STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Balvinder Singh, President of the Sikh Progressive Front, alongside Surinder Singh Wazir Vice President, Manjit Singh Bali Gen Secretary, Rajinder Singh Sudan, Joint Secretary, delivered a resounding condemnation of the JKUT Administration’s neglect of Sikh Community in Jammu and Kashmir. They highlighted the failure to address critical demands, such as political reservation to Sikhs, excluding them from the Non-Migrant Quota, POJK Quota, or OBC Quota, thus denying their right to representation in the JK Assembly.
Despite assurances from LG of JKUT, Manoj Sinha, during a meeting with SPF delegation on March 14, 2022, where he pledged to advertise vacancies for non-migrant Sikh youths under SRO 425, no action has been taken to date.
Singh highlighted that a file concerning providing additional ex-gratia to the next of kin (NOK’s) of the 14 individuals killed in the Jammu Sikh riots of 1989 has been pending in the Civil Secretariat Jammu for over three years. Despite bringing this matter to the attention of the Hon’ble LG during the mentioned meeting, no progress has been made, and the file remains stagnant, gathering dust.
Singh further stated that despite the Sikh community’s consistent advocacy, the central government has not addressed their demand to include Punjabi language in the JKUT Official Language Amendment Bill 2020. Assurances from the Hon’ble LG regarding the promotion of Punjabi language have not materialized.
Despite representations to the UT administration and Chairman National Commission for Minorities, S Iqbal Singh Lalpura, for providing Punjabi teachers in schools and making Punjabi a compulsory subject, no progress has been made. Singh emphasized that while the central and JKUT governments have ensured representation for various sections of society such as SC, ST, OBC,
Paharis, and Gujjars, the Sikh community has been notably excluded. This exclusion makes them feel marginalized and deprived of their rightful place in the national mainstream.
SPF strongly resented the government decision for transferring the installation of the Statue of baba Banda Singh Bahadur from Kunjwani to Bhagwati Nagar as this site is not acceptable to the entire Sikh Community of Jammu and strongly demand naming of Kunjwani Chowk on the name of baba Banda Singh Bahadur and installation of suitable statue after the completion of Rotary as already promised by LG Administration and also stands passed by the House of JMC.
SPF also criticized JKUT administration for not implementing National Minority Commission ACT in JKUT despite being written number of letters by Chairman National Commission For Minorities S Iqbal Singh Lalpura vide letter No. D.O.No.-NCM/81/18/2023 dated 03.04.2023 & Vide Letter No D.O.No. Tour/Report/JK/06/2023 Dated: 8.02.2023 to LG JKUT Minority Commission has not been set up in Jammu and Kashmir and thus deprived the micro-scopic Sikh minority Community of their rights under NMC Act.
Attendees at the press conference highlighted their submission to the Chairman J&K Socially & Educationally Backward Classes Commission, JKUT, on January 5, 2021, advocating for the inclusion of approximately 54,000 Sikhs in the Valley into the OBC category. Despite the LG forwarding the representation to the Union Government, the micro-minority Sikh community in the valley has been overlooked, despite recent inclusions of other communities in the OBC category by the central government.
SPF urged LG Manoj Sinha and the current central government to address the mentioned issues before the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct. Failure to do so may compel us to advise our community members to refrain from voting for the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha Election as well as in the state assembly election.