Darshan Singh Pheruman the first Martyr of Sikh Homeland

A Speech delivered by Sirdar Kapur Singh, ( ex-M. P. ), M. L. A. in the Punjab Assembly, on the 30th October, 1969.

Published by ALL INDIA SIKH STUDENTS’ FEDERATION Courtesy : Gurdial Singh & Co. Photographers, Chowk Baba Sahib, SARDAR DARSHAN SINGH PHERUMAN ( August 1, 1886 — October 27, 1969 )

Printed at the Times Press, New Delhi-5 and Published by Sardar Manjit Singh, Vice President, All India Sikh Students’ Federation, 113/1-Hazra Road, Calcutta-26.

Digitized by Panjab Digital Library j www.panjabdigilib.org j A speech delivered by | Sirdar Kapur Singh, ( ex-M. P. ) M. L. A., in the Punjab Assembly, on the 30th of October 1969. Mr. President, Sir, in the Motion before the House it is stated that S. Darshan Singh Pheruman courted martyrdom, “for the inclusion of Chandigarh etc. in the State of Punjab . 1 Sir, this is somewhat misleading. Guru Nanak has said ! that a man must say and do only that which can be tested by and can measure up to truth, man sacca kasvatti laiye tuliye poore tol. To say what is misleading, in relation to a great martyrdom like that of Pheruman is improper. « i The last Will and Testament of S. Darshan Singh Pheruman has now been made public and the press has extensively reproduced it. This Will and Testament was written in my presence on the 1st. of August, 1969 and it is attested by two reliable witnesses, as the law requires. As a measure of abundant caution, S. Darshan Singh Pheruman desired that his Will and Testament may be tape-recorded in his own voice, ^ which has also been done and is preserved. f Mr. President, there can be no more reliable evidence with ^ regard to the intentions of S. Darshan Singh Pheruman than his own duly recorded Will and Testament. In This Testament, inter alia, S. Darshan Singh Pheruman has said as follows :— “For the last half a century I have worked through sufferings and tribulations for the freedom of my country and for ensuring ever increasing ascendence and expansion of the Panth. This episode of ray life is an open book before the public. “The country is now free but the Panth is still in bondage. In the country, corruption and moral degradation has vastly increased. The management of the Sikh and the conduct of Sikh politics has fallen into the hands of hypocrites, styling themselves pious men and sants and those, who do not wish the Panth well. The doctrines of the Sikh religion, the traditions of the Khalsa, the historical splendour of the Sikh Nation has been, thus, trampled under the feet of these undesi­ rable persons.

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“Those who had played up the drama of undertaking solemn vows before the holy Akal Takht to immolate themselves have, by taking recourse to lies and cowardice, captured the decision-making centres of power, of institutions of Sikh religion and affairs of the and they have also now succeeded in their conspiracy to capture the government of the State of Punjab. “To establish before the world and history that cheating, hypocrisy, cowardice and double dealing, is the real essence of Sikhism and the Sikh way of life, they have constructed ugly memorials to the glorification of Sant Feteh Singh and his associates, which memorials claim to be the rivals of the Throne of the Immortal God, the Akal Takht. These blasphemous mem­ orials are being kept in existence, in the face of resentment of the entire Sikh people, through the police power of Punjab Government. The insults and infamy that is being heaped on the Sikh people to-day is unparalleled in Sikh history. “The way the religion is being degraded to-day has never been so done in the past. “The traitors of the Panth and the pious frauds, called sants, have successfully hatched an ugly conspiracy to eliminate every vestige of the wholesome influence of Sikh religion from Sikh politics with the purpose of making Sikh people the camp followers and slaves of others. “This pitch dark night of falsheood and these treacher­ ous tantacals of, hypocrisy cannot now be overcome except through martyrdom. “The grave, sin that now beclouds the destiny of the Panth on account of solemn vows taken before the Akal Takht having been disregarded, is the greatest obstacle against the renaissance and resurgence of the Panth. “This grave sin can be washed away only through a genuine and pure martyrdom. “The ugly and audacious memorials which Sant Fateh Singh has got constructed, as rivals of the holy Akal Takht, are calling loudly for genuine sacrifices from the Singhs. 3

