JYOTI BASU: ‘WE FELT SAFE UNDER HIS RULE’ - Gurpreet Singh
He placed Kolkata under curfew and his party supporters
patrolled Sikh-dominated areas to prevent violence, says Gurpreet Singh.
AS the news of Jyoti Basu’s death spread, Comrade Sohan Singh
Aittiana received an angry call. The caller was upset that he was not made part
of the Sikh delegation that visited the leader a few days before he passed away.
Jyoti Basu was undergoing treatment at the city’s AMRI Hospital then, and the
delegation had called on him to wish him speedy recovery. Aittiana, who is
associated with the CPI(M) and is a well-connected transporter in Kolkata, led
the delegation.
The caller’s anger reflected the affection and popularity that
Jyoti Basu had among Sikhs living in West Bengal . The community’s
leaders remember him as a saviour, who did not let Congress-led goons murder
them during the 1984 pogrom.
Violence broke out in States ruled by the Congress following the
assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October
31, 1984. Indira Gandhi was murdered by Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, who were
seeking revenge for the controversial Operation Blue Star, which was launched
to flush out extremists who had fortified the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine
of Sikhs, under the command of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
Jyoti Basu, who was in Delhi then, sensed the danger to the Sikh
community and rushed to West Bengal to ensure their
safety. While Delhi and other parts of India witnessed large-scale
murder of Sikhs, he was determined to protect the community in his State.
“He placed Kolkata under curfew, and his party supporters were
seen patrolling Sikh-dominated areas to prevent violence,” said Aittiana,
adding that Sikhs have always supported Jyoti Basu and his party since then. “It
can be described as his legacy. It is a different matter that many Sikhs of the
new generation have started identifying themselves with other parties.”
Another Sikh from Kolkata, Surjit Singh Walia, recalled those
days when he narrowly escaped a mob attack. “I temporarily migrated to Punjab out of fear. But
Basu’s determination brought me back. We always felt safe during his rule,” he
said. The curfew and the patrolling by CPI (M) cadres prevented any major
devastation except for a few incidents of stone throwing and vandalism. Ten
deaths were reported in the State.
“Compared with several thousands in New Delhi , only a few lives
were lost in West Bengal ,” said Bachan Singh
Saral, the leader of the Sikh coordination committee who spearheaded the
campaign for justice for the Sikhs murdered during the violence. “The Sikhs
were indebted to Basu and they always stood behind his government.”
Akhtiar Singh, former president of the Komagata Marup Shaheed
Ganj Gurdwara at Bajbaj near Kolkata, recalled that some Congress workers had
tried to engineer violence but Jyoti Basu’s government controlled the situation
swiftly. “The new generation Sikhs have not seen what we were through.”
Hardev Singh Grewal, the editor of Navin Parbhat, a Punjabi
daily published from Kolkata, said that Jyoti Basu would always be admired and
missed by the Sikh community. “Owing to his strong will to protect our
community, there was no mass exodus of Sikhs from West Bengal .”
Significantly, the Punjab government declared
a holiday to mourn the death of the veteran Communist leader. The Sikhs in
Kolkata, who are mainly in the transport business, have roots in the Malwa
region of Punjab . A senior Akali leader from Punjab , Kuldeep Singh
Wadala, remembers Jyoti Basu as a trusted ally in the Akali agitations,
including the one for a Punjabi-speaking State and the protest
against the Emergency. Punjab Finance Minister
Manpreet Singh Badal travelled to Kolkata to pay his last respects to Jyoti
Basu and wrote for The Tribune a piece praising the deceased leader.
Ironically, about 300 communists were murdered in Punjab by the pro-Khalistan
separatists in terror incidents. Lakhvir Singh, who drove this writer to
different parts of Kolkata, had a big sticker of Bhindranwale pasted on the
rear window of his car. Despite this glaring contradiction, he acknowledged the
position of Jyoti Basu during 1984. “The Sikhs will always remember him as a
saviour,” he said.
Gurpreet Singh is with Radio India Vancouver . He worked with
Indian Express and The Tribune before emigrating to Canada in 2001. He was
travelling in West Bengal when Jyoti Basu was
under treatment.
Courtesy: The Frontline
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