In order to justify the invasion of the Darbar Sahib complex and numerous other gurdwaras in Punjab in June 1984, the Indian Government issued a 'White Paper'.

According to this:

"Bhindranwale and others operating directly from the Golden Temple complex began to extol and instigate violence." The army action was described as "operations taken to remove terrorists, criminals and their weapons from sacred places of worship." It charged that "the tactics employed by the secessionist and terrorist groups were: systematic campaign to create bitterness and hatred between Sikhs and Hindus; indoctrination in the ideology of separatism in militant terms behind the facade of gurmat (1) camps; training in the use of modern weaponry; use of terrorism against specific targets in the police and the administration of Punjab; preparation of 'hit lists' of those who disagreed and organizing their murder; random killing of persons of a particular community aimed at creating terror and instigating communal violence; stockpiling of arms and ammunition in places of worship; utilization of smugglers and anti-social elements for procuring supplies of arms, ammunition and for looting banks, jewelry shops and individual homes; and obtain covert and overt support from external sources."

Indira Gandhi, the then Prime minister, described Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his associates, as "a group of fanatics and terrorists whose instruments for achieving whatsoever they may have in view are murder, arson and loot."

These statements were intended to give Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale a bad name and to justify the killing of thousands of Sikhs branding them terrorists. This series examines the allegations in the light of contemporary reports and Bhindranwale's public statements.

On Extolling and Instigating Violence

Bhindranwale repeatedly declared that he would never initiate a dispute or a confrontation. Tavleen Singh reports (2):

"Contrary to the popular belief that he took the offensive, senior police sources in the Punjab admit that the provocation came in fact from a Nirankari official who started harassing Bhindranwale and his men. There were two or three Nirankaris in key positions in the Punjab in those days and they were powerful enough to be able to create quite a lot of trouble. The Nirankaris also received patronage from Delhi."

Harry Reasoner of CBS News met Bhindranwale in May 1984. About his conversation with Jarnail Singh, he reported (3):

"A Sikh is never an oppressor but only defends himself and his people. I have never, he said, initiated any attack with my tongue or my pen or with my sword. I only answer back or retaliate to actions initiated by the enemies of the Sikhs."

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, however, advised Sikhs that, as required by their Gurus, they should keep weapons and be prepared to respond to oppression. Consistent with this view that a Sikh should never initiate a conflict but must respond to oppression (4), Bhindranwale advocated that if the Government were to attack Darbar Sahib, Sikhs must resist. It is well known that even when the Indian army fired upon Sikhs in Darbar Sahib complex killing several in the days preceding the general attack in June 1984, those inside the complex did not respond. Bhindranwale's instructions were that so long as the army was outside the complex, they would not fire back. They were to fight only if the surrounding army physically entered the complex. The Sikh reaction to oppression must be totally defensive. Bhindranwale told the Sikhs (5):

"Do not commit any excesses, do not be unfair to anyone but just as for a Muslim there is only wilderness after Mecca, for a Sikh of the Guru, there is nothing but wilderness beyond Harmandar Sahib. We do not go to anyone's home, we do not loot anybody's shop, nor do we lay siege to any place. However, if someone intoxicated by his power as a ruler attacks our home, we are not sitting here wearing bangles that we shall continue to suffer as eunuchs and as lifeless people."

(1) A Gurmat camp is a camp for religious instruction in the Sikh faith.
(2) Tavleen Singh: Terrorists in the Temple, in The Punjab Story, edited by Amarjit Kaur et al., Roli Books, New Delhi, 1984, page 32.
(3) Harry Reasoner, CBS News 60 minutes, 10 June 1984. The quote is from the transcript provided by CBS News.
(4) Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale: Speech on 31 December 1983.
(5) Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale: Speech on 18 May 1983.

Dr Ranbir Singh is the author of 'Struggle for Justice: Speeches and Conversations of Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranwale'.