Vol'" No 19

5-19 Oct 1988 (Fortnightly)

6azelib.

New Delhi Rs 2/-

.Rajiv's Visit

Punjab Remains Punjab

By K.S. Khosla

either the announce

ment about the clearance of the Pepsico
project nor the release
of 137 detenus from Jodhpur jail on
the eve of the Prime Minister's visit
to Punjab nor his announcement
of holding panchayat elections and
nis plan to call an all-party meeting to end the stalemate have
raised hopes of early settlement of
the Punjab problem .
Except his own party, from
which loyalty is to be expected, no
other political party is convinced of
the Prime Minister's sincerity and
purpose. Mr Surjit Singh Barnala,
Akali leader and former Chief
Minister, has said that the Jodhpur detenus should not be treated
as hostages to be used as and
when 'necessary to create goodwill among the Sikhs. Mr Barnala
stated that the Prime Minister
failed to measne up to high hopes

generated by the media among

the people . The Prim ~ Minister
also failed to announce the strategy, much trumpeted by thE' Gov-
ernor, Mr S.S. Rny, to so"'e the
problem. Mr Barnala regretted that
the Prime Minister also failed to
announce any healing touch to the
wounds of the Sikh psyche or
taking action against the culprits of
the Delhi killings in 1984.
As regards the Prime Minister's
remarks that after the death of
Sant Harchand Singh Longowal
there was no one among the
Akalis of his stature to whom they
could talk to, Mr Barnala said that
only a few months before his dismissal, he was praised ' by the
Prime Minister as well as the Parliament for his secularism and
courage in fighting terrorism but
then suddenly he beCame persona

he Sessions Court of
Delhi and the three
judge bench of the
. Delhi High Court had
sentenced Satwant Singh,
Kehar Singh and Balbir Singh
to be hanged in the Indira
Gandhi, assasination case on
August 3rd. The three judges of
the Supreme Court, G.L. Ojah,
B.C. Rai and K.J. Shetty gave
unanimous verdict and acquitted
Balbir Singh after declaring him
not guilty. The question is not of

In This Issue
Page

LIving Together For

Greater Harmony
a Bhaga. Singh Was A
Movement
a In Search Of
Secularism
J:f Marriages And
Families
J:f What Does ~alestlne
Mean To India
J:f

5
6

10
11

Continued on page 10

"I Was Innocent"

Balbir Singh Tells Sandeep
acquittal of an accused. The
sharp edged comment by the
Supreme Court about the Sessions and High Court judgement raises many questions
about the understanding and
the work process of our judiciary. The three judges of the
Supreme Court unanimously
reversed the conviction of Balbir
Singh; The judges were convinced that the police failed
miserably to prove their contention that Balbir Singh was a
part of the assasination conspiracy. He was arrested on 3rd
December 1984 at Najafgarh in
Delhi. The crucial evidence-a
paper supposedly found in his
pocket-was found totally fabricated.

Justice Ujah while commenting on the intelligence of the

High COurt judges said that this
is very unfortunate that these
judges have arrived at the conclusian that Balbir Singh knew
Beant Singh and Satwant Singh
but had failed to produce a
single proof to confirm this conclusion. He also said ~hat eve'1

Additional Solicitor General or

for the descreation of the
the Municipal Corporation who
Golden Temple during Operawere the public prosecutors,
tion Blue Star" earlier that year
failed to produce any proof to
and that people will take
confirm the conclusions arrived
revenge does not mean that he
at by the High Court.
wanted, to conspire along with .
Justice Ojah also said that
Beant Singh and take revenge.
one argument offered in the
Justice Ojah has, in his
judgement of the High Court is
judgement written, that if the
that Balbir Singh is a Sikh. But
expression of anger or protest
the fact that Balbir Singh is a
against Operation Blue Star by
Sikh cannot be held as a proof
the accused (Balbir Singh) is
that he was a part of the assas- ,used as a proof then all those
ination conspiracy, or that he
who were excited or angry
knew Beant Singh-Satwant
about the Operation Blue Star
Singh. A large number of Sikh
should be considered coofficials worked at the residence conspirators.
of the Prime Minister. The fact
Supreme Court's judgement
that Balbir Singh had become
has created confidence among
excitable and used to say that
the people in the remains of the
hp. held Mrs Grlndhi responsible
Continued on page 4

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Religious To Be Political

r. Satyapal Dang's contelk democratic principles of sangat

The second Sikh institution of
tion that the Akalis' walkout and pangat", langar, Sarbat 'Guru ka Langar':ree community
from Parliament on August 10 in Khalsa and Sant Sipatti and the ' kitchen, cements the above conprotest against the Religiou~ Insti- institution of Akal Takht. This Bil.l cept as it is open to all and served
tutions (Prevention of Misuse) Bill, runs counter to the total Sikh way to all irrespective of caste, creed,
was illogical is itselt" an illogical of life. It needs to be noted that all religion, region or social status.
statement. The Bill does not affect political, religious, social, cultural, This institution was started by
anyone except the Sikhs. The educational and economic matters Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru,
sympathetic walkout could only be are discussed in detail and delib- and continued by his successors.
expected from those who have erated at the sangat (daily Sikh It has been a powerful means for
faith in Sikhism or have basic congregation in gurdwaras) and the uplift of the downtrodden who
knowledge of its working. The only then resolutions are passed had been groaning under the yoke
main point to be noted is that the or decisions taken which become of socio-economic-cum-political
acceptance of the Bill by a Sikh general guidelines for the local inequalities and religious discrimwould be against the dictates of Sikh community.
inations prevalent in a society . It
the Gurus who kept religion and
But under this Bill all those con- has also been a crusade against
politics together to make a base stituting the sangat could be char- the social injustice, oppression
for the Sikh way of life.
gesheeted and proceeded and tyranny of the caste system.
Those who keep in view this against. The. guiding rule should
These two Sikh instiMions have
basic difference between the Sikh be that any person taking part in attracted attention of everybody in
way of life and that of other com- anti-national matters or activities the world and they are said to be
munities would not misunderstand will be or could be arrested irre- the biggest contribution of Sikhism
~he Sikh or Akali point of view . . spective of place, whether a public towards integration of Indian $ociHowever, frorr . Communist one park, Parliament, club house or a, ety. Most Sikh -Gurdwarastiesides
cannot expect . y cooperation, as religious institution. The Govern- ruinning 'Iangar' also provide free
his ideologic. approach to life is dif- ment endeavour should be to edu- accommodation to anyone and a
ferent from lat of a Sikh. The cate the people about the values management of a Gurdwara
Sikhs accept he authority of only of democracy and secularism, and cannot refuse these services to
Akalpurakh (God) and not of any mould their minds against antiStalin.
.1"'
national activities. Separating reli- .anyone. It has no means to screen
There is no doubt th~~11 Sikhs gion from politics is a futile and anyone but under the newly introwould agree to any action which dangerous exercise.
duced Religious Institutions ' Bill,
would uproot terrorism and preFinally, it must be noted with 1988, it can be held guilty if any
vent the entry of illegal arms/am- concern QY all who are determin anti-national or anti-social person
munition/explosives, etc., and ing the destiny of the country thaI happens to be accommodated in
harbouring of accused persons, in this Bill, if made operative, would a Gurudwara or partakes of
any religious institution. But; how mean closing of the institution 01 'Iangar' there.
can this requirement demand that Sri Akal Takht Sahib.
The rise and growth of Sikhism,
religion and politics must be septo a great extent, has been a meaarated? Should the writ of today's
LtCol Manohar Singh (Retd) sure of a sharp reaction against
IJoliticians who can compromise New Delhi
the water tight division of Indian
on any principle and sacrifice the
society. All Sikh Gurus have not
national interest for petty gains,
only been "revolutionary religious
run in both the domains of the citleaders" but they were also great
izens' lives and faith? It must be
Bill, 1988 social reformers and they had
remembered that in Indian society
served a great social need of the
religion plays a major role to
he Religious Institutions (Pre- time. To them the social aspect of
ensure for everyone a clean and
vention of Misuse) Bill, 1988, Indian life called for urgent attencontented life.
which has been passed by the tion because it was most unsatisThe Bill is both mischievous and Indian Parliament gravely runs factory.
partisan. The most dangerous counter to the Sikh way of life. The
All Sikhs fee~ that the passage
clause is 2(d) pertaining to "polit- Sikh institution of 'sadh-sangat' of Religious Instit'utions Bill, 1988,
ical activities". The Sikh way of life which means that all devotees is unjustified and it is an unwaris based on very firm secular and unite under a bond and form a ranted blow to Sikh way of life
pure, pious and an integrated which has been based on full secsocial congregation under one roof ular and democratic principles.
Managing Editor
has been a revolutionary instituThe Indian gov~rnment, by its
Amrlk Singh
tion. It establishes one of the fun- new legislative measure, as such,
damentals of the social milieu as is cutting at the roots of the way
General Manager
it removes all the distinctions of of life of a Sikh.
Lt. Col.' Manohar Singh
caste,
creed, race and sex. As
(Retd.)
Dr Arvinder Singh
such it truly establishes the con- New Delhi
cept of a common brotherhood of
Editors
all mankind.
A.S. Narang
Glan Singh Sandhu

The Religious
Institutions

Sound And Fury

The Congress freed the country from colonial rule and now the time
has come to free the country from Congress (I) misrule.
- Mr N. T. Rama Rao.
I don't know who has formed the SClmajvadi Janata Dal. S.ID does not
exist for me.
- Mr Chandra Shekhar.
I don't kr,ow why God should punish us like this.
- President Ershad
Bang!adesh is being destroyed by its neighbours.
- Mr B.N. Abbas, former Bangladesh Minister for Flood Control.
I do not think we arp Going towards the 21 st century
- Mr Devi La/.
He (Mr Devi Lal) hails journalists in Delhi as champions of democr<.cy
and denounces them as blackmailers in Haryana
- Mr D.R. Chaudhry, editor of Peeng.
The issue of defamation remains.
- Mr Rajiv Gandhi, after announcing th3.t the Defamation Bill would
be . dropped.
(The Prime Minister) takes a very long time to make up his mind
- Mr Somnath Chatterjee in Aajkaal.
On the procedure'to murdering democracy, whether by rope or by electric chair or by cyanide?
- Mr V.P. Singh on why the Government wants a dialogue on the Defamation Bill.
Can any person of distinction deny that he or she was not defamed
or blackmailed at one or the other time in his life not by the Press, but .. .by

a section of the Press ... yellow journalists.

- Mr S. Krishna Kumar, Union Minister of State for Information and
Broadcasting.
Rajiv Gandhi gives big speeches on apartheid, statements that Graham
Gooch will not be allowed into :Indi.'i . but neither he nor other MPs have
taken action on the Harijan issue.
- Swami Agnivesh.
I want to go with the flow of the nation
- Mr Bi}oy Hrang Khawl
I have to become an outlaw once again with a price on my head
- Mr Laldenga.
If a Central Minister has to lay down his life to prove that law and order
had ceased to exist in the State, I will not hesitate to do so.
- Mr Priya Ranjan Das Munshi.
Communists never flee from the battlefield, they fight with all their might
till the last.
- Mr Jyoti Basu
If religion is properly u'1der'stood, no country will need to separate it
from politics.
- Mr Darshan Singh Ragi in The Sunday Observer.
Jesus loves democracy.
- Placard carried by Burmese nuns.

