Amnesty to Mizos and Gallows to Sikhs.

Unlike Surjit Singh Barnala, the former rebel leader, Mr. Laldengas first action after taking the reins of the government in Mizoram was to declare general amnesty for all the underground Mizorebels. The order also covers all those against whom police had registered| criminal cases ranging from sedition to murder. Mr. Laldenga even promised to release all the already convicted rebels who are undergoing varying prison terms.

Mr. Laldenga and his followers had been waging a fierce battle for establishing an independent state of Mizoland. They were in a state of violent insurgency. During the past twenty years, they ambushed and killed hundreds of army and Para-military troops and did not spare even civilian officials.

The generosity of the Central government in giving blanket approval to Laldenga proposal for general amnesty deserves appreciation even though it is in sharp contrast to its rigid opposition to a similar amnesty for the Sikhs. The fact that Sikhs had launched a peaceful morcha for perfectly constitutional and legal demands makes Centers obdurate opposition to amnesty for Sikh volunteers not only discriminatory but also quite intriguing. Such an attitude can be explained only in two ways. Either it is symptomatic of the insidious Hindu fundamentalism that has begun to increasingly pervade the politico-administrative structure of India or it is part of ruling parties’ strategy not to solve the Sikh problem so as to emotionally exploit the majority community for electoral gains by playing up the specter of Sikh separatism.

In both situations Sikhs cannot hope for a fair deal or immediate solution. Rather they are more inclined to believe that the majority community is plagued with a deep-seated animosity towards Sikhs, and it is this animosity that the ruling party exploits. Rajiv’s landslide victory in 1985 has no other explanation. In this context, how utterly hollow sound pleas for Hindu-Sikh fraternity and how comic appear persons like Gopal Singh Dardi who for small selfish gains, tan stoop 50 low as to distort the basic tenets of the Sikh faith.

Article extracted from this publication >> August 29, 1986