“The Panth cannot exist meaningfully by turning its back on Guru Akal Purkh. “Now, therefore, it has become imperative that some Singh of the Guru should offer his head as an expiation, to wash away the sins committed by the nominal Sikh leaders and Sikh traitors so that the Panth may attain its true status of suigenerous sovereignty within the constitutional framework of a free and sovereign India and so that next step may become possible for establishment of the Sikh Homeland within the I Union of India. r j “To achieve this end, I am going to lay down my life”. From these citations, Mr. President, it is clear that S. Darshan Singh Pheruman courted a deliberate and unique martyrdom in the interests of a good and holy cause. These are the objectives for which S. Darshan Singh Pheruman courted martyrdom :— 1. He courted martyrdom so that the black spots of shame and infamy made by those Sikh leaders, who renegeded and fled from the solemn vows of self- immolation that they had taken before the holy Akal Takht, and, thus acted in utter cowardice, by taking recourse to lies and hypocrisy, are removed. 2. S. Darshan Singh Pheruman laid down his life to up­ hold the solemn promises which some false Sikh leaders had publicly made to secure Chandigarh, bhakra Complex and other left out Punjabi area for the Punjab State. 3. S. Darshan Singh Pheruman laid down his life to re­ pair and revive the spiritual link between the Collecti­ vity of the Sikhs and the unseen Powers, which link had been gravely damaged by the misdeeds of those who have erected ‘Havan bunds' on the Akal Takht, but who like cowards have fled away from their pli­ ghted words, on seeing the face of the angel of Death. (Interruptions) 4. He courted martyrdom for establishment of the Sikh Homeland within the constitutional framework and the Union of India. V

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I salute this iron man, this self-respecting Sikh, this brave Punjabi, this great patriot and the first martyr in the cause of the Sikh Homeland. Sir, In the month of July, 1969 S. Darshan Singh Pheruman had made it publicly clear his firm intention to lay down his life in the cause of religion. He wrote two personal letters to Sri Fateh Singh, called the Sant, and also an open letter to him requesting him to demolish *Agani kunds’, which, S. Darshan Singh described as the rivals of the holy Akal Takht ( and which structures he considered as a standing disgrace and provocation to the whole Panth as well as symbols of hypocrisy ■ and fraud. S. Darshan Singh called upon Sri Fateh Singh (Sant) that he should join hands with him in making extreme sacrifice to remove the grave injury done to the fundamental doctrine of Sikhism. But the only reply Sri Fateh Singh gave was by describing S. Darshan Singh Pheruman as a stunt- maker and the shoe lickers of Sri Fateh Singh called this great martyr an agent of the Congress Government of Delhi. On the 1st. of August, 1969 a Conference was held at Rayya in which S. Darshan Singh made a public declaration that on the 14th of August he will go to pay homage at the and then he will repeat the same Ardas, already made by Sri Fateh Singh and his companions a number of times i and then broken as many times. After the Ardas, S. Darshan Singh Pheruman declared his intention to go on an indefinite | fast till the terms of this Ardas are conceded or till death inter­ venes. 1 was present at this Conference and within my hearing S. Darshan Singh Pheruman stressed again and again his firm desire that after he enters on his indefinite fast and after his martyrdom nothing should be done to disturb the public peace or to damage public property.

On the 9th August, an unknown person, by the name of Gurdit Singh, appears to have made a report at the Police Station, Beas. It is any body’s guess as to whether this Gurdit Singh made this report of his own accord or under instigation. In this report this Gurdit Siug alleged that S. Darshan Singh Pheruman publicly calls Sri Fateh Singh (Sant) a hypocrite 5

and a pious fraud. Also it was alleged that S. Darshan Singh Pheruman does not consider the present Akali-Jansangh Government as a true representative of the Panth or well wisher of the Panth. It was alleged that S. Darshan Singh Pheruman also talks in terms of clash of swords. A State, the Chief Minister of which is capable of deliberately making utterly false and baseless accusation in the press against an insignificant person like myself, to the effect that on the 28th August at village Pheruman I made some provocative public speech, in that State, where is the difficulty in finding out some Gurdit Singh or Ganga Ram, who can be persuaded 1 to make false report against any person whatsoever ? On the 10th of August, Bhai Chanan Singh, also known as, ‘the little Sant’, and Bhai Fateh Singh, called, ‘the elder Sant, told S. Gian Singh Rarewala at Ganga Nagar that they had taken adequate steps to deal with S. Darshan Singh Pheruman.

It is obvious that the reference is to the report which one Gurdit Singh made in the Police Station of Beas against S. Darshan Singh Pheruman on the 9th of August.

