When a Lodged Bullet Becomes a Souvenir

A key figure in the gruesome episode of Punjab’s history, Malkiat Singh Sidhu was a politician who survived his first assassination attempt in 1986 and brought an unplanned gift from Canada in the ordeal.

Source: The Print

Malkiat Singh Sidhu, a former Punjab cabinet minister was shot dead in 1991. But, this wasn’t his first encounter with bullets. In fact, he had one lodged in his body for almost 5 years, next to his backbone; aftermath of an assassination attempt that he had survived back in 1986 in Canada. He used to refer to that bullet inside his body, “souvenir from Canada”.

The first attempt on his life took place when he was in Canada for a family wedding. After the wedding, he and his family members had gone out for sightseeing when their car was ambushed by four men. The car was attacked by hammers and bullets. He was shot twice, in the arm and chest. Later, a woman truck driver had called for an ambulance. He was rushed to the hospital and one of the bullets was immediately removed. The medical experts in Canada advised him to get the second bullet removed as well. But he refused to undergo another surgery as the bullet was innocuously placed in his body. That is how he got his "souvenir from Canada".

Sidhu was a lawyer by profession and a member of Punjab State Electricity Board in its early days. He had also joined Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee in 1956. During the deadly protest in Moga in 1972, which had swept the entire state, Sidhu was arrested for providing legal help to students and backing them. He played the role of a mediator and pacifier in 1984 during the incident which is dubbed as the ‘mini Operation Blue Star’ of Moga, just a month before the real episode took place.

Malkiat Singh Sidhu played a vital role in one of the most gruesome incidents of Punjab’s history. During the protests, there was a face-off between the security forces and the Sikhs in Moga. Many Sikhs had gathered in Gurudwaras of the town and retaliatory shots were fired from both sides. According to Jaspal Sidhu, Malkiat’s son, “The BSF had shot dead eight persons and a curfew was imposed in the town.”

To get the situation under control, the then Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi had consultations with Punjab’s Governor (B.D. Pande) and Home Ministry officials. A committee was sent to Moga with the aim of a settlement in mind. Sidhu was part of the team that had met the committee. He met P.S. Bhinder (police chief) and S.S. Sidhu (governor’s advisor), and asked them if any weapons were found on the people who were shot dead by the BSF or if any one of the deceased was inside the premises of the gurudwara at the time of the firing. When Bhinder’s answer turned out to be a no, the troops were ordered to withdraw from outside of the gurudwaras.

Malkiat pacified the Sikhs and restored the confidence of the people. Some Sikhs from the outside were allowed to carry food into the gurudwara for the devotees who were inside, as the food and water supply had been cut off earlier. He made sure that upon the withdrawal of the BSF troops, the devotees will be sent back to their respective villages safely in a bus.

Amid all this chaos, false information was being sent to the news agencies in Chandigarh claiming that people wanted for several cases were being arrested in Moga and firearms were being seized from the site. However, Malkiat had assured his party leader Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale that the information was false.

After all the drama had subsided and things were under control, the next year Malkiat Singh Sidhu won the Moga-2 seat defeating his opposition by almost nine thousand votes, making him the minister of cooperation and planning.

In 1991, he was an Akali candidate for two seats: Moga and Baghapurana. He was busy campaigning at the time when, as his son recalls, “I was home sitting with my friends when I heard gun shots outside. I rushed out and a just a little away from our house, I saw two men on the ground…my father and his security guard.”

They were later rushed to the hospital where the doctors declared Malkiat Singh Sidhu was dead. His son adds “We never bothered to follow up with the investigations. We had no interest in knowing who did it,” says Jaspal. “We only know he was fearless and stood up for the values he cherished. Each year we organise a sport event in his memory in Moga.”