Assistant Editor
KH Nazeer (Balju)
Layout

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5-19 October 1988.

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II
1.1

II
.11
II

Living Together
For Harmony

Minority Rights
Civil Liberties
Equality For Women
Democratic Values
Environmental Protection

Bidar: Venue For 1"aking

Politic,al Advantages
he dc:cision of th e. I>t~e Minister to send a high-powered.party tearn
to Bldar to enqulte ullO the sequence and causes of nots and to
restore confidence in !lIe minority community would have been considere,d a welcome and necessary action had it come from a meaningful government with clean intentions. Unfortunately, it is not so in this
case. The only reason for sending such a delegation seems to be that Karnat aka is a non-Congress party ruling state. All indications are that the socalled high-powered delegation will come out with reports pointing out failure of Janata government in preventing the ev'!11ts.
Our purpose here is not to defend the Janata or any other government. Any
. administration that fails to perform iL~ basic duty of preventing the life and
property of citizens either by its acts of ommission or commission must be
I taken to task. Our contention here i~ the. credibility and legitimacy of the party
delegation which itself has to clear so many allegations.
Why no Congress delegation has been appointed or sent to enquire into
fill.incidents in Delhi and elsewhcre particularly in Congress ruled states in 1984
( '-.:'and afterwards? If non-governmental bodies are competent enough to con:duct meaningful enquiries, which we feel are, then why government has not
taken any cognizance of enquiries conducted by PUCL-PUDP, Citizen's Justice Committee and other independent bodies that conducted quite objective
'and fair enquiries into the November 1984 riots? And if government feels
that non-governmental bodies are not competent to conduct such enquiries
then what is the purpose of sending a Congress-party delegation?
Most important question is how serious government is in punis hing guilty
in general and guilty with a particular party colour in particular. It is no secret
that after November 1984 riots the government did not even appoint a comenquire. Only after a lapse of about an year the Mishra Commission
;russion was appointed that, too, half-heartedly and with so many riders.
Furthermore, after the report of the Mishra Commission, which itself was considered a white-washing task by all fair minded people, government's aui.tude has been either lukewarm or negative on whatever little recommendations
the commission made. Its dealing with the Jain-Banerjee Committee is a pohner
in this direction.
.
Jain-Banerjee Committee directed the registration of a case against one of
the party functionaries, ex-MP, Mr Sajjan Kumar. Not only these directions
on fUrlher
were not complied with but a stay obtained from High Court
functioning of the conunittee lest it may raise its fingers against more par'IY
r:fiU'~ functionaries. Till today the government has shown no serious or meaningful
~ intention to punish the guilty of 1984 riots.

,0

With such a record what purpose or intentions the PMty can nave in sending a delegation to Bidar? Isn't it a case of mere politicisation? A government which has been insensitive to the point of callousness about deaths in
Delhi, in Punjab and elsewhere, about the massacres in Bihar and Meerut has
suddenly woken up to the political opporunity that the killings in Bidar present
for scoring a debating point or two against 1m opposition government.
Needless to say that working and fum:tioning of new Bommai led Janata
government m' Kamataka has to be watched. There can be no two opinions
about the fact that the local 'lciministration in Bidar reacted all too slowly to
the tension and actual events. While the bl;lme for the riot must wait until
the Judicial enquiry ordered by the State goverrunent is completed the State
Government must do all to win.the eonf'idence of the minority. First and most
important step for lhat is creation of conditions in which classes at the engineering college commence thereby preventing the threatened loss of year f0r
students. The government must get the college building repaired on its own
and provide suitable and safe accommodation for students.
Morc.i;TI portantis political initi ative. TIIC J;m~ta government must mak~
effeetive use of admini strative and party machinery to recreate conditions of
mutual trust and comradeship in which Hindus and Sikhs have lived in Bidar
for centuries:

Thought For Fortnight

Why is it that we rejoice of a birth and grieve at a funeral? Is it because
we are not the person concerned?
.
Mark Twain

By Bhagwant Singh Dalawari.

n devotion to my Guru, Guru Since we have not been able to after God had decided to let me
Granth Sahib, I wonder what imbibe the true meaning of the dic- leave my job, I used to go to the
exactly living together means tates of OLOr owr. Masters, we have college Church and the hymns
for my Master, i.e. my perpet- been hiding our own failures by sung there reflected the same
ual Guru, is the very embodiment attacking other religions and meanings as in the hymns in Guru
of living together. I wonder parading our own religion as Granth Sahib. Once a Father sent
whether most of you know that superior, sometimes even know- to me the New Testament and as
Muslims, Hindus, the so -called ing, that we are men of straw. I I browsed through it, I came
untouchable saints, cry out louldly cannot even conceive that we, all across innumerable passages
from one platform in equality with human beings, can be different saying the things I had learnt from
Sikh Guru from Guru Granth Sahib -from one another. No Chri~tian Guru Granth Sahib.
about the purity and righteousness would feel less hurt by the cut of
But, let me make it clear, the
as the main ingredients of any a knife than a Sikh and no Muslim
spiritual experience. If the Chris- will feel less harmed by the ons- gatherings to make living together
ttans say "Kingdom of God is laught of a dacoit - even if the pos,sible, paper-readings and
Within You", the Sikh is proud of assaulter or daco;t is of the same .pelne inter-religious talks can contribute only partially to the attainremembering Sab Kuch Ghar religion .
ment of peace within of out. Tha
Mein Bahar Nahin (t3verything is
Relig
ion
is
certainly
a
unifying
real problem is about dealing with
within, nothing outside). In any
. case, when I adhere to the instruc- factor but those of us who have no the mighty onslaughts that we
tions contained in my Scripture- respect for our own religion have in terms of greed, hatred,
instead of understanding its mes- backbiting, jealousy, sexual monGuru, I marvel at the majesty Wi: !1
sage have undertaken to parade strosity, anger, attachment and
which people of difterent religions
its external symbols with a sense vanity. These monsters do not let
openly advocat ing their methods
of superiority and have been con- us in peace even with our own
of prayers like Namaz, Puja, etc.
sidering people of vther religions family members like wife, husinstill in my heart equality of all
as less eqL.;al or other prophets as band, brother, sister, son and
religions , equality of all prophets,
less equal than ours. Why is this daughter. The real need is to learn
equality of all human beings and foolishness still prevalent I do not
one's own religious dictates and
oneness of God.
.
know, but I believe that our refu- live th em in day -to-day life vis-aI wonder - and I wonder most sal to live our own religion contrivis oth ers . Indeed they can be
curiously - why we are not able to butes to this.
lived only with God's grace, But if
consider all human beings as our
that
becomes possible ,living
Whether
Il
1<>
'1e
holy
Quran
or
brothers and sisters, why we are
would be automatic.
together
not able to promote peace , love, the holy Bible or Guru Granth
unity national integration and uni- Sahib, Ramayana or Gita, : am
I have lived in different Christian
versal brotherhood. Why don't we quite clear that the ir message is countries, a Muslim country, an
uRderstand that the diversity of dif- the same as that of lifting the African country, in China and I
ferent religiQus traditions is the humanity from its degradation into have vis ited a number of other
beauty of religious purity. The true a position of diving symbol. What countries. Never, neyer in my life
religious person cannot have but difference does it make whether have I felt a stranger although my
respect for all religious traditions one beco'mes a divine symbol outer appe~rance as a Sikh brings
and will neve~ consider any tradi- through tJiohammed or Christ or me out. The simplest reason is
tion lower than his own. Gandhiji, I Nanak? What matters is that that God has, through His infinite
with whom I agree, used to say human beings genuinely rejoice in mercy, kept close to me the
that one cannot respect one's own their common heritage. I am proud instruction of Guru Granth Sahib:
religion without respecting other of believing that I. am not only a
religions. Indeed if the spirit is one Sikh, I belong to all religions and
- I have no enemies ; nor am I
and comes from the same God, anyone who lives in the presence opposed to anyone. God is within
this very spirit must have been- of the Lord, believes in Truth and me with the light of my Guru. I
working in the form of Jesus Purity, is my co-religionist. I, there- have made everyone my friend
Christ, Mohammed, Rama, fore, insist that I do not represent and have become the friend of
Krishna, Nanak and other pro- Sikh religion alone. Like Guru everyone.
phets. Anyone who be!ieves oth- Granth Sahib having galaxy of
- All created the light and all
erwise cannot let the light of one saints, I as the disciplo, am supGod enter his own psyche. Indeed posed to contain the purity of all human beings came out of that
religion which has no humanity, no Gurus, all Pirs, Sab Gur Pir light. How can then one be good
Love, no Truth and no Service of hamare, says Guru Granth Sahib. and other bad.
Fellow-man is an empty religious Meaning "all Gurus and Pirs are
- Do good to the bad. Ihose
label. On the other hand, if all reli- mine".
who give you blows, do not retalgions have these essential attriBy way of full unclMstanding,
butes, where is the argument to once I played with nly prayer- iate. Go and touch lhe feet of such
understand whether one believe., companions with the writings of a people.
in karmas, re-incarnation and so
Muslim saint as in Guru Gra:1th
on. In my view livi:1g in actual day
With such clear instructions and
Sahib a~d intentional ly I askecfrnx
to-day life the furityof one's master
companions to te !1me which Guru my need and urge to live these
with the presenre of god as one's
or which saint in Guru Granth instructions to the fullest extent
ideal, automati-c.;ally leads to unity
Sahib had said that, while I read possible, I yearn for the perpetual
of mankind. Those who cannot
to them from the Weekly. Invari- grace to treat everyone as my kith
experience th is or cannot conceive
ably the answers were the names and kin and that is how the 1500
this, I am quite certain , do not
of one Guru or saint. After an people in my Leprosy Centre leok
know their own religion.
exercise of about 15 minutes, I to me, although none of them is a
I would not sai that promotion said, "My brothers and sisters, Sikh or a Punjabi.
of peace and love are the need of they are from a present Muslim
the time Today alone ; they are and saint."
have been the need of all times but
When I was studying leprosy in
we have been foolish at all times. Christian Medbil College, Vellore,

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I Was Innocent
Contined from page 1

