The Hindu : 132 'Dharami Faujis' honoured

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 17, 2003

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National

132 'Dharami Faujis' honoured

By Sarabjit Pandher

CHANDIGARH June 16. Slightly more than 19 years ago, in burst of emotion caused by the hurt to their religious sentiments, they deserted the Army barracks to defend the faith. Having lost their careers, they are a dejected lot, who decry the apathy heaped on them by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the apex authority in the religious hierarchy. This was the mood at the function organised by a monthly magazine in the Punjabi language, Chandigarh Spokesman, where 132 "Dharami Faujis'' (soldiers of the faith) were honoured. These Dharami Faujis who were serving at different positions in the Indian Army had deserted their barracks to protest the Army action "Operation Bluestar'' conducted in the holiest shrine of Sikhs, the Golden Temple in June 1984. They were apprehended and dismissed from service.

The management of the magazine, which had collected donations from its readers, presented cheques of Rs. 10,000 to each of the "faujis'' or the next of kin, who reached here. Leaders of different Sikh organisations and human rights outfits including Maj. Gen (Retd.) Narinder Singh, Justice Ajit Singh Bains, Inderjit Singh Jaijee, Gurtej Singh and Bhai Ashok Singh Bagrian addressed the gathering. On this occasion, a book published in English as well as in Punjabi, titled "Dharami Faujis and Bluestar Operation'' was also released. Published by the trust managing the Spokesman magazine, the illustrative book is the compilation of the firsthand experiences of the author, Amrik Singh, who is also the president of the Association of these men who shed their Olive Greens for the sake of their faith.

After the release of the Nanakshahi calendar by SGPC and SAD on Baisakhi Day in April and conferring of "martyrdom'' on the militant leader, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, by the Akal Takhat early this month, the function to honour the "Dharami Faujis'' is expected to have major reverberations in Punjab politics where the issue of exclusive as well as the separate identity for the Sikh community has begun to gain currency once again.

But the function was a deviation from similar functions, which have roots in emotive events like the "Operation Bluestar''. Instead of reeling out the usual anti-Congress rhetoric, different speakers were quite caustic in their criticism of the traditional religious and political leadership of Sikhs.

In his account, Amrik Singh narrates, how Sikh soldiers in various parts of the country had decided to leave the barracks after they heard an appeal by the Akali leader, Parkash Singh Badal, over the BBC radio, as the Army stormed the Golden Temple complex. After 1984, Mr. Badal and various other Akalis promised these "Dharami Faujis'' the moon once a "Panthic Government'' came to power.

Signing the accord with the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, the Akali chief, Harchand Singh Longowal, only sought lenient behaviour for the "Dharami Faujis''. Later, when Mr. Badal was sworn in Chief Minister in 1997, the Akali-BJP Government refused to even notice them. As many as 60 meetings with him yielded nothing.

Apart from the organisers of the function, those who received appreciation included the former Prime Minister, V.P. Singh, who decided to release all these former soldiers who had been serving jail terms after court martial. The radical Akali leader, Simranjit Singh Mann's efforts to highlight their plight was lauded. But surprisingly, many of the "Dharami Faujis'' believe that had Prime Minister Indira Gandhi survived longer, she would have either taken most of them back or granted them pensions.

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