Shekhar Gupta: Once upon a bloody time there lived a man called Bhindranwale

Kayalvizhi wrote:Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale is a great patriot. As usuals, Hindian gov murder any 1 who question their rule over occupied territories.

He was a friend of Poet Perunjsiththiranar. The latter was to visit Khalistan and address sveral meetings in the occupied Sikh homeland. But Indian gov murdered the Sikh warrior before that.

Rashmun wrote:http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/first-person-second-draft-once-upon-a-bloody-time/99/

Rashmun wrote: Of course, you could never answer back or join an argument with him. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale did not run a parliament or panchayat in the Golden Temple. His was a medieval court with sub-medieval instant justice, and nobody would dare disagree with him or even protest when he pilloried you with cruel sarcasm or simply piled you with humiliation. My first conversation with him, in August 1983, was no different from any other visiting journalist’s, Indian or foreign.
“Weren’t you born a Hindu,” he asked.
“Yes, Santji, though like all Hindus, we pray at the gurdwaras as well,” I said, put somewhat on the defensive already.
“Oh, you do, of course,” the smirk appeared, “so tell me the names of the gods you pray to in your mandir.” And then he carried on without waiting for me to answer.
“Bhagwan Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, have you seen any of them without full head of hair and beards?” he asked.
Even if you wanted to say that most of the Hindu iconography was clean-shaven, you did not somehow gather the courage to do so. In fact, nobody did. Christians, Muslims, Parsis, they were all given the same treatment.
“Now, aren’t your gods like your father?” he would now ask, and you’d have no choice other than to say, yes, of course.
“So your father never shaved and cut his hair, while you are clean-shaven. What do we call a child who doesn’t resemble his father,” he would now turn the knife or, rather, give the cue to his congregation, which would avoid using the “h” word but would break into a collective snigger.
“That’s why I say, Shekharji (or whoever his victim was that day), keshan di hatya band kar dawo (stop murdering your hair, literally), start looking like your forefathers so we will all call you a decent, legitimate son.”

---
in the above, by the 'h' word is meant 'haraami' (bastard).

Rashmun wrote:I have said often that the subcontinent specialises in producing a unique type of demagogue, with the ability of picking up the grievances of a minority when it is most vulnerable and then magnifying and amplifying them brilliantly to create widespread popular outrage. Even in that formidable pantheon, Bhindranwale was at the very top. One of the finest accounts of the way his “court” functioned has been written by Tavleen in the chapter she wrote for a book, The Punjab Story, published by Roli Books after Operation Blue Star and later republished in 2009 on its 25th anniversary, where Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, Khushwant Singh, M.V. Kamath, Kirpekar, Sunil Sethi, the CPI’s Amarjit Kaur and I also contributed chapters. She describes the case of one Leher Singh, who Bhindranwale presented to his audience in her presence (I wasn’t there that day). His beard looked like it had been rudely hacked with a large knife. He said he was from village Jatwali in Fazilka district, bordering Punjab in Pakistan, and that his beard had been cut off by Thanedar (inspector) Bichhu Ram. Six months later, Bichhu Ram was shot dead. Tavleen wrote later how she never realised then that she had seen a death sentence being delivered.

b_A wrote:

Rashmun wrote:I have said often that the subcontinent specialises in producing a unique type of demagogue, with the ability of picking up the grievances of a minority when it is most vulnerable and then magnifying and amplifying them brilliantly to create widespread popular outrage. Even in that formidable pantheon, Bhindranwale was at the very top. One of the finest accounts of the way his “court” functioned has been written by Tavleen in the chapter she wrote for a book, The Punjab Story, published by Roli Books after Operation Blue Star and later republished in 2009 on its 25th anniversary, where Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, Khushwant Singh, M.V. Kamath, Kirpekar, Sunil Sethi, the CPI’s Amarjit Kaur and I also contributed chapters. She describes the case of one Leher Singh, who Bhindranwale presented to his audience in her presence (I wasn’t there that day). His beard looked like it had been rudely hacked with a large knife. He said he was from village Jatwali in Fazilka district, bordering Punjab in Pakistan, and that his beard had been cut off by Thanedar (inspector) Bichhu Ram. Six months later, Bichhu Ram was shot dead. Tavleen wrote later how she never realised then that she had seen a death sentence being delivered.

This doesn't make sense.  Did he mean bordering Pakistan in Punjab ?

