In the wake of the deaths of 44 CRPF personnel in Kashmir, Hindu zealots across India are indulging in mobocracy against Kashmiris, Indian leadership jingoistic, Dalits blame Mannuwadis, Indian civil society virtually silent, Sikh Samaritans provide support, succour and solace to Kashmiri students under duress, Panthic leaders seek political resolution. The Kashmir valley has reciprocated with an ‘open-arm’ approach to ‘our Sikh brethren.’  Humanity won the day, hatred lost the game.

Amidst cries of seeking revenge against Pakistan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ultra nationalistic and jingoistic mainstream TV and print media in the country, sanity and humanity has still found a small place.

“The Sikhs have followed the hallowed tradition of Guru Nanak Sahib and the Kashmiris have reciprocated in true Kashmiri hospitable manner. I am really proud to be a Sikh and a Kashmiri.”

Jagmohan Singh Raina, Chairperson, All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee

International humanitarian aid agency Ravi Singh’s Khalsa Aid led from the front and provided all logistical support to Kashmiri students including food and transportation to their homes. Gurdwaras in Chandigarh and Mohali opened Gurdwaras and provided stay to the stranded students from neighbouring Haryana and Uttarakhand, where they are under siege of the right-wing forces, who see them also as ‘enemies’.  The colleges and universities also told the students that ‘they cannot provide guarantee of their safety’, forcing the students to pack and leave for their homes. The Sikh bikers from Jammu, barged into the marauding mobs and challenged the Hindu zealots from harming the Kashmiris and saved them.

The call by Sarabjit Singh Ghuman and other Facebook activists to support all Kashmiris in distress was well received by the community and despite some Sikh elements joining their Hindu zealots, Sikhs responded in a spirit of kindness and ‘Sarbat da Bhala.’

The response of the people in the Kashmir has been overwhelming. Schools, colleges, doctors, traders and the like have opened their hearts to ‘our braveheart Sikhs.’ Former Chief Minister and Kashmir leader Omar Abdullah too thanked the Sikhs for their support. “We thank the Sikhs for their timely support”, said one student after another, who reached him peacefully in transportation arranged by Khalsa Aid and other Gurdwaras.

Thank you Khalsa Aid. Thank you Sikhs.

Kashmiri students upon reaching home in Srinagar

The vengeance call against the Pakistani army chief by Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh was fortunately matched by another call of support for all Kashmiri students and residents in the Punjab.

While Prime Minister Modi said that the time for talks is over, the Punjab Chief Minister, was at his insensible best when on the floor of the Punjab Assembly he said, “82 lives of Pakistanis in lieu of the 41 lives of the CRPF personnel.” Dismissing his tall talk as nothing but childish bravado, Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh asked, “The CM has to understand that war mongering at such times in a retaliatory tone will only add fuel to the fire. Does the Captain realise that Punjab can become a theatre of war and Punjabis will be the worst-hit, should the Captain’s bravado meet an equal response from the other side of the fence?”

Punjabi Ekta Party leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who talked reason and sought a political resolution of the Kashmir problem, came under attack from Hindu zealots and the BJP and Akali Dal leadership.  However, Dal Khalsa responded and said, “Though we have political differences, yet they had touched the right chord. Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sukhpal Singh Khaira did not toe the official line blindly and applied balm in the course of the mass hysteria build-up.”

Dal Khalsa further added, “Kashmir is a war zone.  The lives of freedom fighters and Indian security forces are precious for their respective peoples and nations, and the only way to harbinger peace in the region is to resolve the Kashmir conflict politically and not to deal with it militarily.”

“Kashmir is a war zone.  The lives of freedom fighters and Indian security forces are precious for their respective peoples and nations, and the only way to harbinger peace in the region is to resolve the Kashmir conflict politically and not to deal with it militarily.”

Kanwarpal Singh, Spokesperson, Dal Khalsa

Hailing the Sikhs, who have supported Kashmiri students and others, Dal Khalsa commended them for rising to the occasion in true Sikh tradition.

Speaking to the World Sikh News from Srinagar, the All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee chief Jagmohan Singh Raina said, “The Sikhs have followed the hallowed tradition of Guru Nanak Sahib and the Kashmiris have reciprocated in true Kashmiri hospitable manner. I am really proud to be a Sikh and a Kashmiri.”

“The tourists visiting Kashmir from across the world will vouch for Kashmiri hospitality and the overwhelming gratitude now being shown by the Kashmiri people to the Sikhs is a tribute to Sikh-Kashmiri kinship. Ultimately, humanity has prevailed,” he added.