(KP) - Press Statement
The current series of articles in Panthic Weekly exposing the clandestine relationship between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and many of our current Panthic leaders have raised quite a few alarms inside the latter organization and for the named individuals. The candid exchanges between these leaders and the RSS and Rulda have now become public knowledge subsequent to the release of taped recordings by Panthic Weekly servers based in America which are out of the reach of Indian Government censors and threats of the corrupt Punjab Police.
Though Panthic Weekly knows its overseas staff is safe due to preserved freedoms guaranteed the press in the United States of America, its contact journalists in Punjab are being threatened with dire consequences for their roles in disseminating these recordings. Panthic Weekly is commited and will work vigilantly to make sure the truth comes out and that threats to its correspondents in Punjab are noted by the international community.
First of all, death threats are coming from the very people who marketed the name of Baba Jarnail Singh Bhinderanwale as their very own yet have betrayed his legacy. Similarly, if Baba Jarnail Singh Ji had compromised in his time, he might have been sitting amongst the Badals, Barnalas and Bittus of today. It was not so as like other soldiers of Guru Gobind Singh, he valued principle and commitment above collusion and personal luxury. There is no doubt that the expressions ‘Raj Karega Khalsa’, and ‘Panth Ki Jeet’ chanted by current leaders now ring hollow on stages and lecterns as when it comes down to it, their selfish self-interests take precedence over the good of the Khalsa Panth.
It seems that freedom of press is not only a foreign concept for the nation of India but also for many of the leading organizations who have staked their petty claims to the detriment of the Sikh Nation.
The founder of our great Sikh Nation, Jagat Guru, Guru Nanak Dev Sahib Ji, courageously preached the truth not only to his disciples, but spoke directly to those in power whether they were emperors or influential religious leaders. Hence :
ਸਰਮੁ ਧਰਮੁ ਦੁਇ ਛਪਿ ਖਲੋਏ ਕੂੜੁ ਫਿਰੈ ਪਰਧਾਨੁ ਵੇ ਲਾਲੋ ॥
Modesty and righteousness both have vanished and falsehood struts around like a leader, O Lalo.
and
ਸਚ ਕੀ ਬਾਣੀ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਆਖੈ ਸਚੁ ਸੁਣਾਇਸੀ ਸਚ ਕੀ ਬੇਲਾ ॥
Nanak speaks the Word of Truth; he proclaims the Truth at this, the right time.
The Sikh Nation has been through many challenges and hurdles over the last three decades, countless jewels have sacrificed their lives for the glory of the Panth, yet the latter still remains shackled in a regime where falsehood and hypocrisy are championed over truth and justice.
Secondly, while the idea of public accountability has always seemed too alien for our leadership, the age of high-speed communications and information sharing is soon catching up with the likes of Baba Daljit Singh and the Dhadhrianwalas.
For decades they have duped the Sikh community and thought no one would dare questioning them. For twenty-one years, they have misled the entire Sikh nation about the sacrifice of Baba Jarnail Singh. Once they realized their game was over, they expected everything to be quickly forgotten.
The Sikh Nation must not forget the sacrifices of their glorious Shaheeds neither the people who abused the memory and honor of a Shaheeds’ sacrifice.
It must not tolerate corruption, political expediency and dishonesty by some of its current personalities and leaders.
Those, who have the most to lose in the exposition of the truth regarding their past and present actions are, predictably, the very people who are protesting Panthic Weekly’s RSS expose the loudest.
Thirdly, others who once gained for selfish motives from the GURSIKH and Shahbaz Khalsa organizations now treacherously undermine them with blatant lies. Also, such is their desperation, that they have now joined ranks with the likes of Sukhpreet Udhoke, whose case is similar to Baba Daljit Chicagowala and is also pending at Sri Akal Takhat Sahib.
Recently, when he was asked by GURSIKH representatives that he appear at Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, he retorted using several vulgar references to Sri Akal Takhat Sahib and challenged that, "If the Takhat could not do anything to Kala Afghana or to the editor of the Spokesman what can it do to me ?" Magazines such as the ‘Khalsa Khandaydhar’, ‘Fatehnama’, and ‘Singh Garj’, which all sympathize with Sukhpreet Udhoke, have begun a campaign of misinformation against GURSIKH and Bhai Ratinder Singh, the mukh sevadar of GURSIKH. When religious groups align themselves with such scoundrels, it is obviously a marriage of convenience.
Recently, an advertisement was placed in the February issue of ‘Singh Garj’. It contains a photo of Bhai Ratinder Singh, along with a laundry list of false accusations against him and his organization. The ad requests that the Panth should boycott Bhai Ratinder Singh (Indore) and his group (Panthic Weekly), and contains the names of twenty-nine individuals who have supposedly sanctioned this ad.
When some of individuals named in this list were contacted by Panthic Weekly, including the Singh Garj’s publisher, they vehemently denied any involvement in this ad despite their names being plain as day on the list. If not them, then who really is behind these games ?
It seems Panthic Weekly has hit a nerve in exposing the actions of these parties and the RSS. The desperate attempts to kill the messenger is a way to divert everyone's attention away from the real issue at hand. Who is in collusion with the RSS, the whistleblower or the accused? Only the learned and well informed can truly judge. It begs the question; do freedoms, in the minds of these individuals, come to an end at the House of Guru Nanak, or do they begin there ?
It seems many of these people are not interested in accountability, true reforms and correcting the wrong but maintaining an unsavory status quo which is contrary to the legacy of the Gurus they love so much to trumpet for their own narrow gains. Panthic Weekly urges the international Sikh community to continue turning out corrupt individuals, and lead the community by an exemplary life as a true Khalsa, accepting, fighting and living the truth.
As its expose on the RSS unfolds, it also alerts the world community at large to take a serious note of the RSS’s ongoing attempts, with the full backing of the government of India, at suppressing the voice and oppressing the vital Sikh minority in the name of extreme Hindu Nationalism. These are the hypocritical actions of a democracy in name only and of a nation which continues to violate the basic freedoms and rights of its own people. The law of the jungle truly prevails when threats against the lives of those advocating the transparency and accountability are overlooked and ignored.
In regards to these disturbing developments, PW management is in contact with several human rights organizations and those championing the freedom of press.
