Author:
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: February 8, 2001
The central team that made an assessment
of the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of massacre of
six Sikhs on Feburary four has conveyed to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
that the community would migrate from the state if foolproof security was
not provided to them.
Minister of chemicals and fertilizers
Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and National Commission for Minorities (NCM) vice
chairman Tirlochan Singh met Prime Minister last night and apprised him
of their assessment of the situation in the Valley. They demanded that
the government should immediately initiate confidence building measures
to assure the Sikhs that their life and property would be safeguarded in
the Valley.
Another member of the team, minister
of state for civil aviation, Chamanlal Gupta, who represents Jammu in Lok
Sabha, told the Prime Minister that the Sikhs were virtually "shattered"
after the Srinagar incident.
The Prime Minister had assured the
team members that he would take up the security issue at the highest level.
The Prime Minister shared the Sikh
community's anguish over the death of a Sikh youth in police firing during
a protest demonstration against the Feburary three killings. The team members
also conveyed to the PM that the killing had further incensed the Sikh
community.
This is the third incident in the
Valley when the Sikhs were targetted. As many as 38 Sikhs were gunned down
in Chittisinghpora in March-end last year by unidentified gunmen and two
months back Sikh truekers were singled out and killed.
After much persuasion the Sikhs
had agreed to stay put in the Valley after the Chittisinghpora massacre
and after the February killings they were feeling betrayed,the team members
told the Prime Minister. 'Now they are not ready to listen to them and
feel they were betrayed by those on whom they had pinned the faith.''
The team members told Vajpayee that
the migration of Sikhs from the Valley would cast a negative impact on
the plural democratic set up of the country.
The team members described their
meeting with the PM as 'positive development' and added that Home Minister
L K Advani had taken requisite steps against the erring policemen in Jammu
as promised to them three days ago. UNI
