Dear Editor,

An International community like Sikhs are living all over the world in almost every country. An overwhelming majority (over 80% 10.90%) of those who migrated, to inhabit other lands, are Sikhs. The air travel needs of the community is immense. After the illegal notorious, cowardly army, attack on Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) by the deceitful, Incompetent, tyrant government of India, the Sikhs refrained from travelling by Air India except 2 few traitors for whom slightly cheap Air Tickets are better than the National Pride. No one expects a dignified travel with Air India, many of these traitors are now complaining of mistreatment, inconvenience and The Snobbish attitude of The Air India employees and the government of India officials at the air ports and diplomatic missions.

Travelling Sikhs using British Airways have to endure the hardship of changing planes in London from one airport to another airport, and also go through the extra expense and’ bother for arranging a transit visa. The plane of the Air India flight that went down in Atlantic in 1988 had severe mechanical problems. ‘That is what was explained by the passengers who travelled on that plane from Delhi to Toronto, just a night before. The greedy and stingy Air India managers preferred to play with lives of passengers rather than getting the airplane trouble corrected. As soon as the plane went down. The prime minister of India immediately announced that Sikhs placed bomb in the plane, as if he were there with them when the bomb was being placed. Since then several fake dramas are being enacted by the government India to malign Sikhs in every way possible.

Listening to many a verbal complaints from Sikhs describing harassment at the hands of airlines and the government authorities, by way of delays, stupid questions, detention of passengers and unscrupulous searches of body and luggage, it is evident that air travel has become a real nightmare. The Indian authorities and police, single out Sikh travelers subjecting them to indiscriminate and degrading searches. The authorities are also in habit of accepting bribes. A Sikh travelling to Punjab or India cannot altogether avoid degrading searches and harassment at the hands of Indian authorities, He can at least avoid harassment up to India, by choosing a respectable airline, and British airways or Air India are not the ones. Try KLM, Lufthansa or some other airline.

Ajit Singh Ottawa, Canada

Article extracted from this publication >>  April 23, 1993