Sikhs are a separate nation and as different from Hindus as white from black, but the Indian Constitution does not recognize their separate identity and defines them as Hindus only. Therefore ail Hindu laws have been forced on them. Sikhs suspect that the Hindus want to assimilate them in their fold and destroy their separate identity.
In the pre-independence era the Congress leaders—Gandhi, Nehru and Patel, solemnly promised to Sikhs a home-land in North India, if they sided with the congress in the freedom struggle. Sikhs consented to this and made great sacrifices for the country’s freedom. Although Sikhs were less than 2% of Indian population, they were the biggest political sufferers. Out of a 121 Indians hanged for political reasons, 93 i.e. 80% were Sikhs. Similarly out of total of 2646 Indians who suffered life imprisonment, 2147 i.e. 80% belonged to the Sikh community. After the country achieved independence, promises made earlier by the Congress leaders were promptly forgotten and suppression of Sikhs commenced. Nehru and Patel are alleged to have declared Sikhs as a criminal tribe and reportedly instructed the District Officers “to shoot them dead so that they wake up to political realities and recognize who are the masters and who the slaves”.
Soon after the British left India, plundering of Punjab commenced. Firstly, 76% of Punjab River waters and hydel power resources were unconstitutionally allotted to non-riparian Hindu majority states of Haryena, Delhi and Rajasthan thus draining Rs. 40,000 crore worth of water and hydel power upto 1968. Secondly, the control and future expansion of river projects which should have been with Punjab as per the Indian Constitution was illegally taken over by the Central Government. Thirdly, Sikh Farmers who contribute 70% of the country’s wheat and rice to the Central pool are cheated by fixing the so-called support price of these two commodities much lower than the prevalent market price and by imposing unofficial control over the movement of grains outside Punjab circumventing even the Supreme Court orders. This results in an annual loss of Rs. 2385 crores to Sikh farmers.
The Sikh case is, therefore, primarily based upon violation of the Indian Constitution, illegal acts and malafide discrimination by the Indian Government aimed at giving unfair advantage to Hindu majority states of Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan, at the cost of Sikhs. Some of the gross violations are listed in succeeding paragraphs.
Whenever Sikhs have formed Ministry in Punjab, it has been dismissed by the Indian Government within a short period On some excuse or the other. So much so no Akali Government has been allowed to rule for its full term since 1947. Consequently Sikhs feel so insecure that out of 100 Punjabis now going abroad to earn their living, 88% are Sikhs, 8% Hindus and 4%, others.
SIKHS are a self-respecting people who have ruled over Kabul, Afghanistan, Kandhar, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Tibet, Punjab and Frontier Provinces in the 19th century and were recognized as an independent power by Great Britain, U.S.S.R. France, China and _ other world powers. They have been gifted with virtues like hard work, spirit of enterprise, ‘toughness and soldierly qualities. They are prepared to serve, suffer and sacrifice for the cause to fulfill the mission entrusted to term by their Great Gurus. Gurus taught them to treat all human beings as equal, spread the message of love and universal brotherhood but also to fight against deceit, oppression, injustice and tyranny. They cannot submit to illegal, unconstitutional and malafide discriminatory acts of the Indian Government, which wants to keep them divided and weak and reduce them to virtual slavery. The current agitation of Sikhs by and large has been peaceful and constitutional. So far, over 0.15 Million Sikhs have courted arrest, and more than 200 Sikhs have been killed most of them reportedly shot dead by the police. More than 0.1 million Sikhs have taken vow to ‘do and die,’ for the cause and carry out peaceful fight against injustice and tyranny. The Government of India is not even prepared to submit the Sikh complaints to the Supreme Court of India and obtain judgment on discriminatory and illegal acts perpetrated against them. It treats the Sikh agitation purely as a law and order problem. The Government has appointed six Inspector Generals of Police and deployed over 0.1 million security forces, i.e. one man for every 100 Sikh men, women and children to terrorize them. The Punjab has been declared as a disturbed area and placed under the President’s rule against all temperate principles.
