Militant who killed engineers halting work on SYL canal now has a portrait at Sikh Museum
Besides Jatana's portrait, the SGPC also installed portraits of Nawab Rai Bular Ahmed Bhatti, the first follower of Guru Nanak Dev, and former SGPC members Jathedar Joginder Singh Panjrath and Harinder Singh Ranian.
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Balwinder Singh Jatana’s portrait at Central Sikh Museum in Golden Temple complex, on Saturday. (Express Photo by Rana Simranjit Singh)The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Saturday installed a portrait of Sikh militant Balwinder Singh Jatana at the Central Sikh Museum situated in the Golden Temple complex.
Militants led by Jatana had killed two government officials supervising the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna link canal in 1990, following which the work on it was stopped by the Punjab government. Since then, the SYL canal has remained a bone of contention between Punjab and Haryana with latter demanding that it be constructed so that it gets its fair share of water and the former refusing to do so saying it has not an extra drop to share.
Besides Jatana’s portrait, the SGPC also installed portraits of Nawab Rai Bular Ahmed Bhatti, the first follower of Guru Nanak Dev, and former SGPC members Jathedar Joginder Singh Panjrath and Harinder Singh Ranian.
The portraits were unveiled during a ceremony by SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami and Granthi of Golden Temple Giani Rajdeep Singh.
Jatana’s name had hit the headlines after a song — SYL — by Sidhu Moosewala, was released on YouTube in June a month after the Punjabi singer was killed. The song, which also touched upon topics like undivided Punjab, the 1984 riots and the hoisting of the Nishan Sahib at the Red Fort during the farmers’ agitation against the now-repealed central farm laws, had garnered more than 2.7 crore views and 33 lakh likes in three days before being pulled down by YouTube India. It continues to be available in other countries.
The lyrics of the song went: “Kalam Nai Rukkani hun nit nva Ek Ganj aau/Je na tale fer mur Balwinder Jattana aau/ fer put begane nehra ch demand la hi dinde/ una chir pani chaco, tupka nai dinde (My pen won’t stop and a new song will be written every day. If you don’t step back, then someone like Balwinder Jatana will return. The daring sons turn canals into vegetation)”.
On July 23, 1990, chief engineer of SYL, ML Sekhri, and superintending engineer, Avtar Singh Aulakh, were killed by militants led by Jatana. Their action halted the construction of SYL in Pujab. Now, vegetation has come up on the land marked for the canal. In two separate encounters in 1991, Jatana and four of his family members were killed.
Addressing the gathering Saturday, Dhami said that the Central Sikh Museum is an important source of Sikh history and heritage and Qaumi (community’s) honour is given here to those who make sacrifices for the community by displaying their portraits.
Mentioning Jatana, he said, “This struggling warrior, the protector of the waters, fiercely opposed the SYL Canal without caring for his life”.
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