Judiciary of this country. It has

also proved that the decisions
given by Session Courts and
High Courts are under pressure
from powers that be or are
given after giving due consideration to the tempting offers. It
does not speak very highly of
their understanding of the law.
From this point of view Balbir
Singh's C2se is of historical
importance. Here we present an
interview with Balbir Singhsentenced to be hanged by
Session and High court but
acquitted by. Supreme Court
who found him completely innocent. Talking to him is Sanchetna's representative San deep.
Why did they try to Implicate you In the Indira Gandhi
assaslnation case?
Madam was murdered on
.31 st October 1984. I was at
home that day because I had
been on night duty. I was on
duty on 30th October at
Madam's residence, Number
One, Akhbar Road, from seven
in the evening to 12.45 a.m.
and went out to buy miik and
vegetables. That day the radio
.. was broadcasting a commen" tary on the One-day Cricket
;. ;'~" Match between India and Paki,':' .stan While I was listening to
the commentary at around
eleven, I heard that Indira
Gandhi has been attacked and
her security guards were
" .responsible for the shooting. Till
that moment I had no knowledge of this.
You must have lelt
shocked, because you were
on duty the previous night,
and you knew Beant and
Satwant?
Yes, I was shocked. But they
did not say who the guards
were. In fact I did not know
Satwant at all because he was
from the Delhi Armoured Police.
I knew Beant Singh because he
was from the security unit.
When were you arrested?
I was on night duty at the
Prime Minister's residence for
one we,ek. Therefore on 31 st
October I went to Number One
Safdarjung Lane at 5 p.m. I had
to pick up my pay packet and
also make enquiries about my
duty. We were informed that
pay is not being disbursed.
Besides, all Sikh officers had
been asked to report to the
security lines at Copernicus
Marg. Sub Inspector Surjit
Singh and myself scootered
down to the Security Lines. We
stayed'there till eight O'clock.
We were asked to come back
in the morning. I returned to my
goveroment quarter. At 4.30 in
the morning A.S.P ..Tekchand of
the Delhi crime branch, and a
posse of police along with Sub
Inspector Mahipal Singh caMe
to my house. By this time the
whole world knew that Indira
Gandhi had been assasinated
by her two Sikh guards. The
police searched my house.
Coincidently, I had bought a

book by Jarnail Singh Bhindrenwale a few days back, out

o(curiosity. The police confiscated the book and asked me
to accompany them. The police
took me to the Yamuna Vellodrome. The officials of the
Secret Service department
questioned me. Repeatedly they
asked me about my relationship
with Beant and Satwant. Also,
what I kne'l-{ about the assasination. I was taken to the Red
fort a few days later. I was kept
in the interrogation chamber till
3rd December. They continued
questioning me.
This means that the story
of catching you at a bus stop
Is a lie?
Yes, that was a bogus, and a
fabricated story-a lie.
What happened after the
police forced you to name
Simranjeet Singh Maan, Jagjit
Singh Chauhan and Harlnder
Singh?
When I agreed to name them
these people were elated. On
6th December I was taken to
Vigyan Bhawan where they
made me write a confessional
statement, a leave application
from 1st November to 5th
December. This is where they
went wrong. On 5th December I
was shown on leave and I was
supposed to have been
arrested on 3rd December.
What happened after they
thought they can depend on
you?
This was a baUie between
two. snakes, I was also a pelic!,!
officer. I knew everything. They
were pl8ing their game and I
was saving myself.
The police said that when you
were arrested on 3rd December
they found a paper In your
pocket. What wa$ that?
I was forced into writing this note
in the Red Fort. I knew that they
were trying to implicate me, but I
was heiple' s. I had lost everything. I could not see the sky, I was
deprive9 of fresh air. Alii had was
a prison cell. There was no difference between life and death. It
was meaningless to think or not to
think.
The jOdgement of Sessions
Judge, Mahesh Chandra, came
on 22nd January. What were the
pressures put on you during
these thirteen months?
I was kept in a cell where light
and fresh air became a dream.
You are a graduate. Were you
given the 'B grade' facilities?
We did not even get 'Cgrade'
facilities. I would say that wild animals are given much better facilities.
After the Supreme Court
Judgement don't you feel that
the Judgements of the two earlier Courts were malaflde?
Not only were they malafide and
unfair, I would say that the Judges
did not behave like Judges. A
Judge is a represen~ative of God
Almighty. He is not an ordinary
man. Justice is truth. Judges

should behave like God.

The funny part of the story is
that after the Sessions Court
Judgement Ses~ion's Judge
Mahesh C~andra was appointed
a Judge in'the High C~urt.
After being released from thQ.
Jail your first comment was
"Justice Is still alive In this
Country:. Is It true?
Justice, Law, Truth was dying in
India. But the Supreme Court
Bench has granted a new lease of
life to these elements. Everyday
the police prepares false cases.
People are killed in false erico~nt
ers. I have seen people dying in
poiice custody. I have seen my
colleagues inflicting such tortures.
You have gone through pain,
torture, Insults for four years.
What Is the compensation you
expect for this? Will you fight
for It?
The stigma has been washed
away, this, to my mind, is my compensation. I can never get these
four years back, during this period
my family has been tormented by
the society, they went through a lot
of difficulties, face many problems.
What do you think about tt)e
role of the Press?
.
The attitude of all the newspapers was not correct yet I have
nothing against the press,
because they are fed by the government. One newspaper went so
far as to say that Beant Singh and

Balbir Singh are well known terrorists of Punjab. The fact is that I
have not gone to Punjab for the
past ten years.
You have spent four years in
jail. Do you find any change In
yourself?

There Is a lot of talk about

opposition alliance. What do
you think about them?
Some of the opposition leaders
truly want unity. They'want to overthrow the corrupt congress. I feel
that the common man also want~
to do the same.

Yes. I have changed . I read

What do you think about your
Guruvani, Geeta and the Bible in future?
the prison. After reading these I
I haye given no thought to this.
came to the conclusion that a
May be I will take a decision after
clean, honest, selfless lifestyle is
a month or two. I took one deci
the ideal way to live.
. sion in my life and joined the
Will you accept to rejoin your
police. I became a'Sub-lnspector.
service il the government offers
But I have wasted eighteen years
your job to you?
of my life in this service.
No. Now I cannot serve the
Now you have been acquitted.
Police. In India you have to be a
slave if you are serving the Police. What is the behaviour of your
The general public might be over- neighbours?
Nothing succeeds like success.
awed by the police but the government does not respect its A large number of people came to
police force. Todays government my house to congratulate me.
is using the police for its .selfish Some of these people had
purposes not for the good of the attacked my home during the
public. Today political leaders use November '84 riots. Some of my
the police to save their chairs, just friends and relatives have yet to
as the British government did it to visit me, they are so scared of the
government. Till a few days ago I
run ~s show.
Are you angry with the gov- was considered a murderer today
I am a free citizen.
ernment?
Yes, I have my complaints. The
Will you write about your priCongress rule i:; not beneficial for
son days and your experiences?
this couniry. All the Congressmen
I read a lot and did a lot of think- ,
are power hungry. No one joins
ing. If I get an opportunity I will
the Congress to serve the nation.
write about my experince .
Only Mahatma Gandhi was differ- .
ent.

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5-19 October 1988

.
~@) rnll!:!JOO ,
c============;===========================================================..."",.
C===============~/==========================================Ja.

He Was A Movement
K.K. Khullar on Shahced Bhagat Singh on the occasion of the birth
anniversary (September 27) of the greatest son of India.

--

'May I be reborn
and serve my
Motherland again'

students. Bhagat Singh gained

admission in the college in the first
year Arts. It is from this college he
passed his FA examination in
1922 but had to give up stu dies in
BA over his marriage iss ue.
At this college he had the privilege of teachers such as Prof.
Vidyalankar whose teaching of
history thrilled him . Hera he aiso
met Prof. Tirath Ram , Sukh Dev,
Bhagvati Charan and ot her great
revolution aries. The Hindi writer
,and freedom fighter Yashpa:. who
provided va luable i,l fcrmation
about Bhagat Sing h's col lege life
also came into his contact at th is
college. Prof. Vidyalankar, however, became Bh agat Singh's
polit ical Guru and it was he wh o
introduced him to revolutionaries
in Aligarh, Agra and Kanpur, It is
often said that if Bhagat Sing h had
not taken to revolutionary activities
he would have been a great scholar.
Service To W')ther!and

hat was Bhagat

Singh's
political
. ideology and his
socio-economic plan
of action included the establishment of a sovereiqn republic of
Indian proletariat and. peasantry, to
inculcate the spirit of patriotism
among the youth and to encourage secular fore. <; in the cOuntry.
"Bhagat Singh did not become
popular because ot-his act of terrorism, but because he seemed to
! vindicate for the moment, the
honour of Lala Lajpat Rai and
, . l .through him of the nation. He
1.' became a symbol, the act was for': ' gotten, the symbol remained", said
Jawaharlal Nehru.
Bhagat Singh was born at village Banga in Tahsil Jaranwala,
district Lyallpur (now in Pakistan)
on September 27, 1907. At that
time, his father, Kishen Singh and
his uncle, Swaran Singh, were
lodged in Central Jail, Lahore on
the charge of revolutionary activities. Another uncle, Ajit Singh,
'was under oing a sentence in
Mandalay Jail, in Burma. Known
. ~ . fQr its revolutionary activities
Bha'gat Singh's family was intimately associated with freedom
fighters such as Lala Lajpat Rai,
. Bhai Parmanar'ld, Suii Amba ::'arshad and Hans Raj. Punjab was
seething with discontent at that
time and there were strikes, agitations, and revolutionary meetings
everywhere. During his school
days Bhagat Sinph was deeply
lJloved and influenced by two
,events the Chadar Movement and .
1'-'

e: ~

5-19 October 1~88

the massacre of Jallianwalla Bagh

at Amritsar. The stories of Indian
revolutionaries abroad fascinated
him but when he actually came
into contact with Kartar Singh
Sarabha and Rash Bihari Boss he
was thrilled. Sarabha was hanged
in 1916 but Bhagat Singh always
kept his photograph in his pocket
for inspiration. The bloodbath at
Amritsar, however, roused his
anger. General Dyer, the arc.hitect
of the tragedy had boasted that he
had fired 1650 rounds and not a
single bullet was wasted. Not con,tent with this massacre Dyer had
issued the notorious 'Crawling
Order' by which a large number of
Amritsar citizens were made to
crawl on their bellies along the
streets of Amritsar. A heavy colleclive fine was imposed on the town
for not cooperating with the British
administration.
One morning instead of going to
school Bhagat Singh boarded the
train and went to Amritsar. There
he visited the spot where the blood
of the innocents was shed. He
picked up soil from the earth
rubbed it on his forehead .
He was just 12 at that time. In
1921 , he left the school while in
class IX in response to the clarion
call given by Mahatma Gandhi to
boycott all educational institutions.
The movement was, however,
withdrawn by Gandhiji but it
created a problem for the admission of students. Consequently a
new college called National College was started t;>y Lala Lajpat
Rai and Bhai Parmanand for such

hagat Singh was fo rced to

leave his college on the que stion of his proposed marriage. But
before leaving the hom e and the
college he wrote to his father, "I
dedicate my life to the lofi y goal of
service to the Motherland. Hence
there is no attraction in me for
home and fulfilment of world ly
desires",
Before parting with his friends at
Lahore he said: "Friends, I tell you
today that if , my marriage takes
place in the slave India; my bride
shall bEl only death. The Bharat will
take th~ form of funeral procession
and the Bharatis will be tne martyrs of the country.
This was a turning point in his
life. Bhagat Singh had entered the
15th year of his life. After leaving
Lahore, he went to Kanpur. At
Kanpur he stayed in the Boarding
House under the name of Balwant
Singh, learnt Bengali from Natileshwar Dutta, another revolutionary inmate of the hostel. During his
stay here he devoted himself to
the study of Karl Marx. There were
riots in Delhi and it was decided to
send Bhagat Singh as correspondent of Hindi 'Partap'to get the first
hand information, a job which
Bhagat Singh did with marvellous
alacrity and precision.
During his stay at Kanpur,
Bhagat Singh had become a
member of Hindustan Republican
Association formed by the revolutionaries of UP whose objective
was to establish a united state of
India by an organised and armed
revolution. The basic principle of
the Republic was the universal
sufferage and the abolition of all
systems which make any kind of
exploitation of man by man possible. Through this Association he
had come in contact with revolutionaries like Batukeshwar Butt,

