LONDON, UK—During his on-going visit to the United Kingdom, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee President Manjit Singh GK has met with the Indian High Commission officials in the UK. During the meeting, it was decided that the Indian High Commission would set up new policies to facilitate and provide visas to a number of Sikh asylees in the UK who had left India during and after the 1984 Sikh genocide.
The policy would be setup to open ways for over 15,000 Sikhs in the UK to visit the Sikh shrines in Punjab and in other parts of India.
Manjit Singh GK was advised that the Indian High Commission has a list of Sikhs who had sought asylum in the UK since 1984. In addition, it also maintains another list of Sikhs who are blacklisted in India. In addition to UK, the High Commission also has knowledge of Sikhs asylees in other parts of the world.
The offer by the Indian High Commission is highly suspicious as the Indian Government has in the past ordered arrests of Sikhs after granting them visa clearance. Cases of Sikhs being arrested from the Delhi airport suggest Indian embassies abroad are working with the Government to help it gain access to travel plans of Sikhs wanting to visit India.
The cases of Bhai Balbir Singh Bains, a UK resident and Bhai Pal Singh France are evidence in showcasing the hypocrisy of the Indian Government. Recently, a number of arrests were made in Punjab on fabricated charges which suggest that Sikhs are still not safe in their own home country.
