"if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen
the side of the oppressor." - Desmond Tutu.

Annual blood drive by Sikh Nation kicks off in Surrey Featured

 

The 20th annual blood drive in memory of the victims of 1984 Sikh Genocide officially kicked off in Surrey this past Sunday, September 29.

Launched in 1999 by the Sikh Nation, the campaign has saved 140,000 human lives since then.

Every year, donors line up outside the blood donation camps all across BC, organized by the Sikh Nation in the first week of November. This is done to mark the anniversary of the anti-Sikh massacre that followed the assassination of then-Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. 

The supporters of Indira Gandhi's so-called secular Congress party led mobs who murdered Sikhs across India. Close to 3,000 people were murdered in the national capital of New Delhi alone. Prominent Congress leaders, including Indira’s son and the succeeding Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi were involved in the mass murders. 

The state-sponsored mobs chanted, “Blood for Blood” slogans to incite hatred against the Sikhs, but the Sikh Nation has tried to conquer hate with love by encouraging people to save lives through blood donation.

This year’s blood drive coincides with growing attacks on religious minorities under a right wing Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The BJP and its affiliates engineered similar violence against Muslims and Christians in 2002 and 2008 respectively. Ever since the BJP government under current Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, violence against minorities has increased significantly. Notably, the 2002 anti-Muslim massacre happened in Gujarat under Modi’s watch who was the Chief Minister of the state back then.

A documentary linking all these tragedies was also shown on the occasion. One of the volunteers of Sikh Nation, Sukdheep Singh, told the gathering how all these stories are connected. In his presentation, Singh explained how the 1984 Sikh Genocide was a catalyst in the history of majoritarian violence; the experiment helped the political leadership of India in polarizing the dominant Hindu society by scapegoating minorities to ensure electoral victories.

 

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