"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, 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.
Much has been made of the Darbar Sahib complex having been turned into an arsenal and a fort by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Since 1982, extremist Hindu factions had demanded that the Government forces should enter the Darbar Sahib complex and arrest Bhindranwale. All the Sikh leaders, including Bhindranwale, had made it clear that if the Government invaded this center of the Sikh faith, they would resist with whatever means they could muster. The list published by the Government shows that the weapons recovered from them were World War I vintage, mostly obsolete, and quite useless in fighting organized military units. The Government is also alleged to have even arranged for weapons to be smuggled into Darbar Sahib to heighten the scale of the conflict in order to justify the killing of as large a number of Sikhs as possible without arousing a national protest against the genocide and to ensure that after the invasion was complete, these could be shown as having been recovered from the so-called 'rebels'.
A Must read document that explains it all:
www.sikhgenocide.org/downloads/sandhu.doc
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, 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.
Much has been made of the Darbar Sahib complex having been turned into an arsenal and a fort by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Since 1982, extremist Hindu factions had demanded that the Government forces should enter the Darbar Sahib complex and arrest Bhindranwale. All the Sikh leaders, including Bhindranwale, had made it clear that if the Government invaded this center of the Sikh faith, they would resist with whatever means they could muster. The list published by the Government shows that the weapons recovered from them were World War I vintage, mostly obsolete, and quite useless in fighting organized military units. The Government is also alleged to have even arranged for weapons to be smuggled into Darbar Sahib to heighten the scale of the conflict in order to justify the killing of as large a number of Sikhs as possible without arousing a national protest against the genocide and to ensure that after the invasion was complete, these could be shown as having been recovered from the so-called 'rebels'.
A Must read document that explains it all:
www.sikhgenocide.org/downloads/sandhu.doc
