CHANDIGARH: Bir Devinder Singh former Deputy Speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha and Sikh thinker today condemned the BJP led center governments decision of not allowing the Sikh Jatha to go to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan.
In a statement issued here, he said that it was shocking to learn that the Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs has refused permission at the eleventh hour, to the SGPC’s Jatha of the Sikh pilgrimage to leave for Nankana Sahib (Pakistan) to attend the commemorative function to mark the centenary of 100 years of the massacre of Sri Nankana Sahib, where 260 Sikhs including children were massacred on 20th February 1921 by the hired goons of the then Mahant of Gurdwara Janam Asthaan (Nanakana Sahib) Mr. Narayan Daas, with the undercover complicity of the British rulers.
He said that the massacre of Nankana Sahib is the most significant milestone of the Sikh History that relates to Gurdwara Reform Movement, undertaken by the Sikh Community from 1919 to 1926. It is pertinent to mention here that the massacre of Nankana Sahib is the second biggest massacre after the massacre of Jallian Wala Bagh, where the unbridled brutality was unleashed through indiscriminate gun firing on the defenseless Indians seeking independence from the slavery of the Britishers, on April 13, 1919, and thus killing 379 on the spot by the British rulers of those times.
He further said, "To refuse permission to the SGPC’s Jatha at the last minute is a naked mala fide attempt of the Central Government to enrage the feeling of the Sikh community in order to isolate them from the rest of the country. This kind of supercilious design of the Govt. is tantamount of monumental injustice to the Sikh Community. Moreover, it manifests the parochial anti Sikh mindset of the Central Government, which amounts to direct senseless interference in the religious affairs of the Sikhs, under the tutelage of RSS and the BJP".
He appealedto the SGPC to change the contour of the Jatha from pilgrimage to that of a Shaheedi Jatha, in consonance of the spirit of the Shaheedi Jatha led by Shaheed Bhai Lachman Singh Ji and others 100 years back. "I am of the view that the Jatha must leave for Nankana Sahib as scheduled, despite all hurdles and determined impediments. The spirit of commitment and firm resolve must be acclimated and should be appropriated with the valiant Sikh spirit 100 Years ago".
Let the Government of India unleash unbridled brutalities, whatsoever following the footsteps of the Britishers. It is a test case to comprehend the Sikh spirit today as compare to 100 Years back; if it is just a routine ritual without any sense of commitment than of course it’s a matter of great worry for the Sikh community as a whole.