Harbans Lal Khanna was a BJP MLA and president of its Amritsar district branch in Punjab, India.
While leading a procession against the Sikh effort to have holy city status granted to Amritsar,[1] he had released slogans there on 30 May 1981, "Dukki tikki khehan nahin deni, sir te pagri rehan nahin deni; kachh, kara, kirpaan; ehnoon bhejo Pakistan." ("We are not going to let any second or third group exist, we are not going to let a turban remain on any head; the shorts, the iron bangle, the sword, send these to Pakistan").[1][2][3]
On 14 February 1984, mobs led by Khanna gathered at as many as 56 places in Amritsar to engage in anti-Sikh desecrations. At the Amritsar railway station, a model of the Golden Temple was destroyed. A picture of the fourth Sikh guru, which had been on display for several years, was defaced beyond recognition, with feces and lit cigarettes rubbed into it.[2] Carrying some of the pieces of the replica away, some Sikhs swore revenge.[2]
He was shot by Sikh gunmen in retaliation[2] on April 2, 1984.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Counter Terrorism, the Pakistan Factor{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Lancer Publishers(1991). ISBN 978-8170621270
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Truth about Punjab: SGPC White Paper{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee(1996). ISBN 978-0836456547
- ↑ Religion, Identity, and Nationhood: The Sikh Militant Movement{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Rawat Publications(2005). ISBN 9788170339496
- ↑ Sikh Gunmen Kill Hindu In Punjab - Nytimes.Com