This fact has been revealed by S. Gian Singh Rarewala in an open letter that has appeared in the press, written by him to I Sri Fateh Singh (Sant). On the 12th of August, the Police records show that the Police started looking into the matter but, as is the requirement of law, the Police did not record any statement whatsoever of S. Darshan Singh Pheruman against whom the allegation had been made.

On the night between the 12th and the 13th August, pre­ cisely at mid-night, the hordes of Punjab Police entered the residential house of S. Darshan Singh Pheruman, outside the village of Pheruman and arrested him under section 9 of the Punjab Security Act, and lodged him in the jail at Amritsar. 6

On the 15th August, 1969, at exactly 4 P. M., as was the declared intention of S. Darshan Singh Pheruman, he perfor­ med the same Ardas which he was to perform at the Akal Takht after paying homage at the Golden Temple, and started his indefinite fast. He drank a glass of tap water before start­ ing his fast unto death.

On the 16th August, 1969 and on the days following, Sri Fateh Singh (Sant) started a regular campaign of villification against S. Darshan Singh Pheruman complaining that the real objective of S. Darshan Singh Pheruman was to deprive Sri Fateh Singh of his unquestioned and God-given leadership of the Sikh Panth.

In this manner Sri Fateh Singh (Sant) made it abundan­ tly plain that the interpretation which the Jansangh-Akali Government of the Punjab should put on Section 9 of the Punjab Security Act is that the “Security of the State” of Punjab, means, “ protecting and maintaining the overlordship of Sri Fateh Singh over the religious and political affairs of the Punjab.”

In the third week of September, S. Darshan Singh Pheruman was told by the Chief Minister of Punjab in jail that in case S. Darshan Singh Pheruman insisted on wishing his dead body to be cremated in ‘Havan kunds’ constructed by Sri Fateh Singh on the adjoining roof of the Akal Takht, Sri Fateh Singh and Bhai Chanan Singh, the elder and the little sants respectively, would cause much bloodshed within the premises of the Golden Temple through goondas which both of them had already hired and brought to the Golden Temple for this purpose. In view of this, S. Darshan Singh Pheruman agreed to have his body cremated in his native village so that there may not be caused bloodshed amongst the Sikhs on his account. At this time, S. Darshan Singh Pheruman was removed to the Government Hospital at Amritsar, but he was kept under strict security conditions and interviews with him were severely regulated by the Police. 7

In the beginning of October, formal and technical orders of his release were passed by the Punjab Government, but in practice, S. Darshan Singh Pheruman remained a prisoner in the Amritsar Hospital.

On 25th October, he became so weak as to pass into frequent comas of unconsciousness and it was at this stage that he instructed his male and female relatives on his bed side to see that whether in life or in death the unclean shadow of Sri Fateh Singh (Sant) does not fall on his body. This fact has been publicly testified by the relations of S. Darshan Singh Pheruman. On the 27th October, Sri Fateh Singh (Sant), accompanied by his entourage, carrying a basket full of flowers went to the Government Hospital at Amritsar to do a hypocritical homage to the half dead body of the martyr, but as it happened, the moment Sri Fateh Singh put his foot inside the Hospital room the electric lights in the whole town of Amritsar suddenly failed and remained so for over 48 hours owing to some major breakdown in the Power House. This is how it was that the last wish of S. Darshan Singh Pheruman was literally fulfilled and the shadow of Sri Fateh Singh (Sant) and his hangers-on did not fall on the body ‘ of the martyr. As the poet says, “God Himself looks after the good name and honour of his devotees.” Rakh li mere khuda ne meri bekasi ki sharam. I * On the 27th August, at 3-30 P.M., after fasting for full I 74 days, S. Darshan Singh Pheruman died, steadfast to the I last on the Ardas that he had performed and he thus attained the status of a great brave soul, a great martyr, and the eternal status reserved for those whose integrity remains unshaken I throughout. About such people it is said in the Guru Granth ! “ Love of the devotee of God finally reaches its true fulfilment: Sevak ki odak nibahi preet.

The Legislative Assembly was sitting at that time at 1 Chandigarh, but the Chief Minister did not divulge the news of the martyrdom till 4-30 P. M. and not till an honourable mem­ ber of the Opposition made it known to the House.

