A move
by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan to get a clean chit from the Sikh
clergy after his name was dragged into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots is facing
opposition from sections of the community. Bachchan's plea to the Jathedar of
the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion. Gurbachan Singh,
through a letter dates Nov 28, in which he pleaded his innocence in the
anti-Sikh riots, is likely to be considered for discussion by the five Sikh
high priests at a meeting here Dec 22.
In his letter, Bachchan wrote: "I am addressing this
letter to you with a most pained heart. Wild, irresponsible and most unfounded
allegations, by certain sections of the Sikh community, about my involvement
in the inciting of violence against them during the most unfortunate Sikh
riots of 1984, soon after the death of Shrimati Indira Gandhi, the then prime
minister of India, has caused me acute agony.
"These vicious allegations have caused me deep hurt,
particularly when they were levelled at a time when I had accepted the
invitation from the Punjab government to attend the inaugural ceremony of the
historical Khalsa Heritage Complex at Sri Anandpur Sahib, the birthplace of
the Khalsa Panth. I was indeed looking forward to attending this sacred
ceremony and sharing the immense pleasure and divine bliss with the Sikh
Sangat, but declined because I did not want to be the cause for any
embarrassment at this historical function.
"Now that the ceremony is over, I wish to take this
opportunity to vehemently and categorically deny these allegations against me
which are completely baseless, false and untrue. The Nehru-Gandhi family and
our family have old ties from our city of origin, Allahabad. We have been
together in each other's hour of grief and joy, but to allege that I was a
part of the crowd that incited them to raise anti-Sikh slogans is a
preposterous and blatant lie. Quite contrarily, I have always propagated the
soothing of injured feelings and the maintenance of serenity. The unfortunate
incidents of the riots of 1984 against the Sikhs shall always remain a blot
and a dark phase in the history of our country, a country that prides itself
in its secular credentials."
Bachchan even attached a copy of a photograph of his
maternal grandparents, who were from a Sikh family. He pointed out that his
maternal grandfather, Khazan Singh Suri, was a bar-at-law from England and
that his mother, Teji Bachchan, came from a Sikh family.
Akal Takht head Gurbachan Singh, while acknowledging
that he had got the letter, said: "The matter is linked to Sikh sentiments.
The five Singh Sahibaan (Sikh high priests) will consider his letter and
discuss the matter at their meeting. Whatever they decide, the next action
will be taken accordingly."
Bachchan pointed out that he had come to the holiest
of Sikh shrines, Harmandar Sahib (popularly known as the Golden Temple), here
in December 2007 for prayers after the passing away of his mother.
However, Sikh organisations and independent witnesses
have now come forward claiming that Bachchan, then close to the Gandhi family,
had come out of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New
Delhi Oct 31, 1984, and instigated crowds. A California-based Sikh, Manjit
Singh, who lived in the Kalu Sarai area of Delhi then, said in an affidavit to
Akal Takht that he himself saw Bachchan instigating people. Bachchan later
became an MP for three years representing the Congress party.
The All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF), in a
statement, alleged that Bachchan's slogans were broadcast in 1984 by the
state-owned Doordarshan Television and All India Radio (AIR). The AISSF said
independent witnesses like Jagdish Kaur, Babu Singh Dukhiya and others who
watched the relay on Doordarshan and saw Bachchan inciting violence are ready
to testify in this matter before the Akal Takht.
AISSF said the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, which
controlled the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), was trying to
give a clean chit to Bachchan.
Nearly 7,000 Sikhs were killed in the November 1984
anti-Sikh riots in various parts of the country following the assassination of
Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards in New Delhi Oct 31, 1984.
Over 3,000 were killed in Delhi alone.
The letter was delivered to the Akal Takht head by the
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member from Mumbai, Gurinder
Singh Bawa. The letter from the actor came after he was invited by the Punjab
government for the inauguration of the Khalsa Heritage Complex's
Virasat-e-Khalsa monument at Anandpur Sahib last month but he did not come
after sections of the Sikh community objected.
