|
On India’s R-Day, Sikhs tell
world we too are here
WSN Network
FRANKFURT/AMRITSAR/LONDON: Whilst
referring to the situation of black Americans, civil rights
activist, Martin Luther King had pleaded that there was no reason to
wallow in the valley of despair. Though a majority of the Sikhs
continues to rue the past, there are still some left who
courageously carry out symbolic protests outside the Indian
embassies in various parts of the world. According to reports
gathered by WSN, this year, the Indian republic day was revisited by
Sikhs in England, Germany and the Dal Khalsa activists in Amritsar.
 While most of
these protests centered on the theme of discrimination against Sikhs
in India,
the protestors in all the three centres sought the right to
self-determination. Though the numbers were small, the spirits of
the activists made up for the shortfall. Over the years,
particularly in the last few years, the dwindling number of Sikhs in
such meetings is causing concern to the seekers of Sikh freedom and
glee amongst the Indian political leaders.
Marching from
the
Frankfurt
railway station to the Indian consul office in the city, young and
old Sikh protestors were carrying images of discrimination and human
rights violations in the last few decades. At times, the shrill
outside the consul office was more than the sound of the
celebrations within the complex. One of the leaders of the protest,
Gurcharan Singh Goraya, labeled the Indian state “ungrateful”.
In Amritsar, the
activists of Dal Khalsa, lodged a silent protest where in only
pictures, cut-outs and literature were the speakers. The members of
the organization staged a silent sit-in in the heart of the city of
Amritsar's on the eve of India's 57th Republic day
holding placards and banners depicting constitutional
discriminations against the Sikh people. The message was loud and
clear: ‘we don't accept this constitution under whose shadow
thousands of Sikhs have been murdered in the last 3 decades.’ The
participants made it clear that nothing short of the right of
self-determination, including the right to secede, as accepted by
Jawaharlal Nehru would be acceptable to the Sikh nation. To show
that 'Sikhs are being treated as slaves', a huge cut out of party
president Satnam Singh in chains was displayed. Dal Khalsa leaders
Satnam Singh Paonta Sahib, Harcharanjit Singh Dhami and Kanwarpal
Singh led the protest.
Dal Khalsa
leader Kanwarpal Singh said that there was a sizeable section of
Sikhs and others who repeatedly posed this question, “When will you
be satisfied, after all there is so much progress in Punjab and we
even have Sikhs in high political and administrative offices. They
even go the extent of maligning us. Dal Khalsa affirms that Sikh
nation will be satisfied only if justice is not only done but also
seen to be done. We seek dignity and rule of law and honouring of
all commitments –oral and written.
30 January 2008
|
Read Also