Chandras hekhar Azad and Bejoy

Kumar Singh. At Lahore he
rem ained in constant touch with
UP comrades but also established
contacts with Kirti Kisan Party
founde d by Sohan Singh Josh.
This org ~H1 isa t:on had an organ
called 'Kirit' an Urdu magazine to
which Bhagat Singh co ntributed a
number of anicles. In March 1926,
he started a new organisation
called 'Naujawan Bh ara! Sabha'
which stood for pcpularising swadeshi goads, ph ysical fitness and
deve iopme .... i of Indian lallg uages
and culture, In no tim e th e Sabha
at establis hf11 ent oi independent
Republic of laboure rs and peasants of the wholo of oi1dia: It also
stood for irfusing a spirit of patriotism in the heai1s of the youths of
the country in order to establish a
united Indian nation. It is evident
that Bh agat Singh had an economic vision based on social justice. The Sabha had links with Kirt i
Kisan Party and the Hindustan
Republican Association.
In 1927, Bhagat Singh was
falsely implicated in what is called
the Dussehra Bomb Case and
was arrested. Actually the bomb
was thrown by a miscreant on the
festival procession of the Hindus
and Bhagat Singh had nothing to
do with it. Besides, the revolutionaries did not be lieve in this kind of
work . The police wanted a riot to
nab some of the ~evolutionaries .
The trick, however, failed and
Bhagat Singh had to be released,
A meeting of the Hindustan
Republic Association was,held at
Delhi in September, 1928,-where
representatives from UP, 'Rajasthan , Punjab and West Bengal
attended. In all 60 revolutionaries
and five women attended the
meeting. It was here that the new
programme (lj the party was
adopted. It W3 S here that it was
decided to r..::ve socialism as the
goal of India and that the government in independent India will be
modelled on socialistic principles.

It was here that a new cell called

the Hindustan Republican Army
was created and Chandrashekhar
was
appointed
its
Azad
commander-in-chief. It was here
that it was decided to boycott the
Simon Commission.

Boycott Of Simon Commission

hagat Singh now entered i:I

new phase of his life by
open ly boycotting the Simon
Commission and arranged agitation s and meetings against its recommendations . The British
Government had appointed a
seven member comm ission-all
white-to visit India and make
recommendations in respect of
constitutional reform . Sincl) there
was not a single Indian included in
the Commission all part~es
decided to greet it with black flags
with the banners 'Go ' Back,
Simon'. The Lahore revolutionaries had a pubncwing in the Naujawan Bharat Sabha. They
decided , to participate in the
demonstration against the Commission on October 30, 1928. In
fact at Lahore the demonstration
and the strike was mostly
arranged by-the Sabha. According
to eye witness accounts the entire
Lahore wore black on that day.
Even women and children joined
in great numbers. The . entire
movement thai day was led by
Lala Lajpat Rai popularly known
as the Lion of Punjab. It was a
large trowd and police was unable
to control it. It was the thickest
where the members of the Commission were scheduled to pass.
There was commotion everywhere.
The police resorted to a mild
lathi-charge first in order to disperse the crowd. It had no effect
on the youths who stood in their
positions like rocks. JA Scott, the
Superintendent of the Police, J.P.
COnlinued on page 8

=======================================CE

~UDCiO~DU=D~llfl~G0~
.

Sa.ebb.Cl~========================================================================~~===

In
hile the word secularism does not
occur anywhere in
the Indian Constitution, barring in the Preamble, more
or less from the day the Constitution was drafted, this word has
been flung about without much
thought being given to its true

Catholics and the Protestants

accompanied by bloodshed and
mutual killings. The Thirty Years
War is a case in point.
Put another way, the idea of
co-existence amongst the various
denominations took several hundred years to evolve. One cannot
go into detail but the point to be

meaning. As an ideal, no one can noted is that the process of coming

quarrel with it. As a reality, it is far to terms with each other was a
from being realised.
long-drawn out one. It was in this
While the word secularism has context that religion came to be
a different connotation in Europe, looked upon as an individual's priwe in India have chosen to inter- vate concern. Whatever he
pret it differently. In Europe the believed in and whatever denomCatholic Church wielded a good ination he subscribed to were his
deal of political power at one time . personal affairs and were not to be
With the rise of other forces, par- allowed to intrude into his role as
ticularly towards the end of thE a citizen.
Middle Ages, the power of the
This is also the ideal towards
Church began to decline. It was in which we in our country have tried
that context that the phrase to move. But we cannot succeed
"Render unto Caesar what is due unless we understand our history
to Caesar and render unto God. during the last several hundred
what is due to God" became cur- years and the way the two leading
rent. The idea was to draw a dis- religions in the country have been,
tinction between the religious sometimes in a state of confront asohere and the secular spher$. _tion and sometimes in a state of
Even after this ideal had been co-existence. Nor have we undermore or less accepted, tension stood the meaning of the partition
between various Christian den()m- of the country in 1947.
inations did not disappear. On the
As is often and cogently argued,
contrary, for a couple of hundred had India accepted the two nation
years, there were intense and pro- theory, all Muslims would have
longed conflicts between the migrated to Pakistan. That was not

Searc~

intended, nor did it happen except happening. It is distressing enough

in a marginal kind of way. It fol- and even the chances of things
lowed from th is that India was to getting worse are not all that
be a land where both Hindus and remote. In plain words the comMuslims were to live together. munal situation can get worse . If
Co-existence has thus been the it does, that would be tragic indeed
accepted policy and secularis m is and would mean a real setback
the term that ca rne to be used for both for the polity and the country .
such an approach . On the practi- But, as I see it, the current situ-

cal plane, however, there have

been difficulties, conflicts, even
rioting and so on .
One has to refer only to two
recent developments to see that
these are the outcomes not of the
manner in which the polity has
evolved but a consequence of the
crisis in which the country is
caught. The reference here is to
the Punjab situation since the early
80's and the Ram Janam Bhoomi
~Babri Masjid sitution in U.P
Without going into further details,
I would like to submit that in both
cases, the crisis is a manufactured
one and not a real one. Which is
10 say that there was a problem in
each case but the situations need
not have taken the explosive form
that they have done. Another way
of looking at it would be that the
polity today is more charged with
communalism than it has been at
any such stage since 1947.
Speaking for myself, I do not
take too grim a view of what is

ation requires te be seen as i:i

rranifestation of the current political crisis ramer than an indication
of a diseased polity.
What I am more worried about
is what is usually referred to as
Hindu resurqence. The majority

cates a certain state of mind wh

may be described as obsessivE
not neurotic. This is a cause
disquiet.
That disquiet arises from t
facts. One is the feeling of inti
sified consciousness of bein~
Hindu or a Muslim or a Sikh a
Christian . The issue of ~
belongs to which commur
arises when the basis of disc
sian and argument becomes-;
religious identity of the concerr
individual. In a relaxed at m
phere, such an issue is not pos,
Whether one belongs to t
commun ity or that is not at alii
evant. But once a set of indil
uals become conscious of the f
that they belong to this or that p
ticular community , it leads to a
uation where other'
Iso s1
th inking in the same'",anner.
The - basic change that h
come about in the 80's, and thi~
the second aspect of the feeling
disquiet, is that all this time t
majority community did not fl
self-conscious or insecure in a
way. It took it for granted thai
was in the majority and theref(
there was nothing to feel anxio
about. But what happened in t
80's was that the majority co
munity began to feel threaten!
This had something to do with t
rise of fundamentalism and tern
ism in Punjab but that, in my op
ion, is only a part of t
explanation. The greater part
the explanation is the fe eling
insecurity that has begun to p
vade the majority COil\. "'lity. W
so?
' - .
This feeling is the outco,
partly of past history and partly
current developments. In ,
widely-discussed piece "The Cri
of Hinduism", I have called atl!
tion to the fact that not ma
people seem to have realised t
significance of August 15, 19'
On that day not only did the B
ish transfer power to India, on 11
day, for the first time, almost ir
thousand years, power got tra,
ferred to the majority, in terms
a new mode of reckoning .

Whether one belongs to this community or t

But once a set of individuals become cons.cil
belong to this or that particular communitJ
where others also start thinking in U

community which had a somewhat

relaxed view of things all these
decades feels threatened by the
minorities. One can understand
the minorities feeling threatened.
But nthe majority feels threatened,
it is not only unnatural. it also indi-

During the pre-British days, t:

concept of majority or mino~ity w
notional. The character of a regi~
was determined by the denomin
tion to which the ruler belonglld
the ruler was a Hindu, it was
Hindu kingdom. If the ruler wa~

5-19

c======================--- - -.---- --...------ ---~trespread

- .--- - - ______________________
_

~======================================-

I~

~::=.:=======

Of Secu larism
By Amrik Singh

Muslim, it was a Muslim kingdom

and so on. The concept of 'one
man, one vote' was introduced by
the 'British into India and now it is
here to stay. This single fact has
transformed the situation in a qualitative way.

