Bloody Massacre at Amritsar / Vaisakhi 1978

On 13th April 1978 the Akhand Kirtani Jatha had gathered from all over India at Amritsar to hold their yearly Vaisakhi Smagam. Kirtan had started from Amrit Vela and at about 10 o’clock a message was received. The followers of Nakali Nirankari

Gurbachan Singh were holding a procession in Amritsar and were shouting slogans against the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and shouting insults against the Sikh religion.

The Sikh community were aware that the Nirankaris had been doing these things for the past few years. The Nirankaris had given degrading names to some Gursikhs. They called the Sri Guru Sahib Ji a bundle of papers. The Nakali Nirankari leader said that Guru Gobind Singh Ji had made 5 Panj Pyarai, I shall make 7. Once he even dared to place his food on Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

After performing Ardas, the Gursikhs bowed before Satguru Sri Guru Granth Sahib li and left for Ramdas Niwas.

Upon reaching Ramdas Niwas they found that the Nirankari procession had finished. The Gursikhs then decided that they should go to the place where the Nirankaris had gathered and do a peaceful protest against the insults shouted at the Satguru. It is known that some of the Sikhs of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha and the Damdami Taksaal reached the Reego Bridge near Gobind Gar, where they were stopped by the police authorities. The Singhs told the police about the insults shouted at the Sikh Gurus and the Sikh Religion in the Nirankari procession, and which were still being shouted and heard at the Nirankari gathering taking place at that time. They told the police that they wanted to do protest against the organisers of the gathering about the shouting of these insults. A police officer told the Singhs that he would go and stop the Nirankaris and for them to remain there.

.On his return there were more policemen with him and told the Jatha of Singhs to go back and that the meeting had finished but violence provoking speeches could still be heard on the loudspeakers. Then about 5-6000 uniformed Nirankaris rushed towards the 200300 Singhs; the Nirankaris were carrying rifles, guns, spears, swords, amongst other deadly instruments and within seconds attacked with stones, acid bottles, hand-made bombs, firing their guns throwing spears. The Singhs that were hit with bullets fell to the grounds the police fired tear gas, but even that was towards the Jatha of Singhs, so the Nirankaris received more help.

The Superintendent of Police emptied his 32-calibre pistol into Bhai Fauja Singh’s chest. But he kept standing, uttering only ”Waheguru” Two Sikhs attempted to carry the still breathing and chanting Bhai Fauja Singh to the hospital for treatment, but those two were arrested by the police. D.S.P Joshi was responsible for shooting E ii Fauja Singh, and not allowing any of the Gursikhs medical atten 1Eventually the police took bodies of the ”Shaheed Singhs” to the morgue, and some wounded Singhs were taken to hospital.

The gathering of the Nirankaris continued for 3 and a half hours after this bloody massacre, with DC of Gurdaspur, Naranjan Singh I.A.S, and other senior officers present in the gathering during the killing of the unarmed Singhs. It is clear that the authorities of the Amritsar district allowed the Nakali Nirankaris to do the procession in the Sikhs main city Amritsar on Vaisakhi despite knowing the provocation would lead to protest. The press printed the news with Singhs of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha and the Damdami Taksaal labelled fanatics. Harbhajan Singh Yogi responded stating, ”Today I read the newspaper report in which it was said ’a body of fanatic Sikhs’. If doing Kirtan and defending the good name of our father Guru Gobind Singh Ji makes us fanatics, then we welcome this allegation. Remember, those who do not defend the grace of their father are never worthy of respect on the earth. These martyrs of Amritsar have shown us that we shall live in grace; if it is not possible, we choose to die in grace.”

The killing of the Jatha of Singhs on the orders of the Nirankari leader Gurbachan Singh was a horrific crime.

By giving the order to kill the Singhs, the leader of the Nirankaris Gurbachan Singh was the main guilty party of the bloody massacre, yet due to his political links he and his armed men were allowed free passage out of the state of Punjab.

In this bloody massacre 13 Singhs were martyred and there were more than 70 wounded. Ten GurSikhs were members of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha; two were of the Damdami Taksaal Jatha. Many of them left wives and children. The funeral of the 13 Singhs took place on Saturday 15/04/1978 in front of Gurdwara Sri Ramsar

Sahib in front of a large congregation of about 2530,000 people. All the Shaheed GurSikhs were cremated together. The massacre was a major catalyst in the Sikh rights and freedom movement that erupted and was brutally crushed in the coming decade.

The Nirankari Chief had made influential friends such as Indira Gandhi, who helped him set-up his false Gurudom. He was part of their policy to undermine the Sikh community.

Source: ’Kurbani’ publication produced by AKJ UK