Pre - 1984
I was merely a little girl then,
I lived far away from Punjab
I read the biased news about my people in your papers
I grew up believing we were wrong.
In your textbooks O’ India
Sikhi was an off stream of your Noble Heritage
Gone astray by militant philosophy of the tenth Guru
And in present times it did not make sense.
We grew up being ridiculed
By teachers, playmates and streetgoers
Everyday fighting prejudice
And being ashamed of our own selves.
My parents were busy making ends meet
They were the children of the 1947 displacement
They had no time for sharing Sikh life and pride
They lost it somewhere with all the socio-economic strife.
So I grew up confused without an identity
With you telling how you did a favor on us refugees
I did not know about Sikh history and heritage
And its contribution to your freedom, power and existence.
But, we had a Sufi worker at our business
He was so spiritual and had a sense of wisdom
I always found him longing to touch the feet of Guru’s Sikhs
He always told me that Gur-Sikhi Jeevan commanded utmost reverence.
His words ignited a spark in my soul somewhere
The truth had to be found
My parents had given me wings
It was time to dig the roots in the ground.
Then came 1984
The news about several innocents being killed
In busses and trains of Punjab
Why did I know were setups and propaganda,
To create a context for BlueStar.
When you stormed Harimander
Hot month of June it was
Sangat[5] in tens of thousands had come to pay reverence
To the great Guru Arjan Shaheeda-de-Sirtaaj.
In pretext to disarm a few dozen men
You brought tanks, rocket launchers, heavy artillery and cannons
You entrapped thousands and cut off their supplies
And used poisonous gas to consume those innocents.
You killed uncountable mothers, fathers and children
After you parched them with thirst,
You filled the sarovar with the blood of thousands
And tried to patch up your acts by mass cremations.
When Lion Bhindrawale was declared found
With hundreds of Gursikhs around
Something had ached my heart
For you it was the beginning of the end; for me it was just a start.
Then came fake encounters
I suspected things were not how they were shown
But just a teenager I was
With no access to the truth or cries
of bereaving mothers in Punjab.
But You know what O’ cruel Brahmanvaad?
The ties of Guru’s Kaum are very strong
Generations aways form Guru’s land
But my blood and soul was always a Punjab.
Then 30th of October came
Satwant & Beant had done their share.
You decided to teach 18 million of us another lesson
And issued the orders of Sikh massacre.
Our house was set afire and a few relatives blazed,
Rape, torture and death we had barely escaped.
With days of hiding, uncertainty and gloom ahead
The spirit was still Guru’s; it couldn’t be scared.
When the sad news poured in from all directions,
O’ India you had opened our eyes to the Sikhi connection.
We were connected, we were made one;
Punjab or outside any place in the world.
That awakening had finally taken place
That feeling was invaluable, that discovery priceless.
As you unveiled your centuries’ long hatred
And unleashed your long held wrath!
It was a blessing in disguise, I’ll tell you
And finally everything had made sense.
It was our identity you loathed
It was our sovereignty and strength that you despised
It was our magnanimousness that you thrived on
It was our subjugated loyalty that you desired.
When those fearless souls revealed the truth
And masses pledged to stand up for their nation
You feared losing your strength and position
And planned this brutal retaliation.
The spark had turned into a flame
To be a Sikh was no longer a shame
I knew we were not one of you
And standing up for equality, liberty and justice would never please you.
You finally dug your own grave
Your cover-ups and false promises will bear no fruits
My parents had given me the wings
But Thank You India; You put me in touch with my roots.
June, 2006
I am a parent of a pre-teen now
And the flame is a full grown fire
That fire; it also burns in his heart
And that to you is the start of my 1984’s answer.
The fire now burns with full vigor
It will consume me lest I take an action
Hence I will not sit quiet
I pledge to turn it into a revolution.
I brought him up telling stories about his heritage
About your betrayal, your intentions and your treacheries
I am not alone; thousands of Mothers there are
That dedicated their lives to this purpose.
I will not let him down; in grounding him to his roots.
Not one day has passed since he was born
That I didn’t tell him a story of Sikh pride
Of Khalsa Nation and its sacrifice.
This is my revenge O’ India
I will never forget and forgive you
I will raise many such more daughters and sons
They will never let your cruel intentions come true.
They will walk tall; They will be in your face
Proving we survived against all odds
They will not demolish themselves ashamed by your lies
But will stand eternally in Guru’s grace.
We will be a strong Nation, We will be sovereign
You cannot stop us, The game has just begin.
For you see,
We are the people of our own destiny, of spirit and of freedom
We have wings we roam everywhere,
But,
We also have roots in truth and perfection.
We have roots only in truth and perfection.
Poem by Bibi Gurmeet Kaur, Atlanta
I thought your poem was so truthful and beautiful.
it hit so many chords in my heart.
thank you
This is what we all wish and will get what we want, no matter what.
Every single word of yours is right and well justified.
When these things happen in a democracy then may be we need to re-define it.
May be in the same way.
This is great what you wrote i was just in a youth camp it was great but just now when i got back to amritsar i read your poem!!!!!!!!!
chardikala ji bhenji this is great but listen i didn't let my eyes shed any tears after reading your poem.
waheguru waheguru waheguru..... i was there in amritsar and still are.
It wasn't easy to see those great souls leaving there body................waheguru waheguru can't write much.......... sorry.
Waheguru
WAHEGURU JI KA KHALSA WAHEGURU JI KI FATEH
I was always intrigued by the oppression Bluestar.. always wanted o know more about it, always wanted to know what can I do to contribute towards it. You have written such a mind shattering poem that i feel ashamed of myself that why wasnt i grown up enough in 1984 (18/05/1982 my dob) so that could have atleast tried with my family to defend the holiest place on mother earth, Shri Harminder Sahib Ji.
Yesterday only my mother told me that how a mob of people burnt the holy gurudwara and it raised the anger in me and i was filled with rage and some even against my family that why didnt they do something even if they had to sacrifice themselves.(easier said than done though).
I would luv to have a discussion about this and would request all the visitors on this page to post some information and more importantly Facts about that ill fated day..
Dont know how do those people responsible for this see thier face in the mirror and how do they live , dont they have to reply to their innerself about the ghastly sin they commited... may God give them sense and realization of what they have committed... (though feel to rip them off)...
May all the souls who cried that day and are crying to this day get peace at their hearts. May the Akal Purakh continue to shower all his blessings on them and give them everything they dream of and show the people who seek revenge the right path, whatever it be.
Bole So Nihaal Sat Shri Akal
Yes yes yes !!
It’s a beginning of a right start. People are joining and its going to be a big convoy.
May be it will take time to reach the end, but I (we) believe the omnipotent AKAL PURKH and
our magnanimous GURU will give us support and we will win under His aegis.
BOLEY SO NIHAL
SAT SRI AKAL
Fateh!
This poem rocks!! Especially the last stanza.
KHALISTAN!
VAHEGURU VAHEGURU JI, SARBATT DA PALA KARO, JO ICHe SOI FAL PAie
KHALSA AKAL PAURAKH KI FOAJ, PARGATETO PARAMATHAM KO MOAJ...
LONG LIVE MY BELOVED KHALSA, I CRY TEARS OF PAIN FOR YOU DAILY... DAAS....