Amrit Kaur: California High School Students Team Up With Jakara Movement For A Four-Part Conference Series On The 1984 Sikh Genocide
This series will contain a total of four conferences, from April to July, each one focusing on a different aspect of the 1984 Sikh Genocide
Amrit Kaur
April 15, 2021 | 2 min. Read
ਨਾ ਭੁੱਲੇ ਹਾਂ, ਨਾ ਭੁੱਲਾਂਗੇ (We Haven’t Forgotten and We Won’t Forget), is a series of conferences that will revolve around the 1984 Sikh Genocide.
It is a way for Sikhs to reclaim our narrative. History has been written by our oppressors, now it is time to change that. Therefore, we believe that educating our youth is a wonderful way to start. We want this digital conference to be a way for us to come together as a community, and acknowledge and learn about the Sikh oppression under the Indian state.
This series will contain a total of four conferences, each one focusing on a different aspect of the genocide, whether that’s the Battle of Amritsar, Partition of Panjab in 1947, or the modern-day Kisaan Morcha.
The conferences will be held on every second Saturday of the month, from 12 PM PST to 2 PM PST. Each conference will have three guest speakers from various backgrounds, that will speak on their own perspective and perception of Punjab’s history.
Our first conference happened on April 10 and focused on the build-up to the unfortunate year of 1984. We discussed topics such as “Indian Independence” and what that really meant for Panjab. The discussions within this conference revolved around 1947 and beyond the partition.
Our second conference, on May 8, will center on the 1984 attacks, which include the attacks of various gurdwaras, going beyond the Battle of Amritsar, and the destruction of the Sikh Reference Library.
Our third conference, on June 10, will largely discuss the period of 1984-1995. This discussion will consist of the growing Khalistan Revolution, and the mass disappearances of Sikh youth, as well as the unforgotten findings of Jaswant Singh Khalra.
Our last conference, on July 10, will focus on contemporary Panjab. We will discuss the water crisis of Panjab, Panjab’s land distribution, the systemic infiltration of drugs, along with the censoring of the Panjabi language and the Kissan Morcha.
The target audience of this series of conferences would be the Sikh youth living in America or any abroad nation. However, anyone and everyone are welcome.
Nowadays we see many Panjabi-Sikh youth forgetting about these traumatic experiences and moving away from our history and the years of oppression. Our hope for these conferences is to educate the youth, along with others, about 1984 and what led up to, and what happened afterward. It is time to talk about our trauma and how we can grow and deliver the justice we need.
This series of conferences is a collective effort by a group of high school students across California in collaboration with the Jakara Movement.
For more information email nbnb.outreach@gmail.com.
Amrit Kaur is a high school senior from California, who created the ਨਾ ਭੁੱਲੇ ਹਾਂ ਨਾ ਭੁੱਲਾਂਗੇ conference series to help educate the youth about Sikh history and the Sikh liberation. Contact her at: nbnb.outreach@gmail.com
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