NEW DELHI-Punjab Chief-Minister Beant Singh on April 17 vehemently dismissed the Akalis contention that Sikhs are a separate nation and said Sikhs were part of Hindu society.

Speaking at the birth anniversary celebrations of tale Arya Samaj leader Maharma Hens Raj the Chief Minister said 10thSikhGuru Gobind Singh created the Sikh panth from Hindu society just to fight against the oppressors of that period.

 The Akalis particularly Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief G.S Tohra have propagated for the past three decades that the Sikhs were not Hindus and this contention later snowballed into the decade-old Punjab problem. Beant Singh said Punjab had not only witnessed peace but had also proved that Hindus and Sikhs could never be separated He referred to the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy when Sikhs Hindus and Muslims shed their blood together to secure freedom for the country

The Chief Minister also referred to U.S. President Bill Clinton’s statement on “Sikh Rights” and reiterated that the Sikhs not only enjoyed equal rights in India but were in the fore front in all fields of life Referring to the recently-controlled wave of militancy in Punjab the Chief Minister said the Sikhs had not only opposed Pakistan trained militants but also refined their faith in the unity and integrity of the country. Beant Singh said Hindu families which had left the state following the Violence have not returned to the 112 homes and taken up their earlier professions.

Without naming anyone the Chief Minister said those who described Sikh militancy as a “religious movement” had been proved wrong since now it was well known for everyone that the militants were trained’ and sent by Pakistan to create trouble in the state and to cause bad blood among Hindu and Sikhs. He denied the propaganda that the state had been acting with vengeance against the Sikhs particularly against those families whose members were involved in militant activities He said two sons of panthic committee leader Sohan Singh who was arrested recently were serving in high posts in the Central government and they had not been hauled up for the activities of their father

Article extracted from this publication >> April 22, 1994