As the local political leadership of the state of Meghalaya ups the ante against the poor Shillong Sikhs, they approach the scholar-governor of the state -Shri Tathagata Roy and present him a list of their woes and seek his urgent intervention to build the Guru Nanak school and get justice by creation of a cordial climate without fear and threat.

Not willing to take it lying down the diatribe of Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong and the Urban Development Affairs Minister Mr. Hamelston Dohling against the residents of the Punjabi lane, Bara Bazar, Shillong, a Sikh delegation met Tathagata Roy, the governor of Meghalaya and sought his immediate intervention to stop the Meghalaya government leadership from maligning Sikhs and creating confusion in the minds of the local people of the region.

Gurjit Singh, speaking exclusively to the World Sikh News after meeting the governor said that the Governor assured them that he would look into the matter compassionately and make appropriate recommendations to the government of Meghalaya.  The governor told them that “he was happy to meet the Sikhs and praised the contribution of Sikhs in all walks of life.”

Expressing their fears and hopes, the Shillong Sikhs leadership presented a five page memorandum to the governor and sought his intervention with the state government urging no obstruction in the disbursement of funds announced by the Punjab government for the Guru Nanak School, which is a Sikh minority institution. They told the governor that the school belonged to the committee and that they had Pattas for the school land. They also pointed out that “heretofore the school has received grants under the MPLAD scheme, grants from MLA Scheme as well as grants from the discretionary funds of the Chief Minister.”

The delegation of the Harijan Panchayat Committee was led by Gurjit Singh, President of City Gurdwara Management Committee and included Billu Singh, Headman Harijan Panchayat Committee, Sukhwinder Singh Deputy Headman, members –Shyam Singh and Tajinder Singh alongwith Shri Pirthi Das, President of the Shiv Mandir Committee.

The delegation complained that the government-formed High level Committee has been issuing illegal orders to the Shillong Municipal Board for survey of houses of the poor Sikhs with the intention of dislocation of Sikhs.  They are making insinuations against the poor Sikh residents. Gurjit Singh said that we have sought the disbanding of this committee which has no locus standi and is working in a biased and malafide manner since its inception.

The memorandum has also pointed out that even earlier, the National Commission for Minorities had taken serious note of the utterances of the Deputy Chief Minister in this regard and has stayed the dislocation of the Sikhs by the Meghalaya government from the Punjabi lane, Bara Bazar area.

“Sikhs are the citizens of Meghalaya and natives of the land as they have become part and parcel of this society and participate in all religious and social festivals of the state. The land on which they live belonged to the Syiem of Mylliem and was granted to their forefathers who came from Punjab more than two centuries ago to serve the army here.”

“We seek peace and communal harmony”, said the delegation leaders but said that our right to live and right to housing is under grave threat and sought the removal of the climate of fear against them from the governor of the state.  

It is distressing and disgusting to note that since the last seven decades and more the area of Bara Bazar where the poor Mazhabi Sikhs and others live, that colony is officially called the “Sweepers Colony”. Sikhs have protested in the past but to no avail. The Shillong media and the political leadership continues to call it so despite the recent strictures passed by the National Human Rights Commission and categorical direction to change the name without delay. The delegation told the governor that this was a demand about which nobody should have any objection and that this should be done without delay.

Gurjit Singh said being the head of the state, the governor was asked to take proactive steps to ask the Syiem of Mylliem to issue Pattas to the 218 families which request is pending with the authorities since 2006.

Rebutting the outsider argument of the deputy chief minister, the memorandum says that, “By all accounts they (Sikhs) are the citizens of Meghalaya and natives of the land as they have become part and parcel of this society and participate in all religious and social festivals of the state. The land on which they live belonged to the Syiem of Mylliem and was granted to their forefathers who came from Punjab more than two centuries ago to serve the army here.” Gurjit Singh said that they were emboldened to meet the Governor after reading that at public function in October this year, the governor had openly remarked, “there are no outsiders, we are all Indians.”

Gurjit Singh said that he was indeed grateful to the government of Punjab, the SGPC, the DSGMC, Singh Sabha Mumbai, United Sikhs and others who have been consistently keeping a watch on the situation here and assisting us in all ways. “Our survival is directly dependent on the watch maintained by the Sikh leadership,” he added. He woefully said, “Since June 2018, we have been victims of veiled threats by student bodies, tribal non-governmental organisations, underground organization namely HNLC and other political leadership of the state.”

The memorandum clarified that the government of Punjab has granted funds for the school and compensation to one individual whose truck was completely burnt, another whose showroom was burnt down and a third person whose shop were gutted in fire by the arson.” He rued the fact that so far no compensation of any kind has been given by the Meghalaya government. He clarified that no compensation has been announced for any injured person by the Government of Punjab.

Putting the record straight, the memorandum listed that, “In 2016, the then Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal visited Shillong gave Rs. 10 lakhs to the Guru Nanak School and Rs. 5 lakhs for the general development of Village Thandnongiaw, District Ri-Bhoi, Meghalaya. This was extensively covered in the media, nobody had protested and everyone had welcomed it.”

“The deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong and Urban Development minister Mr. Hamelston Dohling are unnecessarily raising the issue to cause confusion and malign the Sikhs.” said Gurjit Singh.

Gurjit Singh who has been spearheading the fight for justice for the poor Sikhs also pointed out that, “The NCM has clearly ordered a stay on the efforts of the Meghalaya government to relocate the poor Sikh residents. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also given similar directions. An order to maintain peace in the region and not do anything detrimental to peace, including a stay on the follow up of the Shillong Municipal Board public notice seeking ownership details from the Sikh residents has been passed by the High Court of Meghalaya at Shillong.”

It is testing times for the poor Sikh residents to show more resilience and diligence in fighting for their rights. The Sikh community, apex bodies like the SGPC, DSGMC and the Punjab government leaders must remain steadfast to their promises. The governor of Meghalaya Tathagata Roy –a scholar who deeply understands the question of migration and the plight of migrants, must listen and resolve the grievances of the Sikhs of Shillong. And of course, the government of Meghalaya must honour not only the conditions of the court, the NCM and NHRC, but also the fundamental principle of equality enshrined in the Constitution of India.