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At Amritsar the sacred body of the martyr was forcibly snatched by Police authorities from the relatives of S. Darshan Singh Pheruman after using severe violence to silence their pro­ tests, and the authorities rushed the body by out of the way routes to the village of Pheruman and there made an unsuccess­ ful attempt to cremate the body the same evening. Sir, S. Darshan Singh Pheruman is a great Sikh of the 20th Century and he is a great martyr, who was made to lay down his life for a great religious principle by the so-called, Akali Government in the State which was wholly concerned with protecting and sustaining the improper hold of Sri Fateh' Singh (Sant) on the religious affairs of the Sikhs, on the politics of the Panth and on the Government of the State. This evil Government kept him in captivity with the improper objective of forcing him to turn bis back on the holy Ardas he had per­ formed so that there should be none who can cut Sri Fateh Singh (Sant) to his proper size. S. Darshan Singh Pheruman was prevented from paying his last homage to the Golden Temple at Amritsar and nor was he allowed to say his Ardas at holy Akal Takht, the fundamental rights of a Sikh that have never been denied to him except under the oppressive rule of later Mughals. In the end the dead body of the martyr was subjected to shameless indignities by the minions of this Government, and in keeping with their shameful behaviour, the Government had the martyr’s body cremated at Pheruman on 28th October in a most unceremonial manner under the pre­ text of according him a State funeral. This story has now become a part of the history. No duplicity, no cleverness and no amount of fabricated lies or political chicanery can conceal the true character of this grave interference in the Sikh religion, and this grave episode of official oppression. Well;does the poet say: “the day of Judgement is nigh and the blood of the innocent shall cry out the truth and nothing shall be able to conceal it’’. Karib hai yaro ruze mehshar chupega kushton ka khun kionkar, jo cup rahegi zabani khanjar lahu pukarega astin ka. ^ « _ ^ r -

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y i ii iri||l mwjwatBfr/ fait it. nrg Resolution, unanimously adopted at the open session of the 17th All India Akali Conference, held at Ludhiana, on the 11th December, 1966 : “This open Session of the seventeenth All India Akali Conference, held at Ranjit Singh Nagar, Ludhiana, on the 11th December, 1966, reiterates and adopts the following resolution passed by the Working Committee of the Shiro- mani Akali Dal, on the 20th July, 1966, at Delhi, to wit, After having carefully viewed the entire situation in which Sikh People have been placed in an Independent India ever-since 1947, Have come to the inescapable conclusion that, a section of political Hindus, holding key powers in the political India, have a firm plan of degrading and liquidating Sikhs from the main-stream of free India, and it is for this purpose that the new boundaries of the Punjab have been determined by the Government of India so as eventually to relegate and contain Sikhs in a narrow, wor-torn, undeveloped and suppressed reserved area, on the pattern of Jewish ghettoes in medieval Europe, and reserved areas of aparthied in certain modern States. Now, therefore, the Sikhs resolve and proclaim their determination to resist, through all legitimate means, all such attempts to devalue and liquidate the Sikh people in a free India, and consequently, Demand that, following steps should be taken forthwith, by the rulers of India, to assure and enable the Sikhs to live as respectable and equal citizens of the Union of India, namely, First, the Sikh areas deliberately and intentionally cut off and not included in the new Punjab to be set up, namely, the areas of Gurdaspur District including Dalhousie, Ambala District, that is, Chandigarh, Pinjore, Kalka and Ambala Saddar, the entire Una Tehsil of Hoshiarpur District, the area of Nalagarh, called Desh, the Tehsil of Sirsa the sub Tehsils of Tohana and Guhla, and Rattia Block of District Hissar, Shahabad Block of District Karnal and the contiguous portions of the Ganga Nagar District of Rajasthan, must now be immediately included in the new Punjab so as to bring all contiguous Sikh areas info an adminis­ trative unit to be the Sikh Homeland, within the Union of India. Second, such a new Punjab should be granted an autonomous cons­ titutional status on the analogy of the status of Jammu and Kashmir as was envisaged in the Constitution Act of India in the year 1950, and, Third, suitable constitutional and political measures should be adopt­ ed in relation to the other states of the Union of India, such as, provision of* deterrent punishments for those found guilty of discrimination and prejudicial acts aaainst Sikhs residing in these states, including statutory reserved appointments of adequate numbers of Sikhs as judges, legislators, police-men and executive officials, concerned with the administering of justice and making laws and policies.

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