The historic Bhai Gurdas Hall was brimming with tears and joy. Tears were flowing whilst remembering the martyrdom of loved ones and a solemn joy at being recognized by the Sikh nation after 22 years. There was a sense of pride among the families of those Sikh fighters who attained martyrdom while fighting the army that attempted to desecrate the Darbar Sahib and Akal Takht in June 1984.

The occasion was the releasing ceremony of Directory of Martyrs of 1984 battle. The spirited gathering of devout and dedicated Sikhs at Amritsar on 9 June 2006 was a befitting reply to all those who wish to erase the events of 1984 from public memory.

Resounding slogans like Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal, Raj Karega Khalsa, Deg Teg Fateh! rent the air the moment Baba Harnam Singh Bhindranwale, present head of Damdami Taksal, presented the first copy of the ‘Directory of Martyrs’ to Bibi Pritam Kaur, wife of the Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

The second copy was presented to Bibi Harmeet Kaur, wife of Bhai Amrik Singh followed by family members of around 150 brave Sikh fighters who preferred to die than bow before the Indian invaders in June 1984.

Every family member sat through the 4 hour function. Mothers and wives of martyrs were present in large numbers.

Baba Harnam Singh, the elderly father of Gurmukh Singh –the personal assistant of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, had to be bodily lifted on to the stage. He was accompanied by his granddaughter.

The family of Karnail Singh from Bardbard in Sangrur was lost in the by lanes of Amritsar. So simple was he that it became difficult for him to reach Bhai Gurdas Hall. Ultimately he reached late in the evening after the function was concluded.

In one of the highly sentimental scenes, the Sangat witnessed the Hindu family of Ashok Kumar alias Bhai Hardev Singh of Jalalabad, who too laid down his life defending Akal Takht. The brother of Ashok Kumar said that they were proud of the role of their illustrious son.

The Directory of Martyrs contains details of as many as 167 martyrs. A majority of this number were from the Damdami Taksal. In response to the pre-launch publicity of the event, 9 more families reached the occasion, as their details could not be traced by us. We honoured them and assured them that the next edition of the directory will carry the details of these martyrs too.

Baba Harnam Singh Dhuma, Head of Damdami Taksal and Harcharanjit Singh Dhami, former President of Dal Khalsa made an emotionally surcharged speech paying tribute to the martyrs of the Indo-Sikh war of June 1984.

The large number of Sikhs assembled there complimented Dal Khalsa for the work but at the same time felt that it should have been done much earlier either by SGPC or the Damdami Taksal.

Every Sikh will be proud to recall the role of more than 30 Sikhs who came from Nanded. We have been told that Gurmail Singh Fauji, the leader of this Jatha from Nanded exhorted young Sikhs to join in the struggle at Darbar Sahib. He made it clear to those assembled that only those willing to die should join.  According to information collected by Dal Khalsa, as many as 30-35 Sikhs reached Darbar Sahib a few months before June 1984. 5 of these were arrested and the rest attained martyrdom. Wife and brother of Gurmail Singh Fauji were honoured at the function. Out of the Jatha of Kar sewa, around 10-15 families are still to be traced.

The galaxy of Sikh leaders who graced the occasion included Baba Narinder Singh from Nanded, Jathedar Baldev Singh of Akand Kirtani Jatha, Bhai Manjit Singh Calcutta, Karnail Singh Panjoli (both SGPC members), Justice Ajit Singh Bains, Bhai Daljit Singh, Charan Singh Lohara, Prof Jagmohan Singh (senior leaders of SAD (A) ) , Kanwar Singh Dhami, Bhai Narain Singh, Advocate Navkiran Singh, Bhai Rajinder of Khalsa Panchayat, Mandhir Singh, Tarlochan Singh (both student leaders) and Bibi Parmjit Kaur Khalra.