IANS Report: Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale Still Hero for Sikhs

CHANDIGARH, 10 June : In a significant development, a well known international news organization – the Indo-Asian News Agency (IANS) has reported that Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale is still hero for Sikhs even after 31 years of his martyrdom. The report prepared in context of the incident that took place in Jammu over removal the poster of Sant Bhindranwale, has been published by all prominent news sources.
The report starts as, “thirty-one years after he was killed in ‘Operation Blue Star’ in Amritsar, Punjab, separatist militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale is still regarded as a martyr and ‘sant’ by Sikhs living in Jammu”.As per the report, Sant Tejwant Singh, Granthi Singh at Dana Singh Gurdwara Sahib in the Sikh-dominated Nanak Nagar area of Jammu city, strongly believes Sant Bhindranwale was a sant (saint) and martyr of the Khalsa Panth.
It quotes him as, “He (Sant Bhindranwale) sacrificed his life for the Sikh Panth. He was a sant who deserves all respect and honour from the Sikh community.”
“Was there any order not to display these posters? Posters of Sant Bhindranwale are displayed on vehicles and shirts in Punjab and elsewhere. Nobody objects to these outside Jammu and Kashmir. Why did police remove his posters in Jammu?” he asked to IANS reporter. Sant Tejwant Singh said IANS, “Sant Bhindranwale lives in the hearts and minds of the community, and blamed the state administration for inciting trouble by removing his posters.”
IANS also reported quotes of various other Sikh personalities which are as follow:
Advocate Surinder Singh, member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and former president of the Jammu Bar Association, said: “The way he (Sant Bhindranwale) was killed, Sikhs believe he is a martyr and sant.”
“The Sikh Panth will always salute him for laying down his life to protect the sanctity of Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple).”
Virenderjeet Singh, president of the National Sikh Front, also believes Bhindranwale was a sant.“Bhindranwale will always be regarded as a sant because the Akal Takht decreed that he was martyred for the Guru’s cause,” he said.In addition, the news agency has also depicted Hindus’ psyche about Sant Bhindranwale as “Hindus in Jammu city, however, do not want to get into any controversy discussing the sainthood of the militant Sikh leader.”It quotes Sansar Chand saying as, “We want to live peacefully with Sikhs and other communities in Jammu. How they deal with or discuss their saints and leaders is not our problem.”