SAD working in “connivance” with “saffron powers” to damage Sikh tenets, says Dal Khalsa

Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab: Blaming the Shiromani Akali Dal for betraying Sikh interests, the Dal Khalsa stated that a single party with a monopoly in Sikh politics was working in “connivance” with “saffron powers” to damage Sikh tenets.

Taking exception to the manner in which the Sikh institutions had been involved into one controversy after another, Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh while speaking at a concluding day of the camp organized by Sikh Youth of Punjab (SYP), said with incompetent religio-political leadership, the Sikhs as a community were heading nowhere.

He expressed outrage over the annual report published by Home Ministry stating the “Pakistan had established training camps for Sikh youth for reviving militancy in Punjab”. He said such reports were meant for maligning the image of the Sikhs worldwide.

He said it was unfortunate that the issue of racial profiling is being practiced with complete impunity in India over the years. “I can enumerate hundreds of screaming headlines across the country announcing the arrest of “Sikh terrorists”, “Kashmiri terrorists”, “Manipuri terrorists” and the like”.

He expressed concern and pain about the hate crimes faced by Sikhs in Western countries. “The proposed banning of turban at public places by Quebec province was a major cause of worry. He urged the Sikh Diaspora to address this problem in a diplomatic manner otherwise it could set dangerous precedent”.

Stressing that the communities future lay with young Sikhs, he said their thrust would be to groom new faces and bring forth talented youth through their platform.

He said efforts should be made to leverage technology to ensure that corruption was eliminated from the existing systems by introduction of transparent politics.Dal Khalsa leader was speaking at a gathering of SYP held under the leadership of Ranbir Singh. Prominent amongst those who were present includes Prabhjot Singh, Noblejit Singh, Paramjit Singh, Manjit Singh, Lakhvinder Singh.

In a 10-point questionnaire that was made the basis of the discussion during the camp, the speakers objected at Hindutva elements for diluting Sikh unique identity by calling the Sikhs “Keshadari Hindus”, entry of Hindi newspapers in Punjab, controversies surrounding Sikh institutions including Akal Takht, killings of youth in fake encounters, bogey of terrorism, biased and discriminatory role of media, rise of drug menace especially distribution of drugs and liquor during elections by Akali candidates, misuse of UAPA (1967) against the minorities and political dissidence, besides other issues.

Jaspal Singh Sidhu a veteran journalist, addressing the gathering explained as to what role the youth could play in the present scenario. He explained the difference between dirty politics being exhibited by present day politicians and the statesmanship. He shed light on role of the media.

Source: Punjab News Express