Mr. Speaker, I was nine years and old and it was Saturday morning that I woke up and saw my father and mother glued to the TV, only to find out that the place I had visited twice before, a place that mesmerized me because of its tranquillity, radiance, and royalty, the Golden Temple, the holiest of Sikh gurdwaras, built by Guru Ram Das himself, was being shot with heavy artillery, machine guns, and tanks.
All I could hear was my father saying, “I never thought this could happen. Who would attack a place of worship?” Thousands of worshippers had come to pray, but were confined as no one was allowed to leave. In the barrage of fire, thousands were killed, the healing waters turned red with blood, and the classical rags of music fell silent to the screams of the wounded.
While Sikhs will never forget 1984, we continue to pray that places of worship remain such: a place for prayer, reflection, and refuge.