"I had never heard the phrase Sanatan Sikh before I visited this forum."
For someone who is a professed Sikh and is that ignorant of their basic history, I find very sad. How can you possibly promote or represent something when you don't even have the basic knowledge? Perhaps you feel that knowledge is dangerous and should be kept..."secret?"
I cannot understand the purpose of some people like Harjas Kaur who want to misrepresent the sikhism. Anyhow, everybody has to meet their maker, and answer for their deeds.
Why would anyone suffer from the God for providing an education? Dear, it was not I who misrepresented the Sikhism. The history is there for all who care to look. Just investigate for yourself, if you care at all about Sikh heritage as a reality and not as a fabrication.
Perhaps you didn't know this either:
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad was formed in 1964 by Swami Chinmayananda as president and former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member S.S. Apte as general secretary, with Master Tara Singh as one of the co-founders[2].The following aims and objectives were set before the Parishad... - To consolidate and strengthen the Hindu Society.
- To protect, promote and propagate Hindu values of life, the ethical and the spiritual in the context of modern times.
- To keep in touch with all the Hindus living abroad, and to organize and help them in all possible ways in protecting their Hindu identity also popularly known as Hindutva. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishva_Hindu_Parishad
And who is Master Tara Singh that this would even be relevant? Well, that's a long story. You should read it sometime.
Master Tara Singh said:
“Protection of Dharma is our Dharma. Khalsa Panth was born for that purpose. Never have I left Hinduism. Guru Govind Singh has produced a lot of Gurumukhi literature based on Vedas, Puranas and the like. Are we to leave all that? In fact Hindus and Sikhs are not two separate communities. Name is Sikh and beard… Mona (non beard) Sikh and Sevak… That is all… Sikhs live if Hinduism exists. If Sikhs live Hinduism lives. They are not two separate communities. They are one indeed. Lack of mutual confidence has been a small problem. This situation must be put to an end. I want to see that. A Hindu revival movement is very necessary and it will certainly come up.” http://www.jstor.org/pss/3517547
It's really sad so many political divisions from British Raj and also from within the Nation of India divide true brotherhood and unity. Regardless of anyone's opinions, knowledge is never a bad thing. You may agree or disagree. But please, never choose to remain ignorant.
At last the nation is paying tribute to the memory of one of its great freedom fighters, Master Tara Singh, by adorning his portrait in Parliament's Central Hall at the hands of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Aug. 21. Master Tara Singh was the leader of the Akali Dal and the sole spokesman for the Sikhs. He had such authority that one word from him could seal the fate of millions of Hindus and Sikhs.
No history book contains any [appropriate] reference to the role of Master Tara Singh. He got half of the Punjab (now Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh) integrated into India. He was born in a Hindu family in Haryal village, near Rawalpindi, on Jun. 24, 1885. Nanak Chand, as he was then known, got converted to Sikhism at the age of 14 and was baptized by amrit [sweet initiation water] and given the name Tara Singh. It is said that next to Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) no Sikh had such vast influence in the community as Master Tara Singh.
Every Sikh leader of modern times was in fact his creation. At one time Partap Singh Kairon was his secretary. India's first defence minister, Sardar Baldev Singh, was his nominee. Sardar Swaran Singh was made a minister and leader of the Akali Assembly Party in Lahore by him. Sardar Hukam Singh, who rose to be the speaker of the Lok Sabha, owed his entry into parliament to Masterji. Sardar Buta Singh was picked up by him and made member of parliament in 1962.
The demand for partition of the Punjab was first mooted by Master Tara Singh when Strafford Cripps announced his Draft Declaration in 1942. In a memorandum to the Cripps Mission he demanded: 'The Sikhs cannot attain their rightful position or can effectively protect their interest unless the Punjab is redistributed into two provinces with River Ravi as boundary between them. If you can separate provinces from India for the domination of Muslims, how can you refuse to separate a big area for protection of Sikhs from the rule of a single community?'
To counteract the Muslim League demand for a sovereign Muslim State, the Akali Dal put forward the demand for a Sikh state. The main aim of the demand was to insist upon the partition of Punjab. Later, they put forward the Azad Punjab scheme. The Punjab had a coalition government headed by Khizr Hayat Khan with the Congress and Akali Dal as partners. In Mar. 1947, the Muslim League succeeded in getting the resignation of Khizr Hayat Khan in order to install its own government. It was due to Master Tara Singh's tough stand that a Muslim League ministry could not be installed in the Punjab.
Master Tara Singh took a great risk but there are political thinkers who concede that his action changed the course of free India's history. The Muslims took to communal riots in Lahore and western parts of the Punjab. Thousands of Sikhs and Hindus were murdered and their homes razed. In vengeance they destroyed Master Tara Singh's ancestral home and killed 59 of his relatives. The Hindu leadership, including Bhim Sen Sachar, Gopi Chand Bhargava, Mahasha Krishan, and Mahasha Khushal Chand, formed an anti-Pakistan front, with Master Tara Singh as its sole dictator.
The British tried to influence Sikh leaders to side with the Muslim League. Jinnah went all out to win over the Sikhs and offered them an autonomous state within Pakistan. Master Tara Singh spurned all offers and announced his decision to stay with India. The demand for the partition of Bengal, which was also a Muslim majority province, was mooted by the Hindu leaders at the behest of Master Tara Singh. http://www.sikhtimes.com/bios_082103a.html
Just because you never heard about something,doesn't mean it didn't happen. The fact is, in the very recent past was a vastly different Sikh identity and it is no misrepresentation to share the historical truth.
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