The World Sikh News is committed to protect the interests of the poor Mazhabi Sikhs of Shillong. Keeping a tab on their status, WSN presents an exclusive report of latest events in Shillong and the orders of the Minorities Commission summoning the Chief Secretary of Meghalaya and the National Commission for Minorities Investigative team to visit Shillong, seeks hard answers from the Meghalaya government and the Shillong administration.

25June was a hectic day in the life of the Mazhabi Sikhs of Shillong. They received a communication from the Deputy Commissioner of East Khasi Hills District Mr. Dkhar saying that there is a meeting “to discuss matters relating to law and order situation in the city.”  As the President of the City Gurdwara –Gurjeet Singh was away in Delhi to meet officials of the National Commission for Minorities, the local headman Mr. Billu Singh was to go but he could not go because of the demise of his wife. The Harijans –the Mazhabi Sikhs were represented by Sukhwinder Singh, Prithipal Singh and Sangam Singh.  

The entire Meghalaya administration thinks and treats the poor Mazhabi Sikhs exactly as they treat all other poor people –naive and stupid. This is what the administration did to them. When the Sikh representatives reach there, to their utter surprise, the Chief Executive Officer of the Shillong Municipal Board, the Senior Superintendent of Police and other officials were present. Rather than talking about law and order situation,  the Sikhs were handed over a letter from the Municipal Committee “seeking cooperation and correct information to Shillong Municipal Board officials who would be conducting a survey on orders of the recently constituted High Level Committee.”

While the Chief Minister of Meghalaya Mr Conrad Sagma and home minister James Sagma are camping in Delhi, perhaps for a green signal for swift action from BJP, the Urban affairs Minister Hamlet Dohling has reportedly told the media in Shillong that the mapping of the Punjabi lane is done and the Mazhabi Sikhs should cooperate for relocation and that the Sikhs are fighting a losing battle.

“We will live and die in the Punjabi lane and will not leave the home and hearth where our ancestors have lived and where we are residing for more than 200 years.” 

Gurjit Singh, President, City Gurdwara Management Committee, Bada Bazar, Shillong

Copies of all documents, including the minutes of this illegal meeting signed by the Deputy Commissioner are with the World Sikh News.

Speaking exclusively to World Sikh News, Gurjit Singh, president of the City Gurdwara said, “the high level committee is illegal, the orders to do survey are downright illegal and it seems that the government is in a grand hurry to dislodge the Sikhs and has now come up with the new term “relocation”. This is illegal and not acceptable at all. He said, “We will live and die in the Punjabi lane and will not leave the home and hearth where our ancestors have lived and where we are residing for more than 200 years.”

“The commission has serious objection to the name of the colony as Sweepers Colony, as it denigrates the dalit residents of the colony.”

-National Human Rights Commission

26 June 2018 will be another day of test for democracy in Meghalaya. Significantly, acting on a complaint by a public spirited lawyer Mr Rajesh Gogna of Human Rights Defense International, the National Human Rights Commission has chastised the government of Meghalaya for calling the residential habitat as “Sweepers Colony.” The Human Rights Commission has said that, “the commission has serious objection to the name of the colony as Sweepers Colony, as it denigrates the dalit residents of the colony.”

The National Human Rights Commission has sought to know from the Chief Secretary of the Meghalaya within four weeks as to “rather than providing security to the dalits, the government is planning to re-locate them. The Commission called upon the Chief Secretary to explain why the Sikhs were attacked and what steps is the Meghalaya government taking “to ensure that the Sikhs are not dislocated from Bada Bazar.”   

 Read: The “Sweeper” Sikhs -Dkhars -foreigners in Shillong

Not stopping at that, the Commission will also be investigating “why the Dalit Sikh community was targeted and what measures are adopted by the State Government to ensure that Sikh community is able to live a safe life without fear in Shillong as well as other parts of Meghalaya within four weeks.”

It is learnt from reliable sources that members of the National Human Rights Commission would be visiting Shillong on 26 June 2018.

“The Meghalaya Chief Secretary is to appear in person before the Commission on 12 July at 4 pm, along with all the necessary files/documents in support of the contentions you may want to make before the Commission. No further action on relocation should be taken till you appear before the Commission.”

National Commission for Minorities

On the other hand, the NCM, which is adjudicating upon the case from time to time since 2006 has again sought to protect the interests of the poor Dalit Sikhs?  The National Commission for Minorities vide its order dated 25 June, a copy of which is in the possession of the World Sikh News, has directed the Chief Secretary of the State of Meghalaya to maintain a status-quo in the Sweepers Colony, Shillong till the whole gamut of issues relating to the title, possession and resident status of Mazhabi Sikhs, settled there for more than 200 years is not settled.  

NCM has asked the Chief Secretary “to appear in person before the Commission on 12 July at 4 pm, along with all the necessary files/documents in support of the contentions you may want to make before the Commission.” It has also directed to the Chief Secretary that, “No further action on relocation should be taken till you appear before the Commission.”

The order mentions that the member of the Commission Manjit Singh Rai, acting suo moto on media reports visited Shillong and that he recommended that “central forces should stay in Shillong and no relocation of the Sikhs settled in Shillong should be taken up as they have been staying there for more than 200 years.”

“Why was the Dalit Sikh community targeted and what measures are adopted by the State Government to ensure that Sikh community is able to live a safe life without fear in Shillong as well as other parts of Meghalaya within four weeks?”

-National Human Rights Commission

The Meghalaya government has not bothered to heed to any appeal made by Sikh organisations –the apex body of the Sikhs –the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. It has even ignored the widely circulated recommendations of the National Commission for Minorities.

Will good sense prevail on the Khasi Autonomous Hill Council? Will the government of Meghalaya and the Shillong administration ignore the orders of the Human Rights and Minorities Commission? Will it backtrack from its own order of July 2017, that there is no plan to dislocate or relocate the residents of a mere 2 acre of land which has suddenly become of high value? Will it retract from all the promises made to various Sikh delegations?

Time alone will tell. The World Sikh News appeals to the Hill people of the region that the Mazhabi Sikhs are a strong people, good friends and if “200 years ago they went to Shillong to serve and protect the British, surely they are not a threat to the Khasis.”

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See them as friends and the Mazhabi Sikhs will die for you. If not, surely they know how to die for themselves!