Take up Sikh community concerns with Centre, governor urged

Chandigarh: A 10-member delegation of Sikh representatives met Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Friday, and asked him to take up "long-pending issues" of the community with the Centre.The group said they had listed the issues in a letter sent to the Centre on May 23. Among the issues raised, the signatories sought strict guidelines against restricting or debarring Sikhs from wearing the kirpan from taking examinations, both in Punjab and outside the state. They also sought expansion of the Anand Marriage Act to include not only registration of marriage but also provisions relating to divorce and other matrimonial matters. The group also sought a review of the cases of all Sikh political prisoners and a one-time general amnesty for those who completed their sentences or a substantial portion of them. Other demands included handing back historic gurdwaras such as Mangu Math in Puri and Gyan Godri in Haridwar to the Sikhs, introducing and protecting Punjabi as a second language in states adjoining Punjab, reopening the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, liberal visa policies for NRI Sikhs, abolition of the blacklist containing the names of NRI Sikhs, immediate SGPC elections, amendment of the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, and return of artefacts and manuscripts taken during the June 1984 attack on Darbar Sahib. The delegation included advocate Navkiran Singh; Dr Khushhal Singh, secretary, Kendriya Singh Sabha; Jaspal Singh Sidhu; Dr Birendra Kaur, secretary general, ISC, Chandigarh; Giani Kewal Singh, former jathedar, Takht Damdama Sahib; Gurpreet Singh, vice-president, Institute of Sikh Studies; and R P Singh, spokesperson, Akhand Kirtani Jatha. The representatives announced plans to convene a panthic meeting on June 29 to prepare a unified perspective for discussions with the Govt of India. MSID:: 131530363 413 |