Sikhs living cutsde Punjab are treated as hostages. The Prime Minister personally threatened the Sikhs living in Punjab by declaring that tray should not forget that there are also Sikhs living in other states outside Punjab”, thus hinting at their eviction of liquidation if Sikhs do not behave in Punjab. Soon after, there have been anti Sikh riots in Haryana & Madhya Pradesh. Armed Hirdu bodies have sprurg up in at major towns in Punjab most of them led by Mrs. Gandhi’s congressmen, Hirdu Sikh rites have already taken place at Patiala, Jullundur, Karnal, Jagadhri, are other towns of Haryana, and at Indore in Madhya Pradesh, where Sikh shops have been burnt. Sikh shrines stoned, Guru Granth Sahib assaulted by sticks, hair of Sikhs forcibly shorn and Sikhs humiliated reportedly under government encouragement.
The turning point in Sikh affairs has now come. Ever Since India achieved independence in 1947, the Sikhs have seen the Indian Constitution working to their disadvantage. For the last 36 years they have been robbed of their River Waters, farm produce and hydel energy, made weak and divided territorially and discriminated against in services. The sanctity of their shrines has been violated and their religious freedom curtailed. The entire Sikh community ‘was barred from entering the Indian Capital to watch games and sports during ASIAD. Even in Punjab, barriers on roads have been erected to control their free movement. More Sikhs have been shot and killed since 1980 i.e. during three years of Mrs. Gandhi’s regime in fake encounters, than in 300 years of British Raj in India. Millions of Sikhs have been arrested and hundreds of them tortured in Jails. Sikhs have exhausted all democratic means of protest within and outside India.
Since democracy, Secularism and nationalism have proved to be detrimental to Sikh interests in India, they are losing faith in these empty slogans. They are increasingly losing faith in the Indian Government and the Constitution in protecting their interests. Nor have they any hope of getting their grievances constitutionally redressed or obtaining justice and fair play from the Govt. or Hindu dominated political parties. Under the circumstances, the only remedy fees in having a completely autonomous Punjab State where Sikhs can also feel “the glow of freedom”.
Sikh Demands
The Sikh demands in brief are enumerated below:—
a) An autonomous Punjab State in North India, as per the resolution passed at Anandpur Sahib and the World Sikh Conference in 1981, where Sikhs are free to work out their destiny, enact Sikh personal laws and follow their religious tenets without any interference from others. The elections to the State Assembly and Indian Parliament should be on the principles of separate electorate with permanent weightage for the Sikhs.
b) Annulment of illegal 1981 water agreement and Sections 78-80 of Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966, thus restoring riparian Punjab’s Sovereignty over its river waters and hydel projects.
c) Restoration of Chandigarh and other left out adjoining Punjabi speaking areas to Punjab on the principles of language, contiguity and village as a unit.
d) An end to the forcible eviction of Sikh farmers from other Indian States which is being done in utter disregard of Article 19 of the Constitution.
e) Recruitment to the Defence forces should be on merit as was done upto 1974, and all undemocratic designs to check Sikh recruitment through the fixing of quota on population basis should be removed as these are volatile of Article 15-16 of the constitution.
f) Grant of Second language status to Punjabi in the adjoining states of Punjab as provided in the Nehru formula.
g) Enactment of an All India Gurdwara Act on the lines of Sikh Gurdwara Act of 1925, for proper maintenance of the holy Sikh shrines located outside Punjab.
h) Vacation of all restrictions on the wearing of kirpan by Sikhs including by those in Services, as these restrictions are ultra vires of Article 25 of the Constitution.
i) An end to the ruthless repression and genocide of Sikhs, and the treating of Sikhs settled outside Punjab as hostages. Free all detainees under the National Security Act, who are being tortured in jails, and order judicial enquiry to find out the truth and punish guilty officers, and also give suitable compensation to the dependents of ail the innocent Sikhs killed in fake encounters.
Until and unless these legitimate Sikh demands are conceded in to, the Sikhs have no choice except to continue fighting for their rights. Sikhs have no press, radio or television media of their own, and the Government distorts their demands and often indulges in false propaganda against them within and outside the country. Whatever the consequences, Sikhs will not submit to injustice and tyranny. Once the Government orders large scale oppression of Sikhs they will be forced to leave their country and become refugees seeking shelter in foreign lands. This will internationalize the situation and complicate reconciliation process irretrievably.
