Sikh Shahadat, a quarterly magazine, organized a first seminar to analyze the writings related to “Teeja Ghallughara”, June 1984 attack of Indian Army on Darbar Sahib (Amritsar) and 70 other Gurdwaras across Punjab and adjoining states. The seminar held on 26 May 2024 at Central Khalsa Yatimkhana, Putalighar, Amritsar recorded participation by researchers, analysts and scholars.
Dr. Kanwaljit Singh, chief editor of Sikh Shahadat welcomed participants. He said that the Sikh Shahadat has planned a series of seminars/discussions to analyze the writings of the past 40 years that are related to “Teeja Ghallughara” which is a pivotal event of recent Sikh hisotry. He also suggested various frameworks using which the writings may be classified and grouped for analyses.
Presenting a paper on suppression of Sikh expression about “Teeja Ghallughara” by the Indian State using ‘digital repression’ against the Sikhs Parmjeet Singh, editor of Sikh Siyasat News, cited incidents of content blocking. He said that the Indian state started its digital repression against Sikhs in May 2015 by blocking Sikh online portals which were extending information about “Teeja Ghallughara”. He highlighted that the ‘Ghallughara week,’ observed during the first week of June each year, has become a period marked by intensified efforts by the Indian State to suppress Sikh voices through widespread content blockings. He underscored how this systematic digital repression serves as a means to silence dissent and erase narratives surrounding the traumatic events of “Teeja Ghallughara.”