. I told her that I have come to see you from Sydney, Australia and have my full support for your candidature along with my friends Dr Patar,Prof. Tasneem and others and wish you all the best for this success. She said to me, ‘Amarjit, Juonde raho (Live long) and said I think you have come to India for this purpose and thanked me in advance.” During my recent visit to Patiala, I also went to greet the great writer especially on her election as the President of the Punjabi Sahit Academy Ludhiana. She offered us Laddoos & many other sweets with masale vali chah.

Short after our visit, a renowned Entomologist Dr Swai Singh entered in with his wife and greeted her. During tea break he asked Dr Tiwana, which is your birth place. She said Pind Rabbon ji. Dr Swai Singh again said accha ji tusi Rabbon ho (from God). The room was full with laughter.

She was telling that the woman writers of today do not understand the difference between revolt and deviation. They talk of revolt as a means of taking a step forward but do not know whether it will benefit their cause or not. Writers have made literature a system through which they justify their own views. There should be a fine balance between action and contemplation. Literature has become a means through which personal ambitions of money, property and promotions are achieved.

Another thing that afflicts our society is the end of role models. We no longer have people of substance, which has demoralised the coming generation. Culturally we have become orphans, with the family set-up breaking, she told. It is due to this degeneration of culture that we get this shabby treatment. The need of the hour is the protection of the soul for which the entire world can be sacrificed, she was telling like a story.

Getting first class first M.A., and in 1963, the first woman in the region to get the Ph.D. degree from Punjab University. Dr.Tiwana joined the Punjabi University at Patiala, as a Lecturer and then went on to become Professor and Head of the Department of Punjabi and Dean, Faculty of Languages thus she had a distinguished academic career. She was a brilliant teacher and researcher and made significant contributions to literary and critical studies in Punjabi. She was also a UGC National Lecturer for a year. Born on May 4, 1935 in district Ludhiana in a well-to-do land-owing family, she was educated at Patiala where her uncle, Sardar Sahib Sardar Tara Singh Sidhu was Inspector General of Prisons.

I have faced problems because I am a woman. When I entered the field of literature, there were few women in it. However, I was fortunate to get good guides. I write one novel a year and complete the work itself in five days after the idea comes to my mind. I took to Punjabi after my teacher, Pritam Singh, read out my test report in which I got two marks out of a total of 10. I felt instigated enough to say I would come first and started working even harder after the death of my uncle, who had adopted me, a short while later. I eventually stood first in the class she told.

In 1961, with the publication of her first book of short stories Sadhna, Dr.Tiwana's literary career as a creative writer commenced. The Department of Languages, Government of Punjab declared Sadhna as the best book in its genre. Before switching over to novel-writing, she produced seven collections of short stories in which art-form she was destined to achieve great eminence. In 1972, her second novel Eho Hamara Zeewana won her the Sahitya Akademy Award. Thereafter, virtually every one of her works won her an award. The Ministry of Education and Social Welfare honoured her book of stories for children called pa11jan IJiCh Parmeshwar in 1975, while the Department of Languages, Government of Punjab, conferred the "Nanak Singh Puruskar" on her novel Peele Patian di Dastan in 1980 and "Gurmukh Singh Mu safir Puruskar" on her autobiography Nange pa rion da Safar in 1982.

Awards and honours have flowed from outside the Punjab as well in to kothi No.13 many times. The International Association of Punjabi Artists and Authors (IAAPA) based in Canada honoured her with an award in 1985. "Nanjanagudu Thirumalamba" award for her novel Katha Kuknoos Di came from Shashwathi, Karnataka and in 1998"Vagdevi" award for Duni Suhava Bagh was given by Bhartiya Bhasha Parishad, Calcutta.

In 1987, for her outstanding contribution to Punjabi literature, Dr. Tiwana received the "Shiromani Sahityakar" award from the Punajb Government, the "Best Novelist of the Decade" award from Punjabi Academy, Delhi, in 1994 and the "Kartar Singh Dhaliwal" award from Punjabi Sahit Academy, Ludhiana. On the occasion of the Tricentenary Celebrations of the Birth of the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib in 1999, She was among the distinguished Sikh personalities who were honoured.

