1984 is a very painful year in Sikh history and this week in particular is a reminder of the catastrophic attack which was inflicted on Sikh’s including women and children at our sacred site, The Golden temple in Amritsar. This was our 9/11 as the Indian army turned on it’s own citizens in a calculated assault which brought mass devastation. 1984 was a year of onslaughts on Sikh’s.
I chose Orwell’s quote as I think it is quite fitting (from the novel 1984) to emphasise that when such power is abused there is always the undying motive to bring others in line simply because they do not match your way of thinking.
‘Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.’ George Orwell, 1984
This post/verse itself is dedicated to those victims in 1984 but also to any such victims who endure suffering due to the abuse of powers by any individual, group or any kind of worldly authority.
1984
Intoxicating is power,
Corrupts man
and woman alike,
The slightest drop
Contaminates
An untamed mind,
Explosions
Of chaos follow,
Like fuelling a wild fire
is the abuse of power,
Always desiring more,
Another body to burn,
Never enough,
Sees only objects,
Then numbers,
Not families,
Not people,
Never satisfied,
Your silent view of disgust
Yet no action,
Makes you an accomplice,
You fuel it,
Suddenly,
Armies have risen,
In the promise of boons
And glory,
To the power drunk
They are simply
Today’s cannon fodder,
No remorse exists
In either or,
Even the tanks
Start to walk the walk,
Stampedes,
Women,
Children,
Tears,
Bloodshed,
Final prayers,
Last words,
Massacred
For what?
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