K P - Gill Tells Who He Is

I came across this story through a Google Alert and just had to share it with you.

He implies that our kakkars are "lucky charms" and says point blank that they are "just a matter of personal belief"! And at the same time he seems to believe that he is a personal agent of "God." Spiritually, he seems to be a close cousin, or maybe even a clone of George W. Bush. By the way, I did not doctor the picture; I took it straight out of the TOI.

I suggest you read this on an empty stomach.

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I AM: KPS Gill
12 Oct 2008, 1030 hrs IST, TNN



I really don’t know if I’m spiritual, for I am not cast in a traditionally religious mould. As a Sikh I revere Guru Gobind Singh, but I don't observe “paath” or prayers as an everyday ritual.

I am rather a very action-oriented person and unless I can apply something in my life, I don’t consider myself qualified enough to talk on that subject. But yes, I do believe in God and the fact that all of us are His creation. I don’t pray very particularly or visit temples regularly, but do what I feel is right as per my conscience because I feel our soul has direct communication with God.

During the days of extremism in Punjab, where I was posted as the police chief, it would be no less than a personal bereavement for me to see people around me dying everyday. I have seen despair and disappointment from very close quarters; it was so disheartening to see men and women like you and me falling victims to bullets. But somewhere inside me, I had this conviction that God had sent me to a terror-affected place with a purpose and He will give me enough power to root it out someday.

I faced death everyday, but not once did it to scare me. In fact, there was a time when every move made by my team yielded positive results and it was then that my belief became stronger that the Supreme Being himself was guiding me at every step.

Even though we were later accused of committing excesses in the name of stamping out terrorism, it didn’t waver my faith in what I did, because it was He who made me do what He wanted me to. I believed, therefore I did. I have read the Guru Granth Sahib, the Bhagvada Gita, Quran and the Bible and realised that the basic tenets of every religion are the same. So it's really very difficult to understand how people can fight in the name of religion.

Whatever set of beliefs I have today have been a result of my upbringing - not just my parents, but also the places and circumstances I was brought up in. My father served at Paonta Sahib, the place that is associated with Guru Gobind Singh. In fact, it was because of an inherent desire to follow the Guru that I have kept a beard. I don't wear any lucky charms. The five Ks, as mentioned in the Sikh religion, had a purpose to serve at the time they were conceptualised; today, they are just a matter of personal belief. Right now, I am trying to help people around me through small but meaningful ways.

(As told to Divya A)