NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTION 99
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

J&K Sikhs yet undecided on migration

Onkar Singh and Mukhtar Ahmad in Chatti Singhpora

Thousands of Sikhs from various parts of the Kashmir valley and Punjab poured into Chatti Singhpora this morning to take part in the bhog ceremony for 35 of their co-religionists who were shot dead, purportedly by extremists, on March 20.

All major political parties were represented at the emotional, daylong function. The Bharatiya Janata Party was represented by Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chaman Lal Gupta, former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana, Rajya Sabha member S S Ahluwalia, and general secretary Narendra Modi. Lok Sabha member and former Union minister of state for home Rajesh Pilot represented the main opposition Congress.

Among others present on the occasion were Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal-B president Parkash Singh Badal, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Bibi Jagir Kaur, her predecessor Gurcharan Singh Tohra and SAD-Amritsar president Simranjit Singh Mann, MP.

But the much-awaited decision of the Sikhs of the valley on whether to migrate to other parts of the country did not materialise because their representatives were unable to discuss the matter. They will now meet Badal on April 7 at Jammu to chalk out their strategy.

Badal told rediff.com that he had decided to call a meeting in Jammu because it was not possible to take a decision today, since most people had come to pay homage to the dead.

But Tohra, Badal's bitter political rival, criticised the decision. "The meeting should be held in Srinagar as it will be more convenient for the Sikhs of the valley to attend," he said.

Badal, it is learnt, will also meet Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to apprise him of the situation in the Valley and take up the issue of safety and security in Kashmir.

Notable among the absentees at today's bhog ceremony was Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, for which he was roundly criticised by Bharatiya Janata Party MP S S Ahluwalia. "If only Farooq had time from his exploits would he have come here," he remarked bitterly.

Chaman Lal Gupta also criticised Abdullah's absence. And while Badal, Tohra and Khurana chose not to comment on it, they did not mask their displeasure.

The Sikhs gathered on the occasion consoled the bereaved families of Chatti Singhpora who were given large sums of financial aid by various people on the occasion. Badal gave each family a cheque for Rs 250,000 on behalf of the Punjab government. Jagir Kaur too handed over cheques of Rs 150,000 to each victim's family on behalf of the SGPC. Cheques were also presented by Ahluwalia on behalf of the Takht Shri Huzoor Sahib, Nanded, and the Takht Shri Patna Sahib. He also promised to raise in Parliament the issue of protecting the Sikhs of the valley.

Speaking on the occasion, Shabbir Shah, a separatist politician, said the Muslims of the valley would not let the Sikhs migrate in any circumstances. "They will only go over my dead body," he declared.

The Sikhs heckled Khurana when he claimed that the perpetrators of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi had been punished. The Sikhs from Chatti Singhpora demanded an assurance from him that the central government would give jobs to one member from each of the bereaved families in the village and also ensure proper protection for them.

The divisional commissioner of Anantnag said the state government had already issued the necessary orders to provide the jobs.

Tohra asked the Sikhs of Kashmir to think calmly before deciding whether to leave their homes and move to other places. He also offered to accommodate five families each in the 12,000 villages of Punjab.

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report