Hellsangel wrote:

b_A wrote:

Rashmun wrote:I have said often that the subcontinent specialises in producing a unique type of demagogue, with the ability of picking up the grievances of a minority when it is most vulnerable and then magnifying and amplifying them brilliantly to create widespread popular outrage. Even in that formidable pantheon, Bhindranwale was at the very top. One of the finest accounts of the way his “court” functioned has been written by Tavleen in the chapter she wrote for a book, The Punjab Story, published by Roli Books after Operation Blue Star and later republished in 2009 on its 25th anniversary, where Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, Khushwant Singh, M.V. Kamath, Kirpekar, Sunil Sethi, the CPI’s Amarjit Kaur and I also contributed chapters. She describes the case of one Leher Singh, who Bhindranwale presented to his audience in her presence (I wasn’t there that day). His beard looked like it had been rudely hacked with a large knife. He said he was from village Jatwali in Fazilka district, bordering Punjab in Pakistan, and that his beard had been cut off by Thanedar (inspector) Bichhu Ram. Six months later, Bichhu Ram was shot dead. Tavleen wrote later how she never realised then that she had seen a death sentence being delivered.

This doesn't make sense.  Did he mean bordering Pakistan in Punjab ?

Pakistani Punjab/West Punjab.

b_A wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

b_A wrote:

Rashmun wrote:I have said often that the subcontinent specialises in producing a unique type of demagogue, with the ability of picking up the grievances of a minority when it is most vulnerable and then magnifying and amplifying them brilliantly to create widespread popular outrage. Even in that formidable pantheon, Bhindranwale was at the very top. One of the finest accounts of the way his “court” functioned has been written by Tavleen in the chapter she wrote for a book, The Punjab Story, published by Roli Books after Operation Blue Star and later republished in 2009 on its 25th anniversary, where Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, Khushwant Singh, M.V. Kamath, Kirpekar, Sunil Sethi, the CPI’s Amarjit Kaur and I also contributed chapters. She describes the case of one Leher Singh, who Bhindranwale presented to his audience in her presence (I wasn’t there that day). His beard looked like it had been rudely hacked with a large knife. He said he was from village Jatwali in Fazilka district, bordering Punjab in Pakistan, and that his beard had been cut off by Thanedar (inspector) Bichhu Ram. Six months later, Bichhu Ram was shot dead. Tavleen wrote later how she never realised then that she had seen a death sentence being delivered.

This doesn't make sense.  Did he mean bordering Pakistan in Punjab ?

Pakistani Punjab/West Punjab.

I know there is a punjab in pak , but Bichhu ram is unlikely to be an inspector there and leher singh from pakistan is unlikely to come to Bindranwale. So, bordering Pak in Punjab makes more sense.

b_A wrote:

Rashmun wrote: Of course, you could never answer back or join an argument with him. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale did not run a parliament or panchayat in the Golden Temple. His was a medieval court with sub-medieval instant justice, and nobody would dare disagree with him or even protest when he pilloried you with cruel sarcasm or simply piled you with humiliation. My first conversation with him, in August 1983, was no different from any other visiting journalist’s, Indian or foreign.
“Weren’t you born a Hindu,” he asked.
“Yes, Santji, though like all Hindus, we pray at the gurdwaras as well,” I said, put somewhat on the defensive already.
“Oh, you do, of course,” the smirk appeared, “so tell me the names of the gods you pray to in your mandir.” And then he carried on without waiting for me to answer.
“Bhagwan Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, have you seen any of them without full head of hair and beards?” he asked.
Even if you wanted to say that most of the Hindu iconography was clean-shaven, you did not somehow gather the courage to do so. In fact, nobody did. Christians, Muslims, Parsis, they were all given the same treatment.
“Now, aren’t your gods like your father?” he would now ask, and you’d have no choice other than to say, yes, of course.
“So your father never shaved and cut his hair, while you are clean-shaven. What do we call a child who doesn’t resemble his father,” he would now turn the knife or, rather, give the cue to his congregation, which would avoid using the “h” word but would break into a collective snigger.
“That’s why I say, Shekharji (or whoever his victim was that day), keshan di hatya band kar dawo (stop murdering your hair, literally), start looking like your forefathers so we will all call you a decent, legitimate son.”

---
in the above, by the 'h' word is meant 'haraami' (bastard).

what does "aaraam haraam hain" mean then ?

