Sikh political party -Dal Khalsa, in a statement released in Amritsar today, has said that the abrogation of article 370 for removing special status of Kashmir, the Ayodhya verdict giving the disputed land to the Hindu community, the discriminatory provisions of Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens are all steps leading India to a professed Hindu nation.

RIDING ON AN ANTI-MUSLIM PLANK, the Narendra Modi-led Bhartiya Janata Party is hurriedly working on its agenda to transform India into a Hindu Rashtra, said Dal Khalsa in a statement condemning the recently enacted Citizenship Act.

While the Citizenship Amendment Act is believed to not affect the Sikh community, still Sikhs across the board have taken a principled stand against the new provisions passed by the Indian parliament.

The organization is of the firm belief that targeting one minority and appeasing another is an old and time-tested tactic of the Indian state. First, it was the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir. Then came a biased verdict on Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. This has been followed by an amendment to the Citizenship Act and the National Register for Citizenship -NRC is next on the cards. All these are clear signs of the BJP’s march towards a Hindu Rashtra.

The Sikhs have spoken for Kashmiris and will speak out for the Muslims too. We support all countrywide protests against fascist policies of the Narendra Modi government.

Kanwar Pal Singh, Spokesperson, Dal Khalsa

With Modi’s re-election, the developments in 2019 are disturbing and dangerous and require strong denunciation, said the Dal Khalsa statement.

“Just because Sikhs are ostensibly protected under CA does not mean that we do not understand the malafide intentions of the Union government led by fascist RSS and BJP”, said party spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh.

The series of events in the recent past point towards the plight of religious minorities in this India. The need of the hour is to bring about unity among oppressed people from Kashmir to the Northeast.

The CAB has disturbed all the minorities and has instilled insecurity among them. Is there any place in the developed world where asylum seekers are excluded on the basis of their religion?” Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh asked.

He said that the Sikhs have spoken in the past for Kashmiris and will continue to speak out for the Muslims who are being targeted. He said that his organization is supporting the countrywide protests against fascist policies of the Narendra Modi government.

Significantly, the Punjab Chief Minister was the first to take lead among all states in the country to declare that ‘Punjab will not implement the divisive provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Bill.”

Deriding the leadership of Shiromani Akali Dal that has celebrated 99th foundation day of the party last day, Kanwar Pal Singh said Badal’s took two decisions in 2019 and both were against the spirit and constitution of the party. Akalis sided with BJP to deprive Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and exclude Muslims from the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The Badals have deviated from the core values and objectives of the Akali Dal and in the process, they have lost the moral right to demand and struggle for political autonomy for Punjab.

Lawyers and activists from Punjab have also questioned the provisions of the CAB and have expressed full solidarity with the Muslim community. Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) leader Simranjit Singh Mann has cautioned that ‘while it may be the Muslims today, the day is not far when they will come after the Sikhs, particularly those who are refugees Sikhs and Hindus from Pakistan.’  “I fear that the refugees may lose citizenship under some new pretext that the BJP may bring in,” said Sardar Mann while speaking to the media.