doubt and the caste factor today

is not as powerlul as it W3 S at one
time. Untouchability is a legal offence and there is not as much of
discrimination against those of the
lower castes as there used to be
at one time .
In political terms, however, the
In our situation, it should have caste is a much stronger real ity
y been clear beycnd doubt that today . This too is a part of the
tsince the Hirdus constituted the social and political process at work
Ie .- majority,_ and indeed an over- in the country. Not only has th e
~ wnel"ming majority (more than communal consciousness got
_ three-fourth of the total popula- intensified, even caste consciou .
tion), the political power had got ness has got Intensified . Once the
Is transferred to them, so to speak. political cris is in which the country
This was the 'meaning of August is caught is resolved to some
15, 1947. But owing to th,e circum - extent, both types of conscious~ stances of the departure of the ness would become weaker and
- British, the estabti,shment of Pak- that would bl) a step in the right
- i;.tan, c~ntin.uing' tensio.n and con- direction . What we have to do
rt t~~s r with ert and .varlous other therefore isto try to get out of the
e..b s, th majority community political cns ls In which we find ourhas become mo~e . an? more ' selves. If that comes to pass, as
II unsure ~f Itself. This I~ reinforced it shoulrl one of these days, while
b~ th~ history of confll~t between the other factors would not disapH~ndulsm and Islam dUring the .Iast pear they would certainly become
I, thousand .years or so. In partlcu- less urgent and le~s troublesome
~ lar, the Hindu psyche cannot live on that account.
down the shame and humiliation
The second weakness which :s
~ of havin~ been ruled by the Muslim in the natu re of a challenge is the
~ rulers for several hundred years in
challenge of development. The
. large parts of .the country.
fact of the ;natter is that the stratBut the question to raise now 'is egy of development evolved over
if that history is relevant. Has the the decades is in need of a drassituation not undergone a basic tic change. While the co untry has
charge since August 15, 1947? made some progress withou t
Furtherlore, now that the mode of question, almost half the popul a_ reckoning is not the religious label tion still lives below the poverty
of the ruler but the system of line. What is important is tha t t'l' S
democr.atic governance, why ugly feature of our econo mic a" .!
.should there be any cause for anx- social life is fully and decisivHiy
. ~ or insecurity? As if that was overcome . That Sian happen on ly
, .e'anough the majority commun- if the strategy of developme nt is
ity has such overwhelm ing re-designed. This again is a part
strength of numbers that were it to of the political crisis in which the
think of itself only in the denomi- country is caught . Wh ile i ~ is recnational sense, India may be leg- ognised that we should remc del
. ~imately des~ribed as a Hindu the strategy of development, tl losa
country. But such a proposition crucial decisions which are a conhas not bep.n mooted seriously .at dition precedent are not being
. any stage and therein lies bofh the ' taken .
problem and the cha~ renge to the
Once those decisions are taken,
Indian po lity.
the focus sho uld be on deve lopIn my opinion there are two ment and development has Its
basic weaknesses whi ch need to own logic. Development is possibe confronted. Perhaps it wou ld bo ble, amongst other things, in cel) .more appropriate to say that one ditions of ~ocial and pol i ti' : ~ !
stability and involvement of those
-I who are today below the poverty
line. Then the attention would get
transferred to those issues wh ich
need to be reinstated on th')
t is not at all relevant,
agenda of the country. In pl,,:.l
~ , of the fact that U1ey
words the frame of argum er!
needs to be changed from tl: o;:
t leads to a situatit)n
commun
al to the econom ic plane
same manner.
This is not crude Marx ~ srn as
,r,
sQme people might mgue. Tension
and conflict are unavoid ble in any
society. The question to ask j .:
is a weakness and the other is a what is the tenson about? i t ~
challenge. The weakness lies in when the issues of equity anc! fd:r
the structure of the Hindu society distrlbutiorl are given a
"'" and the damage caused by the that other issues including ':,e one
continuing hold , of the caste of communal identity is come to
system. Some of its more odious the fore. Without atte mpt ir.g to
aspects have been overcome no argue too much about it, thi s much
if

needs to be u!lderscored that the

strategy of de ...elopment needs to
be remodell. d. That would not
t ~ ke autom ' lIcally care of other
p ioblems be it would be the startin') point of :ne remodelling of the
polity.
One tinal point maybe made
clearly und emphatically. What i~
known as secul arism can succeed

1\'ot . many people seem to have realised the

significance of August 15, 1947, On that day
not only did the Uritish transfer power to
India, on th<1t day, for the first time, almust ill
a thousand y~ars, power got transferred to the
majority, in terms uf a new moclc of reckonin 6,
In Ind ia only to th e ext8nt that tbe
majJrity commu nity bel :eves in it.
The min orit ies ta kin] in its 1a,,0\.; r
or insisting UpOf1 it has no meaning. To put it C' Jdely, it wou ld
arnoun t to SO in e kind of a defensive reaction c!o their part. Indeed
they t<llk of it on,y whe n they are
un (;a~ pressuw . The pressure can

uation. In other words, there has

to be a greater feeling of selfconfidence on the part of the
Hindu majority. This feel i:g will
come only when the country is
growing econom ically and no one
is made to feel that he or 5he is
being discriminated against. Th is
feeling of self-confidence on the

part of the majority can in turn

impart a fee ling of Eecuri ;y to thA
minorit ies.
What is ci overrrdlrrg il1portancb
today, ,her,,'c re, is to InvestiQate
t~ ose variol;s factors which hav,brej the p 5'jchology of feelin q
th r eatene1 in the ma;ority CO Ii'm jf1ity. This feel ing is not entir,,'y
c;)'ltined 1) what .is culled he
Hin d ispeuk. i rl'~ he!!. It IS to f: i1
, : ..~ "j e -ll,> ; , in tne nel ~: hboufl 'lg
5tates of Gujar;'!t and Maharash,'a
and 10 some extent in se me of :r.e
rrore remote p arts oi tile cou ' try
1S wt?!i. Its rocts . however , and its
.13sic strength come from the
Hindi- speakin,=! belt.
Is it a ccinci d t3n~e that it is tr'e se
very parts of the country-which ar ~
the ,..,ost unde r-developed? Tbe
I n~ bet Neen under-d,welo r11Ant
and the fee ling of insec:urit y, 'tr ,u3,
s neithe r illog ical nor so diff ie'J lt b
ur,dersta nd.

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..."

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Tel No.: Office: 663385

Factory: 633235
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Residence: 668512

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come only from the majol ity co,nmunity.

The basic issue there iore is to
look into the nature of the Hindu
society, the historical and c'.:>ntemporary pressures upon it, the eco nomic comp'Jlsions
w I, ich
motivate the vast majort y of
people and so many other fac: o ~s
which have a bearing upon the sit-

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Bhagat Singh
Contined from page 5

Saunders implemented the orders

most vindictively, pounced upon
the crowd like a hungry wolf. His
first blow feil upon the umbrella of
Lala Lajpat Rai the second on his
shoulders and the third on his
head. Scott himself took the lathi
and started beating Lala Lajpat
Rai mercilessly. Bhagat Singh saw
all this and was about to react
when Lalaji told him to remain
non-violent.
In the mammoth meeting convened to protest against the visit
of Simon Commission, Lala Lajpat
Rai roared; 'I declare that the
blows hurled at me would be the
last nails in the coffin of the British rule in India'. Immediately after
the meeting Lalaji was removed to
the hosphal where he died 18 days
later on November 17, 1928. For
Bhagat Singh it was a national
insult to be avenged in the best
traditions of blood for blood. In
reply to Parliament question in the
House of Commons tabled by Col.
Wedgewood the Government disown.ed any responsibility whatsoever for the death of Lalaji and
'replied: 'No evidence had been
produced to show that the death
of Lajpat Rai was due to the blows
received on that occasion' .
Demands for public apology to the
relations of Lalaji were also
rejected.
- On the night of December 10,
1928 the workers of Hindustan
Socialist Republican Association
held a meeting at Lahore. It was
attended, amongst others, by
Chandrashekhar Azad, Rajguru,
Sukhdev, Durga Devi, Jai Gopal.

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Bhagat Singh spoke with feelings

and announced his programme of
action. On Durga Bhabi's proposal to select the man to finish
Scott, Bhagat Singh was the first
to volunteer: "The task was
entrusted to Bhagat Singh while
Rajguru, Sukhdev, Azad and Jai
Gopal were named to assist them.
December 17, 1928 was fixed as
the day to bundle him off. For one
week Scott's movements were
watched in and around his office
situated in the Punjab Civil Sectt.
On the appointed day they all went
there and preached themselves
outside the Secretariat. An Englishman came out.Jai Gopal mistook, hiin as Scott and gave a
singal. Rajguru fired at him while
he had started his motor cycle,
Saunders fell down without a
shriek. Bhagat Singh rushed to
him and fired four or five more bullets in Saunders' head to complete
the task. A police constable saw
all thi:; but was to scared to intervene. It is only after they had left
that he raised alarm. The revolutionaries escaped through the
back door of the DAV Ccllege.
The following day a red leaflet
was circulated along with the
morning Qewspapers announcing
that the Hindustan Socialist
Republican Association has
avenged the murder of Lala Lajpat
Rai and has washed away the
stigma of the national insult.
From DAV college Bhagat
Singh went straight to a friend, got
himself shaved, borrowed a
woolen suit and a felt-hat and
rushed to Durga nevi's house
from where the thrge viz. Bhagat
Singh, Rajguru and Durga Bhabhi
with her three-year-old son, Sachi,
went to Lahore railway station in
a tonga, purchased first class tickets for Calcutta and left Lahore
after throwing dust in the eyes of
hundreds of policemen who had
thronged the platform. In this attire
of an Indian Sahib nobody could
even distantly suspect him. It was
at Calcutta that Bhagat got himself photographed in the felt-hat,
the famous photograph by which
he is so popu larly known . He also
attended the Congress Session
here. Again it was in Calcutta that
he decic ed to throw-bomb in fhe
Central Assembly in Delhi to make
the deaf hear. 'He chose April 8,
1929 when the Public Safety Bill
and the Trades Disputes Bill would
be introduced. He had already discussed his plan with some top
Bengal revolutionaries and set up
a bomb factory at Agra, the headquarters of the Hindustan Republican Army . Between January and
March 1929, Bhagat Singh journeyed between Agra and De!hi
many times and fully acquainted
himself with the environment from
where the bombs were to be
thrown .
On the morning of April 8,
Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt got
themselves photographed by Ram
Nath of Kashmiri Gate. It is this
photograph which appeareq in the
Hindustan Times dated 18th April,
1928. Two days before the occur,

ence Bhagat Singh managed his

entry in the Central Assembly to
see the seating arrangement. The
Government had decided to introduce the two Bills although the
majority of the members were
opposed to it. Visitors passes had
been arranged for them through
the recommendation of an Indian
member. According to the statement of inspector Terry who
arrested them after their voluntary
surrender both of them were wearing khaki shirts and khaki shorts.
So when Sir George Schuster
informed the House that the Viceroy, by dint of special powers
vested in him, had okayed the bills
turned down by the House, Bhagat
Singh and Dutt stood up, took a
step forward the second bomb.
'L~ng Live Revolution' slogans
werE! then raised. George
Schuster was scared and took
shelter under his desk. Bhagat
Singh fired two bullets at This desk
to further frighten him.
After the explosion they surrendered and got themselves
arrested peacefully. Dutt was sent
to Kotwali Thana while Bhagat
Singh was deta:ned at the Parliament Street police station. The
hearing of the case started inside
Delhi jail in the court of Poole.
Here they started a hunger strike
demanding their right be treated
as prisioners of war and not as
ordinary criminals. Their fast produced such a moral impact on the

