Amardeep Singh “Amar”

When Amardeep Singh saw army trucks pass through his District Ludhiana village, he would wave at them. He was a patriotic third grader who saw soldiers as guardians of the nation’s best interest. He had an equal zeal for visiting Darbar Sahib and meeting Bhindranwale. So to encourage his son to stop cutting his hair, Amardeep’s father made him a deal: if he grew out his kesh, he could visit the revered gurdwara in Amritsar.

What he didn’t know was that those army trucks he’d greet were a part of the operation that would launch a massive attack on Darbar Sahib a week later. His father, who was in Amritsar at the time, couldn’t come home for a week.

Amardeep’s hair had not grown long enough to tie a patka when the attack occurred. Still, he kept his kesh from then on. But his childhood faith in the idea that the army stood for everyone suffered.

“What I couldn’t understand was that it was our army on our gurdwara.”