Recent Sikh History

[Insert Date]

In the peaceful quest for Indian independence, of all the people hanged, exiled and imprisoned by the British, the percentage of Sikhs (who constituted 1.5% of the population) was approximately:

(a) 1.5% (b) 11% (c) 31% (d) 60% (e) 80%

The Answer is

E – 80%

In the 1940’s the British Parliament declared unequivocally that after the British quit India, there are three peoples, distinct peoples, who are the legitimate heirs to the sovereignty of India, and whatever these three “nations” agree to, their decision the British will accept before they quit India.

These three peoples were

A) Hindus, Muslims, BuddhistsB) Buddhists, Muslims, ChristiansC) Hindus, Sikhs, MuslimsD) Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs

The Answer is

C – Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims

In March 1946, the Sikh representative body of the Panthic Akali Dal adopted a resolution in the context of independence. The resolution was

A) to seek an Independent state.B) as recommended by Jinnah – join PakistanC) Hindus and Sikhs are inseparable, and they

would offer “unconditional” support to the Indian National Congress

D) The British should leave and India would remain as a single nation after their departure

The Answer is

A – to seek an Independent State

Which of the following are false about Mohandas Gandhi

A) He considered Guru Gobind Singh to be a patriot

B) He supported Apartheid in South AfricaC) He upheld the Caste system and held

a hunger strike to ensure Dalits would remain subordinate

D) He regularly abused Sikhs in his public speeches to the Nation

A -He considered Guru Gobind Singh to be a

patriot

He considered Guru Gobind Singh to be a “MISGUIDED PATRIOT”

Nehru and Gandhi, urging the Sikhs to join India, made a commitment that no constitution of India would be framed unless it was acceptable to the Sikhs. As a result the Indian constitution

A) defines Sikhs as a distinct religious community like Hindus, Muslims and ChristiansB) was purely secular and does not mention any religious communityC) considers Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs as being part of the wider Hindu communityD) guarantees a special status to Sikhs under Article 370

The Answer is

C – Article 25 of the Indian Constitution says, “the reference to Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jain, or Buddhist religion, and the reference to Hindu religious institutions shall be construed accordingly”

Note: Glow of freedom…

Which of the following statements is true about the process of reorganizing the Indian states on a linguistic basis

A) All states agreed to adopt Hindi as their official language, hence no reorganization was required

B) Punjab was the only state that was left out of this reorganization and thus Hindi remained Punjab’s official language

C) All states with the exception of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka agreed to accept Hindi as their official language (so only these three states were reorganized)

D) The Sikhs and Hindus were united in their unequivocal support for Punjabi as the official language

The Answer is

B – as a result of 11 or so years of agitation and struggle for Punjabi Suba and outstanding sacrifices in the China

war the government was forced to concede

Which of the following clauses was not part of the Anandpur Sahib resolution of 1978

a) The city of Chandigarh be made the capital of only Punjab.

b) Removal of the restriction that the Armed Forces may not contain more that 2% Sikhs.

c) More autonomy and special status for the state of Punjab.

d) The immediate halt of the unjust and illegal allocation of Punjab’s river waters and hydroelectric power generated from them to non-riparian neighbor states

The Answer is

C - The Akalis were demanding more autonomy for ALL states in India

“Any knowledge of Amritdharis, who are dangerous people and pledged to commit murders, arson and acts of terrorism should immediately be brought the notice of authorities. These people might appear harmless from outside but they are basically committed to terrorism. In the interest of all of us their identity and whereabouts must always be disclosed.”

This was a quote in the following publication

A) Time Magazine, August 1945B) Indian Army, Army Gazette No. 153,

1984C) Arya Samaj pamphlet, March 2, 1986D) V. Patel, Secret Letter to Chief Ministers,

1951

The Answer is

B – Baatcheet –the Indian Army Gazette No. 153, 1984