HARIDWAR, India—All India Sikh Conference (Babbar) president Gurucharan Singh Babbar, in a letter to the Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat, threatened that his community would assemble in large numbers at Har-ki-Paudi on April 14, to forcibly reclaim the land on which the Gurdwara Sri Gyan Godari Sahib stood.
The warning was issued on April 4th, in a letter addressed to chief minister Harish Rawat. April 14 the anniversary of the formalizing of the Sikh religion, also happens to be the Vaisakhi bathing day, when a large number of devout Hindus will take a holy dip in the Ganga (Ganges River) to celebrate their new year.
In the letter, Gurucharan Singh Babbar requested the state government to free the gurdwara land, illegally occupied during the anti-Sikh holocaust of 1984. The government was instructed to act in the matter by Vaisakhi this year which falls on April 14th.
The letter warned that in case the state administration failed to free the land that belonged to the gurdwara of illegal occupants, “we will reclaim the gurdwara, even if it means sacrificing our lives.”
Babbar said that Sikhs had been agitating for the gurdwara’s restoration to the community for the last four years. It was particularly dear to them, as it had been built about 450 years ago to commemorate Guru Nanak Sahib’s long stay at Har-ki-Paudi during a visit to Haridwar.
Taking advantage of the anti-Sikh sentiments in the aftermath of then prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984, “some criminals demolished the gurdwara, and illegally occupied the place,” Babbar remarked.
The site has been turned into a Bharat Scouts and Guides office, he said. While the Sikhs insist that the site be handed back to rebuild the gurdwara, the administration proposed that the community accept another site for building a gurdwara. That proposal was not acceptable to the Sikh Conference, Babar said.
The warning was issued in a letter addressed to chief minister Harish Rawat on April 4. April 14 is also the Baisakhi bathing day, when a large number of devout Hindus will take a holy dip in the Ganga.
In the letter, Guru Charan Singh Babbar had requested the state government to free the Gurdwara land, illegally occupied during the anti-Sikh Pogroms of 1984.
The government was instructed to act in the matter by Baisakhi this year (April 14).
The letter warned that in case the state administration failed to free the land that belonged to the Gurdwara of illegal occupants, “we will reclaim the Gurdwara, even if it means sacrificing our lives.”
Babbar told TOI that Sikhs had been agitating for the Gurdwara’s restoration to the community for the last four years. It was particularly dear to them, as it had been built about 450 years ago to commemorate Guru Nanak Saheb’s long stay at Har-ki-Paudi during a visit to Haridwar.
Taking advantage of the anti-Sikh sentiments in the aftermath of then prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984, “some criminals demolished the Gurdwara and illegally occupied the place,” Babbar remarked.
The site has been turned into a Bharat Scouts and Guides office, he said. While the Sikhs insist that the site be handed back to rebuild Gurdwara, the administration proposed that the community accept another site for building a Gurdwara. That proposal was not acceptable to the Sikh Conference, Babar said.
