Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale ( Punjabi : ਜਰਨੈਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਭਿੰਡਰਾਂਵਾਲੇ;) (* February 12, 1947 in Rode, Punjab ; † June 6, 1984 in Amritsar , Punjab ) was the Jathedar or leader of the Damdami Taksal . He spread the values of the Sikhs , especially to the younger Sikhs from the Punjab . Bhindranwale is best known for his involvement in Operation Blue Star , in which he and his followers (most of them young devout Sikhs) died while defending the Golden Temple in Amritsar. He was killed by the Indian army on the orders of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi .
Childhood and youth
His father, Joginder Singh, was a farmer and a local Sikh leader. Jarnail Singh was the seventh son of the family from a village in Faridkot District . He grew up a vegetarian. In 1965 he was enrolled at Damdami Taksal, a religious school near Moga, by his father. After a year he returned to farming. He later continued his studies under Kartar Singh , the new head of Taksal. He quickly became Kartar Singh's favorite student. Kartar Singh died of the consequences of a car accident on August 16, 1977. He preferred Bhindranwale as his successor and head of Damdami Taksal instead of his son Amrik Singh . Amrik Singh later became his closest ally. Bhindranwale was officially recognized as his successor on August 25, 1977 through a ceremony at Mehta Chowk .
Bhindranwale married Pritam Kaur, daughter of Sucha Singh from Bilaspur. Pritam Kaur gave birth to two sons, Ishar (1971) and Inderjit Singh (1975). She died of heart disease at the age of 60 on September 15, 2007 in Jalandhar .
Act
In Punjab, Bhindranwale went from village to village as a religious representative of Sikhism. He asked people to live by the principles of the Sikh doctrine. He gave many long speeches and animated numerous young people to the "Amritt baptism", which was introduced by the tenth Sikh guru Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth and the related ethical principles of the Khalsas, the baptized Sikhs. Bhindranawale preached to the Sikhs to get back on the right path, not to take alcohol, drugs, to be faithful in marriage, not to cut your hair, as the Sikh Gurus taught the Sikhs and especially the Siri Guru Granth Sahib to read the scriptures of the Sikhs and the Rehat Maryada to obey the Code of Conduct for Sikhs. (The Sikh Rehat Maryada is an important manifesto of the Sikh faith. It defines, among other things, what a Sikh is, what he believes in, it explains the various ceremonies of the Sikhs, such as birth, naming, marriage, death etc.) Jarnail Singh Bhindranawale asked the people to to use the prayers composed by the Sikh gurus for the Sikh community. He explained the deep spiritual and religious connections and gave lectures on the Holy Scriptures and the history of the Sikhs. He emphasized the practice of shabad kirtan (the singing of sacred hymns in praise to God).
Until 1984 Bhindranwale was not an advocate of a separate Sikh state (Khalistan). It was not until the Golden Temple, which Harmandir Sahib was attacked by the Indian army in 1984, that Jarnail Singh Bhindranawale spoke out in favor of Khalistan, an independent Sikh state. In a BBC interview, he said that if the government allowed such a state, they would not be deterred from accepting the offer.
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale received the title of Sant and is considered one of the most important Sikh martyrs of the 20th century.
Role in militancy
On April 13, 1978, some Amritdhari Sikhs protested against the Nirankairs . The confrontation resulted in the murder of nine members of the Damdami Taksal, four members of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha and three Nirankaris. The murder of the thirteen Sikhs enraged the population. On April 24, 1980, the leader of the Nirankaris Baba Gurbachan Singh Nirankari was assassinated. The FIR suspected nearly 20 people of the murder, most of whom had ties to Bhindranwale. Bhindranwale was later implicated in ordering the murder. Three years later, Ranjit Singh admitted the murder and was sentenced to 13 years in Tihar Jail. Bhindranwale was later acquitted.
On September 9, 1981, Jagat Narain, the owner of the Hind Samachar faction, was shot dead near the Amaltas Motel. Jagat Narain was a prominent opponent of Bhindranwale. He was present during the struggle between the Nirankaris and the Akhand Kirtani Jatha members. He gave testimony on the Karnal Trail in favor of the defendant. Police issued an arrest warrant for Bhindranwale two days later. Bhindranwale publicly announced that he would begin the sentence on September 20. On September 20, Bhindranwale was arrested by police in Gurudwara Gurdarshan Parkash. During the 25 days that Bhindranwale was in custody, fighting sporadically broke out in areas where Bhindranwale had his accomplices. Bhindranwale was released on bail on October 15 after India's President Giani Zail Singh announced in parliament that there was no evidence against Bhindranwale.
death
On June 3, 1984 Indian Prime Minister chairs Indira Gandhi the Operation Blue Star and ordered the army to the Golden Temple attack. It was rumored that Bhindranwale did not survive Operation Blue Star and has since been considered a martyr by some Sikhs. His successor Sant Baba Thakur Singh Ji, the then Sikh leader, made it clear that he only represented Bhindranwale for a short time. Bhindranwale is in his opinion in a safe place and will be back soon.
According to Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Brar , who oversaw the operation, the body has been identified by a number of agencies including the police, the intelligence agency and militants in custody of the army. It is also reported that Bhindranwal's brother identified his brother's body. Images of what appeared to be Bhindranwal's body have been published in at least two popular books: "Tragedy of Punjab: Operation Blue Star and After" and "Amritsar: Mrs Gandhi's Last Battle". BBC correspondent Mark Tully also reported seeing the body of Bhindarnwale at the funeral .
Dilbir Singh, the advisor to Guru Nanak Dev University, is one of those who claim he survived. He claims that Bhindranwale was injured in the right temple. Dilbir Singh stated, “A government doctor would have examined him alive. Then he would have been tortured to death. ” RK Bajaj, a correspondent for Surya magazine, claims to have seen a picture of Bhindranwale in custody. These claims are very controversial as his son, a prominent figure in Sikh politics, claims otherwise. Some Sikhs also claim that he is still alive. Bhindranwale was declared a martyr by the Shiromano Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee at an event in 2003.
Nowadays a picture of Bhindranwale and his colleagues hangs in the Ajaib Ghar .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Singh Bhindranwale, Jarnail |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | ਸਿੰਘ ਭਿੰਡਰਾਂਵਾਲੇ, ਜਰਨੈਲ (Punjabi) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Indian Jathedar or leader of the Damdami Taksal |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Village of Rode, Moga District, Malwa Region, Punjab , India |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 6, 1984 |
| Place of death | Amritsar , Punjab , India |