Doordarshan has also telecast a few serials based on her writings. Many of Dr.Tiwana's short stories and novels have been translated into Hindi and other Indian languages, and English. Such is her Fate (Punjabi University), Journey on bare feet (Orient Longman), Gone are the Rivers (Macmillan) are some of the English translations, which are readily available. The Tale of the Phoenix (Ajanta) translated by Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh and Bhupinder Singh and Elizabeth Siler of the USA will soon be out. Urvaslu is being rendered into English by Prof Jasbir Jain. Khushwant Singh, Jai Rattan and Danielle Gill from Paris are some the other translators of Dr. Tiwana's works.

Doordarshan has also telecast a few serials based on her writings. Doordarshan has also telecast a few serials based on her writings. She has played important roles in distinguished bodies, both academic and literary. Currently, she is associated with the Sahitya Academy (Delhi), Punjab Arts Council (Chandigarh), Punjab Sahit Academy (Chandigarh), Punjabi Sahit Academy (Ludhiana), National Book Trust of India, Bhartiya Janapith, K K. Birla Folmdation, Kendn Punjabi Lekhak Sabha in various capacities. She is President of the Punjabi Sahit Academy, Chandigarh and Life-Fellow auld nominated Senator of the Punjabi University.

Dr.Tiwana has moved from a preoccupation with gender issues to intellectual contemplation of fundamental human problem over the years, and from there to spiritual transcendence. While negotiating the problems of life and death, tradition and modernity, men and women, towns and villages in her works, she remains committed to the Indian spiritual and ethical vision. One could say of her that she combines European energy with Asiatic calm in her life and thought.

She visited several countries to preside over or participate in important international conferences during the course of her career as writer and academician. She chaired sessions at the International Punjabi Conference held in U.K. in 1980, participated in International Writing Together anal Women in the 20th Century held in Scotland in 1990 and in 2000, presided over an international literary meet organised by California Sahit Sabha in the U.S.A..

There is thematic and formal variety in her writings. Her language in particular is spontaneous, lyrical and compressed to the point of being a marvel of economy and elegance. Dr.Tiwana is the leading, most productive and most popular Punjabi novelist of our Ages by common or general consent. She has been engaged in creative writing without any major interruption for the last forty years or more. She also presented me with a novel and gave us a snap.

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 Genocides of struggling nations

