NEVER FORGET 1984- sikh genocide

Operation Blue Star took place from the 1st of June till the 10th of June in 1984. The roots of it can be traced from the Khalistan Movement, which was a political Sikh nationalist movement that wanted to create an independent state for Sikh people inside the current North-Western Republic of India. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was another important factor which led to Operation Blue Star. Bhindranwale had a heavy influence on the Sikh youth in Punjab; he propagated original values of Sikhism and persuaded people to follow the rules of the religion. Bhindranwale was widely perceived to be a supporter of the creation of a proposed Sikhism-based theocratic state of Khalistan. The main motive of Operation Blue Star, ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was to eliminate Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, along with other Sikh militants and gain control over the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. The Indian Government let the army bring tanks and heavy artillery into the most sacred place of the Sikh people and killed many innocents. It was the Gurpurab of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji (a religious festival) and nearly 10'000 pilgrims had come to visit the Golden Temple. To learn more about this event, please the following website: https://www.nsyf.org.uk/10-days-of-terror

Initial sketch

There is a Singh at the centre of the piece holding a cloth that is bloodstained. The Singh doesn't really have eyes; I didn't want him to be someone specifically because so many Sikhs have been affected by what happened in 1984. This way I get to represent them all. The figure is also angered because the Sikh community still hasn't had justice for the wrong that the Indian Government has inflicted on us. At the time, Indian General Brar said that it would take 2 hours to kill Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale; it took him 6 days, 72 bullets to his body and shrapnel to his face. I read somewhere that one part of his face was completely mutilated; one side of the Singh in the painting is in shadow for this reason.

To represent the Sikh women that were tortured and raped, I decided to draw a bloodstained dupatta, which is part of an Indian woman's traditional clothing. On it, I drew a design that is found on a wall in the Golden Temple, so that the location of the attack was included in the painting. To represent the children that lost their lives I drew a kite on the Singh's shoulder. On the figure, there are bullet shots and, on his left side of the chest, there's a very simplistic view of the state in which soldiers ruined the Shri Akal Takhat, a gurdwara inside the Golden Temple complex.

In the background, there is lots of black with three long gashes on the left-hand side; that is the attempt of the Indian Government to hide what they did. The holes in the black are their futile attempt to keep Operation Blue Star secret; their crimes did come out in the world. On the right-hand side, there is a fire with burnt paper falling down; those are all the valuable manuscripts and books that our Sikh community will never get back. The top part of the page shows two flags with one of the Sikhsim's symbols (the Khanda) on top of them: those are called 'Miri Piri' and are found in the Golden Temple Complex. Miri is the political aspect of society while Piri stands for spiritual authority. I drew Miri and Piri at the top of the piece, above everything that the Indian Government has made us go through to show that we still stand strong and tall. Miri and Piri are flowing through the sky; they are free in the infinite blue backdrop. That's what Sikh people are too; we have the right to practice our religion and to ask for what is ours.

The piece is full of white dots; those are all the stolen lives. They go from the cloth up to the skies. They are not drawn on the Singh himself because, like myself, there are many Sikhs that were born after the Sikh genocide happened, but that doesn't mean we don't remember.