Demand for separate Sikh body gains momentum

Shiv Sharma / TNN / Aug 4, 2008, 04:16 IST

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Upset over the unnecessary delay in the constitution of separate HSGPC, a section of Sikhs in Haryana are in a mood of final conflict.

Demand for separate Sikh body gains momentum

AMBALA: Upset over the unnecessary delay in the constitution of separate Haryana Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC), a section of Sikhs in Haryana are in a mood of final conflict. They are reportedly planning to follow the do or die way.
Their chain hunger strike, which is being organized in front of the residence of HPCC president Phool Chand Mullana here, entered the 24th day on Sunday.It will conclude on August 14. The Sikh leaders have warned that if no solution came out till then, they would be left with no option but to go on streets.
For their demand, Sikh leaders have reportedly been working on several fronts. Sources said a meeting was fixed between AICC president Sonia Gandhi and a delegation of Haryana Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for August 2.
A delegation comprising Jagdish Singh Jhinda, state president, Didar Singh Nalvi, general secretary, Khushpal Singh, Navab Singh Singhra and Kanwaljeet Singh went to Delhi to meet her. However, the meeting could not take place as Sonia Gandhi got busy in some other unscheduled meeting, they added.

It is said the meeting would now be held next week. Sikh leaders said they would remind Sonia Gandhi that they were promised a separate HSGPC by HPCC during Assembly elections. The Sikh community had favoured the Congress in the elections and it registered a thumping victory.
"Sikhs had played an important role in the victory of the Congress in the Assembly elections. Now, it is Congress leaders' duty to translate the promise into reality of making a separate HSPGC," said Didar Singh Nalvi, general secretary of HSGPC.

"We have waited for long. It seems that our demand is being seen as if we are demanding a separate country. Now, we have lost our patience. We would be forced to go to any extent to get our right," added Didar Singh, who is considered to be the force behind a separate Haryana Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Didar said, "Now, it is time to die for our cause."
On the 24th day of the chain hunger strike, a delegation of 11 Sikhs from Karnal district sat on a dharna on Sunday. They were led by Harbhajan Singh Saraah, district president of Karnal. Jagdish Singh Jhinda said the government had been delaying their demand under pressure from Akali leaders. He warned the government that if their demand was not met, the Sikh community would express its annoyance on streets.
To decide the modalities of the proposed HSGPC, the Haryana government had constituted an eight-member committee under the chairmanship of agriculture minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha on August 22, 2005.
However, it is not yet clear whether the Chatha committee submitted its report to government or not. Haryana Gurdwara Parbandhak Committeehad fought the elections of Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on its symbol in 2005, in which it managed to win seven seats out of 11. Only four seats had gone in the kitty of SGPC. Haryana has seven gurdwars which are directly controlled by SGPC.
These include Nada Sahib, Panchkula, Manji Sahib and Panjokhra Sahib, Ambala, Guru Teg Bahadur and Dhampan Sahib, Jind, Kapal Mochan, Yamunanagar and Chhati Pathshai, Kurukshetra. As per information, these gurdwaras have about 5,000 acre of agriculture land and an income in crores.

About the Author

Shiv Sharma

Shiv Sharma is a reporter with The Times of India, Ambala. He covers new in both Ambala and Yamunanagar in Haryana. His areas of interest include business, agriculture and horticulture, and he is also keen on investigative and political stories. His hobbies include reading, writing, debating on political issues and farming.

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