CHANDIGARAH, India, Jan 23, Reuter: The Guardian Committee of the Sikh Religion in Punjab today sacked two of the remaining moderates among its five Head Priests and sent the third on indefinite leave.
The move gives hardliners full control of the top religious management body in the state and is expected further to undermine the position of the Punjab government headed by moderate Chief Minister Sujit Singh Barnala, Sikh spokesman told Reuters.
In New Delhi, a Defense Ministry spokesman announced that India had sealed the 450km (280 miles) border between Punjab and Pakistan and had issued a red alert to the army and air force.
The move was apparently unconnected with the Punjab sackings, and was said to be in response to continued mobilization of Pakistani troops all along the western border.
Pakistan denies any unusual troop movements, but tension mounting in Indian state, where more than 50 people have already been killed in violence this year.
Punjab police today announced that “three freedom fighters” had been killed in Ferozepur district and that five people had been injured in separate attacks by suspected militants.
In November, Barnala’s nominee was defeated in an election to the Presidency of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) which rules Sikh temples in Punjab and also exercises a strong political influence.
The hardliner, who was elected, Gurcharan Singh Tohra, was promptly jailed by Barnala, but even in his absence the S.G.P.C. last month sacked two of the five High Priests and replaced them with militant figures.
Today’s move completes a clean sweep for the hardliners, whose first act as a body was to support a call for a Sikh meeting to be held next Monday. This is India’s Republic Day, and any critical resolutions passed on that day will aim to embarrass both Barnala and the Central government in New Delhi.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 30, 1987