Indian state is back bone of Genocide

War of Tamils in Sri Lanka

Last week, a high level convention on genocide war of Tamils in Sri Lanka was held at constitution club (New Delhi) by revolutionary democratic front and Delhi Tamil students union that has provided the stage for struggling nations of Indian subcontinent to raise their demand of self determination and autonomy in their home lands. This convention realized that all these struggling nations like Sikhs, Tamils, Kashmiris, Nagas, Assames etc. should go with unity.
Tamils are one of the nation among these which is struggling since many decades. The war against LTTE by the Sri Lankan government is the burning issue of this time. In this genocide war, not only the Sri Lankan government is accused but Indian state is also accused equally. This convention also opposed the continuing devious involvement of the Indian government.
Amidst the continuing claim of the Sri lankan government that "The war against LTTE has entered the final stage" what is clear till date is far from the "reality picture" carefully 'filtered' and 'sanitized' by the former to be produced before the International Community. Notwithstanding the tall claims, the war has reached this "final stage" after the slaughter of almost half the population of Sri Lankan Tamils. Today the so-called 'no war zones' are virtual concentration camps where the starving Tamil population is being held within barbed fences under the cross hairs of the military to build international opinion in favour of the murderous campaign of the Sri Lankan government. These camps are supposedly the 'human face' of the Sri Lankan war machine.
There is not a single person who has not lost a family member, not a family that has not been displaced from their homes. In fact they have been displaced several times over. Their homelands came under heavy aerial attack in 2007 when Sri Lankan government unilaterally withdrew ceasefire and started its war ostensibly to annihilate the LTTE. People were forced to leave their homes and take shelters in the various camps. Schools, hospitals and now the so called "no-fire-zones" too are not being spared by the murderous Sri Lankan government. Some independent reports confirm that the recent phase of war itself has perished around 7000 Tamils. After 2 years the war still continues, violating UN resolutions and committing the worst genocide of our contemporary times.
The recent attack on April 06 of this year on the Tamil people has reached catastrophic proportions. Some independent reports fear that the Sri Lankan army used deadly chemical weapons, poisonous gas and thermo baric bombs-a bomb that uses a fuel-air explosive capable creating overpressure equal to an atomic bomb in the war zone that can kill thousands of people. This information is to be verified by the international community. But the Sri Lankan government is not allowing the journalists and independent international agencies to report from the Tamil areas. In this regard the people's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) also has come out with a statement expressing their anguish.
The suspected use of chemical weapons and nerve gas and flamethrower weapons reminds one of the days of the Auschwitz where the Nazis butchered countless number of people. The International Conventions have strictly prohibited such use of weapons and poisonous gases resulting in gruesome mass killings of combatants and civilians. It has also been reported that the Sri Lankan army is using cluster bombs which are banned in almost 93 countries. And to escape from indictment on many counts from the international community against the use of prohibited weapons to human rights abuses, the Sri Lankan Government systematically keeps international media and foreign aid workers out of the war scene. According to UN 1948 Genocide convention, many of these acts clearly constitute as genocide and Sri Lankan state deserves to be termed as a war criminal and brought before the world court, if an investigation by a competent International Team is held and such blatant criminal acts are confirmed.
The day before witnessed the Sri Lankan Government pretending to refrain from using heavy weapons at the present stage of the war. This is a hard lie as the three prong attack of the desperate Sri Lankan internationally to claim their much awaited victory.

India is the back bone this war and has extended material, intelligence and political support to the chauvinist Sri Lankan state. India's position on Sri Lanka has always catered to the interests of the Sri Lankan rulers due to the geo-political importance of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. In turn, Sri Lanka had always been ambivalent/non-committal to the interests of Indian rulers. Hence the Indian rulers for a brief time supported the Tamil militant movement (for their own interest). Later they switched back to their original position after diluting and disarming most of the movements and sending troops to annihilate the only remaining force-the LTTE after the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka accord. This covert support to Sri Lanka became an open partnership in the period after the death of Rajiv Gandhi.
In this light the statement of Shiv Shankar Menon, "Sri Lanka and India has never been so warm, so close, and so deep," puts in nut shell the present Indo-Lankan relations. India had provided Sri Lanka with radars, intelligence inputs, arms training and now with its own troops. Worst, doing all this while talking about saving the lives of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka. India has not only been a partner in killing thousands of Tamils in the north of Sri Lanka but did not even condemn the killings of journalists both Tamil and Sinhalese, illegal detentions and torture, media censorship and the dictatorial rule of the SLFP regime.
In Tamil Nadu, with the parliamentary elections at the anvil, one can see all the political parties trying to outsmart the other in their lip service to stop the war in Sri Lanka. The fact of matter is that none these parties are really interested in counting on their votes over the dead bodies of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. It is for any to see through this devious politics as any concrete intervention from India can see an immediate end to this genocide of the Tamil people.
In this context the continuous covert and overt support of Indian state to Sri Lankan government is condemnable and is against the overall peace and stability in the sub-continent which it claims to be committed to. We call upon the democratic and freedom loving people of the subcontinent to raise their voice in protest against the fascist designs of the Sri Lankan government and the overt and covert support of India in this murderous deed.
Only a people who can determine their own sovereign future without being coerced, mistreated, discriminated or oppressed can bring a lasting and just solution to the spectre of war and genocide that is beholding the subcontinent.

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Military: First Sikh to be inducted

nto the United States Army at Fort Lewis, Wa

http://www.bhagatsinghthind.com/military_thind.php