Hellsangel wrote:

b_A wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:

b_A wrote:

Rashmun wrote:I have said often that the subcontinent specialises in producing a unique type of demagogue, with the ability of picking up the grievances of a minority when it is most vulnerable and then magnifying and amplifying them brilliantly to create widespread popular outrage. Even in that formidable pantheon, Bhindranwale was at the very top. One of the finest accounts of the way his “court” functioned has been written by Tavleen in the chapter she wrote for a book, The Punjab Story, published by Roli Books after Operation Blue Star and later republished in 2009 on its 25th anniversary, where Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, Khushwant Singh, M.V. Kamath, Kirpekar, Sunil Sethi, the CPI’s Amarjit Kaur and I also contributed chapters. She describes the case of one Leher Singh, who Bhindranwale presented to his audience in her presence (I wasn’t there that day). His beard looked like it had been rudely hacked with a large knife. He said he was from village Jatwali in Fazilka district, bordering Punjab in Pakistan, and that his beard had been cut off by Thanedar (inspector) Bichhu Ram. Six months later, Bichhu Ram was shot dead. Tavleen wrote later how she never realised then that she had seen a death sentence being delivered.

This doesn't make sense.  Did he mean bordering Pakistan in Punjab ?

Pakistani Punjab/West Punjab.

I know there is a punjab in pak , but Bichhu ram is unlikely to be an inspector there and leher singh from pakistan is unlikely to come to Bindranwale. So, bordering Pak in Punjab makes more sense.

Does East Punjab/Indian Punjab also border any other province in Pakistan?

PS: Wait! Am I talking to myself or are you talking to yourself?

Rashmun wrote:

b_A wrote:

Rashmun wrote: Of course, you could never answer back or join an argument with him. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale did not run a parliament or panchayat in the Golden Temple. His was a medieval court with sub-medieval instant justice, and nobody would dare disagree with him or even protest when he pilloried you with cruel sarcasm or simply piled you with humiliation. My first conversation with him, in August 1983, was no different from any other visiting journalist’s, Indian or foreign.
“Weren’t you born a Hindu,” he asked.
“Yes, Santji, though like all Hindus, we pray at the gurdwaras as well,” I said, put somewhat on the defensive already.
“Oh, you do, of course,” the smirk appeared, “so tell me the names of the gods you pray to in your mandir.” And then he carried on without waiting for me to answer.
“Bhagwan Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, have you seen any of them without full head of hair and beards?” he asked.
Even if you wanted to say that most of the Hindu iconography was clean-shaven, you did not somehow gather the courage to do so. In fact, nobody did. Christians, Muslims, Parsis, they were all given the same treatment.
“Now, aren’t your gods like your father?” he would now ask, and you’d have no choice other than to say, yes, of course.
“So your father never shaved and cut his hair, while you are clean-shaven. What do we call a child who doesn’t resemble his father,” he would now turn the knife or, rather, give the cue to his congregation, which would avoid using the “h” word but would break into a collective snigger.
“That’s why I say, Shekharji (or whoever his victim was that day), keshan di hatya band kar dawo (stop murdering your hair, literally), start looking like your forefathers so we will all call you a decent, legitimate son.”

---
in the above, by the 'h' word is meant 'haraami' (bastard).

what does "aaraam haraam hain" mean then ?

it means to rest/relax (in this context, it means to be lazy) is a sin.

b_A wrote:

Rashmun wrote:

b_A wrote:

Rashmun wrote: Of course, you could never answer back or join an argument with him. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale did not run a parliament or panchayat in the Golden Temple. His was a medieval court with sub-medieval instant justice, and nobody would dare disagree with him or even protest when he pilloried you with cruel sarcasm or simply piled you with humiliation. My first conversation with him, in August 1983, was no different from any other visiting journalist’s, Indian or foreign.
“Weren’t you born a Hindu,” he asked.
“Yes, Santji, though like all Hindus, we pray at the gurdwaras as well,” I said, put somewhat on the defensive already.
“Oh, you do, of course,” the smirk appeared, “so tell me the names of the gods you pray to in your mandir.” And then he carried on without waiting for me to answer.
“Bhagwan Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, have you seen any of them without full head of hair and beards?” he asked.
Even if you wanted to say that most of the Hindu iconography was clean-shaven, you did not somehow gather the courage to do so. In fact, nobody did. Christians, Muslims, Parsis, they were all given the same treatment.
“Now, aren’t your gods like your father?” he would now ask, and you’d have no choice other than to say, yes, of course.
“So your father never shaved and cut his hair, while you are clean-shaven. What do we call a child who doesn’t resemble his father,” he would now turn the knife or, rather, give the cue to his congregation, which would avoid using the “h” word but would break into a collective snigger.
“That’s why I say, Shekharji (or whoever his victim was that day), keshan di hatya band kar dawo (stop murdering your hair, literally), start looking like your forefathers so we will all call you a decent, legitimate son.”

---
in the above, by the 'h' word is meant 'haraami' (bastard).

what does "aaraam haraam hain" mean then ?

it means to rest/relax (in this context, it means to be lazy) is a sin.

So a sinner is a bastard?

b_A wrote:
So a sinner is a bastard?