1984 Anti-Sikh Pogrom The Hero Who Saved The Sis Ganj Gurdwara

[kds1980]

The sikh community should thank IPS officer maxwell perereira For saving Gurdwara sis ganj

IBNLive : Sanjay Suri 's Blog : 1984 riots: The Lives of Others
The fact is that when and where the police chose to act, they were effective. As was the police officer Maxwell Pereira. A mob was advancing upon Sis Ganj gurdwara in Chandni Chowk, and some Sikhs came out carrying swords. Over their dead bodies, they shouted. Pereira sent them back in. He then ordered a constable to shoot dead one chap from the advancing mob. And then ordered his men to display that body to the mob - this would happen to them if they advanced further. The mob vanished, and the gurdwara was protected. Brutal policing - but effective.

http://www.maxwellpereira.com/maxwell_flash/index.htm

Above is the site of this great Police officer.He defied the order of politicians and performed his duty.

 

[spnadmin]

re: Maxwell Periera, the hero who saved Sis Ganj Gurdwara

You know -- this is a classic article. Here is someone who understands that sometimes authority MUST be questioned in order for a HIGHER duty to be served. Thanks Kanwardeep ji so much for finding and publishing this article. It is good enough to keep me from ever thinking of giving up. Hope that Mai ji sees this one.

 

[spnadmin]

Re: Maxwell Periera, the hero who saved Sis Ganj Gurdwara

Kanwardeep ji

And I checked the source link -- He has written an entire e book on policework in India based on his experiences. It looks interesting

The Other Side Of Policing, by Maxwell Pereira

 

[kds1980]

The Other Side Of Policing, by Maxwell Pereira

His account of the anti-Sikh violence of November 1984 following the assassination of Mrs Gandhi is revealing. He was perhaps the only police officer to open fire on a mob lynching unarmed Sikhs and burning their property while on its way to Gurdwara Sis Ganj in Chandni Chowk. When he narrated his exploit to his seniors he received a cold reception. He was never asked by any of the nine Commissions of Enquiry looking into the programme to tender evidence before them. However, he was honoured by Sikh organisations with Siropas —robes of honour.

Pereira had scant respect for most of his seniors. To him: “A boss is like a diaper always on your *** and usually full of ****.”

He was born in Salem (Tamilnadu), had his training in Phillaur (Punjab) and retired in Delhi. I give one example of his style of writing to prove his competence in wielding his pen.

“Though I had met Sikhs in Bangalore before, landing midst a sea of Sikhs in Punjab was understandably traumatic. To me, every Sikh looked just like another, and it was months before I learnt to distinguish between two, that too just by telling myself one was taller, the other shorter, or stockier and so on. Identifying by face features remaining my bete noire forever! Their colours fascinated me, so did their processions through the roads, led by the punj piyaras carrying banners and nishan sahib, with the blue and yellow attired nihangs in their humongous turbans and in full war finery doing their war dance with battle cries and sword fights. I never got tired of watching them. The Punjabis could not pronounce my name Pereira, Pareda, Pededa, Periyar or whatever — before settling down to plain and simple Pyara Singh!"

 

[spnadmin]

Ah thanks -- So they settle on Pyara Singh -- because he was. :happy:

 

[harbansj24]

If anybody deserved to head Delhi Police both from seniority and capability aspects, it was Maxwell but he was ignored and retired at a lower rank of Addl Commissioner.

Kiran Bedi another officer who was overlooked. Her name is now strongly being recommended by prominent citizens as Central Information Commissioner. It will be pretty tough decision for the Govt. because she is likely not to tolerate any obstruction to Citizen's Right to Information.

 

[singhisking101]

It's officers like these who are the cream of India's police force. Just imagine how many lives would have been saved if Delhi's officers acted on their conscious and not just some senior order!