CHANDIGARH: The Akali Dal president Mr Simranjit Singh Mann on Feb 1 pledged Sikh support to the US-led allied forces in the Gulf war.
In a letter to the US ambassador in India Mr William Clarke Mr Mann said “the Sikhs strongly support the cause of the allied forces in the Gulf war and we are ready to do anything within our means to send doctors nurses and Para-medical staff and lakhs of Sikhs who are ready to join the US ranks on the battle front”.
The Sikhs were prepared to make supreme sacrifices to “evict the aggressor that is Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait to restore world order and peace in the Gulf region” the letter said.
Mr Mann has made the offer to the US for the second time. In his first such statement he had offered the services of a medical team to look after the allied forces soldiers wounded in the Gulf war. The statement made soon after the war broke out remains responded.
Speaking on behalf of the Sikh Panth Mr Mann said he would like to remind the US of the historical role of the Sikhs who had always fought against the aggressors including their participation in the two World Wars. He said that their acts of bravery were part of the British history.
He asked Mr Clarke to convey the feelings expressed in the letter to the US President Mr George Bush and the British Prime Minister Mr John Major.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 8, 1991
