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Forgotten Sikhs in the
Hinterland
Jagmohan Singh
 On
the trail of the Sikhs with Sikligar background, I reached Dabra.
Around 45 kilometers from Gwalior and located midway between Gwalior
and Jhansi, this is a sleepy town on the surface but is one of the
biggest grain collection centres of India and the next destination
for the new SEZ to be built by the Madhya Pradesh government. Like
all towns, it has its poor citizens, who fear the growth model which
will not mean anything to them.
Pramod Singh is
12 years old. He and his people do not go to school, though it is
less than a kilometer away, as there is no money to buy the basics.
Assisting an ailing father, Pramodh earns half a dollar a day making
locks and keys. His total assets are worth 7 dollars.
According to the
estimates of the Madhya Pradesh Minorities Commission, there are
around one hundred thousand Sikhs with Sikligar background and other
under privileged sections in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
With the efforts
of young activists Harmeet Singh and Harjinder Singh, efforts are
underway to provide them basic education and empowerment tools.
Around 20 families live in hutments desperately trying to eke out a
living. It has been going on for years.
Pressures of
neighbours and fear of reprisal, like in 1984, has forced some to
shorn their hair though they are ashamed of it. An old lady said, “I
am really tired of telling them. Please do something. Nobody in our
clan has ever done this, but some of these young ones are not
listening. Are you?
Jagmohan
Singh may be reached at jsbigideas@gmail.com
29
April 2009
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