1984 Punjab Tragedy in Hindi Literary Archives: Images Beyond Punjab in India

Abstract

This paper reviews four Hindi literary works on the Punjab crisis. Two are novels written by Sikhs while the other two are short stories authored by non-Sikhs. With dissimilar social background, religious beliefs and dwelling places, their narratives underline complexities of the Punjab crisis and their varied popular reactions. Creative imaginations were not restricted to Sikh sufferings but spacious enough to include those of non-Sikhs who reside in distant Indian locations. This paper argues how these literary representations introduce a wider space for Sikhs in recent Hindi writings and offer some fresh perspective to the Punjab scenario.

Notes

1 For a general account of the history of the post-independence Indian decades, see Brass (1990). For an outline of Punjab politics of these years, see Narang (1983).

2 For some of widely circulated proverbs underlining Sikh position in Punjab, one may read, Singh (1999, 158, 164).

3 Contemporary Sikh experiences are critically reviewed in Chopra (2011).

4 These volumes are generally concerned with Punjabi-Sikh diasporic mentality and are available in either Punjabi or English. They underline the community's alienation from Punjab while living in the countries of the West (Dulai 1991; Gill 2009; Cheema 2010).

5 Some scholars are accustomed to view diaspora as the ‘other’ of a nation-state and in no other form. But globalization has extended its scope and it is used in many other forms in the recent years. Internal migration of a community away from native place and long-time settlement elsewhere within the frontiers of nation state is also regarded as an integral part of any larger discourse on diaspora (cf. Gold 2007).

6 These are three distinct territorial regions in eastern Punjab. Thus malwa represents the territory southeast of the Sutlej, doaba constitutes the plains territory bounded by the Beas and Sutlej and majha covers the area between the Ravi and the Beas.

7 The paragraph is primarily based on my fieldwork in different parts of eastern and northeastern India and my interactions with local Sikhs coming from the two sides of Punjab (also see Gupta 1991, 90; Talbot 2005).

8 Many local Sikhs told that Gurbacan Singh was a Ramgarhia while others did not offer any alternative to it. My reading of the text of Sabhai Ghat Ram Bole did not point to any definite answer to his caste identity. It may be owing to author's deep commitment to Sikhism which does not formally agree to the existence of caste.

9 I visited Jamshedpur in 2011 and 2012. It introduced me to many interesting aspects of local Sikh settlement. The city has more than thirty gurdwaras and they celebrate gurpurabs with much fanfare. The Ramgarhia Sabha has its own building to hold different meetings of the body.

10 For Jamshedpur's city poets and their literary activity, see Grewal (2011, 417–71).

11 It may be traced in his first collection of short stories, Yug aur Dewata (1958). His last book (as far as I have tried to locate it in Jamshedpur), Mundi Palakon Mein Sapane (2002), a novel, outlining several journeys of three Sikh brothers from Gurdaspur and their settlement in Jamshedpur. It narrated three generations’ experiences with complex social ties with rural Punjab.

12 Gurbachan Singh wrote a historical novel on the life of the Tenth Guru (1966). A critical review of the text of the Sabhai Ghat Ram Bole would reinforce the point. His intimate link with the Progressive Writers Movement is pointed out by Kamaljeet Singh, the editor of Raawee, a bi-monthly magazine published from Jharkhand. He had the privilege of meeting Gurbachan Singh periodically since 1995.

13 I came to know of it from S. Ramesh Singh, a senior Sikh intellectual of Jamshedpur who had introduced me to his writings. The title of the novel is drawn from Bhagat Namdev's couplet (pada) printed on page 988 of the Adi Granth. Gurbachan Singh's book was published from Delhi by Abhibyanjyana in 1987. Abhibyanjyana also brought out other writings on 1984 Punjab in Hindi. One of them is Kala November (1987), an important collection of short stories on Delhi Sikh carnage and edited by Surendra Tiwary. Out of them, a collection of 19 short stories were subsequently translated into English by Vasisth (1995).

14 In spite of peace and tranquility in Jamshedpur, there were reports of military revolt of the Sikh Regiment at Ramgarh, a cantonment situated at a little distance from Jamshedpur. Gurbachan Singh did not refer to it in the novel, but the news was so widely circulated that it did not possibly remain unknown to him. It must have intensified his mental agony. I owe the information of the military revolt from Ramesh Singh.

15 In the novel, Gurbachan Singh mentioned nothing about local Sikhs or the politics of Khalistan. His silence raises doubt about his extent of interest in it.

16 Sabhai Ghat Ram Bole (47 136).

17 Gurbachan Singh did not specifically mention whether it included any demand for Khalistan. He had maintained complete silence in this regard.

18 This point of view finds support in the depiction of God as a feminine voice and she could be reached through surrender (cf. Singh 1993).

19 Tejinder (1990) is otherwise known as Tejinder (Singh) Gagan. In one of his private communications he confirmed that the novel was essentially based upon his experience of life. That is why he had agreed to change the first name of his hero from Tejinder to Saminder (21 November 2012).

20 Saminder spent more than 20 years of life in his different journeys from Kanker to Bhopal. Unlike Kanker, where they constituted the lone Sikh family, Bhopal had significant number of Sikh concentration owing to its political and commercial importance. For variations in the size of local Sikh population in these three places, see Census of India, 1961, vol. VIII, Madhya Pradesh, Part II-C(i), Social and Cultural Tables, Delhi: Manager of Publications, 1965, 495, 497, 499, 501.

21 During his brief residence in Delhi (1982), Saminder once came face to face with a Sikh from Punjab. His counterpart often ridiculed him for mixing up Hindi words while communicating in Punjabi. He was described as an untrue (kachcha) Sikh for his reluctance to share Punjabi-Sikhs’ enthusiasm for Khalistan.

22 Kaur (2007) had elaborated the struggle of Punjabi refugees in her book (see also Jaynandan 2011).

23 Wah Mera chehra (32).

24 He again thought of going back to Punjab during the days of anti-Sikh ‘riot’ in Raipur (Tejinder 1990, 99).

25 Delhi Sikh Pogrom drew their major attention. In this regard one may read Kala November. See note 13.

26 According to an estimate, there are around 30 lakh Biharis, engaged in different organized and non-organized sectors of work in Punjab. In Ludhiana alone, their figure stood at nearly 10 lakhs. India Today, 22 December 2010. Like their Bihari counterparts, they came from poorer sections of rural society. They were even accused of ‘polluting’ ‘pure Punjabi blood’ by marrying local female folk.

27 The term Bhaiyya is derived from Hindi word Bhai meaning brother. With the influx of a large number of seasonal agricultural labourers following the Green Revolution, the original meaning of the word underwent significant changes and it no longer represents its original meaning. In the present study, the term Bhaiyyas also includes labourers from Odisha.

28 Thus one popular maxim claims: Ek Bihari, sao bimari, i.e. one Bihari brings hundred afflictions.

29 These two writings are included in a collection of short stories in Hindi (Singh 1994).

30 Arun Prakash's ‘Bhaiyya Express’ is recently translated into English by Jai Ratan. Language, Discourse and Writing, Vol. 5, no. 1, January–March 2011, 35.

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Himadri Banerjee

Himadri Banerjee. Address: Department of History, University of Calcutta, Alipur Campus, 1 Reformatory Street, Kolkata-700027, India. [Email: [email protected]]