- Sikhs want complete religious freedom which is theoretically guaranteed by Article 25 of the Indian Constitution but in practice many restrictions are placed by the Government on religious minorities in India. Some of them are discussed in succeeding paragraphs.
All India Gurudwara Act.
- The historical Sikh Gurudwaras in Punjab are already administered by an elected body known as Shromini Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (S.G.P.C.), vide Gurudwara Act passed by the Indian Parliament. Sikhs want that left out historical Gurudwaras within the country should also be administered by the same body i.e. S.G.P.C. This has already been voluntarily agreed to by the selected management committees of these shrines. As the Government does not want “Sikh homogeneity and wants to keep them divided and weak, it does not want to bring all Sikh shrines under one management. Much time the Government of India interferes in the management of Gurudwara by unilaterally amending the Gurudwara Act and encouraging dissension among the management. The Government of India is dragging its feet to enact an All India Gurudwara Act on the lame excuse that it must consult the State Governments who have no focus-stand in the matter. Sikhs suspect that by sponsoring candidates for the S.G.P.C elections, the .Government is trying to control Sikh shrines through its henchmen.
Kirpan case
- The carrying of Kirpan is a settled and constitutional right of the Sikhs vide Article 25 of the Indian constitution as Kirpan forms part of essential Sikh religious symbols since 1699 A. D. Neither Moghuls nor the British ever challenged this right. The Indian Government has now restricted the size of the kirpan to six inches, which amounts to banning Sikh religious practices and offending the Sikh sentiments. It may be noted that whereas the spread of Hindu religion is encouraged by state patronage, efforts are afoot to halt conversion to Islam and Christianity and to assimilate Sikhism in Hindu fold.
Other minor demands
- Even a small matter like declaring Amritsar a holy city, as has been done in the case of Hindu cities of Varansi, Kurukshetra, and others is not acceptable to the Government. Nor are they willing to concede the demand for the installation of a transmitter in the Golden Temple exclusively for the purpose of relaying devotional songs for Sikhs abroad. The Sikhs are willing to meet the entire cost of the project.
Discrimination in services
- It is a widely known fact that Sikhs were over 30% in Defence Services at the time of Partition in 1947. They joined the Armed Forces in large numbers because the two professions that command great respect among Sikh masses are soldiering and farming, both of which are gradually being denied to them. Farmers are being squeezed out by limiting the size of land holdings, denial of water rights, increasing the price of agricultural in-puts and keeping the price of agricultural produce deliberately low. So far as the services are concerned, the Government of India has made the policy of curtailing the recruitment Of Sikhs according to their population, which has decreased the Sikh recruitment from over 30% to 1.5%. Apart from denying the Sikhs a profession they greatly honour, it increases unemployment among them and the constitutional right to serve the country. It may be noted that whereas in all other services or jobs selections are made on merit, this is the only profession where quota has been fixed on the basis of population to deny opportunity of employment to Sikh young men.
Discrimination against Farmers living outside PUNJAB
- After the loss of fertile land in West Pakistan some Sikh families migrated to United Provinces (Now Uttar Pradesh), Rajasthan, and other states. They cleared ‘the jungles, faced snakes, Tigers, and mosquitoes menace, leveled the land and made it cultivable after working hard for over a quarter century. When the land has started giving income, the state Governments have been encouraged to lower the ceiling on land holdings thrice in the last 20 years under the excuse of providing land to the landless, and the Sikh farmers are gradually being squeezed out from their lands.
Discrimination in Education
- Punjab’s neighboring states have large concentrations of Sikhs who demand that Punjabi should be taught as the second language in the schools.
But these states instead of making Punjabi the second language under Nehru formula have made Tamil, and other South Indian languages as the second language, whereas there is no South Indian population living in these states.
Sikh Demand
- Sikhs demand that all these discriminations should be investigated by an impartial commission and removed forthwith so that Sikhs no more live as Secord Class Citizens in the country.