crown witnesses that many of statements were issued from the

them refus i :. ' give evidence court itself which, in effect resulted
against Bhagat Singh and Dutt. in their revolutionary propaganda
On June 12, 1929 both of them at Government cost. This new
were sentenced to transportation technique considerably annoyed
of life.
the police and the judges.
The Tribunal gave its judgement
on October 7, 1930. Bhagat Singh
Revolution For Justice
and his two associates, Sukhdev
ince the crown witness and Shiv R?.m Rajguru were senrefused to give witnesses tenced to death. The execution
against the revolutionaries most of took place on March 23, 1931.
whom were already on hunger Sukhdev and Rajguru were also
strike having won the hearts of executed along with him. His last
even their opponents by their wish was: 'May I be reborn and
social work and noble conduct serve my Motherland again':
inside the jails, the Government Manmath Nath Gupta, in his biopromulgated an ordinance giving graphy of Bhagat Singh writes: "All
summary powers to a Special the martyrs before and since
Tribunal to try the prisoners in the Bhagat Singh have been hanged
Lahore conspiracy case 'unhamp- in the morning, but in the case of
ered by any rule or legal procedure these three an exception was
and undisturbed by any fear of made and they were hanged at
7.15 p.m. in the evening of March
appeal against the sentence'.
Asked by the court to define 23. This was done to maintain see'revolution' by the British magi- racy, but the ordinary prisoners of
strate who tried Bhagat Singh in the Jail came to know of it and
the Lahore Conspiracy Case. they raised slogans. Fearing that
,Bhagat Singh replied: 'My revolu- some lurking scout of the revolution does not mean the cult of tionaries might notice if the bodies
bomb or the pistol: By revolution were taken out of the jail gate, the
we mean that the present order of high wall was breached at the
things, which is based on m8nif- back of the jail and the bodies
est injustice must change. By r 3V- were taken out for summary disolution we rtlean ultimate posal to Ferozepur. There, under'
establishment of an order of soci - the cover of darkness a collective '
ety in which the sovereignty of the pyre was prepared and put to
proletariat is recongnised' . Bhag at petrol. The English tommies who
Singh used the court as a media
Continued on page 10
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~O=b~e~r~19~8~8

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=========================================================================='~=='~' .......

Meditating On Jap Sahib

the supreme commander. His discipline is compu lsion. His command is demand . The vast
oceans, the heavenly bodies, the
canopy of sky, the powerful sun,
the mighty time, the air and fire,
the rains and rivers, the earth and
mountains, the kings and mighty
emperors, all kneel before His
mandate.

prehension yet He is the realNistence of ' the very personr"who

cannot understand Him.

, The first word, decorated on the

sacred throne is Akale-the timesilence. They comm :.Jnicate the tation.
less. Human mind, buman percepdivine message. They are
The theme of Jap Bani is cer.tion, and human knowledge is
invested with the key of the inval- ' tainly the Divine Lord . The Great
familiar with the word Kal-Time,
ap is the name of the Holy uable treasure of div ine- God has no form, no figure, no
,the mighty Time and its reign on
Bani, recited and recorded experiences of the great Guru. shape, no colour, no caste, no
the entire creation. The human
by the tenth master, Guru They apprize the seeker with creed, no mother, no father, no
Gobind Singh. It is a rare 'divine insight, with self-confidence sister, no brother, no relations of
The treasure of words used in mind has seldom peeped or trapiece of Poetry, a wonderous and reliance. When the words are any kind . He wears no garments. the Jap Bani, is indeed great in versed beyond the dimension of
creation esoteric in nature. The uttered with love and devotion, the His place of resid ence is no magnitude. Guru Gobind Singh Time . Transcendit'g the limits of
source of Jap is the supreme spir- sound vibrations, carry the human palace, no hut, no nest, no den. has left no divine dimension, which Time is the Creator, the Creator of
itual self. of the great Guru. In deep spirit in the Holy Presence. The He needs no form of transportation he has not verified. The Infinite the mighty Time. Time is so powmoditation, when the spirit of the human soul experiences, the Infi- for His Divine performances. He lord has been described in differ- erful and mighty, how powerful
great Guru was one with the nite Power, the unlimited resour- belongs to no religion, not Hindu, ent cantoes in different lilt and in and mighty would be the Akalecosmic spirit, the holy poetry was. ces and divine effulgence of tnEf- nOt Muslim, not Sikh, not Chrirtian. different word s. He has decorated the creator of the Time dimension?
c::lused and perceived in the spir- Lord . In extreme humility and Lord is a unity, a whole, a tOdlity , Jap with innumerable words to Guru Gobind Singh is hailing the
itual vision . It flowed down like a reverance, the human soul bows a completeness . He is the Alpha glorify the Lord. He has embel- All powerful, All mighty, Creator '
mighty river, through the mysteri- before the Greatness of the All and Omega. He is the be-all and lished the Bani with extraordinary the lord, who i~ beyond Time.
ous floacf-gate of consciousness. Powerful. The experience thus end-all. He is manifested in the words to en logize the Great One.
Guru Goblno Singh has used
It is an esoteric award full of bliss- gained, thrills the human self. The entire creation . He is the wonder- At many places he has opposite words from different languages. At
ful knowledge of the supreme sensations are so deep and over ful eternal existence. None know words to sharpen the distinction of one place he has selected a
effulgence. It is an extraord inary powering that the human self , His beginning, or His end. He is the divine operat ion s. The Lord is Sanskrit word, immediately he has
homage paid to the Almighty Lord consciousness, mental abilities ever and ever present in the entire formless, absolute, eternal, infinite, chosen a Persian or Arabic word,
in wonderful words,
and divine knowledge app&ars to expanse of manifestation. It is the yet he is revealed in the entire again he has opted for a Punjabi '
Jap is Holy Bani, sacred Poetry. be insignificant before the great- truth, undoubtful truth , entire truth creation. He is timeless, the word ' and then 'agai'n embraces
To understand and recapitulate ness of the Lord. The devotee's and nothing but truth . He neither mighty time is ruthless, brutal and Hindi or Sanskrifword. Indeed, he
the running spring of thoughts, one head bows before the exa~ed Lord takes birth , nor is subj ect to anni- cruel in causing death to dear has broken limits of alrlanguages.
needs to get familiar with the in great veneration and admiration. hilation. He is beyond the law of ones, yet he is generous, benevo- The language or word he thought
mental, intellectual and spirituai At every divine vision, the head , time and space. The cOflstitution lent, magnanimous and merciful. was a vehicle of expression and
1s,self of the great Guru. Guru remains in solutation to hail the of time and space'tioes not apply He is Ab solute creator of the not a barrier. Moreover, for him,
tflfTGobind Singh was a born poet, a Supreme Lord.
to Him. He is th~ divine authority mighty time, yet His benevolent word was not only a veh icle of
The verses of the Jap Sahib Himself. He is the creator of the nature is revealed in His manifes- thought and expression butit was
writer of great insight. An extraordinary biographer. A well known have uniquelitt. They have match- time dimension. He is the creator tation . He is transcendent, yet He a representative of divine perforwarrior. A religious leader of unus- less rhyme and rhythm. Every of limitless and universes. He is is immanent. He is beyond com- mances and divine a'uthority. Il
I
, ual spiritual powers. A leader with' verse olters a fresh lilt. The words
rare vision. A leader with great march forth in dignity of being repphysical, practical and spiritual resentatives of the Supreme Lord.,
strength. A soldier with unusual They display the excellence, nob ilendowments. A holy Saint A ity and the magnituQe of the status
leader of indomitable w~1. A leader ,they hold. The manner in which
of great moral values. A saint, who the words clasp each other is
believed in the unity of humanitY'. extremely novel and original. The
A saint, who recognised only the metrical current in the singleLord and none else. A great man word-verse is so fast; that it
of unusual humility and affection sounds as if ,the words are
for his devotees. A guru who was engrossed in the divine-Ioveloved and admired by friends and dance. The cuplets with two or
For: Scandinavian
foes . A man, entirely selfless, who three words, pace up in ecstasy
For : Designing of-Offices,
and Chesterfield
sacrifi"ced everything at the altar of and lilt and transport the hum~n
Residences, Hotels,
Furniture
righteousness.
spirit in blissful exaltation and vehShowroom etc.
His spirit was in union with the eration.
\t~ cosmic spirit. He did not recognise
The verses are full of zeal, spirit
any limit, of ca, 'e, creed, colour, and action,,,From the holy temple
birth, language, time or space. His of Jap, they create holy vibratipns
spir~ was absorbed in the limitless of trust and faith.' With the Holy
Lord. He was vested with supreme powerful missiles of trust in God,
valour and indomitable courage. they blow the sphere of doubt,
He was endowed with extraordi- indecision and illusion. They carry
nary enthusiasm. He held absolute the spirit to the chamber of truth,
faith in the Almighty Lord . ~ He awak~n the sleeping faith,
b~li,eved . in t~e performances of QI'llighten the consciousness and
DIVine will. HIS complete self as )nvigOfat.e: - tha human self to
overwhelmed with the spirit of s~- , 'b9tJd14-;' great n es~ 01 the Lord .
rifice : holiness and unit~ AII his .~ ,- , On-th~.wlngs-'Elf1olbly-words, the
phYSical, me,n.tal, moral, Intellec- hll,m~Hl rrind i~ taken to great elet~al and spl.rltual powers were vated heights. Here the human
directed to hiS goal.
mind visualise's the supremacy of
The words with which the Jap the great Lord as the fountain
White Cidar
Bani has been adorned are pious, head of all the capabilities, potenExperts in
and Teak wood
holy, spiritual and full of faith . The tialities and treasure house of
Turnkey
Oriental and mode r .,
words with great dignity and grace, divine bliss, eternal peace and
Projects
furniture.
made
customdesignet:l.
appear from the castle invisible. source of revelation of all knowCarved flo. niture
They cross the portal of the eth- ledge.
in.' antique finish.
ereal experience. They assume
When the Holy words of Jap
Carved doors etc.
the semblance of word-form when carry the human emotions to deep
are SpeCialities
they come out of the spiritual depths. The human consciousflood-gate of consciousness. They ness realises the k>ving nature of
are transmitted thr,oklgh petal-like the Lord. Most fearlessly he
lips of the great Guru. The glorified administers justice to the whole
(A Dr. Bhagat Singh Rekhi Enterprises)
words are offered h'onourable spir- mankind, most dauntlessly he per136
Begam
Pur,
Near Malviya Nagar, New Delhi 1l 0017. Ph: 6444814. 6415263
itual throwns. They are represen- forms His divine actions. Most
tatives, of the Almighty Lord, benevolent' is His nature .
Ref.: A.S. Rekhi
holding divine mandate for wor- Extremely great is His spirit.
, MIller
ship.
Extremely splendid is His beauty.
These words have not pledged Most magnificent is His manifes-

By, Baljit Kaur Tulsi

vibGYOR

,t"

w.

VIBGYOR FURNISHERS (P) LTD.

