ANANDPUR SAHIB, India: Only two political conferences were organized this year at Holla Mohalla Festival here. One was organized by a combination of A.LS.S.F., Damdami Taksal and Bimal Kaur KhaIsa Istri Akali Dal and the other by the Unified’ Akali Dal.
Akali DalLongowal obtained from holding any conferences for fear of what they called bloodshed.
According to eye witnesses the first conference attracted a bigger crowd than the second one although both were addressed by Prof. Darshan Singh. The latter addressed the Unified Akali Dal in response to an invitation from them.
Speakers at the Youth Conference were youth activists, Satpal Singh Dhillon and Gurpreet Singh while senior leaders including Bimal Kaur Khalsa are in jail. A significant feature of the Youth Conference was a message reportedly received from Panthic Committee operating underground which asked the Sikhs to be beware of what they called selfish Akali leaders who betrayed the Sikhs earlier and some of them were now following in their footsteps. No such leaders, the message said, would be spared if these leaders departed from what the committee called “chosen path”.
To make things more impressive the conference passed a resolution warning the “spent forces” of the plight of the Longowal in the event of any attempt by them to strike a deal short of what they called Khalsa Raj. The concept was not explained by them.
In another resolution the conference appealed to the U.S.A., China, France, England, Canada, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Germany, Australia, Sri Lanka, Norway and other countries not to sign extradition treaty with government of India that would pave the way for the transfer of Sikh youth to India.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 27, 1987
