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Kashmiri Sikhs decide not to migrate

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

Kashmiri Sikhs on Sunday decided not to migrate from the state, despite the recent killing of six members of the community at Mehjoor Nagar in Srinagar.

Sikhs in the valley had last week asked the government to open separate counters for probable Sikh migrants in Jammu and provide them with all the facilities being given to Pandit and Muslim migrants.

They had also declared that they would announce their final decision on whether to leave the valley on Sunday.

But a majority of the Sikhs on Sunday seemed to be in favour of staying back in Kashmir, though some youths were seen shouting slogans against the decision.

"We have decided not to migrate from the Kashmir valley. We will continue to live with our Muslim brothers," said Harmohan Singh, a member of the community.

He said only a section of the youth was shouting the migration slogans. "Majority is not with them," he said.

A high-level central team headed by Union Defence Minister George Fernandes attended the bhog ceremony of the Sikhs killed by unidentified gunmen last week.

The team included Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Civil Aviation Minister Chamanlal Gupta, S S Ahluwalia, Member of Parliament, Sardar Tarlochan Singh, vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Jagdev Singh Talwandi.

Expressing his sympathies with the Sikhs while speaking at the gurdwara in Mehjoor Nagar, Fernandes said, "We are fully aware of the situation following the killings." He condemned the murders, but added, "Migration from Kashmir is no solution to the problem".

The other speakers also urged the Sikhs not to take any decision in haste and called upon them instead to discuss the various issues threadbare.

The central team assured the Sikhs of security in the areas where they live. The state government has already decided to deploy paramilitary forces in the various Sikh-dominated areas in addition to the police pickets already in place in 129 villages.

Earlier, on Saturday, the defence minister met prominent Sikh leaders of Kashmir and told them that the prime minister had held a number of meetings with his Cabinet colleagues to assess the situation and devise measures to protect the community.

The Sikhs injured in the militant attack, who are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the valley, will be shifted to either Delhi or Chandigarh for specialized treatment.

Senior leaders of the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference like Abdul Gani Lone and Mohammed Yasin Malik as well as J&K Democratic Freedom Party chairman Shabir Ahmad Shah spoke at the bhog and assured the community of all help. "We will never allow any Sikh to migrate from Kashmir," Malik told the gathering.

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