5-19 ,October 1988

....
f?@OO[QJOO-============================================-========
.

crimes like the killing of innocent

persons at Sirhind are committed
by the terrorists. The law and order
situation had, in fact deteriorated, .
he alleged. Describing the Prime
Minister's visit as "one day show
Contined from page 1
Mr Virender said that the people
non grata. Akali leaders are intri-, ,to think that economic incentive ~ , of the country were wrong in think
Qued by this remark of the Prime: however desirable, are not a solLl- ing that the Punjab problerl1 is a
Minister. Does it mean that ne willtion to the problem which is mainly Sikh problem only. The Centre
not talk to any Akali leader and
released Jodhpur detenus on the
thus. foreclosed the issue? Can
eve of the P{ime Minister'S visit to
there be any peaCe in Punjab
please the Sikh and the Akalis.
without active support and particThe detenus could have bee n
ipation of the Akalis?
released two years earler also , Mr
The
Opposition
parties
Mr Avtar Singh Malhotra, CPI
Virender added. The editoria l pre
and the people in
leader, has demanded that all
dicted that nothing would com e out
innocent detenus in Jodhpur
general have come to
of the all-party meeting to be called
should be . released. He was
by the Prime Minister as the Govthink that economic
against their release by instalernor has called such meetings
incentives,
however
ments. Mr Malhotra has suggested
several times without any result.
desirable, are not a
that the proposed all-party meetThe reason was the growing difing shOUld be held at the State solution to the problem
ferences between the Hindus and
level as will as the national level which is mainly (Jolitical the Sikhs of Punjab and the
and after panchayat elections,
Hindus' oppos ition to the Anand and emotional.
municipal elections should be
pur Sah ib Resolution.
held. The CPIv' is of the view that
Sut what Mr Virender forgot to
economic incer les alone will not
mention w?s that it is not only the
solve the pro' ;b,n unless political
Hindus who have migrated from
initiative is tal n. While welcoming
political and emotional. Taking the the border districts of Punjab.
the Prime ~ lister's call for all,Lately, many Sikh fami lies have
party meetin~ , the CPM has said political side first, the Prime Minis-

uation there. According to, these

reports, it is the writ of the terrorists which prevails there who are
killing people and extorting ransom
money from them . The 'Iatest
modus op erandi of the terrorists is
to kidnap members of well-to "do
families and demand ransom
money. The famil ies pay the
money and do not report the
matter to the police out of fear of
reprisal. Even government officials
and ssecurity personnel are not
be ing spared .
All these incidents are taking
place despite th e success of Operation Slack Thunder. During the
1g months of the Akali rule, the
number of innocent persons killed
was 687 wh ich rose to 1,820 in
almost the same number of days
during the President's rule. Simi
larly, the number of terrorists killed
rose from 138 to 470 and that of
terrorists arre sted from 2,800 to
4,080. The government claims that
this is because of the determined
and aggressive policy being pursued by it and yet the situation is
not improving.
Next to terrorism , corruption in
the police and the c.dministration
that it should not be a repetition of ter has himself "sabotaged" the :~~rm~T~~~:~ f~~;;~:s~o%~:; ~~ is the major problem being faced
such meetings earlier with Oppo- political process by saying that from Amritsar and Gurdaspur dis- by the government. Corruption has
sition parties which did not yield there is no one of Sant Longowai's stature among the Akalis with tricts paint a grim picture of the sit- become so rampant that the Chief
any result.

Punjab Renlains Punjab

r------------,.J

The Punjab Janta party's general secretary, Mr Gian Chand,

and the Vice-president, Mr Shiv
Kanwar Sandhu, who were among
the 14 activists of the party
rounded up on the eve of the visit,
described the visit as "purposeless
and direction less". Mr Harbhajan
Singh, former president of the
Janta party in Punjab said that
nothing concrete would come out
of the visit as the Prime Minister
addressed "captive audiences"
from bullet proof boxes.
The reaction of the Opposition
parties should be taken seriously
as it is with these parties the
Centre is going to enter into a dia- .
Iogue. The Opposition parties and
the people in general have come

Bhagat
Singh
Conrined from page 8

brought the bodies from Lahor_

drank and danced whiie the
flames of the fire rent the sky with
the silent slogans of the revolution
that was born on the ashes of the
revolutionaries. After some time,
the half burnt bodies were thrown
in th1:rriver Sutlej. When the police
party: left, the vill age rs came to,
know about dead bodies. They
salvaged the bodies from the river,
made a pyre and cremated them
properly according to their own
rites". A big procession was taken
'o.ut in Lahore that day.
Every year on March 23 a Shaheedi Divas is observed and martyrs remembered.
8hagat Singh was not a man
he was a movement.

10

Secretary had to issue a circular

detaining dos and donts for government officials. The Gcvernur
holds periodic meetings with college students at Raj Shavan and
they have told him how the police
harasses them by first arresting
them under the National Security
Act and later demand "release"
m;)ney from their parents. All this
and other factors aggravate the
emotional problem. In this connection, the Sikhs in general have
noted the Prime Minister's silence
aboutthe Sidar incident during his
three speeches in Punjab. The
Prime Minister announced on September 28 that he was sending the
Home Minister and other Congress leaders to Bidar but this
announcement came 14 days
after tha bloody incidents in which
six Sikh students were killed and
many injured rem inding Sikhs of
the carnage in Delhi in 1984.
For a change,willy nilly Doordarshan made a better job than
the print media. TV viewers could
hear an old Sikh farmer telling the
PrirT"e Minister near Jaito:"Gandhi
Sahib the people are hungry for
love. You give them love and they
will keep you as Prime Minister fo
life".That probably sums up t~.
situation in Punjab.

w~mth~cou~~~. Theme. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I

sage is'clear that talking to lesser

Akalis is not going to help. The
Akalis may be badly fragmented
but they cannot be ignored in any
dialogue with the Centre. At the
time of signing the accord with
Sant Longowal, both Mr Sarnala?
Observers ask how can any settlement be reached by ignoring
these three AkaliJeaders and add
that the Prime Minister by delaying the implementation of the
accord has added the militants as:
a party by holding secret parleys
with them throuqh his minions.
Further, can theaceord tie
implemented by ignoring ' the
claims of Haryana as regards
water and territorial distribution
particularly when Mr Devi Lal is the
Chief Minister of that State. The
critics of the Prime Minister say
that nothing is going to come out
of the proposed all-party meeting
as he is not sincere in solving the
problem and the delay is making
it more complicated . Further, the
Prime Minister will not dare to take
any big initiative to cut tho Gordian
knot on the eve of the general
elections in the country.
Independent obs~rvers belieVE
that the problem is beyond economic and political concessions.
The problem has now become
psychological and emotional in the
sense that alienation against the
security forces in the State is
growing, particularly in the rural
areas and there is loss of fa ith in
the credibility of the Centre. This
loss of faith is not confined to the
Sikhs only. In an editorial after the
visit of the Prime Minister, Mr Virender, editer of Partap an Urdu
daily of Punjab, which has come
to be regarded as the spokesman
of the Hindus, has appealed to the
Governor to stop repeating that
the law and order situation has
improved because the day after he
makes such assertions, heinous

I
The Add Test
L.andhlJi said: "Whenever
you are in doubt... Recall
the face of the poorest
and the weakest man
whom you may have seen
and ask yourself if the
step you contemplate is
going to be of any use to
him, Will he gain anything
bv It? Will it restore him to
a- ,c ontrol over his own life
. and destiny?"
That test alone, he felt.
can make our plans and
programmes meaningful.

3 50_ JI
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5-19 October 1988

co~u=r=T=im=e=s==============~==~============================/==== ____________ -~(Q)~~

Marriages And Families

By Bibhu Prasad Mohapatra

urning brides, burnt

widows,
harassed
wives and so many
socio-familial problems
make big headlines in daily newspapers. We have to know a litile
about marriages and families that
exist in our widely' divergent social
ct.fstoms to understand and explore ways to put a stop to these
human atrocities.
'Family is defined by a social
assigriment of rights of ,privileges
and a social determination of the
rolls of spouses, parents, child,
and siblings'. (Hunter and Whitten). Public recognisation and
acceptance of the relationship
between men and women constitutes marriage.
Family and marriage may take
one of the number of forms that
have evolved in response to basic
biO~Oical needs and challenger
pos . ' y the socia-cultural environm t.
Writing on the types of marri: ages that prevailed in ancient India,
Dr. Romila Thaper writes that eight
forms of marriage were acknowledged in the Dharmasatras, four
for high castes and four f~x low
, castes.

Baigas use a novel method to

meet the price. They offer their
services to the would be father-inlaw as a suitor-servant and after
a stipulated period I marry the
girl of his choice. (6) Marri;ge by
exchange also is widely practised.
It serves the purpose of avoiding
high bride price. (7) Marriage by
mutual consent and alopement is
an universal phenomenon. (8)
Marriage by inheritance found
among Sema Nagas-a son marries all his father's widows other
than his mother. The reason may
be that property is not sub-divided.
In northern middle India often
brother inherits his' deceased
brother's widow.
The bonds of marriages and the
common interest and affection
created by children of the marriage provide channels for emotional,
social, political . and economic
cooperation that help to organise
a larger communities.

Various Forms

xogamy requires people to

marry outside their own group,
to establish ties with other groups,
and to extend rights and responsibility to them.
Endogamy requires people to
Eight Types
marry within a defineo group and
hen a father gifts his
reinforce rgactiviate and continue
daughter to learned man of
group ties.
good character, it is called
Cross cousin marriages: main'brahma' marriage. If it is a priest
tain the relationship between two
to whom the daughter is gifted it . groups through time and can keep
is caHed 'daiva' marriage. When a
economic, social and political privprospective son-in-law makes the
ileges within the control of two
gift of a bull and a cow to the girls'
inter marrying families. Examplefather before receiving her as gift
Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu,
. it is called 'arsha' marriage. MarKerala.
riage b purchase is called 'gandPolygamy: It refers to the form
harv
When a father gifts his
of marriage where there are prodaugll r to a monk aHer duly
vision for one person to have more
,honouing him it is called 'prajathan one spouse. In case of
patya'. Marriage by abduction is
Polygamy-a man can have sevcalled 'rakshasa' and by seduction
eral wives. This arrangement often
or intoxication is called 'paisacha'.
gives economic advantage, adds
to the family prestige and is highly
Among the tribes of India,
officient for procreation, where is
according to the ethography colPolyandry is better designed for
lected to date, we may list eight
different types of marriages. (1)
certain other areas. Sororat~ is the
Probationary marriage (found
arrangement where a wO'ffi~n has
among Kuki tribe when a young
to marry one's deceased sister's
man is allowed to stay with the girl
husband. Lebirate' is the practice
of his choice in her father's house
of marrying one deceased brothlor weeks together. Later, if they
er's wife. Monogamy: is the most
iind each other 'compatiable they
accepted form of marriage. Mono;narry. Otherwise he pays comgamous marriages serve the
lensation to the girls's father and
group by making more marriages
~alks out (No stigma attached).
possible. Family grouping formed
'2) Marriage by capture found
by various kinds of marriages are
lmong Nagas and Bhil tribes of
influenced where the marriage
:antral India. (3) Marriag~ by trial
partners reside after the event.
Bhills), it is recognition of personal
When the young couple move into
~)Urage bravery as highly desirthe residence of the groom's
Ible traits in human beings. (4)
father, they take Virilocal resiarriage by purchases or bride
dence. In case of Patrilocal resi-

is pracllseo a.1I over tribal

Idia, especially among "Ho.

