Priya Dutt, the daughter of late actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis, recently opened up about the time when she accompanied her father on a ‘padyatra’ in 1987 from Mumbai to Amritsar’s Golden Temple during a time when Punjab was facing a crisis and there was terror in the state. Priya recalled that the gurudwara was “occupied” and Sunil was asked to wear a bulletproof jacket as he entered the holy site. But as soon as he entered, the men inside the gurudwara who were all holding guns, said that “Sunil Dutt is our responsibility.” Sunil was a politician at the time but she insisted that this ‘padyatra’ was not a political move.
In the late 1980s, militants in Punjab had taken control of the Golden Temple and it was during this time that Sunil decided to walk for peace. The march that started with only ten people in Mumbai gathered momentum on the way and by the time they reached Amritsar, Sunil was accompanied by many others as well. Priya recalled in a chat with Cyrus Broacha, “The night before we were to enter the Golden Temple, the cops came and they sat us down and told my father that listen you have no security inside. You cannot enter the temple. We suggest that you wear a bullet proof jacket.”
Sunil said yes but asked them to provide jackets to everyone who was accompanying him but when the cops said that they didn’t have enough jackets, Dutt refused to wear one. Priya said that it was his way of getting the cops to back down as they were quite insistent on the bulletproof jackets. “My father said then I am not going to wear the bulletproof jacket,” she recalled.
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She recalled the day they went inside the Golden Temple and said, “The Golden Temple was occupied at that time.” She continued, “We went in and there were some plainclothes policemen who said we will come with you. The people from inside recognised them and they said you are not allowed to come into the temple. Sunil Dutt’s responsibility is ours. They were the ones who had occupied the temple.”
Priya said that as soon as they went in, the crowd lifted up Sunil and welcomed him. “Everybody inside the temple had guns but they were happy, they welcomed him. And I could see gunmen, young guys all around,” she recalled. Priya said that when they went in for prayers, they were accompanied by men who had their faces covered because they were “wanted men” and they were constantly carrying guns.
“They were all young guys who had picked up weapons for whatever reasons. There were a huge amount of women also dressed in black,” she recalled. Priya said that Sunil spoke to many seniors inside and all those who had accompanied him walked around and talked to many others. “There was so much of love, so much of respect and after a while, we felt they are all a part of our country. They just need to be guided,” she shared.
The ‘padyatra’ was held shortly when militants had barricaded themselves inside the temple complex. Their siege ended with a surrender in front of central forces.
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