7 March 1990: When Khalistani Sikh extremists killed 22 Hindus and ruined dozens of families

A ‘young’ and ‘vibrant’ man is face of the farmers’ protest against the three new farm laws that they think will take away their land. Indian ‘liberals’ are swooning over his ‘this is a revolution’ monologue. They romanticise the idea of ‘revolution’ to bring down a democratically elected government. Every turbaned man is Bhagat Singh incarnate for them. Except, they forget that Bhagat Singh stood up against imperial British rule and not democratic government.

Interestingly, the actor and now-leader Deep Sidhu seems blank about the laws. To be honest, I am not even bothered by his ignorance. However, I have a problem with the way he whitewashes the terrorist acts of

1990… I was six years old. On March 7 evening, my parents were spending some quality time with a family friend at their home in the residential area of Civil Hospital in Abohar, Punjab. They had planned to go to the Sadar Market (famous as Street Number 12 Market). Abohar is a small town in Fazilka district near the India-Pakistan border.

As my sister and I were playing with the other kids, my parents canceled the plan to go to the market and decided to go back home instead. As we were preparing to leave for home, we heard loud gunshots. In a few minutes, the unprepared Civil Hospital was overwhelmed with dead bodies and injured people. I was too young to remember what had happened. However, over the years, the story has been told and retold to me by my parents and grandparents and some books, especially ‘Itihas Ke Jharokhe Se Abohar’ which detail the incident that scarred my childhood.

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