I~ment

of bride price is suppsed to be a symbolic gesture of

18 utility of women in the society.
) Marriage by service-due to
~ demand of very hiph bride
iIce some tribes like Gonds and

19 October 1988

case of Neelocal residence

couples are expected to establish
their own new independent residences.

dation he will have.

The actual human nature in

child-his language, food habits;
prejudices and other attitudes,
marriage in family behaviour,
Family Types
occupation and other social patterns are the result of cultural conhere can be basically two
ditioning within the framework of
kinds of families. Nuclear and
the above four factors.
Composite. Nuclear family is
The basic concepts which have
formed by parents and their chil- . made possible the continuance of
dren. A composite family can be
family through ages is called famof several types. The family groupilism. The essential elements of
ing of two or more married couples
familism are (1) Members of the
and their children is termed as
family work together for the
extended family. The horizontal
attainment of family goals. (2) The
extended family or joint family is a
resources of the family are availhousehold of two siblings and their
able to any member when and if
respective spouses and children,
he wants it. (3) The family as a
The vertical extended family is one
whole comes to the as9istance of
in which parents, some of their
any member if one is in trouble
married children, and some of their
with the outsiders. (4) Attention is
grandchildren are in residence
given in family to newly married
together.
family units.
The importance of the family in
Familism is much more prevapersonality development can be
lent in agriculture societies than in
classified under four categories:
urban industrial societies: Histor(1) The first learning (socialisation)
ically one could trace the beginis restricted to family. (2) Childning of tpe decline of fammsm to
hood experiences of certain
the industrial revolution. Thereafter
things, so much so that later in life
individuals and families had to
he is interested in some things and
migrate to the source of work, and
neglect others. (3) The long period
family members had to spend
of association within the family
much of their time away from the
gives necessary time for moulding
family group. This restored indithe child according to the family
vidualism which is just the oppopattern. (4) The social class and
site of familism. Development of
other characteristic of child tamily
lJ1anufacturing industries led to the
will limit the kind of outside assogrowth of cities, .and progressive

dence, the young couple moves in

with the groom's father's extended
kin group. When the couple moves
into residence with the bride's
family it is Uxorii09al (if no other
member of the mother'S family
stay there), Matrilocal if mother's
kin group is also in residence. In

- ---------------

decline in familism.
The familv in recent times has
been unoergoing radical mOOlllcation and it has been occuring
almost everycountry. Changes in
the economic function of the family
'include the transfer of both prOduc:
tion and consumption of goods to
outside agencies. Increase in bakeries, commercial c'o rners,
restaurants, labour saving appli
ances etc. contribute to the factor.
Protection and security is provided to a family today by pOlice.
man,
fireman,
insurance
companies etc. and not by the
family. Education of children,
though it still is a family function is
on a much reduced scale. Some
people point to TV and 'Radio as
a retl,lrri of recreatiOA to the nome,
but probably these gadgQts actually decrease the interpersonal
communicauon within the familY.
In a way commercial recr~ation
has invaded into exclusive family
teritories.
Certain social processes like
industrialisation, organisation,
secularisation and mobility have
undermined the stability of social
relationships including family. But
in spite of all these families still
retain its intrinsic functions, such
as emotional security, transmission of cultural tradition and customs to the next generation.

Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India Reg. No. 45763

IF@lX1f!!JOO

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Deihl postarReglstration No. D(SE)

15/86

Spotlight

_-

What Does Palestine Mean to India?

By Ludwina A. Joseph
! is a pity that in India we have

the sorry spectacle of a right

policy being pursued for all the
wrong reasons. As far as Pale~llne is corcerned we have been
'm :01'plJlated into a corner so afraid
cH fl
we of offending Arab
, en ~ it:Jities-when it is in fact the
lu s tne ~ s of the Palestinian cause
lhdt should be motivating u~.
Th~ Palestine Enigma

hat does Palestine actually

mean to tile average edu( at~d Indian? Not a lot Particularly
r,ot to a you ' r. fe d on a diet of
Wastern pulp f,cti0n witness the
nevels Of leu'] Uri S carrying as
thl"y d,) an Idpalis.:,d and romant;:;l sf d ver:;.u" 0 1 Isral. of the
, hihWI virtuo? ~, of il::, fi rst Premier
[J<lv,d l3en-Gun:>n , ;jt,d of the lofty
t:)nets of the ea ~ ly zj.-)nist pioneers
.:1"0 made the desert bloom .
'~\lhi<-h young per~o n could remain
l. rmol'ed by 'Exodus' or by the
l,'hul;!tions o a much-persecuted
~ ace in po'St ~\ ar Germany : 'Armageddon', and 'he desperation in
the Warsaw gl'olloes: 'Mila 18'. In
comparison 1ft hat novels do we
naVE on Pa'estine to combat such
inSid ious propaganda? The problam with the Palestinians is that
t;,ey expect the justness of their
cause to be self-evident. When
<.1sked they refer to what Mahatma
Gandhi wrote on the subject as if
Gandhi's writings were the staple
literary diet of young Indians!
I remember as a young teenaga r being infl uenced by 'Exodus',
of spo~t i ng a lot of romantic rubt>,sh about ! hl? justice owing to the
jews and the u"fairness of the
AI abs, and of long and heated
arguments with my more enlighter' ed father, and of u:timately realising that, however, sorry one felt
for a persecuted people they had
no business taking away someone
elsa's land and never mind how
cher ished that land might be to
t h .~ m in memory and prayer. If
every people began claiming hlstorieal and legendary right to
ancient homelands we would have
a R&d Indian America or an Aboriginal Australia, but which court of
law would uphold the rights of
those races, however legitimate
they might be?

are now seen as perpetrators of

cruelties on women and children
on TV sets by dumbfounded
It did not need 11 p.r." or propaganda or an
Western audiences who Cannot
Arab ycrsion of Leon Uris to convince the
quite accept the reversal of roles
world that wtlUt the IsnH~lis were doing was
or reconcile it with what they have
been led to believe all their lives.
wrong. If it makes the West question and
Finally, it did not need "p.r. or prorethink polic~' or pressure the Israelis, the
paganda or an Ar<ib version of
Intifadch would have served a purpose.
leon Uris tb convince the world
Perhaps India had better start pushing.
that what the Israelis were doing
was wrong. H it makes the West
Indian Policy
question and rethink policy or
pressure the Israelis, the Intifadeh
n 19 ~ 7 when the West looked en
and
mostl!
applauded, that glO::>3sed over the: 1982 Sabra armed Israe li soldiers beating and would have served a purpose.
Mohaidas Kararnchand Gand'l i and i':: hatila maSSaC'f'5 of Pales- othp.rwise brutalising unarmed Perhaps India had better start
-alw<lYs the conscience-keeper 0:1 M ian refugees but are unable now Palestinians. The Israeli image has pu::=hing.
the nation - was applied and said to s,omach the harsh (ruth of taken a severe drubbing and they
so. He felt strongly for the outragod Palestinians. How wonderful it w()uld be to claim that our
Middle !::astern policy derived from
Gand hian ideals. In fact it has
more to do with currying favour
with the Arab lobby .and ensuring
their continued goodwill to sateguard Indian strategic and commercial interests in West Asia.
But why is India not contributing
its mite to Middle Eastern harmony
considering our recent maturity to
regional .power status and intense
busybodiness in sorting out other
nation's affairs (eg . Afghanistan,
Kampuchea, South Africa : dismantling apartheid, Iran-Iraq,
Namibia et al)? In' fact in recent
years we have had very little to offer
on Palestine except the usual platitudes, barring th~ trivial problem
of whether or not India shou ld play
tennis with Israel. Have we been
intimidated by Jordan and Syria to
keep out of it? It is strange that
New Delhi, a staunch Arab ally
and NAM stalwart, should havana
part to play in the proposed Middle
East peace conferance. Palestine
needs India's support (moral and
otherwise) now more than ""tlr.
world assistance and sympathy for
the discrimination, persecution
and selective genocide practised
through the ages by both eastern
and western Europes and which
reached a ghastly crescendo in
Hitler's Germany. They did. But
not at the expense of others. And
steahng someone else's land was
hardly an answer.

The Israeli Aggression

he palestinians have shown

the world that they can no
longer
ignored or fobbed off as
incapable of being masiers of li:eir
own destiny. They ha,ve finally
come into their own with the eight
month old uprising (Intifadeh) in
the Occupied Territories. Brutally
repressed b~' the Israelis, the
uprising has had the happy effect
\)f shaking bot h the West and the
Palestine Was Wronged
Arabs out of their stupor into doing
something COncr.,le. Never before
-The Palestinians were wronged have so many West Asian peace
"-ever since the Balfour decla- plans been bandied about or so
ra~ i on was issued in 1917. This many Arab leaders been scraminfamous declaration enabled the bling to get in on the action and
jews to carve out a country for ' corner some of the g!ory. If only
themselves _ in land which the Isrealis would be reasonablf
, belonged to t~e Palestinians and about vacating the territories illp- which was being occupied and gaily acquired by them and retu r,..
had for centuries been occupied to the borders chaiked out by the
by Arabs. For the Palestinians it United Nations PartiTion Res'Jlu
was shock.ng, immoral, daylight tion of 1947 we might still hale oil
robl:.ery but fe, the Jows ( was a Palestine.
triumphant cuimine;ti" " of the
The most catac'Y::"l1llc effe .. ' ,:i
ra.lson d'e l/P 0 : the l' , , ' ~ :.' Zicn ist the IntifaJph ha~ !.it ' ., '1" ., r iU;C.,.
f'I)ovement. It was I : ~ ;' ,,~ :r tho l ansformatlon oj i'"
' .:0' 'Jt ri " ,
iong-su!ferin{; je NS_ ....
d,';___
iid
Isrea:i5
In West.)
.;
._4__"_erit
___
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12

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AylDg 10 frOID the uDcxplored vistas of tclctt('hooIOf."~ RoLottll ... programmed to elWl10ur
you wlih Itt, :l! a~o e llc looks aad COil Gate
tdeworld . It}) 1t&l&tWor;ryo(soph'sucated
ffII.lU ~ .:,:> . SOlllf., wh Ich you may have llt'''CT 6t t D
htforc.
j,;,.o!'OOf ",'t. f uslag tecluIologlCJII wlz,rdty wlt.h
:' ~.?t- i 0'~'iace luurtOU8 tdf-watch~ at , OIIr
!loge 'I!r- with Ii feather tOlKh 2f,ke),

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'O FEX mid

_

9 .._

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t}I-ced apart!

The right choice

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

_5:19 October 1988

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