Sikh leaders made a mistake by agreeing to remain in India during Partition: Harsimran Singh

Dal Khalsa extremists who hijacked the Indian Airlines plane last month:The Dal Khalsa, an extremist and militant Sikh youth organisation whose members hijacked the plane to Lahore recently, was started on August 6, 1978 with the avowed objective of attaining an 'Independent Sovereign Sikh Nation'. According to intelligence sources, the Dal's active membership is now around 600 and it has three units in Chandigarh, Gurdaspur and Mohali.To run the affairs of the Dal a five-member Supreme Council was appointed with Harsimran Singh of Chandigarh as Mukh Panch (Chief Organiser) and Gajinder Singh, one of the hijackers of the Indian Airlines (IA) plane on September 29, Harbhajan Singh Narengwal of Ludhiana, Jaswant Singh of Gurdaspur and Satnam Singh of Poonta Sahib as its members.Though Dal leaders claim a separate identity for their organisation on most points it has been supporting agitations launched by other organisations to protest against the discriminatory treatment of the ruling party towards Sikhs. Dal activists only came out in the open on March 20, 1981 when over 60 volunteers took out a procession in Anandpur Saheb, a religious spot near Chandigarh, "to further their demand for Khalistan. After the procession, a saffron flag was hoisted and a Sikh fired five shots from his gun in salutation. One of the Dal leaders then declared: "We will not rest till our objective of a sovereign Khalistan is achieved."As a part of their strategy to expand their bases in Punjab, the Dal started participating actively in the political activities of all the Akali factions. For example, Dal Khalsa activists were vocal and conspicuous during the month-long agitation launched by the Akali Dal in May 1981 demanding holy city status for Amritsar. Later on July 26, 1981, Gajinder Singh and his followers distributed pro-Khalistan literature during the World Sikh Convention held in Amritsar.Less than a month later while the rest of the nation was celebrating Independence on August 15, 1981, over a dozen Dal Khalsa volunteers gathered in a Gurudwara and saluted their flag which had the map of the proposed Khalistan state inscribed in the centre. While addressing his followers, Harsimran Singh launched a virulent attack on the Sikh leadership. He reportedly said: "Sikh leaders made a mistake by agreeing to remain in India during the Partition".Official Inaction: No arrests were made despite their provocative speeches and the official inaction helped to swell numbers of the Dal. On August 27, 1981, Dal Khalsa members raised pro-Khalistan slogans from the gallery of the Punjab Assembly.Surprisingly, while the activities of the Dal Khalsa were becoming a headache for the state administration, no attempt was made to track down the source of their finances or to try and curb their activities. According to Home Ministry sources, the Dal has been getting donations from prosperous Sikhs both in India and abroad and its monthly expenditure is estimated to be over Rs 50,000 since April this year. Gajinder Singh, who was a government employee till 1974 when he was sacked for fomenting trouble, was the main fund-collector. Till the time he hijacked the IA plane to Lahore, Singh had addressed over 50 gatherings in the state where he appealed for liberal donations to the movement.Though over 80 active supporters of the Dal have now been detained by the state Government, the activities of the organisation have not subsided. Says a senior Punjab IAS official: "The Dal Khalsa activists may be few in numbers but their slogan has many supporters. And slogans are immortal."Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 10, 2014 18:55 IST--- ENDS ---

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Sikh leaders made a mistake by agreeing to remain in India during Partition: Harsimran Singh

Dal activists only came out in the open on March 20, 1981 when over 60 volunteers took out a procession in Anandpur Saheb, a religious spot near Chandigarh, "to further their demand for Khalistan.

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